Wyatt was standing on the bridge, staring at Paul. Celia was standing a bit behind Wyatt, back by the car, Paul's car a ways behind him. It was dark, the only light the bulbs along the bridge, and it was windy. They could hear the water of the river below them, flowing at a somewhat rapid pace. Wyatt and Paul hadn't stopped looking at one another since Wyatt had said what he'd said, and Paul just wasn't sure how to respond, how to progress. Finally he cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair.
"This is...ludicrous," Paul said, and Wyatt scoffed, laughing.
"Yeah, yeah it is, but it's the truth," Wyatt said, "So what do you say?"
"...and why should I believe any of it?" Paul asked.
Wyatt knew what the answer to this was, but he also knew if the words left his mouth, that was it. There was no going back. He looked back towards Celia, who was crying and chewing on her nails, and he exhaled before looking back at Paul.
"Because..." he started.
***
Earlier that afternoon, Wyatt was in a bedroom, making Kelly make sounds she didn't know she could make. After making her eyes roll back, the two made lunch and sat in the living room of her apartment, or more like their apartment now, and ate as she put on a radio station to softly play. The two sat there, eating their respective sandwiches, just listening to music for a bit, until Kelly finally put what was left of hers back down on the plate in her lap and sighed longingly.
"Jesus," she said, "I didn't know what I was missing until we started sleeping together."
Wyatt cackled, throwing his head back, trying not to choke on the food in his mouth. After he recomposed himself, he nodded.
"Please, keep going, boost my ego," he said, making her smirk.
"What, my multiple orgasms wasn't enough of an ego boost?" she asked.
Wyatt continued laughing as he kept eating, and Kelly finished her sandwich. This, to them both, was heaven. Each had been through the mill in the last almost year, and to have this security now, this safety, with eachother...it made all of that, Calvin's death and the plane crash and everything else, seem so far away. With a bit of distance, it almost seemed like life was normal. But...as Angie had told him, there was no normal for Wyatt Bloom anymore, and he was about to find that out, because tonight was going to change everything once again...one last time.
Wyatt spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning the apartment, doing dishes with Kelly, then getting dressed and figuring he should stop by the office. It'd been a while since he'd been spotted at work, and he thought that this might be a good time to make an appearance. Walking into the building and heading to his office, he was surprised when he opened the door and found Rachel sitting there. Wyatt smiled, having not seen her for a bit, as he entered and shut the door behind him, walking around behind his desk and taking a seat.
"Where have you been?" he asked.
"Fucking your ex girlfriend," Rachel said, not even trying to sugarcoat it, causing Wyatt to stare at her.
"...come again?" he asked.
"Uh..." Rachel said, "after meeting Amelia, um...ya know, I started to help her kind of wind down her brothers estate and stuff. But we wound up really getting along, and...and I don't know, Wyatt, but something happened. It was...so fast, and yet seemed to take forever somehow. I'm only telling you this because you're my friend and I thought you had a right to know."
"Well, for what it's worth, I'm fucking your best friend, so, I guess we're even," Wyatt said, grinning, causing Rachel to stare wide eyed at him.
"...what?" she asked, laughing anxiously, completely blindsided, "wait wait wait, you and Kelly-"
"Yeah," Wyatt laughed, "yeah, me and Kelly. It was a long time coming, to be honest, and it's...it's perfect. She's perfect. So I guess, if anything good came out of this entire ordeal, it's that we each found someone that the other knew first. Rachel...I know it's been almost a year now, and I know we haven't really ever spoken about that night, but...I didn't really wanna go to the reunion. Scarlett dragged me to it, and I did it to make her happy. All my life I've done things to make others happy. That's why being with Kelly is so amazing, cause I wanted to do it. I did it for me, for once. But I'm glad I went, because it meant actually knowing you."
Rachel stared at him, her eyes watering.
