Chapter 4- The Gabriels

May 21st, 2001
3:23 PM

The door to the Gabriel household was slammed shut and Pam looked up to see her daughter Madelyn storming over to her, eyes lined with red. Fear gripped her, and she knew immediately what her daughter was going to say to her. She didn't like it though. Why did she have to tell her eleven year old daughter so soon?

"Why is everybody calling Calvin a murderer?" Madelyn questioned at once, looking to be trying to hold back tears. "People keep coming up to me and calling me the murderer's sister and that Calvin was evil. Why would they say that? What did Calvin ever do to anybody?"

Pam looked over her daughter's shoulder at her husband Steve. The man shook his head slightly before taking a seat in a chair, holding his head in his hands. She sighed, lightly grabbing Madelyn's arm and pulling her down next to her on the couch.

"Maddie, sweetie… we need you to not pay any attention to what people say okay? Calvin was a good brother to you and Eric; he loved both of you, you know that, right?" She ran her hand through her daughter's hair.

"Of course I know that but what does that have to do with them calling Calvin a murderer?" The eleven year old's eyes watered, a tear falling over. "How could people say such horrible things about him? Did… did Calvin do something you're not telling me about?"

"There are a few things… we haven't told you about Calvin's… about Calvin's death, Madelyn." Steve spoke up causing both mother and daughter to look over at him. Pam swallowed, not sure if it was the right thing to tell Madelyn, but also knowing they didn't have much other choice than to do so. "I still don't feel as if you're old enough to know of the exact…" he hesitated. "Circumstance of it yet but we also can't keep you locked away in this house until you're older."

"Wh-what are you saying? I don't understand… what did Calvin do?"

Pam took her daughter's hand, squeezing it and the small blonde looked over at her mother. "Honey, your brother… he killed himself. Both he and his best friend Andre killed themselves."

"W-why would he… why would Calvin do that?" Madelyn asked, wiping at her face, trying to keep her crying in check.

"I-I think that's all you need to know, Maddie." Steve stated suddenly. "Why don't you go up to your room and play for a bit, alright? You don't need to know the rest of it. You're not old enough."

"I'm not a little kid! And this is my brother! Why can't I know about my brother?" Madelyn screamed, now freely crying. Pam pulled her daughter into a hug, sobs racking through her body. "I-I just want to know wh-what everybody else seems to know… why is Calvin dead? Wh-what happened that you guys aren't telling me and Eric?"

"Y-your father is right Maddie. We'll tell you when you're ready to know, but you're not ready to know just yet…" she stated quietly, rubbing Madelyn's back.

The blonde sniffed, looking straight ahead across the living room. "…D-did Calvin… did he kill those kids?"

The question shocked both Pam and Steve, but neither of them could deny the fact they should have seen it coming. Madelyn was a smart girl and the circumstances were just too difficult to deny. She wished that her little girl hadn't found out like this—she and her husband should have been the one to tell her, but they had just been trying to protect Madelyn from the hurt it would cause her to know what had really happened. Had that been so wrong?

"Maddie…" Steve started quietly, sitting up sharply.

The girl wiped at her face. "I've been thinking about it for awhile… I knew you guys weren't telling me and Eric everything and people keep calling him a murderer and I…" she hesitated. "I heard about what happened the day Calvin died. It was him, wasn't it? He killed those people. He and Andre, right?"

Pam looked over at Steve, not really knowing what to say. She swallowed. "Y-yes. We don't know why, but he and Andre did do… that. But that's not how your father and I want you to remember your brother, okay? Don't listen to those people saying all those awful things about him. What he did was horrible, but you know your brother and he loved you and Eric and he was a really good brother, wasn't he?"

"N-nobody is talking to me anymore and it's because of him, isn't it? Nobody likes me and wants to be my friend anymore. I-is that why you didn't want me and Eric to go back to school? Because you knew it would be like this?"

"Yes, Maddie," Steve told her quietly. "That's why."

The girl's face scrunched up, her hands clenching. "I-I hate Calvin! W-why did he do that? I hate him and I'm glad he's dead!" She jumped up, running upstairs to her room, the door slamming shut behind her.

"Madelyn!" Pam cried out after her daughter, fresh new tears rolling down her cheeks. "G-god… why did this happen to our family, Steve? Why did our son do this to us?" She swallowed tightly, hand clasping around her mouth as she sobbed.

There was no response, only the sound of Steve getting up and moving towards the mantle across from them. Steve stared at the senior picture of his son. The boy's face had a small—barely even there—smile upon it and Steve looked away, picking it up and laying it face down.

It hurt to look at it.