Darkness stretched and sat up in his bed while grabbing a nearby bottle of bourbon. It had been a few days since Lyte had shut herself in her room and Silver was still trying to get her to come out. As he walked down the hallway, Silver stopped him and pointed to Lyte's room. "I need you to get her out please." She finally said with concern in her voice. Darkness let out a nervous laugh. "Silver... I can't just walk through my little sister's room and force her out!" He explained. Silver's eyes narrowed at him as she poked him in the chest with a finger. "Oh, so you'll do it to kill people, but not to help your hurting little sister?!" She demanded. "YES! Because I don't care about them, I DO care about LYTE!" He retorted.
Silver let out a defeated sigh as she took Darkness downstairs out of earshot from Lyte's room. "I didn't want to do this, but maybe it'll help explain what I'm going through... Have you ever thought about making Lyte look for her own place to live?" She asked. Darkness' aura flared up as he glared at her. "What? Who the hell do you think you are?!" He demanded. Silver just looked him in the eyes. "She's an adult, and she makes good money making music and videos online... Surely we don't NEED her here right?" She asked? Darkness twitched in hurt as he glared harder. "That doesn't matter! She's FAMILY! I love her like-"
"Like a daughter right? Me too, THAT'S why I asked you to go into her room." Said Silver. After a couple of minutes, Darkness powered down. "Why? What do you know?" He asked. Silver just looked at her feet. "When you were gone, I had no one to help me raise a child... so I took a lot of parenting classes so I could be the best parent I could for Lisa... I took even more after her Autism diagnosis... What she's doing right now is using her music to keep her thoughts from wandering too far off... as if she's afraid if she stops, she won't be able to return... I'd like if she had someone to help guide her back on track... Namely, someone close to her who doesn't have to break the door down." She explained.
Darkness grunted as he considered her words... "Christ, you really ARE a mom... Okay, Silver, I'll do it." He said as he hugged Silver tight. "Thank you, my love. Word of advice? Try to be patient with her... I Raised my voice at her once by accident and she didn't talk to me for a week." She said. He nodded and headed upstairs slowly. "I STILL don't want to do this... but I'm a good big brother, time to start acting like it." He told himself as he walked through Lyte's doorway and past her barricade of Clothes and dressers.
Darkness winced at the sight of his Sister. Instead of the brightly dressed bubbly girl Darkness was used to, Lyte was wearing a black tank top and standing there in just a purple thong, it was clear she hadn't showered or eaten properly since she found out about Darkness' attempt on his life. "Hey, Lisa... you okay?" HE asked slowly, but on further inspection, Lyte had her headphones in while she messed with her soundboard.
"Tired of feeling, like I don't fit! But that's okay, Lyte spins this shit!" She sang into her microphone. Darkness reached out to put a hand on her shoulder but Lyte simply smacked it away. "Thought my brother was my buddy, but he decided to quit! He left me all alone just to spin this shit." She said with tears in her eyes. "Lisa again, that's not what-" But he was cut off by Lyte who leaned forward. "All I want is my brother, just to admit, He left me all alone just to spin this shit!" She said harshly.
There was a bit of silence before Darkness backed out of the room, leaving a trail of void aura behind him. He ignored the worried look of silver as he pulled the ladder down out of the overhead attic. He climbed up slowly and brushed past old relics he recovered from the fire of his old home. He casually walked past a picture of a young Lyte and Darkness smiling with their parents to find a Black electric guitar resting on an amp. it was his first ever 'Flying V' that Lyte had picked out for him. "Only one way I know for sure she's gonna listen to me." He said as he dropped into her room using his void.
Darkness plugged in his Guitar and amp and let out a soft strum, Freezing Lyte in her tracks. "I wasn't the best brother, That I will admit, left my sister all alone just to spin this shit." He said as he strummed harder, matching the beat of Lyte's music. "Wanted to give up, I wanted to just quit. Ignored my sister's cry for help while she span this shit." He said while looking into her eyes and changing the song. "If I'm still able to hear my sister I'm all in, it could all be over tomorrow, slay our demons and start again, as I think about what I did tears drip down onto my skin. These demons Lyte, we got 'em by the mile! keep fighting I'll be with you the whole while, until they're slain I'll remain HOSTILE!" He said as he dropped his guitar and squeezed her tight.
Lyte gasped in surprise as She slowly wrapped her arms around her older brother. "Bro you.... should leave the singing to me..." She said with a soft giggle. after a few minutes, Darkness began to chuckle. "Yeah.... I can see why I only ever played the guitar." He agreed. there were a brief couple of seconds before they both broke out laughing as hard as they could. When they were done, they both just sighed happily and sat on her bed. "Listen Lyte... I got a lot to explain, but I'd prefer if you did it first over dinner... deal?" He asked. Lyte just nodded and grabbed a change of clothes. "It's a deal big bro." She told him as she undid the barricades so she could take a shower.
