coffin left ajar

[reader] doesn't tell andrew or ashley what happened that night. neither does their child. maybe they knew that they'd get in trouble for yelling at [reader] and speaking to them like that with their parents. if [reader] doesn't mention anything, then they shouldn't either.

andrew and ashley can tell that something is up. it's not unusual for [reader] and their kid to be quite, especially with each other, but they notice how they skirt around each other's presence. their conversation are short, direct, and brief. andrew notices the sudden tension that enters their kid's shoulders whenever [reader] talks to them. ashley can feel the air of change around [reader], how their sibling is more quiet and reserved.

they suppose it's time for a talk.

[reader] gently crawls out of their shared bed one night. they slowly make their way to the bathroom to look at themself... they don't even recognize their face. they're not a graves. not legally at least, only andrew and ashley (along with their child) are legally carrying the graves name. they're not... they're not really a part of the family, are they? they're just a weird insertion, misplaced and forced. their skin, their body, their blood, their words, their thoughts... they don't really belong in that house... in that home. 'just some mistress. some pet andrew and ashley keep around.'

they didn't mean it. they're just a kid. they don't fully understand the situation they're in or the relationship that [reader] has with their parents, their siblings. it still hurt.

'do you think you're all that? do you think you're somehow special?' the voice in [reader]'s head digs down into somewhere deep, stringing together words that weren't meant for them but presenting them as a gift all the same. she's not talking to them, but it feels like she is. 'you're just another hole! and you're not even the only one!'

she wasn't talking to you, but it still hurt. it still hurts.

'the only reason they're with you is because they feel sorry for you!' what type of sibling relies on their siblings this badly? 'DO YOU THINK YOU'RE BETTER THAN HER?!' that's not true, they both asked you to be there with them. 'you're not needed. they have each other. they have their kid. none of them need you.'

the voice changes in [reader]'s head. their mind always knew how to cut deep, to make it personal. and soon their reflection was talking to them. the voice that never leaves.

'you're just another dead body they drag around, another thing to dance around and bury. their lives would be so much easier without you! they would even celebrate your disappearance! just like mom and dad did.'

'how about you jump off the bridge and join them?'

they barely hear the soft knocks against the bathroom door, but they turn their head slightly when they see ashley peek in. [reader] can't look her in the eye even though the reflection of the mirror. her black hair is down and messy, brushing against her face and shoulders like a wedding veil.

"hey hun... are you okay?" her voice is deeper when laced with that sleepy drowsiness, "andrew and i missed you in bed. what's wrong?" the door creaks further and she steps closer towards her sibling, resting a hand gently on their shoulder.

"i... um..." the words they want to say claw at the back of their throat while they try to hold them down. their child hates them, and they're tarring the home andrew and ashley fought for, they're tarring the live they deserved. the truth gets silenced in their mouth, "i couldn't sleep."

"hm? was it a nightmare?"

"yeah..."

"hm. come back to bed, [reader]. we'll help you go back to sleep." 'you're just another hole.'

[reader] shies away from ashley's touch, "n-not yet... i can't really, uh." they can't ruin the nest they've lovingly made with each other, they can't overhear the secrets they whisper to each other. the secrets they're not meant to hear. "i can't sleep just yet."

"tell me what's wrong. there's been something bothering you lately." ashley's hand landed on the bathroom sink. "you know you can tell me or andrew anything, right? we're here for you."

[reader]'s eyes shyly dart their way to ashley's face, "it's... it's really dumb. i mean, well, it's just not that important. just a nightmare. a stupid thought that got too scary and too loud." they manage to force a small smile on their face for ashley, "i'm fine, sis. just need a little time to breathe."

ashley hums dismissively while placing a chaste kiss on their cheek, "well, when you're done taking your breath come back to bed so we can smother you, m'kay?"

"okay ashley."

she gave [reader] one last look before quietly exiting the bathroom, closing the door quietly behind her as she left. [reader] stared at the door that lead out of the bathroom, that lead towards the bedroom, and turned back to the mirror. their reflection stared back at them...

they turned off the light and left the bathroom.

