"You really think he cares about you? That he considers you family?!" Carter asked, not caring that she was crying. "He barely cared about me, and I'm his brother. You're just a tool to him, he'll kill you as soon as he gets what he wants!"
"How should I have known that?!" Her face covered in big tears blurring her vision .
Carter finally let go of her and dropped back down next to Lloyd. "He was in jail for a reason. I'm his own flesh and blood, and I left him. Now what exactly is in that bottle?" He asked, his rage thinly masked. He took Lloyd's hand and squeezed it, trying to be comforting.
Lloyd drew his knees up to his chest and kid his face in his hands, trying not to cry. They'll ask questions now, and you're screwed. You'll probably get killed for being an angel, who even knows?! He sobbed quietly, tuning out Carter and Jelleh's quarreling to the best of his ability.
"I don't know!" Jelleh said, " I think your brother is going to kill me, and I don't think he's going to rest till he does." her arm in her hand.
Carter resisted the urge to say, "Hey, we're all having mental breakdowns these days, yeah?" and instead squeezed Lloyd's hand again. "What hurts?" he asked quietly.
"Everything… head… back…" He drew in a shaky breath and looked away. Stop crying… you're weak. You've been in battles, you shouldn't be crying. Stop it… stop it… stop it!
"He should drink some milk, I've looked at the cures, milk might help." Jelleh said urging to help.
Carter scowled at her and grabbed the milk from her. He put the cup in Lloyd's hand. "Drink this, okay?" He said gently.
Lloyd hesitated. After all, drinking something Jelleh brought to him before clearly did not go well. But, after a few seconds, he cautiously took a sip. He was able to fold his wings now, so he did so.
"Might have to drink a bit of milk each day… dunno."
"Each day?!" Carter asked, turning to her.
"I said, I dunno!" she said tears still there.
He drank a bit more of the milk after deciding it wasn't tainted and leaned against the bed. Admittedly, his wings were more comfortable when they weren't crushed beneath his hoodie, but he still felt so exposed.
"I'm sorry Lloyd, I should've known…."
What should I say? Am I mad? No, you're weak. And really passive. You don't really get mad. Lloyd sighed. "It's… i-it's fine… I'm sure it would've come up at some point, though hopefully in a less painful manner…"
"I should've known….." She said, " I won't tell anyone even if it kills me. "
"It's likely I'd be killed first…" Lloyd closed his eyes and lay his head back against the bed. Don't cry. I swear if you start crying again…
"Well looks like I'm gonna die, see you in the flip side!" she said to Carter trying to keep a brave face.
Carter laughed dryly. "We all really do need to stop having people trying to kill us, don't we?" He sat next to Lloyd and leaned back as well. "How about this: We just… say everything. And believe me, I hate this entire situation a lot more than you two probably do, but actually knowing what's happening might help us. So, talk I guess."
Jelleh sighed, "what do I tell him?" she whispered to herself .
Lloyd's breath caught in his throat, and he hesitated before speaking. "I was ten years old. I was sent down to a battle here on earth. I didn't have enough training, and I was captured as a prisoner. But, my captors t-took pity on me and set me free, on the condition that I could never go back home." He brushed tears away from his eyes. "I've never gone back. M-My family thinks I'm dead…"
"I wish my family thought I was dead." Carter said, rubbing his face. "When I was 8, my mother died of some un-curable illness. My dad wasn't really a good man, and by the time I was 13 and my brother, Michael, was 18, we were involved a lot of illegal things. Things happened, and we practically left our dad to die- which, I assume he did. Michael basically raised me after that, bringing me everywhere with him while we slept in warehouses and stole money and food. We stole drugs often too, though I never did any of that. He took care of me, in a way, while he became a crime-lord. Later, he was classified as a supervillain by this Hero League type orginization, and the day they captured him, I had a chance to save him. But I didn't. I ran, like the coward I am, and changed my identity."
"My brother's still at home, and I don't know how he's doing. When he was younger, he badly injured his wings. He can't fly anymore, and now he thinks I'm dead. I feel so horrible every day about the pain I've put my family through… put everyone through. I lie and lie to protect my identity, no one could know I was an angel, I have to hide my wings. No one knew until Jelleh somehow did… something. I don't know how she knew…"
Jelleh goes back into Carter's room and asked, "Can I borrow Lloyd?"