Starting Line || Carter Grayson

(7) Truths

❀⊱┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄⊰❀

Sitting on the ground with Carter basically holding me up, I felt at a loss of words. The Titanium Ranger was Ryan? There was no way that could be possible. Ryan died the night of the car accident. We had a funeral for him. I remembered crying over his casket - uncontrollably and inconceivably weeping over the loss of my twin. I spent days sitting at his grave, wishing it had been me instead... even at nine years old.

There was a lump caught in my throat as I relaxed back against Carter who had shifted the placement of his hands from my shoulder to my upper arms. The room was silent. The worst silence I had ever heard. Even worse than the silence I felt around me while grieving Ryan. It was just not possible for the Titanium Ranger to be him.

The room felt stuck in a permanent state of spinning. If I looked up from my tear filled gaze on the ground, it got worse. I focused on specs of color in the tiles as a million thoughts ran through my head. I had so many questions... so many questions that needed answers, but I could barely get a word out without it sounding like a sad whimper.

My father cleared his throat, "That's why I stopped you. I couldn't let you destroy my son."

"How can that be? Ryan was killed in that car crash." Dana asked, confused.

Her words felt like bullets as I mentally pictured that night. I hated that night. I hated the images, feelings, and memories that tagged along with it.

"No, he wasn't." our father said. The rangers, Nova, and myself remained quiet as I lifted my gaze up to hear what he had to say.

I knew I was trembling. I could feel it in my fingers.

"It was late. It was pouring rain. Ryan, Skye, Dana, and I were coming home from visiting your grandmother. You three were in the backseat playing with the new toys she had given you." our father told us.

"A firetruck, a turtle keychain, and a stuffed rabbit." I whispered, clearly remembering the items our grandmother had given us that night.

"There was a truck coming from the other direction. I only looked away for a second... and then it all happened so fast." he paused, mentally imagining that night as I was doing. I could imagine Dana was doing the same.

"It was raining..." Dana whispered.

"We tumbled over the cliff and then I found myself hanging onto a root." he continued, "Skye was still in the car when it hit the ground... I thought, I thought I had already lost her. Ryan was slipping and I didn't know what to do. I screamed for help and Diabolico appeared."

"Diabolico?" Dana repeated his name.

"Diabolico saved him with the terms that I would not see him again until his twentieth birthday. I didn't want to make the deal but I couldn't bear the thought of losing two children in one night." his voice was broken as he spoke.

"And today is his twentieth birthday." my voice refused to lift above a whimper.

"Sir, we won't fight him and we'll do anything we can to help get him back." Carter spoke, lightly squeezing my arms as I remained frozen on the ground.

"Can I please be excused to talk with my daughters alone?" our father asked.

What was there to say? He lied to us all these years.

Carter helped me up to my feet, making sure I was stable before letting go. Nova looked at me with the same upset expression as the rest of us written on her face. Before she left the room with the others, I stopped her to give her a hug. I needed a hug from her. She squeezed me tightly, not pulling away until I did.