"You didn't care to let us know?" Perry asked, a stern expression on her face.
"Like I said, we were bait. What kind of bait gives themselves away?" Darren sighed. "The organization had been trailing us the entire time before we met Lorrell and Ty. So when they saw the couple, they called us over.. and.." Darren's voice slowly trailed off, as his gaze averted.
"Convinced us to be the bait." he added, voice quieter.
Hah. Perry could laugh. She could. But she didn't. She kept her arms crossed, glaring holes through both Dave and Darren. She raised an eyebrow when Darren finished.
"And you fell for it?" Perry finally voiced. She couldn't.. fathom just why.
"..You have to stop being so dense. You don't believe in lying anymore? In deception?—" Darren started.
"No, I do! That's why I'm so hesitant to trust them. Because Lying and deception exist." her voice raised just a little, her expressions becoming more and more.. baffled.
"Let me Explain, Perry!" Darren finally snapped, leaning forward. "Let me speak before you go ahead assuming the worst."
Perry scoffed, but ultimately sighed. She was only this stern and cold because she was worried. She couldn't really understand. She was.. lost? "Then, moving on.." Darren huffed, leaning back. "Lorrell and Ty.. they're your biological parents. That's what.. They claim, apparently. the organization— well, Nathan's group, they met Lorrell and Ty after you guys left that supermarket in the earlier days of the apocalypse. Lorrell and Ty convinced them that they were good people, that they were trying to help cure the apocalypse.. that they were with doctors, scientists that'd help the apocalypse." A small pause, Darren glancing over at Dave who was quiet.
"And they got close. They helped collect the dead bodies' blood, for testing. They never suspected.. anything. But, then.. one day Lorrell and Ty were arguing. They don't usually which is why this was surprising for them. So.. Damian and Emily eavesdropped."
Perry held a hand out, gesturing for Darren to wait. All of this new information, yet she was still stuck at Lorrell and Ty being her biological parents. Its not the fact it was a possibility that panicked her, but the fact she'd already put it into theory, now confirmed by them claiming so, it was much more terrifying than she'd care to admit. She had zoned out for a good minute before exhaling, glancing around.
"..Let me guess." she started quietly. "They're trying to find me?" she gave a rather deadpan stare to Darren, glancing back between him and Dave. Dave proceeded to slowly nod his head.
"They.. want you back. They tried getting close to Nathan's group— the only reason being to find you. And.. the argument that they eavesdropped on, it revealed.. that they were the ones behind the apocalypse. They had personally experimented.. and it got out of hand. Clearly. After that.. Well, let's just say they used Nathan's group to try to find you after that. Nicole getting kidnapped was bait. Bait they thought you'd fall for."
Perry tilted her head ever so slightly. "..So all this time," she started, rather stunned. "They've been trying to keep me away from Lorrell and Ty? But then why did they need to lie about experimenting on humans?"
"..They needed to keep youaway from them. Lorrell and Ty wouldn't leave Nathan's group alone, so getting involved with them.. it meant to risk your safety. And what better way than to scare you off?"
Perry pinched the bridge of her nose. Seriously, this whole thing.. and she was in the middle of it. She was the cause. Now.. It was her choice to believe all of this or not. But considering everything, it all fell perfectly into place. She couldn't not believe it. So, great. What the hell was she supposed to do?
"..Holy sh*t." Christian's voice cut through. He was upset, he was lost.. he felt empty, but this totally distracted him. He was spaced out at first, but hearing Lorrell and Ty's name he started to subconsciously listen in. His eyes slightly widened, stunned. At a loss for words, he just opened and closed his mouth twice.
"That's..—"
"Bloody insane." Eli finished, the redhead also shocked, reduced to no words. Maverick was just staring. He was kinda idiotic, maybe, but he wasn't stupid-stupid. He understood the situation and it just made it worse. Stunned silence settled in.
"Hey, who ate all the cereal again?" A voice. Soft, one that Rexine and Maverick would recognize way too easily. Ivy. The siblings' heads snapped towards the entrance of the living room, watching a rather groggy Ivy emerge.
"Er— there wasn't that much left.." Damian spoke, shrugging nonchalantly before getting slapped at the back of the head by Ivy. She groaned under her breath. She then looked around.. noticing the amount of people around. She wasn't aware they were having guests over.
"Rex? Mave?" She spoke up, walking towards them casually.
"Ivy.." The words slowly left Rexine's lips. But before she could react, Maverick already ran over to hug her. Knowing the organization wasn't actually that.. heartless or inhumane, he had enough brains to think for himself. So relieved that she wasn't actually that.. evil. So relieved he could cry. Ivy froze for a moment.. Before a genuine, soft smile twitched at her lips. Her arms slowly but surely came around him too.
───────•°•𐦂𖨆𐀪𖠋•°•──────•
After everything, after all the misunderstandings.. after thinking the organization was bad, getting along so well felt.. uncomfortable in a way that was bound to eventually get comfortable. But.. then again, it didn't feel bad. It felt.. nice. But for now, Christian, Nicole and Perry excused themselves out of the house.
Ruby deserved a funeral, a proper one. Of course they wouldn't forget. It'd take an eternity for that to happen. So they agreed to take her body somewhere she had always loved. They weren't sure if it was right for them to bury her, so just for now, they'd leave her where they knew she'd want to be.
Somewhere this damned apocalypse couldn't let her be.