"...you're my best friend," Wyatt said, and Rachel put a hand to her mouth, starting to cry, as he smiled and continued, "and things are gonna get really sketchy really soon, I'm sure, but I just wanted you to know, after all we've been through, all that's happened, I wouldn't take any of it back. Not because of meeting Kelly, not because of finally being free of my father, no, because it'd mean not knowing you, and my life just doesn't work if you're not included in it. You're my best friend, Rachel, and you were the only truly good thing that came out of that evening, even if we didn't really meet there. After all this is said and done...I'm glad you were a part of it. I'm sorry you got dragged in, but I'm glad you were here, cause I don't think I could've done it without you."
Rachel kept crying, so Wyatt stood up and walked back around to her side of the desk. He opened his arms and she hugged him tightly. Wyatt smiled and stroked her hair and just let her cry. He knew the end was coming. He knew he was going to have to turn himself over for Celia's sake at some point. He knew that, eventually...this would all come to a close, and probably sooner rather than later. But he wouldn't let Rachel be blamed for any of it. She'd just been there. And right now he was here, for her.
***
Angie was sitting on the hood of her car by the river where Calvin had died. The same river he and Wyatt had shredded and burned that material from Oliver's storage unit. She was sipping a large coffee while Clark sat on the ground in front of her staring up at her, with her occasionally tossing him treats from a little bag she picked up at a grocery store. Angie took another long sip as she stared at Clark, who was still finishing up chewing the last treat, then woofed quietly at her.
"I'm sorry," Clark said, "I'm sorry for unearthing what I unearthed for you, complicating things further."
"Well for what it's worth I'm sorry I killed you...well, not you, but Calvin," Angie said, "it's all so confusing."
"It's okay, I understand what you meant," Clark said, "and in response to that I say for what it's worth...I think you made the right choice. Without Calvin gone, none of this would be happening. You set us down a path that's quickly barreling towards a climax, a much needed shove to the finish line, and only you could've done that Angie."
Angie looked around at the field, the lake, hearing the cars on the road in the distance. She finished her coffee and set the cup down on the hood beside her and exhaled, reaching up and running her hands through her hair, the sound of her leather jacket shifting beneath her armpits.
"I know what I have to do," Angie said, "but I don't want to do it."
"I know," Clark said.
"Calvin wasn't a bad person, but these people are," Angie said, and Clark barked, almost as if in agreement. Angie pulled her legs back up onto the hood and wrapped her arms around her legs, tugging them to her chest, adding, "...all I've ever done is follow liars. Brighton, Art...but not Wyatt. Wyatt has only ever been upfront and honest about what's going on, what he needs. But I'm tired of following people blindly. I need to make a choice for myself for once."
Angie reached into the bag, gripped another treat and tossed it into the air, causing Clark to jump up and grab it. She applauded his efforts as he quickly scarfed it down before sliding off the hood of the car and straightening her shirt, then putting her hands on her hips.
"Well," she said, "let's go buy some supplies."
***
Rachel was standing at the vending machine, smacking it with her palm. She'd left Wyatt's and headed back to the hotel Amelia had gotten for them that night, and was now angrily trying to get the machine to cough up her chips. Amelia walked up and wrapped her arms around Rachel's waist, pushing her face into her neck, causing Rachel to laugh as she was tickled her lips on her skin.
"You know, I can just buy you a regularly sized bag of chips," Amelia said.
"It's the principle of the thing! I refuse to be beaten by a coin op!" Rachel said loudly, causing Amelia to laugh. Rachel felt her phone buzzed in her pocket but she ignored it. Amelia dug into her jacket pocket for change and retrieved some, then pushed Rachel gently aside.
"Look, if we just buy a second pack, it'll give you the initial one and the second," Amelia said.
"Yeah but that's just giving them more money!" Rachel said, "they don't deserve more money!"
But Amelia was right, and soon two bags of chips plopped down into the bucket. Rachel bent down to retrieve them, and then, once both were in her hands, she turned only to find Amelia pushing her up against the machine, pinning her there, causing Rachel to laugh. Rachel leaned in and kissed Amelia, putting her arms over her shoulders, resting her forehead on hers. Amelia reached down and picked Rachel up, and carried her back to the room, causing Rachel to laugh the entire way. Afterwards, laying on the bed half dressed with the TV on, Rachel finally started to feel the guilt set in. She should call Ricky. He was probably wondering where she'd absconded to.
