When Lucas was next time checking how were things with the Barlow brothers, it was nearly Christmas. They were in a cottage, God knows where, and the first thing he saw was Ransley taking a piss. He looked elsewhere, feeling awkward even though Ransley couldn’t see him. When Ransley walked out of the toilet, Lucas saw that he had handcuffs around his ankles and a chain, letting him move only to the bed and to the toilet with very small steps.
Lucas hadn’t been to the cottage after following Ramsey and Ransley out of the cemetery so he was rather intrigued to see what Ramsey had been doing with his brother while Lucas had been gone. The original plan had been, according to Ramsey’s own words which Lucas remembered hopefully correctly, to help Ransley gain control of his anger and pain, to make him more stable. According to Ramsey, Lucas remembered, Ransley did all those things, because he was unstable; he felt everything more strongly than normal human being and he might have some medical conditions with his mental health that were not diagnosed and by the time he turned into a werewolf, it was too late. He lost control, killed his family which scarred him even more and even in his human form he couldn’t completely control himself. He had no one to guide him.
It had been a good idea to let Ramsey’s words sink in for a while because now Lucas understood him, Ransley and basically everything better.
“You look awful”, Lucas commented, looking at Ransley from head to toe. “Although I think you’ve showered which is positive.”
Ramsey walked inside the cottage, his mother’s necklace hanging on his neck and he looked at Ransley, who was sitting on the bed, for a long time before saying: “I brought food.”
“I don’t want it.”
“You’re making progress, but you need to eat.”
“I. Don’t. Want it.”
“You need to eat”, Lucas said, “so you get strong and capable of controlling yourself.”
“Don’t force me to feed you”, Ramsey said grumpily. “I think that’s where I draw a line.”
Ransley didn’t answer, he just leaned his head on his hands, and stayed quiet. It hurt Lucas to see Ransley like that. He was so used to seeing Ransley as a smooth, sneaky, smirking and full of life -kind of persona. Now Ransley was just a ghost of that.
“You think Lucas would like to see you like this?” Ramsey asked.
Ransley clenched his fists but didn’t say a word. Lucas glared at Ramsey. Was the warlock provoking Ransley purposely? By using Lucas and the memory of him? Not cool.
“Imagine what he would think if he saw you right now”, Ramsey said, snapping his fingers. “Would he still like you?”
“Shut up!” Ransley yelled. “Shut up, don’t talk about him.”
“Do you feel guilty?” Ramsey asked. “I mean, you took him to that cliff.”
“SHUT UP!” Ransley yelled and now Lucas yelled with him. He just couldn’t watch how Ransley was hurting and Ramsey just made everything worse.
Ransley tried jumping to Ramsey’s throat, but he was chained up so he couldn’t do any real harm.
Ramsey tilted his head and looked at Ransley who was struggling to get free and Lucas was looking at Ramsey, trying to understand what was Ramsey’s game. Why was he making Ransley angry on purpose?
As if like Ramsey had heard his thoughts, he said: “So talking about Lucas makes you unstable and angry. Do you feel like you’re losing control?”
“FUCK YOU!” Ransley yelled and tried to break free, but managed to only make the chains and handcuffs bruise him. “I hate you! I fucking hate you!”
“By all means, hate me. But I will teach you how to control yourself. Next time you turn into a werewolf, I will be there to help you.” Ramsey crossed his arms. “We will get through this. I see hope in you, just like Lucas did.”
Lucas half expected Ransley to start yelling again, but the man quieted down and his shoulders slumped down and he sat on the bed, head hanging low.
“I’m tired, brother”, Ransley said quietly, sounding defeated. “I don’t think I am capable of changing. I don’t think… I don’t think I’m strong enough.”
Lucas held his breath as he waited for Ramsey to answer. Lucas wanted to touch Ransley, say that everyone deserved a second chance. That he was strong enough. That he could change.
But he knew he couldn’t do that, he was in the Spirit world and Ransley was in the living world which meant Ransley wouldn’t be able to hear Lucas’ words, no matter how loud he would yell them.
“I believe in you”, Ramsey said. “I can help you only so far. In the end, it’s up to you. You have to want it.”
“And what if I don’t want it?” Ransley asked.
Ramsey shrugged. “Then it’s going to be a hell of a rest of our lives.”
Lucas rolled his eyes throughout the whole time on Christmas when his parents acted like they didn’t even know what fighting means as they were visiting Ronald’s family. They fought all the way there, then acted like everything was fine, and then, when they left, they started fighting again.
Emily didn’t say a word. She just kept checking her phone, and biting her lip whenever Mr. and Mrs. Boyd started yelling at each other. Emily was clearly hurting thus making Lucas sad. He felt guilty. If he hadn’t went and died, Emily would be normal and he wouldn’t have to worry about her.
