Witchy Days 18: Clearing up the Past

Once Lakeisha settled in somewhat with taking care of Anthony, they have arranged for the visit to the cemetery. Terra initially thought only Monica and Matthew will go, but as the day approached, both of them asked her if she would like to come along. Neither one tried to seem nervous, but it seemed both the mother and the son required some moral support on that day.

She wasn’t surprised. It was one thing to know the man you loved did something to hurt you years ago, but to have him reach out from beyond the grave for a talk was at the very least unnerving.

“Mitchell, are you in there?” Lakeisha addressed the gravestone. “You wanted to speak to Monica and she’s here. Everyone is here.”

Behind them, Terra and Matthew noticed the Bishops approach but keep their distance. She wondered if Mitchell wanted to reach out to them as well.

Matthew, for his part, wondered what to expect. How would this man react to seeing all of them? Would he be happy to see them? Would he be happy to see his own father? Now that was the big question. He promised his mother he would come along, but now he was having so many second thoughts about it. He was curious about the guy, but after his Mother and Harper told him a bit about him, he felt somewhat angry with him. If he was such a great guy, then why did he have to hurt her the way he did?

Monica pretty much knew she didn’t want to be here. She had dealt with all of her feelings regarding this man years ago. At the same time, she knew she would regret not coming, so here she was.

And then, he was just there, almost as if he always had been. Trying to fight her growing sense of déjà vu, Monica looked at the man who appeared to be no older than the last time she had seen him.

“Monica?” he asked in disbelief. “You really came?”

“Well, it’s not every day you get someone reaching out for you from the other side,” she told him, trying to keep a straight face and not roll her eyes. This was Mitchell, alright – despite his charisma, the man always had a flair for dramatics, and from the looks of it, dying didn’t change that for him. Everything about today was one big show. Then again, he was dead, so maybe she should give him the benefit of doubt, at least for Matthew’s sake. “You wanted to talk.”

“I wanted to apologize,” Mitchell looked down, downcast. “I lied to you when we broke up.”

“I know,” she told him.

“I had to. For your sake, and for that of our child,” he explained.

“So you did know about the baby,” she inhaled sharply. “Even before I did.”

“Of course, how could I not? And if I knew, they would’ve known as well,“ Mitchell reasoned. “You were in danger while you were near me.”

“So you simply decided to play with my feeling the way you did to keep me safe,” Monica studied him. “How could you even know I’d keep the baby after the way you’ve talked to me? Did you even care?”

“What kind of a question is that?! Of course I cared!” he exclaimed. “I did what I did to keep you safe.”

“You know what would have kept me much more safe?” she told him. “Actually talking to me like a normal person. Telling me about the problem and letting me decide what to do next. But you took all those choices away from me with your actions.”

Monica knew he called her here to apologize, but she finally had a chance to let him hear it all and she was taking it.

“Should we mediate for them?” Terra whispered, observing the conversation. “It’s not going too smoothly, is it?”

“No, but he should’ve known better than to behave like a fool with her,” Matthew responded with a chuckle. “He wanted to talk to her – let him. For as long as necessary. But it sure won’t be a one-sided conversation.”

“Oh no,” Lakeisha agreed. “But a necessary one. Something tells me your mother has quite a bit to unload on him. I almost feel bad for him, but they both need this.”

“I know I didn’t react to the situation the way I should’ve,” Mitchell admitted. “Trust me, I’ve had plenty of time to stew over all the mistakes I’ve made back then. But what would you have done if it was your sister who was attacked by these creeps and was inches away from death? I freaked out. I was afraid you’ll be next.”

“What creeps?” Monica asked.

“Our old pack. They killed our parents and we ran from them, years ago. I never told you about them because I didn’t realize they would actually track us down. We were practically children when the conflict between our parents and the leader happened, I couldn’t believe the guy would actually care enough about us to expend resources and time on following us. But he did.”

“So you thought you would try to take him on by yourself? Is that what happened?” Monica asked, appalled. “Did you even tell anyone what you were going to do? You didn’t!”

“I’m afraid so,” he admitted sheepishly. “I was angry. After they attacked Harper, I was a mess, but an angry one. I wanted to show them they couldn’t just mess with my family. I was tired of them hurting people I cared about. So I invited their leader to meetup with me and hash it out like grown men.”

“And how did that work out?” she asked, trying not to be too sarcastic.

“As you can see…” he sighed. “I knew he wouldn’t come alone like we agreed to, but I didn’t think he’ll bring that many of his people. But I took out a good many of them while I was at it, including the bastard himself!”

“And then they took you out!” she screamed at him. “Why did you have to do it all alone?”

