“I’m Maggie’s brother,” was all he said, jaw locked and tight before he nodded towards Trevor. “Apparently, that’s my uncle and your older brother.”
“Ahh man come on,” Trevor let out with his arms in the air. “Don’t deflect it to me.”
Ms. Norwood turned to look at Trevor with wide eyes, but her heart went right back to her son. When she didn’t say anything, Bellamy straightened up with his hands in his pockets and glared at her.
“Why don’t y'all tell her the fucking truth about Mag–––”
Ms. Norwood wrapped her arms around his neck and brought him in close. His red eyes, startled and wide, froze in place as she cried out.
“They told me you died!” She cried. “She wouldn’t even let me see you to say goodbye! I would have come for you…I would have given up my life for you, do you understand that?”
She pulled back to look directly at his face. His eyes were nothing but a pool of red blood, seeing no whites, nothing to indicate human at this point but when she turned to look at us for a moment, her eyes were the exact same way.
“This is my son yall,” she exclaimed but her voice cracked barely above a whisper. She was choked up with happiness when she looked back at Bellamy. “Are you happy in your life?” She asked. “Did…did you suffer any?”
Bellamy’s eyes were barely visible amongst the blood before she brought him close again and he instantly broke down in tears. No one said a word except for Ms. Norwood who kept apologizing against his ear. The rest stayed silent. Letting the son and mother have their moment until they began to slowly step outside of the house, leaving just Trevor and I.
“You are just like me, and you have no idea,” she let out with a proud smile. “Look at you…the tattoos on your skin…The outfit… You’re a total bad ass. I can’t wait to get to know you…”
Bellamy laughed while she held his hands, refusing to let go. She wouldn’t take her eyes off of him for a second.
“Do you realize I'm about to obsess over you…Do you have a place to stay? Are you feeding or eating? What’s your diet like? What–––”
“We have our own questions,” I cut in. She turned around as if she remembered the rest of us were still present even with the others stepping outside to talk. She looked to Trevor, still refusing to let go of Bellamy’s hand.
“Normally I’m good at telling who is who, and what is what…I’m not able to get a read on you…”
“Yeah well years and years of protective skin I guess,” he shrugged sheepishly. “I’m Marvin and Poette’s first born child so that would make me your older brother even though….” He looked down at himself. “I preserve well.”
“That’s impossible. I know their first-born child and you’re not…you’re not her. You’re not anything outside of what…a basic shifter?”
I stepped forward.
“You know where Raven Holmes is?”
“Who are you?” She questioned, still holding on to Bellamy, but now she stood in front of him like she dared to protect him from Trevor. Even Bellamy found it amusing as he stared down at his mother. Every introduction went out the window the moment she saw her son, but now was the time to get serious.
…
Everyone sat down in the living room with the morning sun completely out. Solomon had to return back to the Underground. Trevor ended up ordering breakfast through the app for everyone since what we were about to tell her about her daughter would hit hard. It was best to have a meal to soothe things over. The only ones who didn’t eat were Ms. Norwood and Bellamy and I suspect it's because she just finished feeding. Still, the mother in her kicked in when she helped the professor with her son. She gave him a small cup of orange juice, a few extrafruit snacks. Only for the mother to decide it was best to take him back home. This was no environment for a child after all. Not with all this tension in the air.
“What is the nature of you and Dr. Holmes' relationship? Your father.”
“It’s nonexistent,” she said with a direct tone to my question. “I’ve never been in the same room with him, not that I can remember anyway. Had I known he stole my son from me, I would have made myself known. I don’t go to the Underground,” she went on as she looked up at Bellamy with regretful eyes. “I believed I never had a reason to. Maggie didn’t show any signs of my…genetic trait outside of the white hair so there was no need to introduce her to that life. My mother and I would argue about this all the time which is why she ended up telling her stories…merely as fiction…until they became obsessive truths being placed on my daughter. I put a stop to it and assumed…that was the last of it. Never did I think…she would actually…go to the Underground and form a life there…relationships and…friendships.”
“Where is Poette Davis?” Trevor asked. I could see the protective glare Ms. Norwood had for her mother against Trevor. “Don’t you want to know why she’s been lying to you–––”
“I don’t care. That is my mother.”
“Apparently mine too,” he said as he leaned back against the couch. I remained standing with my arms crossed over my chest.
“The only one that has any right to question or challenge her is me. Nobody else in this room better step to her,” she threatened. “I don’t play about Ms. Davis.”
“Why did you name your daughter Grey and not Norwood?”
Ms. Norwood smiled when she looked up at me.
“I wanted her to be different…I silently prayed she wasn’t attached to this family’s genetic problem and if so, there was a way to still raise them in society without any issues. She came out with a head full of white hair that looked somewhat grey at the time and so…Maggie Grey. I knew she was going to be a woman that changes the world one day.”
