The Submissive Assassin (BxB)

Chapter 80 - Buckle up

The quietness as they left the training hall—only the short squeaks from Nate's rusty wheelchair—laid heavy over their shoulders, a gloom layering the air. It was Mell that had her hands on the handles of Nate's wheelchair, pushing him forward to the group that had left a couple minutes earlier.

Dante was a couple steps behind them, his palms in his pockets as he took one last glance at the caskets behind them before letting the door close. There had been no speech, merely quiet tears and reflections from all of them. The impact Molly had had on them was clearly immense, all of them at least shedding one tear, even if they had to turn away to let that happen.

Molly had been their youngest, and although he considered himself a boy, Dante had still felt that sense of protection over a sister for Molly, which was why he was unsure when that heaviness on his heart would let him free. As for the others, Bronsted and Reno definitely felt responsible, but they maintained a straight face as much as they could. Besides, they only had each other left—not really including Jake in their unity—hence they had enough mental strength together to keep each other sane.

It had been much more difficult for Reno than Bronsted, as Reno wasn't always the greatest at allowing the blame to settle. Grieving was also a part of life Reno didn't really accept, the building up of emotions he didn't want to face only deepening into his soul, threatening to explode every so often.

As for Dante, the remnants from his mistakes sat in a wheelchair in front of him the whole day. The self loathing was almost unbearable, but he had to do it. Not only to make amends with himself, but because Nate was the only one he had left.

"It's nice to see you again."

Nate heard his mother's voice over him, but when he glanced in her direction, he realized he wasn't speaking to him. That was when his mind began to tumble, repeatedly glancing back and for between the Hercules' men and his mother.

She looked delighted, a small but genuine smile stretching her lips while her eyes squinted slightly. She even pulled away from the wheelchair for a moment to reach them and wrap her arms around their shoulders for an embrace. Bronsted smiled when he hugged her next after Reno, his hands resting on her back for a moment before returning them inside his front pockets.

"You all keep growing taller, I can't keep up," she chuckled.

Reno shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe it's you who keeps getting shorter."

After a short pause, Melle exhaled a short sigh. Even though there hadn't been any words following it, they could all sense the sorrow from within it. "Listen guys, I really am sorry for your loss. Melissa was a beautiful little girl from what I remember, and she—"

"He." All their eyes turned to Reno who folded his arms and continued, " He went by Molly."

When Reno failed to explain further, Bronsted cleared his throat, the furrowed brows of Melle diverting to him instead. "He told us he was a boy after his first mission."

Melle's face softened as she lowered her gaze, followed by a sigh. "Of course. It wouldn't be in Draco's blood to have another daughter." A short moment of silence intervened as they all remembered different memories of Molly. The memories of him ripping apart the skirts Draco continuously brought to him, or the toys he forced him to play with to which he threw away the moment he was out of sight. Her brows furrowed again and she asked, "How's Tessa?"

Bronsted stopped Reno before he could burst into his colourful language to describe all the ways he felt about Tyler. "She's not considered apart of this family anymore." She waited for further comments about their sister, but nothing else was said. She even turned to Dante to see if he could explain what his younger siblings meant, but he simply stared back with his lips clamped into a thin line.