"I was thinking," Amelia said as she opened a can of root beer and leaned against the dressed by the television, "maybe you'd like to come with me back to my apartment, help me pack up some things so I can fully move back to town. I feel like, with Calvin gone, I kind of need to be here for my parents."
"Understandable," Rachel said, nodding.
"But I also feel like I have to be here for you," Amelia said, smiling, "cause I really want to see where this goes, I don't want this to be a fling. I like you so much. I'm kinda crazy in love with you. You gave me so much support and comfort doing this time, helping me with his estate, just keeping my mind off things...it meant the world to me."
"Amelia, that's extremely romantic," Rachel said, mouth full of chips, "but I am not worth uprooting your life."
"What life," Amelia said, laughing, "honestly, I only moved away to be away from here, but now there's things worth being here for. I can tell you're scared to let yourself be loved, but...being with Wyatt in high school, I don't know, it kinda taught me that love is the most powerful thing there is. It's such a driving force behind so many decisions we make throughout the entire span of our lives, so just...shut up and let me love you, stupid."
Rachel couldn't help but, she cackled, as Amelia climbed onto the bed and laid beside her, kissing her on the cheek before resting her head on her shoulder and closing her eyes. In a few weeks, Rachel would look back on the last 48 hours and recall all of this with such fondness, because in just a few hours...
...everything was going to change.
***
"Do you think, and this is not a real question and more just a bit, that it's a double standard that we don't follow the sex lives of animal movie stars?" Wyatt asked as stood in the kitchen of the apartment, making some bacon for himself and Kelly as she sat opposite him at the counter.
"Pardon but what the fuck?" she asked, laughing, "why are you even...where does that even come from?"
"Well, we're all obsessed with movie stars and what they do in the bedroom, who they're hooking up with, whatever, but nobody ever seems to do a sleazy tabloid write up on Mr. Ed's sex life. Nobody's ever written a story about Lassie being a total whore. It'd just be nice to have that equality."
"Dude, you're lucky I love you cause you're fuckin' weird," Kelly said, laughing hard, making Wyatt smile wide. He plated the bacon and placed it the counter between them, the two of them eating a few pieces in silence, just looking at one another. Kelly's phone buzzed and she sighed, pulled it out then looked at the screen, adding, "ugh, I have to go back into work for the new contracts."
She stood up, took a few more pieces, then headed to the bedroom to put on more work appropriate attire. Wyatt did some light tidying up in the kitchen when a knock came at the door. He walked to it and opened it, finding Celia there, looking like a fright.
"Whoa," he said, as she pushed her way inside, "are you okay?"
"He took him," Celia said, "he took my son. Our son? I don't know. I came home last night and he took him."
"Celia, you know what-"
"I can't," Celia mumbled, "I can't give him the folder."
"Celia, I refuse to let another family fall apart because of my actions," Wyatt said, "please. Let me go with you, I'll give it to him myself."
Kelly re-entered the room, tugging her blazer on over her blouse, and then smiling as she saw company.
"Hello," she said, "how're you doing?"
"I'm okay," Celia said quietly.
"Uh, you're running into work, we have something to take care of, Celia needs me help delivering something," Wyatt said, taking Kelly gently by the arm and pulling her towards the sunken living room, lowering his voice, "we might not be back until late."
"Wyatt...is everything okay?" Kelly asked.
"It will be. Everything will finally be okay," Wyatt said, smiling, leaning in and kissing her before touching her face, then turning and exiting with Celia. Kelly knew he meant it, but she didn't know if that was a promise he could actually keep.
***
The door to the shed cracked open and Angie entered cautiously. She'd waited for Calvin's parents to leave, then she'd snuck into the backyard and, with knowledge she'd accrued from quick online tutorials, she broke into the shed with a makeshift lockpick. Clark was waiting in the car. Angie exhaled and looked around at the interior, realizing now just how long ago it'd been since she was inside here. Seemed like an entirely other lifetime. Angie looked through drawers, found journals, notebooks, blueprints, lots of documents printed from the internet or scanned from books and gathered them all up, then took them to the car before returning for his tools. Once everything was securely in the car, Angie started it up and pulled away from the curb, the house, and headed down the street to somewhere secluded.