...

the next day, andrew and ashley decided to stay at home with [reader] after they dropped off their kid at school. they were both concerned for [reader] after last night. they didn't get nightmare like andrew did, even after everything that happened since the quarantine. this was something new, something recent. it clawed at ashley since that night.

"do you think it had something to do with [kid]?" ashley asked andrew, who was sitting on the couch, watching her pace around. he shrugged his shoulders. "i assumed it does, but if it was really something important i'm sure they would've told us by now. our last date was about a week ago."

"... they used to do this before, remember? when they'd stop talking after making us upset." she turned to look at her brother-husband, a small shocked look on her face. "we had to then cuddle them in your bed and tell them that they did nothing wrong. they'd cry and thank us, and apologize for being a burden... do you think they're doing the same thing now?" he look at ashley with his green eyes. a small sad glint could be seen in them as he frowned. she scoffed and looked away from andrew towards the front door.

"they better fucking not. we left that shit behind us!"

"yeah... we did, didn't we? maybe it still affects them though." andrew sighed and followed ashley's gaze.

...

[reader] handed ashley's child a couple of crumpled bills and some coins while in the car. the child took it and looked up at [reader], confused.

"what's this for?" they asked.

"i won't be able to pick you up from school today," [reader] answered after a slight pause, "that's bus fare money. you could buy yourself something nice, if you want to and just walk home."

"why? why aren't you picking me up from school?" [reader]'s eyes avoided the child's.

"i'll be busy... it doesn't really concern you. just try not to get--"

"it does concern me!" the kid interrupted [reader], taking them aback. "is this about last thursday night? are you running away from me? i'm sorry, momma. i'm sorry that i said that stuff to you!" their eyes began to water and they sniffled, "i didn't... i didn't mean it! i was just mad, i-i was mad because everyone at school s-said that it was weird! i don't want you to leave th-though! i don't want you to leave me..." [reader] took in the child's face: wet eyes, fat tears, snotty nose quickly clogging up. they didn't want to cause a scene and now they're making a mess of this child's morning.

"[kid]--"

the child leaned over the center console of the car and wrapped their arms around [reader] as tightly as possible. they buried their face into [reader]'s jacket, "don't leave... please don't leave, 'm sorry."

----

it's been a couple of years since andrew, ashley, and [reader] had killed their parents. the siblings are in a cute incestuous polyamorous relationship with each other. but one day, ashley misses her period and finds out she's pregnant (with andrew's child). do you think they'd have [reader] raise the child with them as a second mother or as an aunt?

i think about the baby-- after being born-- is taught by andrew and ashley that some children can have more than two parents sometimes! their child has three parents that love them very much; a daddy, a mommy, and a momma! i think about the angst that can follow as the child grows up. they tell their friends at school about their family and how they two moms and one dad and one of the friends say "why do you have two moms? that's not normal."

i can hear the kids telling the child that their dad is probably cheating on their mom, that's why they have two moms. that they don't have to listen to [reader] since they're not the kid's real mom. it stirs up conflict in the child's heart because they love [reader], they've been nothing but nice and supportive of the kid since they came from the womb, but the other kids have a point, don't they?

i can feel the insecurity in [reader] when the kid is born and as they grow up. they constantly tell andrew and ashley about how they think the kid won't like them as they grow up, or would probably disregard them since they're not their biological parent. i can see andrew and ashley reassure them that they're a wonder parent and that if their kid ever tried to talk down to [reader] or disrespect them that there would be swift corrections of that behavior.

i can see them. the kid is watching TV late at night, around 10:00pm. andrew and ashley are out of the house to go on a date night and they left [reader] in charge to watch after their kid. "tell us if anything happens," ashley would tell [reader] before giving them a kiss and walking out the door with andrew.

but [reader] can't really bring themselves to tell them of what happened when they left.

the kid really should be going to bed at this time. it's a thursday night and they have school in the morning. they ask the child to turn off the TV and go to bed. they're ignored. they ask against more sternly this time and the child asks them bluntly, "why should i?"

