they can have my legacy - fedex (the legacies series 3)

8

dex couldn't quite imagine what juline's reaction would be if something had happened to him like what had happened to the vackers. she would probably have become far more overprotective, staying & smothering. not that he'd be able to blame her for it.

della's reaction appeared to be letting biana do whatever she wanted. cue another party at the vackers'.

this one was different, though. where last time it had been crazy & carefree, now it was severe & solemn. biana had changed, since the protesting. she was the same elf, but she'd grown up some. formerly frolicking in frilly festivities, now she flourished in firm frocks that, though fashioned to fit her frugal frame, favored the feeling that she was fully formed. it was awe-inspiring, & scary. dex would be lying if he claimed he wasn't terrified of her.

dex couldn't even remember what they all talked about. the awkwardness was palpable, & so was the fact that biana didn't care in the slightest. sophie wandered away somewhere along the line, but dex tried not to think about it, tried not to look at the door to see if she'd even come back.

she did, but dex didn't find out by staring obsessively at the door. no, he found out because biana had been talking to him, & her expression faltered, her eyes flickering to someone behind dex. when he turned, there she was. sophie, holding an inexplicably morose expression.

one sec, biana muttered vaguely, & then she was marching up to sophie. dex watched, frozen, as she yelled at her, as sophie looked away & blinked back tears. you bitch! he saw biana shout. you backstabbing slut! what is wrong with you?

dex let out a shaky breath, trying to tune out the noise. that could have been him. he could have snuck away at biana's party to kiss fitz & gotten caught, screamed at by the sister who fitz let carry more shit than any girl should have to, ever. maybe in an alternate universe he was.

linh stood up, suddenly, & walked purposefully over to biana. she spoke in a dulcet tone, & dex could see the words hitting biana. she stared at linh, bit her lip, nodded. then she stormed back to everyone else, leaving sophie standing, dazed, by linh.

listen up! biana yelled. it's rant time! & i'll go first! she put her hands on her hips, narrowing her eyes in the direction of sophie. my brother? yeah. he's a dick. he hasn't talked to me since i came out. not one fucking word. he started eating meals at a different time & everything? our bedrooms are next to one anothers'. that's dedication. a harsh laugh forced its way out of her. everyone give it up for fitzroy avery vacker, the lost cities' most dedicated homophobe!

silence. something in dex's gut twisted. maybe there was a world where biana was raging at him right now. but maybe there was also a world where fitz hadn't felt like his sexuality was something he had to hide, where he came out to all of these people or at least told biana he accepted her. what was the difference between that-world fitz & this one? they were still the same person, somewhere inside.

& then, for a moment, he felt unbearingly sad. sad for the fitz who could have been. sad that biana didn't have to be angry right now. she could have been happy. she could have felt safe, in that little moment of her life he never should have seen to begin with.

dex stood up abruptly, ignoring biana's scorching eyes on him. i have to go, he blurted, turning quickly. whatever happened next, he didn't want to see if biana hated him. she would hate him if she knew who he was. what he had done, what he had forgiven, just so he had an excuse to kiss the boy he liked.

he passed linh, standing in front of the door, as he exited the room. she offered him a small smile.

where was sophie? hadn't linh been talking to her?