第 45 页

“It isn’t,” said Celegorm at once. “I mean, what are you talking about, dad? I’m just – ”

“You know how much I hate you pretending to be stupid,” said Fëanor, dangerously. “Look me in the eye, and answer me.”

“It’s not – ”

“It is,” said Oromë quietly, and Celegorm sagged back, devastated.

“It is what?” said Fëanor, his inflection utterly level. He sounded as dangerously patient as he did when he was waiting for an explanation from one of his sons.

“It is what it looks like. Tyelko and I are involved.” As he spoke, Oromë met Fëanor’s eyes squarely, his shoulders set and his back straight. Beneath his panic, Celegorm felt a surge of pride and wild love – it was short lived, however, as the fear quickly mounted once more.

Fëanor went white, and his eyes flashed. He couldn’t have been more different from the good-humored, complimentary man who had walked out the door just minutes before. When he spoke, his voice was harsher and more deadly than Celegorm had ever heard it. “You have the nerve to admit such a thing,” he said, barely above a whisper, but every note carrying clearly through the room. “You have the nerve to admit to, to…an affair with my son, while my money lies before you…”

“I imagine you’d prefer it to me lying about my relationship with your son while your money lies before me,” said Oromë, his voice soft but strong, and Celegorm again fought the mad desire to laugh.

“You have a wife. I’ve met your wife.”

“This is true. But we are not – ”

“I have no desire to hear about whatever arrangement you might have.” Fëanor drew in a tight breath. “How long has this been going on?”

“Since last summer,” said Celegorm at once. “Like, August? Not that lo-”

Fëanor cut him off. “Did anything happen while Turkafinwë was still in school?”

“No,” said Celegorm emphatically, just as Oromë said, “Yes.”

“Motherfucker,” said Celegorm, exasperated and terrified in equal measure, turning on him. “You’re killing us here, you realize?”

“I’ve lied enough.”

“You certainly have.” Fëanor’s nostrils had flared with barely suppressed rage. “How you could look us in the eyes last month… And yet now you admit to all of this freely? Well. Perhaps that will make the whole process easier for us all when I go to the University.”

“Dad,” croaked Celegorm, the blood suddenly rushing from his head as realization hit him. “Dad, wait…”

“I will be requesting a full investigation,” Fëanor said, ignoring his son. “I will not rest until you are fired, of course, though I shall first demand you be suspended without pay. I will likely be looking into a lawsuit, as well…”

“Dad!” Celegorm sprang forward. “Are you fucking kidding me? Stop, Jesus, stop! He didn’t do anything wrong, I’m of age, I’ve been of age the whole time, he didn’t start it, I did, he tried to end it, I – ”

“Be quiet,” said Fëanor curtly. “If you cannot see all that he has done wrong, then he has clearly taken advantage of and manipulated you...”

“He hasn’t!” Celegorm’s hands had curled into fists, and he started for his father, fury and terror crackling across his features.

“Tyelko, no!” Oromë caught him around the waist, holding him back. “Calm down…”

But Fëanor didn’t flinch back from Celegorm, and instead stared at Oromë with pure venom. “Keep your hands off my son.”

Oromë released Celegorm at once, his face falling into unreadable stillness.

Celegorm made a cracked, furious noise. “Dad.”

“Get your clothes on and get in the car. We’re leaving.”

“Fuck that!”

“Maybe,” said Oromë quietly, “maybe you should go with your father, and talk…”

Celegorm rounded on him. “I don’t give a shit about him! I don’t have to explain myself to him, I’m not his…I’m not his anything, anymore.” He wheeled back to face Fëanor, who had caught sight of the tattoo on his shoulder and had gone even whiter. “I’m done with you having any say in my life, I’m done with you, okay, you don’t get to – ”

“You don’t get to decide when I’m done in your life,” said Fëanor shortly. “And no matter what invective you spew at me, it won’t make me change my mind.” He locked his eyes on Oromë. “There is no way I’m going to let this man get away with taking advantage of the young people who are entrusted to him.”

“Tyelko,” said Oromë again, calm even though he looked as if Fëanor’s last words had hit him like a punch. “Please, I think you should go with your father…”

“I don’t want to go anywhere with him!”

“Maybe,” said Oromë, very softly, as Celegorm glared up at him, “maybe if you talk to him…I don’t see how else this gets sorted out.”

Celegorm stared at him for another moment, then whirled, in silence, and disappeared into the bedroom. He reappeared a moment later, pulling his shirt over his head, his face stony, Huan padding at his side.

“Good,” said Fëanor tersely. “Now get in the car; I’ll join you shortly.” But Celegorm crossed his arms and waited, fully unwilling to let his father and Oromë be alone together for even a minute. Huan went to Fëanor’s side, looking up expectantly, but Fëanor ignored him.

