Chapter 403 The Pond
Lisa ended up waking up once she and Carter got outside, although she was still tired so she declined to get off his back for any reason.
It wasn't long after they actually left that she realized that something may have been wrong with her husband.
With his powers he could have teleported wherever he wanted in an instant, but he was taking the time to actually fly to his destination.
Almost as if he were trying to avoid reaching it as long as possible.
Lisa silently wondered just what kind of place they could be going to, but for some reason decided not to ask.
Instead, she squeezed her husband just a little bit tighter to let him know that she was there.
He appreciated that very much.
Eventually, they arrived in a run-down neighborhood that seemed like a pretty sketchy area that should have long been demolished.
It was the kind of place that was so bad that it seemed like if you were there for too long you could get shot while you were getting shot.
Carter found an old house at the back of the neighborhood with a 'Condemned' sign out front and landed right on top of the roof.
Temporarily turning he and Lisa intangible, he sunk right through the wood and appeared in the small and cramped one story house.
The place was filthy, and smelled horribly of dirt and all kinds of mold.
There were no lights on, with them either having been busted out or simply just unscrewed in the hopes of selling them.
But something told him that there was no power in this place anyway.
A window was broken into by the front door, and let a soft and mellow moonlight shine in on this unhappy abode.
Carter moved through the house and found what used to be a kitchen, with two humans on the floor.
It looked like they had been living here for a long time, as they had brought a mattress in from gods know where and there were all sorts of empty bags of junk food and bottles full of piss lying around.
Though Carter and Lisa appeared right in front of them from out of nowhere, neither the woman nor the man felt compelled enough to move or even respond to their arrival.
Likely due to the slightly delirious and drunken look in their eye, and the dark needles jammed in their tied up forearms.
They were alive, but unresponsive in any kind of way, and they likely wouldn't be for a few more hours at best.
Carter floated above the dirty floor with trash and used needles lying all over it, almost as if he never wanted to touch this place ever again.
He didn't say anything for a while and simply starred at the two humans in their miserable state, and Lisa finally decided to speak up.
'..Are these...'
'My human parents, yes. This is the house I grew up in. I'm honestly surprised that both are still around.' Carter responded.
Lisa bit her lip uncomfortably almost as if se had no idea what to say.
'Why... did you want to come here?' She thought for a moment and then asked what she thought a logical question. 'Are you going to kill them?'
'I don't know... and no, I am not... or at least I don't think I am.' he said honestly.
'Share your reasoning with me, honey. It is very unlike you to do something like this.' Lisa pleaded.
Carter's eyes temporarily changed reptilian, then ultimately back to that of a normal human.
'In this world... Some people think that those who are on drugs are sick. That they have a disease no different than cancer. Others say that they are making a conscious choice in their lives and deserve no sympathy.
I thought... if I were to see them again with all that I am now, I would be able to determine what the truth is for myself and possibly even cure them of their affliction... But I confess I still have no such answer.'
Lisa said nothing, but she did cling to her husband tighter than before, almost as if she were trying to stop herself from crying.
'Despite everything that I have endured at their hands, I am a god now. I wondered if it would still be right for me to hold grudges with sick humans and if I should let bygones be bygones. Partially because our daughter has asked me to save some of their lives.
But I... I do not know what the right thing to do is. Despite my power, my knowledge, and my status, I still find myself unsure of what in particular I should do or be at this moment. Scorned or merciful? Benevolent or uninterested.'
Suddenly, Carter turned his head and stared directly into Lisa's eyes with a look that was sort of empty.
'So tell me as you always have, my darling Lisa... what I should do?'
All nine of Abaddon's wives brought different but equally necessary things to their relationship.
Lailah kept him smart.
She was always pushing for him to read with her, and help him to understand things from many different perspectives.
Bekka was like his right hand.
Since the two of them were the most alike out of everyone else, they had the strongest friendship in the relationship to date.
Valerie kept him excited.
She made sure sex was never boring or tedious for him no matter how often they did it, and she was always the one who was teaching the other wives new things to up the spice.
Audrina helped him become more of a man.
She was sneaky and playful, but she had an unwavering maturity that he admired so much that he eventually started to emulate it after all of their time together.
Eris helped him stay grounded in the moment.
No matter what may have been going on, Eris would always ensure that he took a breath to appreciate their relationship, their accomplishments, and their family.
Seras was the one who kept him motivated.