But Lucas had died and now Emily was building walls around her. Soon no one would be able to go through and talk to her. She would bottle up everything inside her and that would not be good, Lucas knew it and that was exactly why he was so scared for Emily’s wellbeing.
Lucas knew now that every time Emily checked her phone, she was checking something’s price. But what that something was, Lucas had no idea. He had no idea what Emily was going to do and that, if something, was scary.
But then, one day, Emily started talking again, completely out of nowhere. She talked to Mr. and Mrs. Boyd, told them how she felt and that she was sad and needed more time to progress things on her own.
Lucas was so proud of her and he was also proud of his parents, who hadn’t just dismissed Emily, but actually had asked her how was she feeling.
“I’m managing”, Emily had said.
Was it weird that Lucas was third-wheeling on Ronald and Farrah’s dates even when he was dead? Probably. He was just curious how they went and how awkward Ronald was being. Lucas knew for a fact that Ronald would tell him all about his dates with Farrah if Lucas would be still alive, but since he wasn’t, it felt like Lucas was obliged to stalk their dates. Like watch over Ronald or some shit.
Lucas stared in disbelief at Ronald and Farrah.
“You got to be kidding me”, he said.
“Farrah, you got to be kidding me”, Ronald said a moment later. “You know I’m as clumsy as it gets, why the hell did you think it would be a good idea to go ice skating?”
Farrah laughed and then winked at Ronald.
“Because”, she said, “it will boost my ego when I do all those amazing tricks and you just keep falling on your arse.”
Lucas laughed and gave Farrah thumbs up, not that she could see it, but Lucas just wanted to feel like he was part of their conversation.
“Wow”, Ronald said grumpily, which only put Lucas in a better mood. “Thanks a lot.”
Farrah’s smile never went away. “I’m only trying to cheer you up, Ron. Now, come on. Let’s go get us a pair of skates.”
While Farrah and Ronald tried on a different kind of skates, trying to find which ones would fit them, Lucas stood by the ice rink and watched all the others who were there, skating, laughing and talking happily. For a moment Lucas smiled and felt happy too but then a wave of sadness filled him: He realised he would never go skating again. He would never laugh with Ronald again, and joke around while everyone around them would roll their eyes at their stupidity. This realisation made Lucas feel empty.
He watched how Ronald and Farrah skated on the ice and a tear ran down on his cheek but then he huffed, wiped the tear away and told himself to suck it up. He was actually kind of lucky; he got to see his family, his best friend. He got to be a part of their lives, kind of, and, Lucas decided, he should be grateful for that.
Lucas hadn’t been to the cottage after following Ramsey and Ransley out of the cemetery so he was rather intrigued to see what Ramsey had been doing with his brother while Lucas had been gone. The original plan had been, according to Ramsey’s own words which Lucas remembered hopefully correctly, to help Ransley gain control of his anger and pain, to make him more stable. According to Ramsey, Lucas remembered, Ransley did all those things, because he was unstable; he felt everything more strongly than normal human being and he might have some medical conditions with his mental health that were not diagnosed and by the time he turned into a werewolf, it was too late. He lost control, killed his family which scarred him even more and even in his human form he couldn’t completely control himself. He had no one to guide him.
It had been a good idea to let Ramsey’s words sink in for a while because now Lucas understood him, Ransley and basically everything better.
“You look awful”, Lucas commented, looking at Ransley from head to toe. “Although I think you’ve showered which is positive.”
Ramsey walked inside the cottage, his mother’s necklace hanging on his neck and he looked at Ransley, who was sitting on the bed, for a long time before saying: “I brought food.”
“I don’t want it.”
“You’re making progress, but you need to eat.”
“I. Don’t. Want it.”
“You need to eat”, Lucas said, “so you get strong and capable of controlling yourself.”
“Don’t force me to feed you”, Ramsey said grumpily. “I think that’s where I draw a line.”
Ransley didn’t answer, he just leaned his head on his hands, and stayed quiet. It hurt Lucas to see Ransley like that. He was so used to seeing Ransley as a smooth, sneaky, smirking and full of life -kind of persona. Now Ransley was just a ghost of that.
“You think Lucas would like to see you like this?” Ramsey asked.
Ransley clenched his fists but didn’t say a word. Lucas glared at Ramsey. Was the warlock provoking Ransley purposely? By using Lucas and the memory of him? Not cool.
“Imagine what he would think if he saw you right now”, Ramsey said, snapping his fingers. “Would he still like you?”
“Shut up!” Ransley yelled. “Shut up, don’t talk about him.”
“Do you feel guilty?” Ramsey asked. “I mean, you took him to that cliff.”
“SHUT UP!” Ransley yelled and now Lucas yelled with him. He just couldn’t watch how Ransley was hurting and Ramsey just made everything worse.
