The Disbanders

Chapter 19: The Fight

February 2019

None of us know what to do, or even say. It's a simple question, but we all know where the answer will lead us.

As Chuck looks back up at Evie, she puts on a smile that is clearly strained and hiding panic. I can tell he's noticing the fearful looks on the rest of our faces.

"Oh, it's just something I found a while ago. I was......treasure hunting last summer and I found it. Nothing special," she replies. Chuck seems to be following, but you can tell that he's not believing it.

"Okay....", he replies, unconvinced. "If it's nothing much, let's see what's in it, shall we?" Evie doesn't get the time to answer. Alexa and I are giving each other nervous looks. Chuck finds the driver's license, and stares at it attentively. "Oh my god!", he exclaims. "Is this the creepy guy's wallet?" At this time, Will comes out from our room, having changed.

"What's going on?", he asks, looking around at all of us. He gives Alexa and I a suspicious look before drawing his attention to the wallet. Chuck looks up at Evie, seemingly frustrated.

"Yeah. I didn't want anyone to find it, to have weird memories," she lies uncomfortably. Chuck is still unconvinced, growing more suspicious. Will is starting to look uneasy.

"I'm not sticking around for this. I'll do the laundry, I don't care," he mutters. Taking the laundry, Will quickly leaves the house. Alexa mouths for me to not go after him. I nod and stay put. Chuck continues to flip through the wallet, eventually finding the worst part of the entire thing––the photo.

Chuck looks shocked at first, but the longer he stays silent, the more it's soaking in. By the expression on his face, he immediately recognizes the people and places in the photo. Hell, he'd know even more about that photo than we do, if our assumptions are true. The muscles in his face twitch slightly, yet seem to convey a thousand emotions at once. The silence in the room is incredibly loud, as the air seems to thicken.

"How..how do you have this? Why do you have this?", he asks. His attention has gone partially off Evie and it comes over all of us. There's a whole lot of emotion boiling inside him. Hayden suddenly cracks under the pressure.

"Listen, Chuck! We weren't going to tell you. We thought it were better if you didn't know, and...", he states. He notices everyone staring at him and realizes he's said too much, causing his cheeks to flush a vermilion red, and fill his eyes with horror. Alexa rolls hers in turn. However, as soon as Chuck looks her way, she becomes more sympathetic, looking almost afraid.

"Did you all know about this?", he asks us. "I don't understand...how is there a picture of my mom and I?" Nobody answers. I look to my right, to see Alexa already tearing up. I notice that Will isn't around. He still doesn't know. Not yet.

"We didn't want you to know about any of this in case there was any correlation!", cries Evie. We thought it would be better for you and Will if this never came up!" Chucks suddenly looks up, his facial expression having changed rapidly.

"Will? Why would Will be........" He suddenly realizes why. "No..." Alexa approaches Chuck nervously.

"I'm sorry. We were trying to protect you," she replies, touching his shoulder in an attempt to console him. Chuck retaliates aggressively, startling her.

"How could you all know about this for two months and never tell me? We're not supposed to keep secrets!" The painful strain in his voice is heartbreaking. Suddenly, Chuck storms out of the house. Oh no. Will.

The rest of us follow Chuck as he storms outside to find Will, all of us petrified. Will's starting the laundry, with a sombre look on his face. The reminder must've been hard for him to see. He looks up from what he's doing, and immediately a look a fear flashes over his face as he sees Chuck.