Airlia's phone vibrated against the table, signalling a phonecall. She stared at it for a long moment, then turned away again. A beep followed, reminding her she had a missed call and that the person had left a message.
She didn't need to check it. She knew it was her mom, calling to explain or to apologise or to just check on her. Whatever she wanted, Airlia didn't really care, she just wanted to be completely alone.
A concept which everyone seemed to be struggling with. Faith, Angel, Tru, Sera, Wesley... everyone had been calling every so often. But at least the pounding on the door had ended. She knew they were worried and they felt guilty, but at this point, it didn't really matter what they felt. They deserved to feel bad, after keeping something this big from her. How could they?
She was going to have a starring role in the end of the world. And yet, no one could tell her if she was going to be on the good side or the bad side. They couldn't even tell her if she'd survive. They couldn't - or wouldn't - tell her anything. She was really starting to doubt how sincere Wesley was when he said he wasn't sure, after all, if they could keep something that big from her, what else could they hide?
For the first time, she felt alone. And betrayed. By her own family. Her own mother hadn't told her, hadn't even mentioned it, seemingly unconcerned. Did her sister know? Was everyone in on it? Is that why they were so careful with her? They were afraid she'd snap and turn evil? Was she evil?
"Airlia?" Faith's voice called through the door. "Let's talk about this."
Airlia didn't answer, she just continued to look out the window, contemplating shifting and flying away, so that none of them could ever track her again. And she was about to shift when the door opened and her mother appeared in the room, slowly taking steps toward her.
"Go away."
Another step.
"Leave me alone!"
Faith reached out and carefully lay a hand on her shoulder, massaging gently. "I can't do that, baby."
Airlia kept her gaze focused outside stubbornly, refusing to meet her mother's eyes. She didn't want an explanation, she just wanted everyone to go away and leave her alone.
"I should've told you," Faith said, rubbing her back. "Honey..."
For the first time, Airlia turned around and glared at her mom, emerald eyes burning with hot tears she couldn't seem to cry, no matter how much she wanted to.
"Then why didn't you?" her voice was hard, but it quivered a bit, something Faith noticed.
"Because I knew there'd be nothing to worry about," Faith answered, looking her daughter square in the eye, brown meeting green, and holding each other intensely. "Because no matter how it plays out, I won't let you go."
Airlia shook her head. "But you don't know what's going to happen!"
"No one does, honey, that's how the game is played."
"You should've still told me! Even if you didn't have all the facts! I had a right to know!"
"I know." Faith was quiet for a moment. "It was wrong of me to not say anything, but Lia, you were only a child when I found out, you couldn't have understood something that I couldn't even understand."
Airlia's eyes slid to the floor. "What if I'm evil?"
All at once, Faith's arms were wrapped around her. "Do you think I'd let you go so easily? I will fight for you, for the rest of my life."
She sunk into her mother's embrace and shook with tears. "Mommy, I..."
"I know."