Chapter Text
Lucia Solace had been living her life in a constant rainstorm.
Every time she opened her eyes, she could feel the weight of her grief bearing down on her like a hurricane. She forced herself out of bed every morning, if only because she knew her youngest son was a horrible cook and she needed to ensure that he didn’t burn the kitchen down trying to make breakfast. Her mood was a constant drizzle, threatening to drown her in the deluge.
She tried to smile, to keep her shoulders back and head held high for her children and friends. Still, thirteen years later, she still spent her nights crying herself to sleep more often than not.
It was hard to keep moving when the tragedy of her eldest son’s death weighed down her every waking moment.
The rain had started the night she got the call that Sebastian had been arrested. She had sped to the town police station at nearly two in the morning just to be barred from seeing her son. The thunder had continued to build in her mind as she was told that Sebastian was under investigation for the murder of nine people. She couldn’t see him, not when he was suspected for such a savage crime.
The downpour in her heart had been constant after that. It stayed as she saw her boy on the defendant’s stand in court, being represented by a court-appointed lawyer who couldn’t care less. It stayed when the jury declared guilty, staring down their noses at Sebastian’s piercings and scarred nose. It stayed when he was led away in cuffs, twisting around to look for her desperately. They had locked eyes for a brief moment, his eyes pleading that It wasn’t me, please believe me.
Lucia believed him. She knew her boy. She knew he would never do something like that.
Nobody else shared her sentiments besides her children.
Overnight, everything changed. Lucia’s family and friends supported her, especially when the court revealed that Sebastian had been sentenced to death. But she could feel the hesitance in their hugs, see the way they gazed warily at Rio and Gabriel, as if wondering whether they might snap next. Lucia knew that things were just as bad for her kids- their friends had drifted away from them, and Gabriel had gotten into numerous fights defending his brother’s honor- but she could barely bring herself to get up in the morning, let alone ask about their situations.
The thunderstorm in her heart had spilled out of her eyes the day Sebastian’s execution arrived. All she got was a certificate of death from the state prison stating that Sebastian Solace had been executed by electric chair. No condolences. No apology for her loss. They didn’t even return his body for them to bury.
In the following months, Lucia had to fight hard to survive. Her grief barely let her move, let alone care for herself and her children. Guilt joined her grief as she saw Rio step up, becoming more of a parent than an oldest child. Gabriel still got in trouble, but the incidents became less frequent when Rio had sat him down and scolded him to hell and back.
Eventually, she could get up in the morning, even if she came back to bed an hour later. Little by little, with the support of her children and the few friends she still had, Lucia began to recover. Her grief was still heavy, the rain still falling, but she could finally move and speak without the ever-present threat of tears.
Then came the news that shattered everything she still knew.
Sebastian Solace was innocent.
He had been framed, the real killer caught nearly four years after his execution. Lucia still remembered how she had gotten the call, how she had crumpled in on herself as her heart broke all over again, shaking with sobs of grief, of vindication, of rage.
They had put her boy to death over a lie. He had been innocent all along, something she had known deep down and yet no one else had believed. The realization that her family’s suffering had been for nothing hurt worse than the knowledge of her son’s wrongful death.
Depression hit hard, and the storm dragged her down worse than ever before.
Out in public, their community’s tune had drastically changed. All of Lucia’s old friends brought flowers, home cooked meals, and empty apologies. Sebastian’s grave- which was nothing more than a tombstone over an empty grave- was suddenly overrun with bouquets from not just his old bandmates and girlfriend, but all their old classmates as well. Everyone rallied once again, this time on their side.
It all meant nothing to her. What difference did it make? None of it would bring her son back.
To her children, however, it changed everything.
Rio had switched her major to law after seeing how poorly the court-appointed lawyer had defended Sebastian, and she threw that expertise into suing the original court that had handled Sebastian’s case. Her friends- the real ones, not the ones who had come crawling back after the news- helped her, and she ended up winning a rather ample settlement for their family.
Gabriel began spending more and more time out with Sebastian’s old bandmates. He had found comfort in their presence after Sebastian’s arrest, and had become their guitarist in order to carry on Sebastian’s legacy. He ended up writing a few songs, but he went live on local news to perform the song he had written specifically in his older brother’s honor.
Lucia refused any interviews or media interaction. Once again, her room had become her sole place of residency. Her storm of sadness had bled into an ocean, constantly threatening to drag her down to the depths and swallow her forever. More often than not, she was tempted to let it.
