Invisible

Chapter 18: Scenes from a hat

So, This is a series of individual scenes. There really was no way to piece it together into one cohesive whole since they all kind of take place at once. I hope it's not confusing. 

Don't forget to vote and Comment! I love comments! I live for comments! 

Enjoy!

~A~

~Scarab Beetle~

Corey was still trying to figure out what on earth just happened as Kayli led him down the stairs and across the lobby. He had only wanted to be here for his daughter. Had his efforts lately been too little, too late? Maybe. Maybe his daughter was lost to him long before he finally got fed up enough to speak out but he'd be damned if he wasn't gonna keep trying to repair their fractured relationship. And he had a feeling that leaving right now wouldn't help that at all. He stopped abruptly, tugging the hand Kayli was holding to send her stumbling backwards into his chest.

"I'm not leaving and I don't think Kayli should either." Corey wrapped an arm around Kayli.

"Corey, Baby, she doesn't want us here," Marc's voice was calm but his eyes betrayed him. He was as hurt by Lacey's rejection as Corey was.

"I don't care. She may not want us here but she needs us. I already told you, all of you, I'm done with keeping my distance." Corey pointed back to the stairs they had just come down, "That's our daughter in there, and she's hurting. Not just from the fact that her boyfriend was nearly killed tonight but also the simple fact that she doesn't think she matters to this family anymore. She does matter. This family is five kinds of fucked up right now and fixing it starts right here." Kayli had curled into him by this point and he could feel her tears soaking his shirt, "So, I'm staying and so is Kayli," Kayli nodded her agreement against his chest, "I'll wait a bit before going back up there but make no mistake, I won't let our daughter go through this alone." Corey clenched his jaw. There was more, on the tip of his tongue, but he knew that it was all just him getting mad. Marc ran a hand down Corey's arm.

"You're right. Somewhere along the way we got lost. I think all of us staying would be a little too much," He shot a glare at Micah, Isaiah, and Wesley, "Especially under the circumstances. You two stay. When you get home, we'll all sit down and talk." Marc kissed Corey and Kayli softly before moving aside to let Axel, Raven and Brandon in to kiss Kayli. "We'll see you in the morning." With that they left, leaving a tear stained Kayli and a determined Corey to convince Lacey she had always mattered.

~A~

~Ghost Bird~

Kota watched as the Toma team left before turning to Sang.

"Ten, do you think that was really a good idea?" He didn't know what was going in the Toma family but he wasn't sure it was a good idea to get mixed up in another family's business. Sang whispered in Lacey's ear, handed her something and Lacey gave a tiny smile before heading to the cafeteria with Eleanor, Avery and Angelos in tow. Sang approached Kota, curling into him as his arms automatically wrapped around her. The others gathered around, instinctively sensing this was a bigger discussion than it seemed.

"I think she was on the verge of a panic attack and they were causing it. I didn't know how else to stop it." Kota rubbed a hand across her back for comfort, marveling at the size of her heart still after all these years. He knew she was still frightened for Blaze, but here she was just as concerned for the well being of her son's girlfriend, one she'd only known a week and spoken to once.

"I think your right, Pookie." Sean spoke up, "I talked to Scott and Blaze and they told me a rather interesting story about something that happened while we were gone. So I had Victor do a little digging. I need to talk to Blaze and Lacey and the Tomas first but I think I know what's at the core of their issues." Kota nodded, then looked at Owen, even after these years it still felt weird to call him Owen and not Mr. B.