"You sure you know what you're doing?" Clark asked.
"Calvin built two bombs. How hard can it be?" Angie asked.
***
"I don't want to let you do this," Celia said.
"Yeah, well, you don't have a choice. This is the only card we have to play at this point," Wyatt said, "and it's basically a get out of jail free card for everyone else. Angie and I did most of the grunt work. She won't be happy about it, but she'll go down with me if I tell her to. You'll get your son back, Rachel won't even be remotely touched, everyone else will walk away relatively unscathed. This is the way it has to be Celia."
"There he is," Celia said, pointing ahead of them, "That's his car."
A car was coming at them from the opposite end of a bridge, one not often traveled on. Celia had texted Paul to come meet her here, and here he had come. Wyatt brought the car to a crawl and stopped, Paul seemingly doing the same. Wyatt turned and looked at Celia, who looked back at him and he smiled. Celia stared at his eyes, which were visibly wet, as if he were trying not to cry.
"Ya know..." Wyatt said, glancing out the windshield as Paul walked in front of his own car and watched from afar, hands in his coat pockets, "you and I, that's where this all started. Only makes sense it'd be you and I bringing it to a close. You and I, Celia. We looked into Morgana, which led us to Brightons workplace, which led Brighton to killing himself and his family, and everything after, tying it all to Grudin, the Evergreens, Angie. It all started with us. Meeting you at the reunion...it changed my life. Whether that's for the better or not remains to be seen."
Celia chuckled at his attempt to be funny.
"But either way," he continued, "I wouldn't take a moment of it back. I got to know you guys, and that was worth everything that's happened. Stay in the car."
With that, Wyatt exited. As he walked around the front of the car, holding the folder in his hands, Celia couldn't do as he said, and climbed out but stayed back. Wyatt and Paul met somewhat in the middle of the bridge, Paul nodding towards the file.
"What's that?" he asked.
"Answers," Wyatt said.
"To?"
"Questions you have," Wyatt said, "and I know because they're the same questions I had."
"Mr. Bloom, I have to admit, this is...bold, even for you," Paul said, smirking.
"Ah, you know about my exploits?" Wyatt asked.
"I've done some light reading on the subject, I've compiled a file on you," Paul said.
"Then that means you've compiled a file on everyone involved," Wyatt said, "which probably includes Calvin Klepper."
"You an investigator?" Paul asked, eyeing him.
"Nah, just friends with one," Wyatt said, "you want to know what's in this folder? It's the truth as to why Calvin did what he did. Paul, I am about to make your entire career. You think you're gonna solve who blew up a plane? Sure, that would earn you some goodwill, a few merits, maybe a promotion, but you know what would even better? Taking down an entire illicit content ring that's actively harming children. I have who's responsible for that in this folder right here. But before I give this to you, I need to know that my friends won't be touched as a result. If you need someone to take the fall, I'm your guy, because I'm the one you can definitively tie to it."
Paul and Wyatt stared at one another as the old bulbs on the bridge flickered, and Paul cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair.
"This is...ludicrous," Paul said, and Wyatt scoffed, laughing.
"Yeah, yeah it is, but it's the truth," Wyatt said, "So what do you say?"
"...and why should I believe any of it?" Paul asked.
Wyatt knew what the answer to this was, but he also knew if the words left his mouth, that was it. There was no going back. He looked back towards Celia, who was crying and chewing on her nails, and he exhaled before looking back at Paul.
"Because..." he started, "...Calvin blew up that plane, you're not wrong, but only because that plane was carrying an associate of the man involved in this file I'm holding. But that wasn't the first thing he blew up. He built a first bomb."
Paul raised an eyebrow.
"...Robert Grudin," Wyatt said, "sound familiar? Local politician? Killed Calvin's family in a car accident, refused to acknowledge what he did, then worked with a shady company to take supposedly secured lands to tear down and build up into condos. So Calvin had a grudge, a personal grudge to kill him. However, Calvin wouldn't be blamed for it. That blame would fall to Oliver Brighton, another associate of Wattson and the man in this file. You must know what happened to Brighton."