And once again, it was her children that ended up saving her.
When the depression was so strong that she couldn’t bring herself to move, Rio would come in with fresh food and help her take care of herself. Gabriel would bring Sebastian’s old acoustic guitar to her room and just play quietly, giving her something to focus on other than her grief. Even her friends and Sebastian’s old bandmates met up to help clean the house and do yardwork for them.
The small, genuine acts of kindness and care formed a small staircase of hope. It wasn’t enough to get Lucia completely out of the dark waters- the sadness she felt currently was proof of that- but it was a start. Enough to once again get her on her feet, help her start living like a real person again.
It was hard some days. Sometimes, she couldn’t help but see the world as a missed opportunity, her experiences as chances that her son would never get to take. But as Gabriel and Rio assured her, Sebastian wouldn’t have wanted her to live like that. So she carried on, brought flowers to his gravestone, mended old relationships, and threw her love and support to the children she still had.
As she slowly made her way to the kitchen, she began humming an old lullaby her mother had sung to her. The familiar melody brought a soft smile to her face, pushing the rain back further. She opened the fridge, pulling out some ingredients. Gabriel was likely still asleep, having been out late performing at a venue in town. She hoped to have breakfast made before he woke up.
Before she could begin, though, her phone began to ring.
She frowned. That was odd. It was rather early for any friends to be calling, and she couldn’t imagine anyone else who might be reaching out to her. Perhaps it was Rio? A glance at the screen revealed an unknown number, which only amplified her confusion. After getting the call about Sebastian’s wrongful sentence from an unknown number, however, she’d be foolish not to answer.
Hesitantly, she accepted the call, holding it up to her ear. “Hello? Who is this?” Her voice cracked slightly from disuse, and she quietly cleared it.
“Is this Ms. Lucia Solace?” The voice on the other end of the line was professional yet kind, a tone that Lucia didn’t hear often. It automatically soothed her nerves, even if only somewhat.
“Yes, that is my name. Who is this? Why are you calling me?” she asked.
“My name is Agent Nova with Innovation Inc. I apologize for bothering you so early, but this isn’t the sort of call to delay. I’m calling in regards to your oldest son, Sebastian Solace. We have news that we want to share with you and your family about him, but it will be best explained in person. We already have your address- do my partner and I have your permission to come over?” Agent Nova asked.
Confusion, anger, grief and a small sliver of hope warred in her mind. News about Sebastian? It couldn’t be… could it? “First tell me what this news is,” she demanded.
Agent Nova sighed. “I wanted to be there in person, just to answer any follow-up questions you might have. There’s no gentle way to say this… your son is alive.”
The rain, for the first time in thirteen years, stilled.
“What did you say?” she whispered, her voice small and fragile.
“Your son, Sebastian Solace, is alive,” Agent Nova repeated, her voice steady. Gentle. Confident. Honest.
Lucia didn’t even realize she’d fallen until her back hit the fridge, knocking something inside it loose with a loud clatter. “It can’t be,” she said, disbelief and desperate hope warring in her mind. “The execution- the trial- the people at the prison told me that he was dead. They sent us the paper to say so.”
“They lied,” Agent Nova said gently. “He’s alive, and you were the first person he asked us to find and contact. A lot has changed with him, though, so me and my partner would like to come over to debrief you and your other children on the situation. Do we have your permission to come over? We can be there in a little over an hour.”
She was shaking so much she could barely hold the phone. “Yes,” she said quickly. “Yes, please come! Oh, my boy… he’s alive? He’s really alive?”
“He is,” Agent Nova repeated. “He’s very much alive, and he wants to see you. WE’ll be there in an hour.”
“Oh, thank you, thank you, muchas gracias, thank you,” she said, tears threatening to choke her. Agent Nova disconnected the call, leaving Lucia alone in the kitchen, the words of the conversation pouring over her like a waterfall.
He’s alive.
My Sebastian is alive.
Praise be to all the powers above, my boy is alive!
There was a clatter, then Gabriel ran in, his hair mussed from sleep and a concerned expression on his face. “Mama! I heard something fall, are you okay?” He ran to her side, quickly scanning her for injuries. Lucia simply shook her head, reaching out to grab his hand. The tears pouring down her face weren’t ones of sadness, but of pure, unfiltered joy.
“I’m not hurt, mi amor,” she said, her smile so wide that it hurt. “I’m not hurt at all. I feel better than I have in a long time… oh, mijo, you won’t believe it… your brother is alive.”