Chapter 8

A Chapter by Keevan

I turned my room key into the desk at the hotel and was able to board my train before it got dark.

It occurred to me about halfway of dozing on the train that I forgot to give Edward a call and let him know I was on my way home.

Maybe it'll be a nice surprise, I thought, staring blankly out the window. I yawned and closed my eyes, trying to get at least a little sleep before the train arrived in Resembool.

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Darkness. Nothing but darkness. That, and Envy.

You can't run from it, you know that, right? Envy snickered with his maniacal grin. I knew what he was talking about. The madness. The insanity. It was going to happen all over again.

I know I can't run from it, I was saying to Envy. It's a part of me now that I'll just have to learn to live with.

Good luck controlling it, Envy sneered. It's coming back. You won't be able to stop it this time on your own.

A picture of Ed flashed through my mind.

I woke up.

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I closed my eyes once again when I realized it was only a dream, and tried to keep my heart from hammering so hard. I wasn't going to let that stupid insanity bit happen again.

A voice came over the intercom: Rise and shine, everyone. We're about to pull into the Resembool Station. If your neighbors don't wake up, please do so they know we're about to pull in. Thank you, and have a nice night.

There was no one sitting around me, so I just sat there, staring out the window, as people scattered around the train woke up.

I fingered my house key in my pocket, wondering if Edward would already be asleep. I didn't even know what time it was.

The train pulled into the station, and people groggily filed out of it, glad to be off the damned thing. My bag seemed to weigh twenty pounds once I realized I had to walk all the way back home.

"I'm so lazy," I muttered, starting the walk. The cool night air felt good considering I was cooped up in a train for a few hours. There wasn't much light, just the occasional light post every once in a while.

It wasn't long before I passed the familiar fence that usually had someones sheep behind it, and I knew I was halfway there. I felt a sudden relief when my house came into view, even though it was far off, and I saw the kitchen/living room lights on. Edward was still up. He and Alphonse were probably catching up or playing cards or something.

And that's when a car honked behind me.

I jumped and dropped my bag, turning around and ready to give that jerk a piece of my mind, when I saw it was Havoc at the wheel and Al in the front seat, laughing his a*s off. I huffed and picked up my bag, and then I froze. Alphonse was in the car. Did that mean that Edward was up waiting for him at the house?

The harsh glare of the headlights on the car shut off, along with the roar of the engine, and the two men stepped out of the car.

"I swear, kiddo, Alphonse told me to do it," Lieutenant Jean Havoc said with a laugh. He worked under Colonel Mustang.

"He did it on his own!" Alphonse said, still laughing. "Don't blame me!"

"You tards," I muttered. "Al, aren't you supposed to be with Ed already?"

"Aren't you supposed to be in central?" he retorted.

"Funeral's over," I said. "I didn't feel like staying at the crummy hotel with my relatives."

"So that's why you're back already?"

"Yep."

"Huh," Alphonse said. "I was just going to tell Brother that I could only stay for about ten minutes because I have an assignment to do here."

"At night?"

He nodded. I didn't want to find out what it was.

"Well, Al, I'll meetcha at the site," Havoc said, getting back into the car. He stuck his head out the window and said, "Why don't you escort this lovely lady to her home?"

"Tard!" I shouted as he honked one more time and drove by.

"What is a "tard", anyway?" Alphonse asked once Havoc was a ways down the road.

"Short for retard," I muttered. "and that tard could've given us a ride back to my house."

"Well, let's get walking," Al said, taking a few steps forward. I followed, and then felt a sudden bolt of fear. My dream came back and sucker punched me in the gut, the cold fear of it happening at any given moment.

"Lucy, you okay?" Al asked, and it was then that I realized I had stopped walking.

"Fine," I said, my voice level. "I just had a long day, I'm tired."

It was believable enough that Alphonse decided not to pry.

It wasn't long before Al and I arrived at my house, and I suddenly had a strange feeling.

"This...feels wierd," I heard Alphonse say, both of us pausing at the bottom of the stairs.

"It's not just me then," I said quietly. I shifted my weight from foot to foot and sighed, setting my bag down on the bottom stair. I walked up the stairs one at a time and paused once again in front of the door. I heard no noises coming from inside.

I swallowed, my through dry for some reason, and lightly took hold of the door knob.

I slowly and silently turned it, and when I stepped inside, I was frozen from what I was seeing.

Katsura was there. She was pinning Edward on the table, locking him in a deep kiss.

"You b*****d," I whispered.

"L-Lucy!" Edward said when Katsura let him come up for air. "W-What are you doing home so early?"

"What's going on?" Alphonse asked, coming in the house with my bag.

"You b*****d!" I shouted again, my eyes darting from him to Katsura. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Alphonse get a serious and then angry look.

"Brother," he said. "how...how could you? How could you cheat on Lucy?! You...you b*****d!" I had never heard Alphonse ever use language like that before. It was like his voice echoed in the silence, Edward's expression changing from confusion to shame while Katsura just stood on by smiling.

"Edward," she said in her stupid innocent voice while she hugged his left arm, which seemed to be limp at his side. "I didn't know you lived with her. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Shut up, you b***h!" I screamed, my mind foggy with anger and pain. My heart felt like it was litterly ripping apart in my chest.

How could he do this? How could he....!

"Lucy, just listen to me," Edward said, his voice half gone. He pulled his arm away from Katsura's grasp and took a step away from her towards me.

"Stay away from me!" I screamed, my hand clamped over my heart to try and make it stop hurting. I didn't want him near me. I didn't want anything to do with him. "Just get away!"

"Lucy--" he started, taking another step towards me. But Alphonse stepped in front of me, blocking me from Edward. In a blur, Alphonse pulled his arm back and smashed his fist into Edward's jaw.

"You idiot!" Alphonse shouted. My head started hurting. I could't take it. Ignoring whatever else was going on, I turned and dashed out the door, not caring that I basically got "run out" of my own house. In the pitch black night of Resembool, I ran until my legs gave out. By then, I had no idea where I was and where I had run. The only thing that was clear to me was the pain in my chest, and the vivid image of Katsura and Edward kissing on that kitchen table.

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