Suffocating

Insomnia; VI

Grover's silence was telling.

Grover's silence was an answer itself.

Roxanne looked down, her eyes losing focus.

In the end, that was all what this was, right? A mistake. A wrongdoing. Her wrongdoing.

Roxanne kept telling herself she was all about telling the truth, spreading it for everyone to see, giving Angel the attention she deserved, the love she needed, but...

There was a reason Angel's entire existence was wrapped up in a pandora's box.

A system had been in place for as long as this city had been in place. No. This system had existed for even longer than that.

A system made to protect creatures like Angel. To let Angel do what she pleased without hurting the innocents.

Most people didn't want to know the truth. They were scared of it. They would rather live in peace, in safety, in a sweet lie than be exposed to the truth.

The truth was that their friends, their loved ones, the person to their left and the one to their right wasn't who they thought they were. And that scared them, more than anything. To know that you don't know these people, no matter how long you've spent time with them, or how much you trust them, or how much you love them.

A system was built to prevent that. To prevent people from fear, from feeling isolated. To prevent society from unleashing chaos.

And Roxanne...

Roxanne had tampered with it, interfered with the system. She'd made a lot of people angry. Rightfully so. She had made a mistake. She, being the brat that she was, had made a mistake.

Was she going to die? ... Nah. She doubted it. Roxanne had gone full-on incognito when setting the truth out into the open. Plus, if they really knew it was she who'd done it, then why would they make others disappear, too? That, to her, proved that they didn't know who it was, they just knew that someone had messed with them.

Tsk. The truth. Was it even fair to call it that? After all, Roxanne didn't know how Angel came to be. She didn't know where Angel came from, how she'd gained those powers, or if she even was human like the rest of them.

She didn't know who was working behind the shadows. She only knew why. It was for the purpose of order, of serenity, of mundanity; the one thing we want but never admit it.

Roxanne barely acknowledged Grover placing his hand on top of hers. "You... made a mistake. We all do. Even the great Amitabh Bachchan has made a mistake... once... probably..."

That, Roxanne acknowledged. She looked up, found Grover forcing a dry smile into his chapped lips, realized what he was fishing for, and chuckled, for his sake more than hers.

Grover stroked his bearded chin, as Roxanne attempted to put food into her stomach.

Roxanne swallowed a small bite of her sandwich, only for nausea to greet her. She put the sandwich down. Yeah, no. No way. That was all she was eating today.

"Do you ever wonder why we were only married for five years, even when we've known each other for twelve years?"

Roxanne looked at him again, analysing his thoughtful expression that said that he knew she'd been wondering about it.

She wagered answering honestly was the best option. "I assumed... I assumed you guys just didn't care about making it official. I mean, if you love someone, then you just love them. No need to spend money on wedding rings and stuff."

Roxanne lost more and more of her confidence with each word she spoke with how Grover's smile widened in delight and amusement, as though he'd been expecting that answer.