Cosmo || Doctor Who

56 : Heaven Breaks

𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔗𝔞𝔯𝔡𝔦𝔰 ℑ𝔫𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔦𝔬𝔯
𝔇𝔢𝔢𝔭 𝔖𝔭𝔞𝔠𝔢

EJ Thompson had only ever attended two funerals in his entire twenty one years of life, and he could only remember the most recent. The first was his sisters. The second belonged to his father.

He wasn't the sort of person who ever associated themselves with sadness; he'd made it a whole portion of his personality. EJ was as bright and bubbly as they came. His excitement made people laugh which was the very thing he strove for. After a childhood filled with horror, this was the very least he deserved.

That first funeral had taken place when he was but six months old. His sister, Grace Murphy (née Thompson) had married her childhood sweetheart, Lewis, aged sixteen after birthing their son, Michael, only nine months prior to that. The very same day that they was wed, both husband and wife were killed tragically in a car crash.

Three weeks later, they were buried in a shared plot. A gravestone was left for the living to respect, but EJ hadn't visited it as much as he should have. Remembering her wasn't exactly something he could attest to.

EJ had never know Grace, not really, but Tate had spoken of her all the time. When she died, he had been ten, as opposed to Isaac being six, so his memories were the clearest. Though, even his stories were a little vague. She was lost to their lack of communication. None of the brothers spoke anymore, and for good reason.

In their own time, each of them had come to terms with their conditions. They were forced to adapt to the world around them, because nothing else would mould to fit their shape. It had taken such a long time that it had started to feel normal. They could live with the stares, and the passing comments, because they were nothing compared to the previous pain.

However, after healing, they were delicate. The moment they lay their eyes on one another again, every ounce of hard work would be for nothing. They were the few who could break through the facade and see each other for who they really were. The remains of broken experiments, and not a thing less.

When they were small, they hadn't been allowed to talk about Grace. The minute she fell pregnant whilst in the midst of experimentation, their mother had saved her, and Scott had never forgiven either of them for it. If her name was so much as mentioned, or she was alluded to in any context, all hell broke loose. A punishment usually followed in operation form, anyhow.

The second funeral had been that of his father's, with a much smaller attendance. It was only the five of them; not even Scott's own little brother wanted to wish him well on his way. He was a man with enemies, and not even they wanted to waste their time on him, which said more than words ever could.

Then, EJ hadn't long turned fifteen, and he remembered it to be the last time his entire family had all been in one place. Six years was ever such a long time.

His mother did not cry that day. EJ had always assumed that she was too embarrassed. It had taken him another year or so to realise the extent of her wounds. Though her body bore no physical scars, she was not unwounded. She must have been drained from the strain Scott placed on her.

Michael Murphy was only slightly older than he, and in truth, EJ knew very little about him. The moment he understood the story of his parents, he began to distance himself, carefully. If the others had been able, they would have followed in his footsteps: their bodies were confining after all.

Tate and Isaac were both older, and by then, they had moved on completely. His eldest brother even had a wife and children which seemed so grown up at the time. It was for the best that they stayed in their separate lives. After all, if EJ had spent time with them, they may have changed him, unbeknownst to them. His life could have changed drastically.