Disclaimer- The only thing I 'own' is Kyle. Nuthin else, big surprise!
A.N. This story takes place before the pilot episode. (That's why Tyler still has the leprechaun thing before the flashback.) I guess this could be called a late response to Em Walters' challenge. Enjoy! J
Memories
Tyler knit his brows in
confusion as he studied the words in his tattered chemistry book
carefully. He was an above average
student, but that didn't mean he understood everything. He twirled his pencil absently in one
hand. He found the answer he was
looking for, and turned to his paper, blank except for his name and the
date. The pencil flew out of his hand,
and landed on the floor, and rolled under his bed. He sighed, and walked over to the bed. His hand felt around for the missing pencil. It soon collided with a smooth, almost
circular object. Frowning, he pulled it
out from under his bed. What he saw
made his eyebrows rise in surprise.
It
was a snow globe. It wasn't much to
look at; in fact it was downright ugly. The base was a dark green, and it was chipping a bit. The globe was filled with water, except for
a small spot of air in the top. Completing the globe was a huge leprechaun. He was dressed in green, and had a smiling face with flaming red
hair. The whole thing just looked…
weird.
But
Tyler hadn't the tiniest thought about the thing's looks. He slid to the floor, the side of the bed
supporting his back. A solitary tear
slid off his cheek as a river of memories came flooding back…
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
A loud
thud interrupted 9-year-old Tyler Connell's thoughts. Daddy's home! Tyler ran
to the door as fast as his legs would propel him. He collided with his dad halfway. He pulled Tyler into a massive bear hug. Suddenly, they were both knocked over by
some unseen force. Tyler craned his
neck around to find his brother, Kyle pressed against them. Both Connell kids erupted in laughter as their
dad started to tickle them.
"Dad!"
Kyle roared, "That tickles!"
"Yeah," Tyler
added, "stop." Mr. Connell laughed and
looked at his boys with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.
"I'm not
stopping until both your pants are wet!" he announced gleefully. Andrea Connell, the boy's mother, stepped
around the corner.
"Boys,
let your father breathe, dinner's ready," she announced. The boys looked up, and got up off the
floor. Tyler took his father's right
hand, and Kyle took the other, and the made a procession toward the kitchen.
After
dinner, the Connell boys trailed their father everywhere. It wasn't everyday that their father came
home from work this early. He usually
came home after the boys were fast asleep, and he left before the boys woke up. Needless to say, they didn't see him very
much.
After 3
games of Trouble, and an hour of watching TV with dad, Kyle and Tyler were
herded to bed by their mother, complaining all the way. Once in bed, Tyler tossed and turned in the
covers. He just couldn't seem to go to
sleep. It wasn't his bed, it was VERY
comfortable, his dad's job had taken care of that. After about an hour of restlessness, Tyler was about to enter the
world of dreams. But he was snatched
back by voices barely heard. Tyler
tried to shut out all other noises but the voices.
"…never
home… the boys… like tonight… hanging on your every word… miss you…" he thought
that voice belonged to his mother. Now
he heard another, deep, distinctive voice.
"…trying…
I can't… hard… doing the best I…job brings in money… important…" that was the
voice of his father. He heard his
mother's voice clearly now, her voice had risen.
"John,
family should be more important to you than anything else! Kyle and Tyler miss you terribly, you should
see how much they look up to you." The
voices reduced to murmurs then, and finally went quiet. Tyler climbed out of bed, and wobbled
unsteadily on his legs toward Kyle's room.
He found
his 10 year old brother with his ice blue eyes fixed on the ceiling. He climbed on the bed beside him. The Connell boys were only a year apart, so they
were very close. They knew what the
other was thinking, and therefore did not need words to communicate. They did not like to hear their parent's
fighting, even as minor a fight as this one. Tyler fell asleep in Kyle's room, feeling comforted in his older
brother's presence.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Over the next 4 years, John Connell was
home less and less. The fighting
between him and Andrea were getting worse and worse. The Connell boys tried to act as normal as possible, but it was
getting harder, home life was getting more and more tense. They started spending more time at
activities. Tyler joined a
non-competitive football team, while Kyle joined a soccer team. However, the boys weren't prepared for what
was announced later one night. Tyler
and Kyle were sitting in Kyle's room, concentrating on their homework.
"Hey Kyle, Ty, can we talk for a little
bit?" John Connell asked as he and Andrea walked in the room. Both boys looked up, sensing the solemnity
of both parents.
"What's wrong?" Kyle asked, "is
everything ok?" Tyler studied his
parent's faces as they sat down. He
didn't like what he saw.
"Boys, your mother and I have to tell you
something very important, so listen, please."
"Your father and I have grown apart. We're still friends, but sometimes friends
have trouble with being with each other all the time."
"We're afraid… well, we have to separate…
kind of like a break from each other." Tyler and Kyle stared in shock at their parents. They weren't saying what they thought they
were saying, were they? They listened
on in horrified wonder.
"Now we know this will upset you, but
maybe this break will be good for this family. We'll most likely move back together after this break."
"We're moving!" Tyler erupted, "you
can't! What about Tyler and me! What happens to us?"
"Your mother's not moving, son, but I
will be," he seemed to hesitate on this next part, "we're still deciding what
you boys will do." Tyler couldn't take
it anymore. He ran out of the room, and
fled from the house. He dashed to a
basketball court, and started flinging a basketball in the general direction of
the hoop.
Part 2 coming soon! Please review if you have any feedback. I certainly could use it!