Chapter 183: Allowed to Move On (1/2)
”Hey kiddo, what you doing up here?” Alton questioned.
Zinnia turned from the view of the city staring at Alton, wiping her eyes. ”How'd you find me here?”
Alton overlooked the hospital smiling. ”I use to come up here a few times after my check-ups. Plus, Percy came up here too… It only made sense for you to be here.”
”He's really dead, isn't he?”
Alton gave a gloomy look nodding. ”Yeah… He really is.”
”It still hasn't hit me yet you know. I'm sure it ever will, I'm half expecting to walk down those stairs and hear that annoying brat's droned voice echo throughout the building. Never thought I'd miss it.”
Alton sat beside Zinnia smirking faintly. ”I just thought of something funny just now. It's well… Never mind…”
”How did you cope with your mother's death? Sorry to bring that up but I've never had to go through something like this. I thought I could save everyone, and it would all be over like that.”
”Pretty naïve to think that Zin.”
”I know it is. But I just didn't think about it at the time.”
Alton looked up frowning. ”Don't do what I did. When my mother died, there was no one for me. Instead of finding people to help me burden the pain, I kept that all to myself and let it build up. That's no way to live.”
”What about Sam?”
”No… Not her.”
”It's going to hurt so much when the realisation kicks in.”
”I can imagine so… You'll get used to it. Eventually. When someone goes. When I go, it shouldn't hurt as much?”
Zinnia punched Alton out of spite, shaking her head. ”Don't say things like that! You're going to live a long life and die at 93 where I will look after you.”
Alton chuckled at the remark. ”More like 94. Give me some slack, the way you made that sound like we're going to spend the rest of our lives together.”
Zinnia flinched looking down. ”It was a joke… Don't look too much into it.”
”Rodger that.”
”That joke you thought of before… Can I hear it?”
”How do rabbits travel?” Alton asks, getting a blank response from Zinnia. ”By hareplane… Get it hare… Told you it was awful…”
Zinnia began crying with laughter wiping her eyes, unable to control herself. Resting on Alton's shoulder, she smiled. ”Thank you, Alton.”
”For what? I didn't do anything…”
”For just being you. Please never change.”
”Sure. Anything for you Zin.”
****
The door to Alton's apartment creaked open as Zinnia stared blankly into the lifeless room. Her heart ached with pain, just thinking of the memories. Flicking the lights on she entered glancing around remembering the moments she shared with everyone along the way. Her hand passed over serval items still remaining resting on the table. The rusted hotpot caught her eye stained from their last celebration. Thanks to him Zinnia even tried the dish, and now she could happily announce it as her favourite. She had secretly been practising making the dish herself for the next celebration, but she knew nothing could come close to what Alton could cook up.
Falling onto the sofa, she looked around sighing. On the table beside her was Alton's Christmas presents, the hero trump cards she had hand made with so much care. She was never sure if Alton liked them as his last few weeks were very private. Zinnia wasn't much help in that situation, also keeping her distance. The door creaked open as Gale stood in the doorway with a brave smile and serval bandages around his face. ”I knew you would be here.”
”That obvious, huh?” She chuckled, putting the cards back. ”I needed to see this place one last time. Before it's just a memory. Before someone else moves in and that memory preserved vanishes for good.”
Gale closed the door behind him sitting next to her. ”Truth is I came here for the same reason. I've been dreaming of that night seven months back. The first celebration we had after Pokiero. Just me, you and Alton celebration at the time a huge achievement. It was all so much simpler back then. Just a small group of nobodies taking down corrupt streamers. No Garden, no Vanguard. Nothing like that. We've all come so, far haven't we?”
”We sure have. You know what… It only hit me the other day after Marco and Destiny attacked. We really knew nothing about Alton. Not really, we were all so caught up with our own pasts. Our own problems and Alton would be there each and every time to help us. He'd never question the motive he'd just be there you wouldn't even need to ask. Scarlett and the Syndicate family. Alice and Iris. You and your family… Me and my own selfish problems. Emil and Monty. But we were never there for him. Even after all this time, I don't even remember when his bloody birthday was.”