"why should i listen to you? you're not my mom, you're not my dad. you're just some... fucking mistress or something that my parents keep around. i don't have to listen to you! the only authority you have over me is the authority my parents let you borrow!"

the child get progressively louder as they vent and [reader] watches them, the anxiety and fear building up inside of them. they knew this would happen one day. they knew that the child would realize that they don't fit in this dynamic somehow. that they're an outsider in a perfectly fine family. they're a stranger, no matter how long they'd been raising this child along their siblings as their own.

the child can see the betrayal on [reader]'s face and they immediately regret ever saying anything. they try to apologize but before they could the [reader] chokes out, "you're right..."

...

"i'm not your mom... or your dad. but i tried to be... i tried my best to be there, for you, for them. i loved you... with everything i had, and i'll love you with everything i am... i'm sorry."

they're both silently crying now, tears falling down their face. [reader] gets that it might be hard, having an abnormal family that doesn't follow societal expectations. they get that it can cause problems, it can cause an othering for the child that they can't solve. all they can do is be there.

the child gets up from the couch and leaves towards their room, the TV playing white noise. [reader] turns it off and sits down on the couch. they usually sleep in big bed that they share with andrew and ashley but they can't bring themself to do so that night. the more they think about the bed the worse they feel. they don't belong in that bed. that's andrew and ashley's bed, in andrew and ashley's bedroom, in andrew and ashley's house. [reader] just invades their space, they taint the sheets and stain their house with their presence.

they sleep on the couch that night.

----

notes from coff-in: woah. i've seen some posts from @/incorrect-gravescest about their family AU (which is very cute, btw. i suggest you check it out when you can) and it got me thinking about a polycube(?) between the graves siblings and sibling [reader] with a child. the wholesome and weird and angsty relationship they'd have with their child (or children). it's been on my mind for a while. let me know what you think of it, i'd love to expand on it more and talk about it. also let me know if you guys like it when i share my thoughts and ideas like this. i know that i usually just answer asks/request now and don't really share my own thoughts but i'd like to do it more often. can't guarantee they'd all be good quality though :,) thank you for reading all this, too. take care!

to be honest, it's probably the easiest to hide when you're in highschool. any squished flower petals that you cough up are easily flushed down the toilet at school, blood wiped away with papertowels so you can return to your lunch table with ashley without worry that she'll notice anything is off.

your love is much simpler than your siblings, you practically spit nothing but flowers of love and grief, but thankfully nothing poisonous ever sprouts from your throat. soft petals and buds make your throat sore, but you get used to it soon enough and move on with your life as best as you can. it's not killing you yet.

and on top of how much cover that school gives you, andrew and ashley's relationship is still a bit rocky, although they're finally talking again after so long, so they're also pretty wrapped up in each other. seeing them become so close again makes you spit up a few yellow hyacinths, the flower of jealousy, but you quickly wash them down the sink.

and yeah, quarantine? utter hell. you have no cover to hide behind how much you're coughing or why you keep running to the bathroom, the growing flowers made all the worse by the fact that you're always around your siblings. there's no place you can't go that they aren't and you find yourself loving them all the more.

andrew just thinks you have a lingering cough, but ashley knows it's something more. she's the one that finds the bloody buds of baby's breath at the bottom of the trash and shows andrew. the sight of the flowers makes them nervous, the disease is nearly certain to kill you.

you're already growing frail and weak, the time spent with them is killing you. i honestly think that they would reciprocate your feelings if only to keep you alive, that and andrew realizes he's not alone in his twisted desires.

but even if they didn't for whatever reason, maybe you're not as loved by them as they are by you, vindictively killing them because you're going to die anyway is actually kinda badass. or if the disease is too far alone to be cured, you all choose to kill yourselves instead of living without each other.

your sister is stubborn and disinterested in the way her lungs shake with every breath. the squeaked bud of a white clover is tossed into the trash and ignored.