"I do, pretty famous story by now," Paul said, "but why are you the one who has to take the fall?"
"Because..." Wyatt said, "...Calvin built the bomb...but I'm the one who blew him up. I killed Robert Grudin."
"This is...ludicrous," Paul said, and Wyatt scoffed, laughing.
"Yeah, yeah it is, but it's the truth," Wyatt said, "So what do you say?"
"...and why should I believe any of it?" Paul asked.
Wyatt knew what the answer to this was, but he also knew if the words left his mouth, that was it. There was no going back. He looked back towards Celia, who was crying and chewing on her nails, and he exhaled before looking back at Paul.
"Because..." he started.
***
Earlier that afternoon, Wyatt was in a bedroom, making Kelly make sounds she didn't know she could make. After making her eyes roll back, the two made lunch and sat in the living room of her apartment, or more like their apartment now, and ate as she put on a radio station to softly play. The two sat there, eating their respective sandwiches, just listening to music for a bit, until Kelly finally put what was left of hers back down on the plate in her lap and sighed longingly.
"Jesus," she said, "I didn't know what I was missing until we started sleeping together."
Wyatt cackled, throwing his head back, trying not to choke on the food in his mouth. After he recomposed himself, he nodded.
"Please, keep going, boost my ego," he said, making her smirk.
"What, my multiple orgasms wasn't enough of an ego boost?" she asked.
Wyatt continued laughing as he kept eating, and Kelly finished her sandwich. This, to them both, was heaven. Each had been through the mill in the last almost year, and to have this security now, this safety, with eachother...it made all of that, Calvin's death and the plane crash and everything else, seem so far away. With a bit of distance, it almost seemed like life was normal. But...as Angie had told him, there was no normal for Wyatt Bloom anymore, and he was about to find that out, because tonight was going to change everything once again...one last time.
Wyatt spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning the apartment, doing dishes with Kelly, then getting dressed and figuring he should stop by the office. It'd been a while since he'd been spotted at work, and he thought that this might be a good time to make an appearance. Walking into the building and heading to his office, he was surprised when he opened the door and found Rachel sitting there. Wyatt smiled, having not seen her for a bit, as he entered and shut the door behind him, walking around behind his desk and taking a seat.
"Where have you been?" he asked.
"Fucking your ex girlfriend," Rachel said, not even trying to sugarcoat it, causing Wyatt to stare at her.
"...come again?" he asked.
"Uh..." Rachel said, "after meeting Amelia, um...ya know, I started to help her kind of wind down her brothers estate and stuff. But we wound up really getting along, and...and I don't know, Wyatt, but something happened. It was...so fast, and yet seemed to take forever somehow. I'm only telling you this because you're my friend and I thought you had a right to know."
"Well, for what it's worth, I'm fucking your best friend, so, I guess we're even," Wyatt said, grinning, causing Rachel to stare wide eyed at him.
"...what?" she asked, laughing anxiously, completely blindsided, "wait wait wait, you and Kelly-"
"Yeah," Wyatt laughed, "yeah, me and Kelly. It was a long time coming, to be honest, and it's...it's perfect. She's perfect. So I guess, if anything good came out of this entire ordeal, it's that we each found someone that the other knew first. Rachel...I know it's been almost a year now, and I know we haven't really ever spoken about that night, but...I didn't really wanna go to the reunion. Scarlett dragged me to it, and I did it to make her happy. All my life I've done things to make others happy. That's why being with Kelly is so amazing, cause I wanted to do it. I did it for me, for once. But I'm glad I went, because it meant actually knowing you."
Rachel stared at him, her eyes watering.
"...you're my best friend," Wyatt said, and Rachel put a hand to her mouth, starting to cry, as he smiled and continued, "and things are gonna get really sketchy really soon, I'm sure, but I just wanted you to know, after all we've been through, all that's happened, I wouldn't take any of it back. Not because of meeting Kelly, not because of finally being free of my father, no, because it'd mean not knowing you, and my life just doesn't work if you're not included in it. You're my best friend, Rachel, and you were the only truly good thing that came out of that evening, even if we didn't really meet there. After all this is said and done...I'm glad you were a part of it. I'm sorry you got dragged in, but I'm glad you were here, cause I don't think I could've done it without you."
