I have the right to this 5

Chapter 5: Discoveries 1

Summary:

    "But fear will pass, I promise. Now, your grandpa Leo will give you a cookie." Leonard opens his eyes, amazed. Indeed, he has an oat and chocolate cookie in his pocket, the dessert from lunch he forgot to eat in the rush between errands and shopping. He passes it by without saying a word. "I promise you, by the time you're done eating it, you'll start feeling better. As soon as you get out of the car to go to your friend Zack's house, you'll feel right as rain. You'll remember you don't believe in any of the nonsense Jenny scared you with. That's all made up, remember?"

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Part 6 of: The Lies We Told Each Other

Fandoms: Top Gun (Movies), Thunderheart (1992), Suits (US TV 2011)

Relationships: Brigham "Harvard" Lennox/Jake "Hangman" Seresin, Sarah Kazansky/Tom "Iceman" Kazansky/Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, Rick "Hollywood" Neven/Leonard "Wolfman" Wolfe

Characters: Brigham "Harvard" Lennox, Jake "Hangman" Seresin, Sarah Kazansky, Tom "Iceman" Kazansky, Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, Leonard "Wolfman" Wolfe, Rick "Hollywood" Neven, Ray Levoi, Harvey Specter, Mike Ross, Original Adult Character(s), Original Child Character(s) 

Additional Tags: Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Trans Male Character, Asexual Character, Transphobia, Polyamory, Phone Sex, Adoption 

INDEX: https://palabraspulsares.blogspot.com/p/i-have-right-to-this-lies-we-told-each.html

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Wednesday, April 1, 2020

Brig keeps thinking about Dunia's drawings throughout the afternoon: they have a lot of red, some black, and strange metallic blue touches. Meanwhile, he runs around Salt Lake City, completing paperwork. The world of parenthood is full of bureaucratic challenges.

One of the most confusing moments is in the car accessories store. How will he choose between child seat models? Who knew there were so many options? It's just a car seat! Leonard, who is used to managing ambitious suppliers for his recreational aircraft business, puts a hand on his shoulder and gives him a reassuring smile. He begins asking about performance statistics and effectively tames the salesperson. In the end, they choose a large, solid seat. In a hunch, Brig selects a seat cover in a very particular shade of metallic blue. His father doesn't say anything, thankfully. If this fails spectacularly, at least he wants his dignity intact.

Still, they may have to buy several more seats in San Diego. With the expectant family's enthusiasm, it seems they'll have to put a child seat in every car in the garage. If Jake is right, even Maverick is considering quitting motorcycles.

Damn! It occurs to him that Kazansky must have an assistant researching child seats in Honolulu for his official car.

They go to Rowland Hall in the afternoon to request Dunia's school records and other pertinent documents. There, Brig realizes he has no idea about San Diego schools. After staring blankly for ten seconds, he decides the better part of valor is caution and appeals to Sarah. He simply puts his mother-in-law on speakerphone, and she takes control of the interview with the Records officer. In the end, while they wait for the system to process the transfer and print the necessary receipts, the two argue over cooking recipes. There are many "Remember before when...?"

Now, all that was left was to go to Christian's house to pick up his daughter. Constanza wanted him to take her from school. Poor Tyler couldn't control his horrified expression. Fortunately, the Lennox family's lawyer, Balard, calmly explained to his client that the Rowland Hall staff didn't know Brig or Leonard and, therefore, wouldn't be releasing her to them, especially after the mess the day before. His sister-in-law looked sour but agreed to let the girl return to the house at the end of the day to say goodbye to her family and collect her personal belongings.

After that, the demand that they never return to Utah seemed easier to fulfill.

The house is in one of Salt Lake City's wealthier suburbs and is large, but—Brig smiles to himself —not as large as the mansion in University City. They get out of the car with deliberately careful steps. They don't know what they'll find and agree they must make the process as painless as possible.

The door opens before they can knock. They stare at a frightened teenager with brown hair and dark blue eyes. Brig strains his memory, trying to connect the long, still-shaven face with the memories of the last time he saw his family. Is this Abraham? He opens his mouth, but the boy puts a finger to his lips.

"We don't have much time," he says in a very low voice, almost a whisper. "Here, and don't let my mother see this." He hands over a bulging postal envelope and gently closes the door.

Father and son look at each other, bewildered.

"What just happened?" Leonard asks.

"I don't know," Brig admits as he stuffs the envelope into one of his jacket pockets, "but it seems to me that not everyone in this house hates Dunia. Shall we knock?"

Leonard nods in agreement; it'll be as good a theory as any until they can see what's in the envelope. He presses the buzzer loudly.

This time, Constanza opens the door. Behind her, they can see a foyer decorated—of course! —in beige and green, with a staircase to the right and opening onto a suspiciously empty living room at the far end.