As iron sharpens iron, so too does she sharpen him and the other way around.
Lillian showed him how to take care of others.
From the time he had grown up, he used the constant care she showered him with as a child as a sort of guidebook, and in turn he learned to find pleasure in caring for his loved ones.
Tatiana was still new, but she was teaching him the value of being flexible and adapting to situations other than the ones on the battlefield.
And Lisa... she was the one that made sure that he always took care of himself.
While that isn't to say that the other wives were just clueless to his wellbeing, Lisa had a true and raw gift of seeing exactly when something was upsetting him and why, even when he himself could not see it.
She had a soft and warm demeanor that made him want to spill his very soul to her and tell her things that he would usually not dare to say to anyone else for fear of looking weak and pitiful.
And even though his other wives would never have thought ill of him for any reason, every man wants to seem unshakeable in front of the woman they love, right?
But for some reason, his third wife excelled in goading out his most deeply buried feelings before he even knew he had said them.
All of the other wives were somewhat jealous of this gift, and slowly but surely she was teaching them how to see past their husband, past their mental connection, and just focus on the man that he truly was.
Given more time, it would almost be like he had married nine counselors that he had been going to for years.
Ever so softly, Lisa placed her lips on his forehead and closed her eyes as she comforted him.
'I think... you are trying to force yourself to do something you are not truly ready for because you feel that it is your responsibility as one who stands above they.
But you were just a child. You were their child. Do not make yourself rush to forgive them if you aren't ready, because they do not deserve it and neither do you.
Take more time for yourself. Come to a decision that you can truly live with one way or another, and then you can act on it before our vacation is up. There is no need to agonize over this, my love.'
Carter relished in the feeling of Lisa's warm lips against his temple and he closed his eyes as if he were locked within trance.
Without saying another word more he carried Lisa to the backyard and shifted her weight until she was clinging to him from the front, and he kissed her like she was the most precious thing on earth.
It temporarily made Lisa feel dizzy and lightheaded, as she could feel her husband's overflowing gratitude pressing against her lips, and into her mind, and never in her life had she ever felt so appreciated or cared for.
It was a while before they pulled away, and even longer before they finally pulled their eyes away from each other.
They simply held onto each other in this overgrown backyard that held so many negative memories, and they rewrote it with their own happy one.
Eventually, Lisa got down and she and Carer simply walked hand in hand to the backyard, until they saw a small pond.
"...!"
"Oh...right." Carter suddenly smiled as he stared into the water fondly like he was finally remembering something pleasant.
"Did I ever tell you girls... about my imaginary friend?"
"Your... what?"
He laughed quietly as he resumed telling his wife yet another unhappy story.
"When I was very small.. I would be out here a lot after I got beaten, since my parents decided that they couldn't bear to see me in the house. Sometimes, I was left out here all night."
"Oh honey..."
"Well.. it wasn't all bad. During those frequent nights, I imagined that an inhuman woman would give me shelter, and protect me from any and all of the scary things that wanted to hurt me.
She said that she would be my real mother... and though she wasn't real to anyone else in my class, the love she gave me was."
Temporarily, Carter released Lisa's hand and kneeled on the ground just inside of the pond; never looking away from the water.
"You cannot possibly imagine.. just how heartbroken I was when I never saw you again. I thought you told me that wherever your little man went you would follow, hm?"
The only sound that followed afterwards was the quiet whistling of the wind through the trees.
Eventually, when Carter did not look away, the water started to ripple and a figure floated to the top.
She was still one of the most charming women that he had ever seen, and her green skin and scales did nothing to deter that.
She had long black dreadlocks that Carter specifically remembered tying in knots when he was little, meanwhile she simply laughed and allowed it.
She still seemed to like jewelry quite a bit, as there was some around her neck, in her ears, around her wrists, and in her hair.
While she was naked otherwise, Carter could never look at this woman with a lecherous gaze.
She was every bit his mother as Yara was.
Her yellowy golden eyes were already watery, and not because she had just miraculously appeared from a pond.
Shocked, she brought her hands over her mouth and cried softly as if she couldn't believe this was all real.
"...Carter..?" Her accent was southern and soulful, which only made it that much more heartbreaking to hear her sound like she was on the verge of breaking down.
Smiling, he took Lisa's hand again and he reached out to take the mysterious woman's as well.
"I'd like you to meet my wife Lisa. Lisa, this is my mother Imani. She's a cymbee."
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