Rachel kept crying, so Wyatt stood up and walked back around to her side of the desk. He opened his arms and she hugged him tightly. Wyatt smiled and stroked her hair and just let her cry. He knew the end was coming. He knew he was going to have to turn himself over for Celia's sake at some point. He knew that, eventually...this would all come to a close, and probably sooner rather than later. But he wouldn't let Rachel be blamed for any of it. She'd just been there. And right now he was here, for her.
***
Angie was sitting on the hood of her car by the river where Calvin had died. The same river he and Wyatt had shredded and burned that material from Oliver's storage unit. She was sipping a large coffee while Clark sat on the ground in front of her staring up at her, with her occasionally tossing him treats from a little bag she picked up at a grocery store. Angie took another long sip as she stared at Clark, who was still finishing up chewing the last treat, then woofed quietly at her.
"I'm sorry," Clark said, "I'm sorry for unearthing what I unearthed for you, complicating things further."
"Well for what it's worth I'm sorry I killed you...well, not you, but Calvin," Angie said, "it's all so confusing."
"It's okay, I understand what you meant," Clark said, "and in response to that I say for what it's worth...I think you made the right choice. Without Calvin gone, none of this would be happening. You set us down a path that's quickly barreling towards a climax, a much needed shove to the finish line, and only you could've done that Angie."
Angie looked around at the field, the lake, hearing the cars on the road in the distance. She finished her coffee and set the cup down on the hood beside her and exhaled, reaching up and running her hands through her hair, the sound of her leather jacket shifting beneath her armpits.
"I know what I have to do," Angie said, "but I don't want to do it."
"I know," Clark said.
"Calvin wasn't a bad person, but these people are," Angie said, and Clark barked, almost as if in agreement. Angie pulled her legs back up onto the hood and wrapped her arms around her legs, tugging them to her chest, adding, "...all I've ever done is follow liars. Brighton, Art...but not Wyatt. Wyatt has only ever been upfront and honest about what's going on, what he needs. But I'm tired of following people blindly. I need to make a choice for myself for once."
Angie reached into the bag, gripped another treat and tossed it into the air, causing Clark to jump up and grab it. She applauded his efforts as he quickly scarfed it down before sliding off the hood of the car and straightening her shirt, then putting her hands on her hips.
"Well," she said, "let's go buy some supplies."
***
Rachel was standing at the vending machine, smacking it with her palm. She'd left Wyatt's and headed back to the hotel Amelia had gotten for them that night, and was now angrily trying to get the machine to cough up her chips. Amelia walked up and wrapped her arms around Rachel's waist, pushing her face into her neck, causing Rachel to laugh as she was tickled her lips on her skin.
"You know, I can just buy you a regularly sized bag of chips," Amelia said.
"It's the principle of the thing! I refuse to be beaten by a coin op!" Rachel said loudly, causing Amelia to laugh. Rachel felt her phone buzzed in her pocket but she ignored it. Amelia dug into her jacket pocket for change and retrieved some, then pushed Rachel gently aside.
"Look, if we just buy a second pack, it'll give you the initial one and the second," Amelia said.
"Yeah but that's just giving them more money!" Rachel said, "they don't deserve more money!"
But Amelia was right, and soon two bags of chips plopped down into the bucket. Rachel bent down to retrieve them, and then, once both were in her hands, she turned only to find Amelia pushing her up against the machine, pinning her there, causing Rachel to laugh. Rachel leaned in and kissed Amelia, putting her arms over her shoulders, resting her forehead on hers. Amelia reached down and picked Rachel up, and carried her back to the room, causing Rachel to laugh the entire way. Afterwards, laying on the bed half dressed with the TV on, Rachel finally started to feel the guilt set in. She should call Ricky. He was probably wondering where she'd absconded to.
"I was thinking," Amelia said as she opened a can of root beer and leaned against the dressed by the television, "maybe you'd like to come with me back to my apartment, help me pack up some things so I can fully move back to town. I feel like, with Calvin gone, I kind of need to be here for my parents."