Ransley tried jumping to Ramsey’s throat, but he was chained up so he couldn’t do any real harm.
Ramsey tilted his head and looked at Ransley who was struggling to get free and Lucas was looking at Ramsey, trying to understand what was Ramsey’s game. Why was he making Ransley angry on purpose?
As if like Ramsey had heard his thoughts, he said: “So talking about Lucas makes you unstable and angry. Do you feel like you’re losing control?”
“FUCK YOU!” Ransley yelled and tried to break free, but managed to only make the chains and handcuffs bruise him. “I hate you! I fucking hate you!”
“By all means, hate me. But I will teach you how to control yourself. Next time you turn into a werewolf, I will be there to help you.” Ramsey crossed his arms. “We will get through this. I see hope in you, just like Lucas did.”
Lucas half expected Ransley to start yelling again, but the man quieted down and his shoulders slumped down and he sat on the bed, head hanging low.
“I’m tired, brother”, Ransley said quietly, sounding defeated. “I don’t think I am capable of changing. I don’t think… I don’t think I’m strong enough.”
Lucas held his breath as he waited for Ramsey to answer. Lucas wanted to touch Ransley, say that everyone deserved a second chance. That he was strong enough. That he could change.
But he knew he couldn’t do that, he was in the Spirit world and Ransley was in the living world which meant Ransley wouldn’t be able to hear Lucas’ words, no matter how loud he would yell them.
“I believe in you”, Ramsey said. “I can help you only so far. In the end, it’s up to you. You have to want it.”
“And what if I don’t want it?” Ransley asked.
Ramsey shrugged. “Then it’s going to be a hell of a rest of our lives.”
Lucas rolled his eyes throughout the whole time on Christmas when his parents acted like they didn’t even know what fighting means as they were visiting Ronald’s family. They fought all the way there, then acted like everything was fine, and then, when they left, they started fighting again.
Emily didn’t say a word. She just kept checking her phone, and biting her lip whenever Mr. and Mrs. Boyd started yelling at each other. Emily was clearly hurting thus making Lucas sad. He felt guilty. If he hadn’t went and died, Emily would be normal and he wouldn’t have to worry about her.
But Lucas had died and now Emily was building walls around her. Soon no one would be able to go through and talk to her. She would bottle up everything inside her and that would not be good, Lucas knew it and that was exactly why he was so scared for Emily’s wellbeing.
Lucas knew now that every time Emily checked her phone, she was checking something’s price. But what that something was, Lucas had no idea. He had no idea what Emily was going to do and that, if something, was scary.
But then, one day, Emily started talking again, completely out of nowhere. She talked to Mr. and Mrs. Boyd, told them how she felt and that she was sad and needed more time to progress things on her own.
Lucas was so proud of her and he was also proud of his parents, who hadn’t just dismissed Emily, but actually had asked her how was she feeling.
“I’m managing”, Emily had said.
Was it weird that Lucas was third-wheeling on Ronald and Farrah’s dates even when he was dead? Probably. He was just curious how they went and how awkward Ronald was being. Lucas knew for a fact that Ronald would tell him all about his dates with Farrah if Lucas would be still alive, but since he wasn’t, it felt like Lucas was obliged to stalk their dates. Like watch over Ronald or some shit.
Lucas stared in disbelief at Ronald and Farrah.
“You got to be kidding me”, he said.
“Farrah, you got to be kidding me”, Ronald said a moment later. “You know I’m as clumsy as it gets, why the hell did you think it would be a good idea to go ice skating?”
Farrah laughed and then winked at Ronald.
“Because”, she said, “it will boost my ego when I do all those amazing tricks and you just keep falling on your arse.”
Lucas laughed and gave Farrah thumbs up, not that she could see it, but Lucas just wanted to feel like he was part of their conversation.
“Wow”, Ronald said grumpily, which only put Lucas in a better mood. “Thanks a lot.”
Farrah’s smile never went away. “I’m only trying to cheer you up, Ron. Now, come on. Let’s go get us a pair of skates.”
While Farrah and Ronald tried on a different kind of skates, trying to find which ones would fit them, Lucas stood by the ice rink and watched all the others who were there, skating, laughing and talking happily. For a moment Lucas smiled and felt happy too but then a wave of sadness filled him: He realised he would never go skating again. He would never laugh with Ronald again, and joke around while everyone around them would roll their eyes at their stupidity. This realisation made Lucas feel empty.
He watched how Ronald and Farrah skated on the ice and a tear ran down on his cheek but then he huffed, wiped the tear away and told himself to suck it up. He was actually kind of lucky; he got to see his family, his best friend. He got to be a part of their lives, kind of, and, Lucas decided, he should be grateful for that.