FALLEN ANGELS.

chapter four, introductions. 
[ season three, episode three ]

THEODORE BLAKE WON'T GO as far as calling himself suicidal.

He just really fucking hates his dad.

In one life, Philip Blake was a good husband and an even better dad. He loved his son and his daughter, he cherished his wife. But his wife and daughter are dead. And his son is all that's left. He can't stand to look at him.

Theo currently rests on roof of his apartment complex. He lounges in his large beach chair with a radio and a cooler by his side. An umbrella shields him the scorching Senoia, Georgia sun.

He brings his arm up, taking a swig of his beer. Then he hears the roar of trucks on the roads below. He stands up from the chair and walks towards the edge of the building.

Below, he watches as two women get out of one of the trucks. One has black dreads and the other is a blonde who looks like shit. Then the other pull a man out on a gurney.

He huffs to himself. Will his father kill these people too and put their heads in fish tanks? Probably so.

He doesn't bother to leave the roof. He stays up there a lot to avoid his father's violent hand. Sometimes Cole joins him.

Cole Tanner is the closest thing Theo has to a brother. Cole is four years older than Theo, making him twenty-two.

Cole has been at Woodbury for about seven months now. His mother is the kindest person Theo has ever met. She bakes cookies whenever someone new arrives at Woodbury, welcoming them with a bright smile and her kind eyes.

Theo wonders if she'll make these two new comers some cookies.

Angela sings and she dances at the parties his father holds. She reads the children books at the library and she plays games with them whenever they ask. She visits the elderly who have no family left.

Cole and his mom aren't fond of the Governor because to the way he treats his son, and they think he's kind of creepy. One time, Cole even threatened Theo's father, but of course, there had been nothing he or Angela could do.

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When the Georgia sun finally falls below the horizon, Theo returns home. He's quiet as he opens and closes the door, locking it behind him. He tries to not make a single sound as to hope he won't wake his father.

But his father is awake.

And he sits in the darkness of the living room.

The Governor switches on the lamp beside his chair. Theo lets out a shout of surprise, whirling around to face his father. He grips his chest, feeling his pounding heart.

"Where you been, Som?" He asks.

"On the roof, as always," Theo replies, stepping away from the door. Theo sets down his bag on the couch. He then shoves his hands inside his jacket pockets. "Who're those women you brought in today?"

"If you joined us down here in the real world you would know," the Governor says.

Theo's fingers flex.

"I like it up there better," Theo shrugs. .

His father's lips twitch into an angry smile. He presses his fall flat against the brown leather seat as he stands.

Theo's fists clench as his father stalks towards him one slow step at a time. When he finally reaches his son, he glares down at him.

"I thought I raised you to be a man, not some daydreamin' pussy," the Governor says. His voice is calm, but he's furious. Theo can tell by his eyes.

"You haven't raised me since the world went to shit," Theo's sharp tongue gets the better of him. As soon as the words leave his mouth, a sting explodes on his cheek.

Theo's head whips to the side from the blow. He barely has time to regain himself because his father's knuckle knocks against his face again.

Theo hits the ground, his arms catching the counter. The dishes his father laid out to dry clatter to the ground around Theo.

Blood blossoms in Theo's mouth; the familiar  metallic tang bursting over his tastebuds. The taste makes him want to gag.

Theo tries to scramble away from him but the Governor kneels. He grabs his son's face between his thumb and pointer finger. "I have raised you since the day you were born, Theodore. Don't you ever forget that."

Theo refuses to let the tears that burn in his eyes fall. He fears his father. He's terrified of the man who's supposed to protect him from harm, who's supposed to love him forever.

But when his mom died, and then when Penny died. . . something inside of his dad snapped. A cord inside his brain broke.

"If I ever, ever hear words like that leave your mouth again it'll be much worse next time. I promise you that. Do you understand, Theodore?" He asks.

Theo nods, "yes, I— I understand."

"Good," his dad shoves away from Theo. He stands to his full height. He then gestures to the mess on the kitchen floor. "Clean this up."

And so, Theo cleans it up.

As he does, he stops when he catches sight of a kitchen knife. He picks it up, staring down at the blade in his hand. In the reflection, he can see his face. The blood drips from his bottom lip, staining the tile floor beneath him.

For a second, Theo wonders what will happen if he kills his father. He glances up, towards his father's bedroom. He then shakes his head. He can't. He can't kill his own dad.

So, Theo finishes cleaning. He brushes his teeth and washes his mouth with mouth wash until he can no longer taste the blood.

And then he leaves.

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Theo returns to the roof of the apartment complex. He opens the umbrella, knowing that the sun will be beaming down on him before he even gets the chance to wake up. He lays down in the longue chair, adjusting under his blanket and against his pillow to find comfort. He shuts his eyes. He finally starts to drift off.

And then—

"Are you asleep?"

Theo doesn't open his eyes. "Yes."

"Hope you're sleepin' good cause I can't." Cole Tanner says as he sits down his own longue chair beside Theo's. Theo can hear him unfolding it, and the idea of seeing Cole carry around the large longue chair in the streets makes Theo smirk.

Cole can't sleep most nights. A lot of the time, he sleeps on the roof, too, so that he can hear the outside world. Cole had grown up on a ranch, so he's used to falling asleep to several noises: coyotes yipping, horses neighing, the guard dogs barking to scare off said coyotes.

Not dead silence.

That's what freaks the young man out about Woodbury. Most nights it's so silent outside on the streets, Cole thinks for sure everyone has disappeared from the world. Sometimes he even scares himself so bad that he has to go check on his mother.

"You got new bruises," Cole finally says as he lays down on his pillow. He pulls his blanket up to his chest.

"Yeah," Theo mutters, his eyes still shut. "I pissed Dad off pretty bad earlier."

Cole looks over at Theo. Watching the boy for any sort of emotion. There is nothing there. Theo just wants to sleep. Cole asks him, "why don't you just leave? Come stay with me and Mom, or go stay with Martinez. I know he offered you a bed at his place. Hell, even Merle will let you stay with him, I bet."

"I'm not leavin'. I don't want him to think I'm an even bigger pussy than he already does," Theo sighs. "Plus, Merle sucks my dad's dick too much, he won't let me stay."

"Who cares what he thinks? What matters is if you're safe or not. Which you obviously are not." Cole argues. "He's gonna kill you one day, Theo."

"Maybe," Theo shrugs. He then remembers the knife, and how he thought of not being able to kill his own dad. But then, a feeling in his heart clenches. His blondish-brown eyebrow furrow against his forehead. He will kill him.

"Or maybe I'll kill him first."

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word count: 1,391

everyone meet theo and cole!!!! i would like to officially welcome my babies into the wastelands series. you guys are gonna love them so much.

i'm the leader of the 'theo blake deserves better' club. right after cole of course. i love them together so much.

so yes, theo is eighteen and cole is twenty-two. but guys, y'all are not ready for the cole, theo, and odessa trio that's coming. chaotic besties to say the least. y'all are gonna adore their little trio.

next chapter y'all... y'all are NOT prepared for all the heartbreak and emotions that's coming into this book. it's one of the saddest things in this entire book.

BUT GUYS!!! i wrote four and half chapters today. freaking insane. idk what happened. i got a random spur of motivation from an edit on tiktok and went to work.