"Understandable," Rachel said, nodding.
"But I also feel like I have to be here for you," Amelia said, smiling, "cause I really want to see where this goes, I don't want this to be a fling. I like you so much. I'm kinda crazy in love with you. You gave me so much support and comfort doing this time, helping me with his estate, just keeping my mind off things...it meant the world to me."
"Amelia, that's extremely romantic," Rachel said, mouth full of chips, "but I am not worth uprooting your life."
"What life," Amelia said, laughing, "honestly, I only moved away to be away from here, but now there's things worth being here for. I can tell you're scared to let yourself be loved, but...being with Wyatt in high school, I don't know, it kinda taught me that love is the most powerful thing there is. It's such a driving force behind so many decisions we make throughout the entire span of our lives, so just...shut up and let me love you, stupid."
Rachel couldn't help but, she cackled, as Amelia climbed onto the bed and laid beside her, kissing her on the cheek before resting her head on her shoulder and closing her eyes. In a few weeks, Rachel would look back on the last 48 hours and recall all of this with such fondness, because in just a few hours...
...everything was going to change.
***
"Do you think, and this is not a real question and more just a bit, that it's a double standard that we don't follow the sex lives of animal movie stars?" Wyatt asked as stood in the kitchen of the apartment, making some bacon for himself and Kelly as she sat opposite him at the counter.
"Pardon but what the fuck?" she asked, laughing, "why are you even...where does that even come from?"
"Well, we're all obsessed with movie stars and what they do in the bedroom, who they're hooking up with, whatever, but nobody ever seems to do a sleazy tabloid write up on Mr. Ed's sex life. Nobody's ever written a story about Lassie being a total whore. It'd just be nice to have that equality."
"Dude, you're lucky I love you cause you're fuckin' weird," Kelly said, laughing hard, making Wyatt smile wide. He plated the bacon and placed it the counter between them, the two of them eating a few pieces in silence, just looking at one another. Kelly's phone buzzed and she sighed, pulled it out then looked at the screen, adding, "ugh, I have to go back into work for the new contracts."
She stood up, took a few more pieces, then headed to the bedroom to put on more work appropriate attire. Wyatt did some light tidying up in the kitchen when a knock came at the door. He walked to it and opened it, finding Celia there, looking like a fright.
"Whoa," he said, as she pushed her way inside, "are you okay?"
"He took him," Celia said, "he took my son. Our son? I don't know. I came home last night and he took him."
"Celia, you know what-"
"I can't," Celia mumbled, "I can't give him the folder."
"Celia, I refuse to let another family fall apart because of my actions," Wyatt said, "please. Let me go with you, I'll give it to him myself."
Kelly re-entered the room, tugging her blazer on over her blouse, and then smiling as she saw company.
"Hello," she said, "how're you doing?"
"I'm okay," Celia said quietly.
"Uh, you're running into work, we have something to take care of, Celia needs me help delivering something," Wyatt said, taking Kelly gently by the arm and pulling her towards the sunken living room, lowering his voice, "we might not be back until late."
"Wyatt...is everything okay?" Kelly asked.
"It will be. Everything will finally be okay," Wyatt said, smiling, leaning in and kissing her before touching her face, then turning and exiting with Celia. Kelly knew he meant it, but she didn't know if that was a promise he could actually keep.
***
The door to the shed cracked open and Angie entered cautiously. She'd waited for Calvin's parents to leave, then she'd snuck into the backyard and, with knowledge she'd accrued from quick online tutorials, she broke into the shed with a makeshift lockpick. Clark was waiting in the car. Angie exhaled and looked around at the interior, realizing now just how long ago it'd been since she was inside here. Seemed like an entirely other lifetime. Angie looked through drawers, found journals, notebooks, blueprints, lots of documents printed from the internet or scanned from books and gathered them all up, then took them to the car before returning for his tools. Once everything was securely in the car, Angie started it up and pulled away from the curb, the house, and headed down the street to somewhere secluded.
"You sure you know what you're doing?" Clark asked.
"Calvin built two bombs. How hard can it be?" Angie asked.
***
"I don't want to let you do this," Celia said.