"You're finally here," is all she greets them with. She doesn't invite them in. Instead, she turns toward the house's interior and shouts, "Dunia, they've come for you."

There's no response. After a few seconds, Constanza Lennox's face twists into a grimace of impatience and anger. She takes a few short steps back until the arm she's using to grip the doorknob is fully extended. She turns toward the house until she is almost giving her back to the front door. She roars a single word like a whiplash.

"Christian!"

The response is almost immediate: first, a few quick steps, then the sound of sobbing, and finally, his brother, coming down the stairs with a carry-on suitcase in his right hand and a little girl under his left arm. Dunia is thin, her brown hair tied back in a somewhat frayed braid that falls over her shoulder, and her face is contorted from crying. She desperately clutches her father's shirt with both hands.

"No, please," she whimpers. "I'll be good. Please."

Christian reaches the door and places her on the floor. She drops to her knees, now clutching one of his pants.

"I promise, Dad."

"The time for broken promises is over, young lady," her mother replies, unyielding. "Stand up." She takes her by the arm, yanks her away from her husband, and then leads her toward the door. "Brigham, here is your daughter."

Brigham is seeing red. He hadn't felt this way since Viper's funeral when Sean started spitting venom at Jake. Only there's a big difference: then he knew what to do and say. Now? Now, helplessness eats at him because what can he do that won't make things worse?

"Let her at least say goodbye to her brothers and sisters, won't you?" he suggests.

His sister-in-law gives him a look of utter contempt. Christian clears his throat. She controls her expression until she manages to present a cold, disinterested mask.

"We gave her time to gather her things and say goodbye. There's no point in putting off the inevitable."

Yes, that's true. He hates her, he hates them, but it's the truth. He crouches down to the level of the little girl, who's sprawled across her knees, practically hanging from Constanza's fierce grip on her forearm. She's stopped pleading—Brig remembers learning early on to keep quiet when his elders were talking—and just cries and whimpers, wiping her nose with the back of her free hand.

"Hi, Dunia," he says in the softest voice he can. Her blue-gray eyes oddly similar to Iceman Kazansky's, dart to him fearfully. "I'm your dad."

"No, I know who my dad is. I'm good," she hiccups. "Really, I'm a good girl. I don't want to leave."

"You..." Brig silences Constanza with a single look.

He sighs and focuses back on the girl.

"I know you're a very good girl, Dunia, I know it. That's why I came for you. I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner, but I'm here now. I'm your dad, and I'm going to take you home."

The girl looks at him, confused and distrustful but curious.

"You come looking for me?"

He nods.

"I've been looking for you for a long time, my darling. There's a big house in California, and there's a family waiting for you in that house. Your grandmother, your grandparents—how is it possible this little girl has Iceman's eyes?—your aunts—he thinks of Sam, Elia, and María Celeste—uncles—he has no doubt Bradley, Sean, and Coyote are going to fight over her—and cousins—Javier and María Celeste's little girls will be delighted, he knows—are waiting for you."

"California?" the girl repeats, rubbing her eyes, exhausted.

"Yes, California, where it's always warm, and the sea tickles your toes."

"I've never seen the sea."

"It's okay, I didn't see the ocean until I was ten, either. Do you want to see the sea?"

She nods. Brig extends a hand to her, fingers spread, palm up.

"Let's go see the sea, shall we?"

Dunia crawls toward him. Constanza, sure that she won't try to go back inside, lets go of her. Brig welcomes her to his chest, closing his arms around her small, delicate torso. He doesn't want to find out how long the spell will last, so he stands up with the girl in his arms. Dunia instinctively grabs his neck. Brig puts an arm under her for stability and turns to his father.

"Grab the suitcase, please."

Then, he gives one last look to his older brother.

"Goodbye."

He opens the car's back door and puts her into the child's seat. Dunia lets him, looking around. Her eyes rest on the armrests of the seat, a bright electric blue very similar to the one in her bloody drawings. Her expression changes from fearful to thoughtful. She raises her face to Brig, a flicker of hope in the depths of her pupils.

"It's a very pretty color."

Leonard, who'd already put his suitcase in the car's trunk and was walking around to get into the passenger seat, stops. The men exchange a look of astonishment. Brig smiles but decides to be cautious.

"Yes, it is."

She nods with a sad smile but says nothing more. The intensity of her emotions in the last few hours seems to be taking its toll on her as she tries to hide a yawn. Brig allows himself to be optimistic. Maybe they can leave without any more crying. He finishes securing the harness, closes the door, and takes the helm.

The girl wakes up from her stupor as soon as the engine starts.

