✨Seeing in the Dark✨

🌹Chapter 14: Opus 14🌹

Long streaks of light flashed by, each one tracing over the curvatures of the car as it moved down the highway. It bathed the car in small snippets of light and then plunged it into darkness. The pattern continued, light to dark, and then back again until Ciel simply blanked out the steady changes. Watching them only made his head hurt and they did nothing to stop his thoughts.

They raced at speed that left it near impossible for Ciel to stay focused on any one subject for an extended period of time. His thoughts flickered and bounced from one thing to another. Oddly enough, Ciel found comfort in the action. It kept his mind distracted in a sense and didn't allow him to focus on one thought for too long.

Next to him, Ron remained silent and didn't try to start a conversation. Each held their own thoughts and neither wanted to speak them aloud. The attack still loomed heavily over them, still stood fresh in their minds. Ciel doubted that the memory would ever fade even after a decade had passed. And if the sights and memories were that clear for him, Ciel couldn't imagine how sharp and deeply imbedded they would stay in Sebastian's mind.

Whatever physical trauma he suffered, it probably paled in comparison to the mental trauma. The thought made him shudder before his mind raced forward to the next thought. He likened the fast-paced action to a defense mechanism. It kept him from dwelling on any subject for too long, lest it send him into a panicked state.

His thoughts circled though, bouncing from one point to another before eventually coming full circle. And once more, Ciel found himself pondering what Claude had refused to tell him earlier. Something else had happened to Sebastian; something that Claude seemed hesitant to talk about. Instead, Claude skirted around the topic like a guilty child hiding the truth from their parents.

What that subject was though, Ciel didn't have the faintest idea. But it had created an itch under his skin that he couldn't scratch. Only Claude could quell the itch.

His mind moved forward again, shifting gears and turning its attention back to Alois. That was one part that Ciel still had trouble wrapping his mind around. How could Alois submit to something like? How could he let his roommates turn so violent on an innocent man and then condone their actions? Worse still, how could Alois not look guilty?

Never once did that emotion cross Alois's features. Anger and disgust were the only emotions that Ciel could see clearly, and they had directed themselves at Sebastian. And then they turned in full to Ciel when he betrayed him.

Ciel had seen the accusing eyes glare at him as the police separated them. He had heard the shouts, despite his best attempt to disregard them, as he walked into the apartment with Claude. The aggressive sentiments stung deeply and pulled like barbs at his heart. With each word Alois spat, Ciel could feel them digging deeper and deeper, severing the ties of their friendship.

Ciel had no doubt that after this, nothing more would remain of their friendship. Alois had chosen his side and Ciel his and they stood on opposite sides of the bank. A deep chasm divided them, one that only appeared to grow larger as time passed. Alois wouldn't forgive him for basically turning him into the police. And Ciel couldn't absolve Alois's actions.

He couldn't even find himself to accept Alois's thoughts. He knew everyone remained entitled to their own thoughts and feelings, but try as he might, Ciel couldn't do it. Perhaps if Alois hadn't resorted to such violent acts, Ciel might've been able to – if not grudgingly – acknowledge them. But as it was, the anger and pain had burned itself too deeply in Ciel's mind.

And in the end, could a homophobe stay friends with a homosexual? It sounded unlikely, even though Ciel had seen stranger things online. Cats and mice playing together, or dogs and cats getting along. Natural enemies yet there remained a few exceptions. So why couldn't he coexist in harmony with Alois?