"Yeah, well, you don't have a choice. This is the only card we have to play at this point," Wyatt said, "and it's basically a get out of jail free card for everyone else. Angie and I did most of the grunt work. She won't be happy about it, but she'll go down with me if I tell her to. You'll get your son back, Rachel won't even be remotely touched, everyone else will walk away relatively unscathed. This is the way it has to be Celia."
"There he is," Celia said, pointing ahead of them, "That's his car."
A car was coming at them from the opposite end of a bridge, one not often traveled on. Celia had texted Paul to come meet her here, and here he had come. Wyatt brought the car to a crawl and stopped, Paul seemingly doing the same. Wyatt turned and looked at Celia, who looked back at him and he smiled. Celia stared at his eyes, which were visibly wet, as if he were trying not to cry.
"Ya know..." Wyatt said, glancing out the windshield as Paul walked in front of his own car and watched from afar, hands in his coat pockets, "you and I, that's where this all started. Only makes sense it'd be you and I bringing it to a close. You and I, Celia. We looked into Morgana, which led us to Brightons workplace, which led Brighton to killing himself and his family, and everything after, tying it all to Grudin, the Evergreens, Angie. It all started with us. Meeting you at the reunion...it changed my life. Whether that's for the better or not remains to be seen."
Celia chuckled at his attempt to be funny.
"But either way," he continued, "I wouldn't take a moment of it back. I got to know you guys, and that was worth everything that's happened. Stay in the car."
With that, Wyatt exited. As he walked around the front of the car, holding the folder in his hands, Celia couldn't do as he said, and climbed out but stayed back. Wyatt and Paul met somewhat in the middle of the bridge, Paul nodding towards the file.
"What's that?" he asked.
"Answers," Wyatt said.
"To?"
"Questions you have," Wyatt said, "and I know because they're the same questions I had."
"Mr. Bloom, I have to admit, this is...bold, even for you," Paul said, smirking.
"Ah, you know about my exploits?" Wyatt asked.
"I've done some light reading on the subject, I've compiled a file on you," Paul said.
"Then that means you've compiled a file on everyone involved," Wyatt said, "which probably includes Calvin Klepper."
"You an investigator?" Paul asked, eyeing him.
"Nah, just friends with one," Wyatt said, "you want to know what's in this folder? It's the truth as to why Calvin did what he did. Paul, I am about to make your entire career. You think you're gonna solve who blew up a plane? Sure, that would earn you some goodwill, a few merits, maybe a promotion, but you know what would even better? Taking down an entire illicit content ring that's actively harming children. I have who's responsible for that in this folder right here. But before I give this to you, I need to know that my friends won't be touched as a result. If you need someone to take the fall, I'm your guy, because I'm the one you can definitively tie to it."
Paul and Wyatt stared at one another as the old bulbs on the bridge flickered, and Paul cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair.
"This is...ludicrous," Paul said, and Wyatt scoffed, laughing.
"Yeah, yeah it is, but it's the truth," Wyatt said, "So what do you say?"
"...and why should I believe any of it?" Paul asked.
Wyatt knew what the answer to this was, but he also knew if the words left his mouth, that was it. There was no going back. He looked back towards Celia, who was crying and chewing on her nails, and he exhaled before looking back at Paul.
"Because..." he started, "...Calvin blew up that plane, you're not wrong, but only because that plane was carrying an associate of the man involved in this file I'm holding. But that wasn't the first thing he blew up. He built a first bomb."
Paul raised an eyebrow.
"...Robert Grudin," Wyatt said, "sound familiar? Local politician? Killed Calvin's family in a car accident, refused to acknowledge what he did, then worked with a shady company to take supposedly secured lands to tear down and build up into condos. So Calvin had a grudge, a personal grudge to kill him. However, Calvin wouldn't be blamed for it. That blame would fall to Oliver Brighton, another associate of Wattson and the man in this file. You must know what happened to Brighton."
"I do, pretty famous story by now," Paul said, "but why are you the one who has to take the fall?"
"Because..." Wyatt said, "...Calvin built the bomb...but I'm the one who blew him up. I killed Robert Grudin."