“You’ll be hearing from me,” said Fëanor at last, pinning Oromë with a final look. “Oh, and all things considered, I think I’ll be taking this.” He retrieved the check from the counter and shredded it, leaving the pieces on the floor before he left.

Celegorm cast a final, despairing look over his shoulder at Oromë, and followed his father out the door.

Oromë was left alone in the kitchen, staring at the pieces of paper on the floor. His phone pinged once.

I love you. No matter what happens.

Nahar leaned quietly against his side, waiting for a familiar hand to descend on his head, but it never did.

“Shit,” said Oromë quietly, and put his head in his hands.

* * *

Maglor and Caranthir stared at the TV but didn’t even pretend they were absorbing anything on the screen. All their attention was fixed on the kitchen.

“Why won’t you listen to me?”

Maglor had quietly muted the TV, but it was hardly necessary.

“All my fucking life you haven’t given a shit what I’ve had to say – for once will you just shut up and hear what I‘m telling you?”

Celegorm had been in the kitchen for almost an hour now, his voice rising as he spoke to someone on the phone, Huan whining and circling anxiously at his feet, following so close that he nearly tripped Celegorm more than once. Finally, in a fit of frustration, Celegorm had thrown the dog into the living room and closed the double-doors to the kitchen.

Maglor had pulled the last of the fringe off the battered pillow in his lap, and Caranthir was flipping a pencil between his fingers so fast it was a blur. Huan was still pacing and whimpering, on each circuit rising up to press his paws against the door, then dropping down again. Celegorm’s voice was loud enough for them to hear every word now, even without the TV muted.

“…you listening now? If you go through with this, that’s it. I’m done, I’m gone. I don’t want you in my life. You’ll never see me again. I fuckin’ promise.”

Maglor pulled in a sharp breath, and shot a sidelong glance at Caranthir. Caranthir’s hands were tight on his knees, the pencil snapped between his fingers, and he was staring straight ahead, listening so hard his jaw muscles were working.

“I don’t fucking care!” They both flinched as something crashed in the kitchen. “I don’t fucking care, I don’t care, do you have any idea what you’re – I’m done, I’m out, ENOUGH – ”

Maglor and Caranthir jumped to their feet as something smashed against the closed door. It sounded like Celegorm had hurled his phone across the kitchen.

Huan howled, and Maglor clapped his hands to his ears.

“What should we do,” whispered Caranthir. “What should we – ”

“Call Nelyo,” said Maglor at once. “Call – ”

“What’s going on?” Curufin flashed down the stairs, staring as he was brought up short by the closed kitchen door. “Is that Tyelko?”

Something else smashed against the closed door.

“Yes,” said Maglor, as Caranthir crouched down beside Huan, trying to calm the distraught dog. “Look, you know how he gets. We just need to let him burn through it before we – ”

“To hell with that,” said Curufin, and he wrenched the door open.

-

Celegorm didn’t know when he’d last felt such rage. It rose behind his eyes, and traced fiery, frozen fingers through his veins, and it was tinged with terror, such terror, that it made him wild. The fear fell like a stone into his stomach, and the rage burned him from the inside out, and this what must be what going mad feels like.

He hadn’t lost control like this since…

The roar of the crowd, the scream of the whistle, the shouts of his teammates, the violence of his fury pushing him on, through the pain, until he could go no further, and the lightning pain in his leg, a leg that was no longer working, for some reason – ‘Fuck, hold him still, is that the bone? Someone call an ambulance!’ – was all that ultimately stopped him.

‘When you’re like this, you tend to keep going until you hurt yourself – or someone else,’ Oromë had told him once, of his anger. ‘I know, I understand, I’ve been there – but you need to remember to breathe, Tyelko.’

He wasn’t breathing anymore, and everything was falling apart. A plate already lay smashed against the door, mixed with the ruins of his phone, and when a chair came within the path of the ferocious circle he was pacing, he kicked it out of the way with such violence that one of the legs splintered and broke. On the other side of the door, Huan wailed, but Celegorm didn’t hear him.

Remember to breathe, Tyelko –

Remember –

– my Tyelko, Tyelkormo, my wild one…

Keep your hands off my son .

He picked up another plate, wanting to crush it to dust. I’m done, I’m done, you don’t get to control me anymore, I’m done disappointing you, you should be happy to wash your hands of me, just leave me alone – leave us alone.

We were happy. And now you’ve broken it! Again!

There was a muffled hubbub from outside that Celegorm couldn’t hear over the static in his ears, and he hurled the plate away from himself. It left his hand just as the door opened, and sailed clear and true.

It struck Curufin squarely, as perfectly as if it had been aimed.

He dropped like a stone.

Baby, it’s some wonderful news

Chapter Summary

/sarcasm

Chapter Notes

0. Warnings for description of injury (nothing terribly graphic), and...well, sadness. I think I worked a few jokes in too, though.