think of me

clovers come up, small and easy. soft petals tickle her throat the more they come up, but each is cast aside without a second thought. ashley doesn’t want to me plagued with silly thoughts of wildflowers twining vines through her lungs.

honeysuckle and hydrangeas are a bit harder to ignore. the prickly stems of the pale honeysuckle scratch her throat rather than tickle, bringing forth the first few spots of blood. the hydrangeas come up in tight bundles too thick for ashley’s throat. the first cluster to fly out of her mouth, coughing and wheezing as she desperately sucks down air, are blue and beautiful, torn and cracked, terrifyingly dangerous.

bonds of love, thank you for understanding me

ashley wouldn’t dare bring this up with your mother, her beautiful flowers would wither and shrink away from Renee’s cold tone. and, for once, she doesn’t dare to think of sharing her troubles with you or andrew. she knows why this is happening, and that makes it all the worse.

guilt and disgust smother her more than the flowers do, dyed pink and purple as they come up, smeared in rustic blood. daisies and columbines come up next, and ashley isn’t even surprised as she buries them to the bottom of the trash bin.

innocence, loyal love, i’ll never tell

folly. foolishness

ashley refuses to admit how fast they build, refusing to show her cards, bare her heart lest you decide to tear the flowers from her very lungs, tearing her apart from the inside out. as the flowers take their toll on ashley, growing tired and pale, you only look more beautiful.

hyacinths, purple and yellow.

sorrow, jealousy

then roses red, radiantly bright against her blood spilling over the petals. the tightly woven petals feel soft against ashley's fingers. they felt like barded wire climbing from her throat.

i love you, i love you, i love you

ashley, for all her rough edges and harsh words, knows nothing but the gentle whisper of petals filling her from the inside out.

andrew's love is much more punishing. the first bud to push free from his lungs, weary and weak from nicotine smoke, is butterfly weed. the fuzzy petals supposed to be fine-haired and soft, are harsh as stinging. blood comes up with the first spit, orange bits washing away under the faucet’s flow. andrew picks at the bits swirling around the drain, pricking himself on the sharp edged leaf. the roses are already there, rotting, petals and thorns withering away from disgust, soiling the rest of his blossom.

i love you, let me go

carnations red, andrew quickly finds, can be easily traded for roses, softer, fuller, without harsh needles weaving vines of weeds around his lungs, pulling tight.

alas, my poor heart aches, aches for you

andrew is willing to admit the center of his ailment faster than ashley is, for once. he tries to save himself, to withdraw and hide away from you. from your sad, misty-eyed gaze, scared and confused as your siblings grow frail with each passing day. but andrew has never felt so weak to his own wants, has never felt so frail.

geranium and hyacinth purple, a similar shade to a ripped bud he once found in the trash, quickly join their brethren to suffocate him. being away from you hurts more than living like this.

folly, stupidity, sorrow

honeysuckle is just as cruel as rose thorns, tearing and slicing through the thin skin of his throat until each breath rattles and shakes with clotting blood.

bonds of love

loving you hurts. and when it hurts too much, when vines of growth, split the seams of their skin, a growing forest of their undying love within flowing forth, when they can’t catch a breath through the woven bundles of life, their love will bleed through.

ashley’s wrists are split open, branches of baby’s breath carefully curling around your sisters arms up higher and higher, like the fragile branches will protect her from all harm.

everlasting love

lilies bloom from under her shirt, tearing through the spaces of her ribcage, through her breasts and over her heart.

purity

you’d never known the sight of salvia flowers until they sprout from under your sister’s hair, a stark red wreath of flowers crowning her head.

forever mine

purple heliotrope grew over the skinny expanse of andrew’s back like a blossoming meadow, the only flowers his body bore to not bear pain.

eternal love, devotion

yarrow twines round and round his fingers like wedding rings he’ll never know.

everlasting love

you would one day find it funny, to find so many complimenting blooms between your siblings once the sight of blood soaked prairies growing all at once.

a single salvia, blue grows from over his heart.

i think of you

and from both of their mouths, dark and threatening, belladonna blooms and curls, pleasantly sweet smelling and deceptively beautiful.