"No! Wait!" She starts struggling against her restraints. "My siblings!" She gives up trying to undo the buckles and simply stretches her arms to the window. "I don't want to leave! Mom! Dad! I won't do it again, please. Don't send me away. Jenny! Abraham! Audrey!” She looks at them, her face twisted with fear. “That’s my house, it’s my family. Please let me out, sir. This is a mistake. My name is Dunia Lennox. I’m so sorry. I’m not your daughter. Let me out!”

Brig gives his father a helpless look.

"Just drive," Leonard orders.

"But..."

"Brig, we have to get her out of here. Drive!"

It takes all his willpower, but he ignores the pleas, the flailing arms and legs, the crying. He shifts into first gear and pulls out. They're about five minutes in when his cell phone rings. He wants to ignore it, but it's a specific ringtone, one he's been warned never, ever to ignore. He takes the call and puts it on the speakerphone so he can keep driving.

"Yeah?"

"Stop the car."

In the passenger seat, Leonard stares blankly at his phone.

"Ray," Brig tries to reason, "I don't know what..."

"Stop the car!" he orders hastily.

Brig obeys. Leonard looks back and forth between the device and his son.

"What's going on?"

"We don't have time," Ray interrupts. "Brig, move the phone closer to the backseat. I need to be heard."

This is absurd, but this is the man who predicted how long it would take Jake to get home. Brig takes the phone from the cup holder between the two seats and turns to bring it closer to the wayward traveler, who hasn't stopped crying.

"We'll go see Zack," Ray almost shouts.

Incredibly, the announcement silences her, and her desperate eyes stare at the phone.

"Zack? Am I staying with Zack?"

"No, I said your dad is going to take you to see Zack so you can say goodbye."

"But he's not my dad. That's a mistake!"

"He's your dad now."

"You don't know anything!" the sentence ends in a high-pitched tone that announces the return of tears.

"You can call me Shazam."

That stops Dunia from starting to kick up a fuss again. She looks at the phone again, carefully and respectfully.

"Shazam the wizard?"

The two adults exchange questioning glances; neither of them knows what's going on. However, they both notice that Ray doesn't confirm his identity when he speaks again.

"Your dad will take you to say goodbye to Zack. Then, you'll go with him to California."

Dunia presses her lips together and breathes loudly, probably because of all her nose snot. She glances briefly at Brig, fear and hope mingling in her little eyes, then back at the phone.

"He said I'll see the sea in California. He said there's a house."

"It's a very nice house," Ray assures her.

Brig wonders if he knows this because of his powers or because he's been sent photos. Perhaps he somehow had a hand in the purchase? The next turn in the conversation stops his ramblings in their tracks.

"When you get to your new home, you can use your real name."

Dunia looks horrified by the idea.

"Noooo! I can't! He'll send me away, too!"

"No," Ray claims, his voice conveying confidence that none of the people in the car fells, "he won't send you away. He's been looking for you for a long time, he told you."

Brig flinches as he hears Ray repeat what he made up on the spot as if they were part of some half-magical, half-epic story.

"He'll ask you what name you want, and you'll tell him the truth."

"I'm scared," Dunia admits, her voice trembling.

"I know."

That seems to reassure her.

"Of course," she nods, "because you're the wizard Shazam."

Ray ignores the name again.

"But fear will pass, I promise. Now, your grandpa Leo will give you a cookie." Leonard opens his eyes, amazed. Indeed, he has an oat and chocolate cookie in his pocket, the dessert from lunch he forgot to eat in the rush between errands and shopping. He passes it by without saying a word. "I promise you, by the time you're done eating it, you'll start feeling better. As soon as you get out of the car to go to your friend Zack's house, you'll feel right as rain. You'll remember you don't believe in any of the nonsense Jenny scared you with. That's all made up, remember?"

Dunia nods as she chews a small piece of cookie. She swallows.

"True."

"So you'll go to California and be happy."

"You promise?"

"No one can promise the future," Ray denies, his voice sweet. "I can promise you that fear will pass. The rest is up to you. Now I must go. Eat your cookie slowly."

"Goodbye Shazam!"

The call disconnects. When Brig looks at the screen again, he sees a message. It's a Google Maps link. It shows the route to a house about five minutes away. That must be where Zack lives.

They arrive, as Ray promised, just as Dunia swallows the last piece of the cookie.

Brig turns to the back seat.

"Is this the house?"

Dunia nods happily. Her face is an adorable mess of snot, half-dried tears, and chocolate chip crumbs. Leonard snorts. This has all been mind-bending, and his son has a lot of explaining to do, but there's something more pressing. He exits the car, opens the back door, and brandishes the wet napkins like a weapon.

"I must clean that face, or your friend will think you turned into a troll."

Only after he manages to get most of the sweet mess off her face and hands, he opens the harness and puts her on the ground. Brig takes Dunia's hand.

"Let's go see Zack."

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INDEX: https://palabraspulsares.blogspot.com/p/i-have-right-to-this-lies-we-told-each.html