{ Ch. 6 }

"Lloyd," I murmur. "Get up. We have work to do before we leave for NYC." I say and the boy in question wakes up with a groan. It was early, almost 6am but if we wanted to get there early we had to leave now. The plane was 5 hours and according to the "Ugh fine, Del. Get your clothes we can pick up my stuff from my house when you're ready." I roll my eyes - stuffing my bag with clothes and whatever else I'll need for the trip. I head off to the bathroom and Lloyd looks for his keys.

Wyatt is gone... The thought hazes my eyes but I don't break down like I did yesterday. I'm under control.

"You okay?" I murmur to Lloyd as I pull my denim jacket on, tying my black hair in a low ponytail. His eyes are red and his face is blank, pale even. "Do you have to ask?" He replies and I sling my bag over my shoulders. "I'll drive, relax Lloyd." I say, taking his keys from him. "Can you drive?" "Just because I don't have a car doesn't mean I can't drive, Nichols." I remark, walking out the door. Kael taught me.

Wyatt Shaw was the elder brother of Bri - Brianne Shaw - and was the scrappy techie that we all loved. He was the engineering whiz that fixed everything that was broken. He was the best brother to Bri and one of my closest friends. He and Bri ran away from their abusive Foster mom and lived on the streets, they found a way to go to school and he even made friends with Lark and Lloyd. No one knows how close Lloyd is to Lark and I'll probably never know.

But I do know now that Lloyd, Lark and Wyatt were a gang on their own before Mom took them in - Lloyd didn't want to be adopted but stuck around... until he left.

"C'mon, get your stuff." I say and Lloyd chuckles as he gets out. "Come in Dels, my family doesn't bite." I look at him with big eyes. I didn't know that Lloyd had family. I follow Nichols into the house were a woman and a frail looking woman sit. "Morning Lloyd. Where have you been?" The old woman demands, her hands on her hips. Lloyd smiles sheepishly. "I told you, Gran, I was with her, Wyatt died - remember. I told Aunt Lu to tell you." Lloyd says. Sympathy washes over the woman's face. "I forgot - Lucy why didn't you remind me - Oh baby - I'm sorry, come inside... your friend too." "Sorry," Lloyd smiles weakly. "Aunt Lu and Gran, this is Deliliah Kade. Dels, this is my family - Aunt Lucy and Grandma Ally."

"Do be quiet Lloyd, come in for breakfast dear." Aunt Lucy ushers us inside the homey little house.

"Hello." I greet, the family I never knew Lloyd had, kindly. Aunt Lucy gasps. "You're so pale - let's get you something to eat." "Aunt Lu - I'm going to go pack, I'll be out in a sec." Lloyd rushes, whizzing past me towards the back of the house.

I watch him go blinking. He just left me.

"Here you go sweetheart." Aunt Lucy says sweetly and I smile at her. She sets a tray of bacon and eggs and toast in front of me and I dig in like a woman starved. "Who are you Miss Delilah Kade?" Grandma Ally says unflinchingly as I choke on the bacon. I cough and Aunt Lucy thumps my back. "I was one of the kids that was with Lloyd during New York." I say and Aunt Lucy gasps. I'm guessing she didn't know. The grandma says nothing, watching me like a hawk watches a fish. "I got the news that one of ours died yesterday and Lloyd came saving the day." I glaze the details a little and Lloyd chooses then to return. "Don't lie Dels, you were fine." I shake my head. "You know I wasn't."

"Well Gran, we gotta go." Lloyd says and his grandma halts him with a single look. "Son, you gotta eat." I shrug when he looks at me. "We got time. I factored in taking a break for breakfast at the airport." I explain and Lloyd gives me a dirty look and he drops everything on the floor, pulling up a chair and immediately starts digging into his plate, glaring at me all the while. "I remember when Lloyd just came back and he gave us that side eye all the time..." Aunt Lucy explains, going off on a tangent. "That's enough of that." Lloyd says, finishing his plate. He drops our plates into the sink, making the matchbox house look ridiculously small. "Bye Gran, Aunt Lu." He yanks me to my feet and I wave. "See you on Monday." "Bye!" Aunt Lu mouths and I grin as Lloyd shoves me into the car.

And starts driving to the airport.

"They were nice." I say finally and Lloyd snorts. "So I'm guessing you went home during those years you were gone?" I phrase the question carefully - prying but not quite in a sotto voice which Lloyd picks up immediately. "Drop it Delilah." He growls, eyes never once leaving the road. I back down - because of the frustrated tic working his jaw, the protruding veins by his temple stressing his vehemence on the subject of his family, the intensity of his gaze oh so cold - and yet again was I relieved not to be on the receiving end of all that anger.

We board the plane in utter, chilly, silence. I watch Lloyd as he casually strolls into the business class section of the plane. Like someone who was completely happy with life - I observe his methodical behaviour like a cautious cat exploring the unknown. He had a system, I noticed, he was on autopilot and I don't know what triggered it (my curiosity or him introducing me to family). But I knew one thing for sure... I better find out what makes Lloyd tick before I could trust him.

You know what they say: once burned, twice shy.

Madison doesn't know I'm gone. Neither does Morgan. But Jessica and Derek know and that's all I need to ensure - their knowledge of my whereabouts, I'd hate to be arrested... again; and this time for a breach of contract.