“I’m sorry,” he told her, approaching her. “If I could go back in time and change how things went, I would do it. But it’s not an option. All I ask is for you to forgive me for lying and hurting you back then.”

“Mitchell, I…” she took a deep breath. “I forgive you. You gave me a wonderful son and for that, I am forever grateful to you. I won’t lie and say I’m not still angry at you. Because I am and it took me a long time to start trusting people again after our breakup. But I guess, knowing what happened back then, I can see what made you behave the way you did. Will you be at peace now?”

“More or less,” he told her. “You know, I’ve always planned to come find you after the matter with the pack was settled. I wish I got the chance. But thank you for coming here and letting me explain myself. May I?”

Gently, he leaned over and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead.

“Now that we’re all here, you should meet your son,” she told him, trying not to think too much about all the times he used to kiss her like this when they were together.

“Of course! Wow, I never thought I’d get the chance to meet him. And he’s all grown up,” Mitchell looked at Matthew in amazement and extended his hand. “You look just like your Mom, you know. Just like I hoped you would.”

“So I’ve been told,” Matthew returned the ghostly handshake. “I must admit, you don’t look quite like what I’ve imagined.”

“In a good way or a bad way?” Mitchell asked.

“Neither, just different,” Matthew smiled awkwardly. In all truth, this guy was the exact opposite of the sort of man Matthew imagined his mother to have been in love with. He still wasn’t sure how he felt about that. “I’m sorry about how things turned out.”

“Me too, kid. Me too. But I’m delighted to see you doing well. You’re a wizard, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Good. That’s for the best.” Mitchell wasn’t completely sure some of the old pack didn’t remember the Bordens still and he didn’t want for them to have any reasons to come after his family once again.

“Don’t worry, Mom taught me to take care of myself if anything goes wrong,” Matthew assured him, following his line of thought.

“I know she did. She’s pretty amazing. And this lovely lady must be?”

“This is Terra. My girlfriend,” Matthew introduced her.

“Hello, sir,” Terra greeted the man, feeling a little weird calling him “sir“ when he looked to be only a couple of years older than her. “Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise. You kids be happy now and don’t make the same mistakes I’ve made.”

Eventually, Mitchell caught sight of the Bishops trying to catch his eye. It was high time he talked to them.

“Harpy?”

“Mitch? Is that really you?”

“Do you really have doubts?” he roared at her, making her laugh and roar back.

“No, brother, I don’t. I see you’ve already met your kid.”

“I have. Great kid. And this is?”

“Mitchell Jr,” Damon told him. 

“You named your son after me?” He would’ve teared up if he had been alive.

“Are you really surprised?” Harper asked him. “We’ve been missing you.”

“I know, Harpy. I miss you too. And you, Damon. But I see you two are doing well. That makes it all worth it.”

“It would’ve been worth it if you had been with us,” she told him.

“Yeah, but it is what it is. No one’s bothering you anymore?” he asked.

“No one from that bunch has been around here since then,” Damon told him. “I’ve been keeping tabs on them.”

“Good. Looks like they’ve learned their lesson.”

“Did you really kill the bad guy, Uncle Mitch?” his nephew asked.

“Well, uh…” Mitchell wasn’t sure how much they told the kid.

“He did,” Harper told him. “To keep me safe. But are you…?”

“I’m good. I’ve moved on,” Mitchell reassured her. “This, me being here, this is sort of a special situation. In fact, I think I should be going back now. Thanks for coming here, all of you. Take care.”

After he disappeared, the Bishops approached Monica.

“It’s nice to finally meet you properly,” Harper introduced herself. “I’d love to keep in touch.”

“Both of us will, actually,” Damon told her. “I’m sorry I didn’t look into why you’ve disappeared on us all those years ago. We were sort of dealing with a situation back then.”

“I’m starting to see it now,” Monica understood. “I have nothing against staying friends.”

“Matt! Can you come over to our place on Friday? Mom’s going to be making hot dogs and pies,” Mitchell approached them. “They’re really good.”

“Sure thing, kid. I’ll bring something over too,” Matthew promised.

“Speaking of visits,” Lakeisha tried to stifle a yawn. “I don’t think I’m needed here anymore?”

“Thank you for doing this for them,” Terra told her. “Are you feeling quite alright?”

“Just sleepy. Anthony kept both me and your brother up for most of last night. But before I forget: my friend Ophelia asked me to tell you that you should pay her a visit soon.”

“She did? What’s this about?” Terra asked.

“I don’t know. She just said she wanted to talk to you.”

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For anyone curious, here’ Mitchell Borden without the ghost shader.