Darkness got up and headed down to Silver. "Thank you, dear... For everything." He said as Silver kissed him deeply. "Thank YOU, Derek! But we are still not out of the woods, She's going to have a lot to say tonight, and you're going to listen, please try not to look at this from just YOUR point of view, I'm literally begging you" She said while looking into his eyes deeply. "Well, now I'm terrified, but deal!" He said as he went to get ready.
I see that both Darkness and Lyte share the trait of turning to either drinking or music when dealing with their sorrows so they don't have to. Silver is growing more concerned and implores Darkness to get her out, but Darkness wants to let her come out on her terms. If she has been in there for a week, someone has to get her out because this is unhealthy.
ReplyDeleteSilver not only took parenting classes but perhaps she took classes on how to deal with Darkness because her "suggestion" to have Lyte find her own place was the only thing she said that got through to him. Clever. I like that. Was it manipulation? Oh, absolutely, but it was for good and not bad, so I'm glad Silver suggested it. While she is correct that Lyte can find her house, I don't know if that'd be the best choice for her. Lyte needs people. She's not a recluse.
I love that Darkness going away for military duties and war left a huge mark on everyone in his life, not just him. I love how it's now causing conflict for Silver, too. She had to raise his sister on her own. I am glad she took parenting classes and special parenting classes. Most people SHOULD take notes from her. Every child deserves a parent but not every parent deserves a child. Silver seems to be the grounded one of her and Darkness.
I am glad Silver knows how to speak both of their love languages. Yeah, I understand Darkness. It's hard to face your issues but he has to do it.
Lyte's song was telling. I think Darkness's leaving affected her more than it did Silver. Silver understood to some degree, but Lyte didn't. I think Darkness is going to have to get a lot of patience, and he has a lot of work to do if he wants to mend this relationship. It seems that when push comes to shove, he thinks outside the box and uses music to get through to her. Nice.
I love how he sings his apology and explanation to her. It seems he has his work cut out for him. I am glad he is trying to make amends, nonetheless. I am glad Lyte opened up a bit and is willing to discuss this over dinner.
Silver is right. He can't look at it from his point of view. He has to take in hers, as well. I am eager to see how this goes. I am glad to see development for Darkness and vulnerability.
Thank you so much! Silver may not have taken classes for dealing with Darkness, but thanks to being a functional mom as well as a good head on her shoulders, she knows how to get under his skin in all the right ways!
DeleteThis was an excellent chapter, man. I'm so glad you're exploring more emotional conflicts like this! Each of their roles and point of views are very distint and realistic! It seems both Darkness and Lyte don't know how to deal with emotions, so they turn to their coping mechanisms to numb it out. Darkness DOES care about Lyte, he just doesn't know how to approach and deal with emotions. I find it interesting that he barges right into a situation when it comes to those he doesn't care about, but when it comes to those he cares about, he freezes up and becomes avoidant and I think he's afraid he will lose them or hurt them.
ReplyDeleteIt's a good thing Silver understands emotions and is like the mediator and mother figure here. Sometimes it takes tough love to get through to someone and when she put it in those terms, it finally got through to him. Darkness isn't someone who wears his emotions on his sleeve, so this is the way to get him to confess his emotions. I love how Silver has adopted Lyte as her own daughter and took the time and effort to try to understand her and communicate with her properly and while Darkness was away. Not everyone who deals with these things is so lucky to have someone like that in their lives.
The music thing resonates and makes perfect sense. Music is an outlet and an escape to block out intrusive thoughts. Its a lot healthier and productive than substances. It seems that Darkness' life in the military affected those around him too and has caused a rift and some hurt in his relationship with Lyte. It's interesting to see the consequences of his lifestyle choices impacting others around him, too.
I LOVED how Darkness responds to Lyte's song in the best way possible. He didn't get defensive or shut her down, no, instead he tried to come to an understanding with her and communicate with her in her language--MUSIC. I loved how they talked about their issues through a duet here and how naturally it flowed. It didn't feel forced or out of nowhere, it felt natural and candid and a really heart-warming moment between the two of them. I love it! It seems Darkness has some bridges to mend with Lyte AND music. I hope he can find his inspiration again for music.
This is great development for everyone here. We have Darkness breaking down his walls to face his problems and be vulnerable with his sister, and we have Lyte opening up, too. We also learned more about Silver and how she is like the glue keeping this household together. She's what both Lyte and Darkness need--a silver lining. Excellent job, man. I'm loving this so far and look forward to seeing where it goes next!
Thank you so much for your kinds words! Music was always my main focus of my story, and thanks to encouragement from you and Arthur, I know how to show it better! And Through the Sonata Siblings, I am happy to show it off!
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