I'm in New York, hopefully for the last time under these heartbreaking circumstances.

I thought it would be harder being home after Wyatt but it wasn't. It was the same.

"What are you waiting for Dels?" Lloyd murmurs sullenly - still agitated by what happened earlier in Seaview this morning. I walk up to front steps of the rundown dusty house.

The key is where it always is, in the gap between the front door and the brown gravelled ground. I let myself in and Lloyd follows after me, the empty house echoing an hollow welcome.

The house - my home, simply put, looks like shit. Dirty dishes lying everywhere, empty liquor bottles on the floor, suspicious stains on the mat.

Blankets and clothes scattered on the floor. I look at the rusty analogue clock on the kitchen wall, it's only 1pm now.

Kael usually comes home at four and the rest come home at 2 with Mrs Delcotto, a old woman living next door that offers to watch the three... now two troublemakers after school - Kael didn't trust them on their own but they love Mrs Delcotto so it was a win-win. Brianne insisted on returning to school - back to the way things were, to distract her from her grief. It was her brother that died after all.

The rest went along with it because they wanted to give Bri at least that, at least a form of normalcy.

Bri and Henry were the only ones still at high school, Lark was too but he did night school - he claimed that the club (that acted as a bar in the daytime) wasn't so bad and it paid well so Lark decided to do that. Jessabelle was at her second year of college - the girl was set on becoming a nurse. Kael worked for a construction company and his official job title was 'construction labourer' but Henry and Wyatt teased him mercilessly calling him a worker bee who served Jess the Queen - it wasn't far off the mark... I'm gonna miss Wyatt.

I clean up the dirty house doing the best I can to clean up. They all know where I've been but I've never been gone for longer than 3 days.

Brianne and Jess having to hear from someone else that I now live in Cali. I don't even want to think about it.

Regret keeps eating away at me - 'maybe if I hadn't left...' 'maybe if I dug a little more, helped a little more...'

No. I said to myself that I wasn't going to go there.

Lloyd sits perched at a table watching me clean hysterically.

It's not long until I hear voices approaching the door, I open it, only to reveal an angry looking Noah, scanning the half clean contents of the house - Lloyd included.

The frown lines marr his face. "What are you doing here Slater?!" I ask, an edge of suspicion on the tip of my tongue.

"Morgan called to say you skipped town." Noah's blue eyes spark with unbridled anger. "I had to get you back, but since Lloyd's here - he's coming back too."

I look at the man who was clearly pissed, and because I have no survival instinct, I decide to poke the proverbial bear.

"You know I'm not going back now right," I say, Noah clearly looking like he wants to strangle me, and would have if it weren't for Lloyd.

Lloyd was the same height as Noah, clearly taller than me, staring at Noah with a mix of emotions that I'm not sure I want to investigate.

"Where were you?" Lloyd says angrily, and my face falls at the grief in his eyes.

I'm in shock, along with the rest of my consciousness. "You know where I was." Noah responds calmly.

Lloyd looks away from Noah, pacing around the small house, going in circles. "How did you know we were here?" His charming smile trying to change the subject.

"I told you Morgan gave me this place as the one trouble over here was most likely to run away to."

The words come out of his mouth infused with threat and malice, frustration and the weariness of someone who has travelled far and is tired. He slumps over in a chair and Brianne and Henry and Jess walk in.

"Wyatt is gone," Brianne whispers the earth shattering sentence in the softest voice I've ever heard her speak in.

It might've been soft but it felt like a blow to the gut.

It felt real like I've finally managed to tear the bandaid off and expose my wounds.

Misery, self-loathing and guilt floods me, uncaring to my consciousness, uncaring about yesterday's breakdown, sweeping me up under the waves of loss and sadness. I knew I wouldn't be numb for long.

"Who?" I raise my eyes to the ceiling, stopping the tears from rolling down my face. I had to know who killed him or I... I don't know what I'd do.

A ruthless type of anger envelopes Henry's face. "It was Wolfe." He swears, kicking the tiny coffee table. "Goddamn it!" He tenses his muscles in anger, swearing. "Wyatt knew something he wasn't supposed to and now he's dead."

"He's going to die Lloyd." Bri says with utter determination, to the male who held her as she cried. Her tears gone as she found a new focus. Revenge. I could see the shift happening in her and I shook my head. "No, he's going to get what he deserves Bri." I mutter, pulling her toward me for a hug.

Kael enters the room of tearful reunions quietly but not unnoticed by Slater.

I mimic their calm stance, but the fire burns in my eyes, the chasm in me hungry for it's next victim." We'll get justice," Jess' voice rings out.

"I'm in." Lloyd says quietly, his ironclad nerve startling me. "Wanna join?" He half grins at Noah, who smiles slowly... "Lloyd." The corner of my mouth raises slightly. "It's agreed then."

Bri's face falls, smile fading, "Kael is right behind me isn't he."

"... And also heard everything." Kael folds his arms, a grin hiding behind his stony façade.

"You're now in charge of packing up." Kael announces, "We're moving to Cali."

Okayy, so I definitely didn't see that coming.

"What?!" Jess, Lark, Brianne and Henry exclaim that same time, and they start arguing all over again.