Inciting Events

Chapter 9

Cyrus Anders

Cyrus cried when his sister embraced him for the first time in years. He didn’t think he had ever been this happy before. All he wanted to do was sit down and talk with her. About her new job at the news station, her friends, her classes. He wanted to sit there hugging her until the rest of his family came home, and he could see them too for the first time in years.

That was a fact he didn’t like to be reminded of. He hadn’t gotten to watch his little sister grow from the curious girl she had been into the confident young woman that stood in front of him. He hadn’t gotten to see Birdy go from an energetic little kid who loved mermaids into…whoever she was now. He didn’t even know what she was like anymore or what she was into. He wasn’t there to see his mom win science awards or to be a son for his father. Would his family even recognize who he is now?

So much about him had changed. Four years ago, he had been considered short for his age, but now he was a bit above average. He still loved science and building, but he no longer ranted about it for hours to any open or closed ears. He wasn’t the same person he used to be. He had done horrible things.

So, although there was a huge lump of undealt with talks that he would now eventually have to have with the rest of his family, he just now realized how terrified he was to speak to them again.

Both him and his sister pulled back from their embrace and just truly looked at each other's faces. Both were saddened to see just how much had changed. Cyrus knew Holiday was coming to the same revelation that nothing was the same, nor would it ever be again. The two siblings shared a look, knowing they would talk more later, but that as of right now, they had to focus on the task at hand.

Holiday turned around, still not letting go of Cyrus’s hand, though, and addressed the rest of the room with an air of authority that honestly caught her brother off guard. She made sure they kept planning, and they did.

When he and Magnus had first started thinking about doing this, it had seemed completely impossible, just a daydream that they would eventually abandon. But now, although this still seemed very far-fetched, he was beginning to have hope. Maybe this could work out after all. But they would need to be careful.

Tempest was many things, but he was far from stupid. One mistake could cause all of this to go down the drain and end all of their lives. They had to keep acting normal, and they had to be ready for anything to happen. So they spent multiple hours in Holiday’s bedroom creating ideas and tweaking them.

Cyrus had been surprised at first that his parents would leave his little sister alone in the house for so long, but Holiday had said they were out watching a play Birdy had been cast in. She also reminded him that she wasn’t a little girl anymore, and as soon as she said that, they both looked at each other with a sorrowful look in their eyes.

After that, they quickly got back to work, trying to ignore the awkwardness between them as they realized just how big of a divide four years of him being fake dead had put between them. It was, admittedly, not something either of them was eager to talk about, so they played the avoidance game.

After the entire group had finalized the plan, it was getting fairly late, and Holiday said that the other Anders would be coming home soon with dinner, a subtle hint that they all needed to leave immediately.

Brynleigh and Badger worked together to get everything cleaned while Magnus practiced jumping out of the window, then climbing back in the room and jumping again. Both Cyrus and Holiday were in the corner watching him, the two being joint at the hip since they found out who the other was, as she told him stories of what had happened while he was gone.