1. In other news, last week's chapter was my most commented on chapter by a factor of approx 5 million, which was very gratifying and a bit stunning. Thank so much to everyone who left a comment! It's really made my whole week. I've always wanted to make someone(s) throw a device across the room, so there's THAT checked off my bucket list...

See the end of the chapter for more notes

In the ringing, deadly quiet moment after Curufin fell, Huan let out a bark, and flew across the room. He leapt at Celegorm, front paws hitting him squarely in the chest, pushing him back against the counter, pinning him there.

There was no need, in all honesty. As soon as Curufin had fallen, Celegorm had frozen; stiller, perhaps, than he had ever been in his life.

Maglor and Caranthir were at Curufin’s side in seconds. Maglor dropped to his knees beside their brother, and snapped out, without looking at Celegorm, “Go upstairs, Tyelko. Now. We’ll deal with you later.”

Huan dropped back down to all fours and let Celegorm push himself up from the counter. The dog followed close at his heels as Celegorm, silent and white as a sheet, left the kitchen, walking like an automaton up the stairs.

“What do we do?” said Caranthir urgently, crouching down next to Maglor, who was helping Curufin sit up.

Curufin shook his head, dazedly. Blood was running down his face, and there was a deep cut under his eye. “I’m fine,” he muttered. “Get off, Makalaurë.”

“No.” Maglor pulled his shirt over his head and pressed it against the wound. “Moryo, get me some…towels, or gauze, if we have it, and some water. Maybe some ice, too.” Caranthir darted away.

“Stop.” Curufin pushed vainly at Maglor’s hands, but Maglor shook his head.

“You need to hold still, Curvo.”

“Tyelko,” said Curufin indistinctly. “I need to…”

“Don’t worry about him right now,” said Maglor, as Caranthir hurried back with piles of paper towels – and a couple of bath towels to boot. “Listen, we need to take you to the ER – ”

“No,” said Curufin at once. “It’ll go on our insurance, and dad will see. He’ll have questions, and if he hears that Tyelko…No, we can’t. It’s not that bad, stop fussing.” He tried to get to his feet, but Maglor held him down.

“Keep still.”

“I’m not going to the hospital, Káno,” said Curufin sharply, flinching as Maglor switched his bloody shirt out for a towel, and Caranthir fumbled in the freezer for some ice packs. “I won’t. It’s entirely unnecessary and do you have any idea what dad would do if he found out?”

Maglor looked conflicted, but hesitated. “We can’t just leave you like this. We at least need to find someone who can make sure you’re okay.”

“Turukáno,” said Caranthir quickly, dropping a pile of ice at Maglor’s feet. “He was an EMT, he’s a med student, he can take a look and patch him up…”

“Yes,” said Maglor as Curufin tried to get to his feet again. Maglor braced a hand on his shoulder and refused to let him rise. “Call him. Call Nelyo too.”

“For god’s sake, we don’t need the whole fucking cavalry – ” Curufin began, but as Maglor briefly took the pressure off his wound, the blood started flowing freely down his face again. Curufin went pale, looking briefly dizzy, and leaned back against the wall. “Fine. Whatever.”

“Where’s a phone – ”

“Use mine,” said Curufin, resignedly. “It’s in my pocket.” He didn’t move, seeming to want to keep his head very still as Maglor re-applied pressure, biting his lip. Caranthir gingerly pulled Curufin’s phone from his pocket and stared at it blankly for a moment.

“It’s locked.”

“Oh, for – ” Curufin sighed impatiently, such a familiar gesture that Caranthir and Maglor briefly exchanged wan, crooked smiles. Curufin rattled off the passcode, and Caranthir typed it in hastily.

“I guess that’s a good sign,” murmured Maglor. “That you can remember a ten digit string.”

“I told you, I’m fine.” But Curufin was still holding very still, and had closed his eyes. “Someone should go check on Tyelko.”

“Let’s focus on this first, okay?” said Maglor quietly. Caranthir was on the phone, looking like he was listening to it ring and tapping his fingers with nervous energy. “He’s got Huan up there with him.”

Curufin shifted restlessly under Maglor’s hands. “I still think…”

“Turno?” Caranthir started upright and began pacing as someone finally picked up on the other hand. “Turno! Listen, where are you? Can you come over?” He ran a hand through his hair, making it stand up dark and spiky. “What? No, it’s Moryo, I’m on Curvo’s phone. No, nothing like that. There’s, uh…” he glanced helplessly at his brothers, “…there’s been a bit of an accident. No, everyone’s okay. Mostly. But can you come over and take a look at Curvo? You’ve had first aid training, right? Whoa, shh, stop freaking out, no, no it’s not like that, at least, I don’t think…. We just need someone to check him out. What? Argh, okay, let me…let me think, and I’ll call Nelyo…Maybe he can get you.”