Reese Wilkerson had been caught red handed taking money from his mom's purse. It wasn't the first time but Lois was determined it was going to be the last time it happened. She told her delinquent son that he was grounded for the rest of the year (it was July so that was a really long time) and she told him something else, something that actually got through, something that hurt him deeply.
"Reese, there's a reason you don't have any friends. Nobody likes you because you are so selfish. You only think about yourself. No one wants to be friends with a thieving little selfish asshole. Nobody likes you, and that includes me, your father, and your brothers. No one, and I mean NO ONE likes you. Now go to your room and stay there. I'll tell you when dinner's ready." Lois remained calm, maybe that's what had hurt Reese so much. He was used to her saying awful things to him when she was mad but this time she was so calm. He knew that she had meant every word.
Malcolm had witnessed the whole encounter. He was furious with her, she had intentionally tried to hurt her own child and had succeeded. She had used the nuclear option and had said something the whole family knew to be true, that Reese, no matter how hard he tried, did not have any friends. It was understood that no one was allowed to mention that fact, ever. It was the one thing that could wound Reese. Malcolm glared at his mother and thought about what he could say to make her feel ashamed of what she had just done. He shook his head and simply said, "nice job, mom." He walked away, leaving Lois alone with her thoughts.
Reese was laying on his bed in a fetal position with his face turned to the wall. Malcolm's first impulse was to tell his brother to take off his sneakers before their mom saw him with his shoes on the bed. Under the circumstances though, he decided not to say anything. He stood there watching Reese for a couple of minutes, the older boy was crying softly. Malcolm didn't know what to do, he had never seen Reese like this, in fact he could not remember ever seeing his brother cry. He quietly took his desk chair and pulled it over to his brother's bed and sat down. After about a minute he got up the courage to put his hand on Reese's shoulder.
"Buddy, she didn't mean it." Reese made a weird sound, low and awful, a sad, horrible moan. He cried harder. Malcolm was sorry he had tried to do anything, as usual, he had just made things worse. His first impulse was to leave but he knew he could never walk away from his brother when he was in so much pain.
"Reese, I like you. Heck, everyone likes you, mom was just being an ass." Malcolm rubbed Reese's shoulder and the back of his neck. "You know how she gets, probs are in 10 minutes she'll be saying how sorry she is and giving you a big bowl of ice cream." Reese continued crying. His whole body shook as he sobbed. Malcolm's heart was breaking watching him. He had always been in complete awe of Reese, he admired his courage, the way he wasn't afraid of anyone and the way he never backed down from a fight. Seeing him like this was like seeing Superman dying from kryptonite poisoning.
"Is Reese ok?" Malcolm turned and saw that Dewy was standing next to him.
"Yeah, he's fine, Dewey. He just needs to be alone right now. Let's go get a soda and see what's on TV." Malcolm stood and pushed his little brother away from Reese's bed. It was bad enough that he was crying, he didn't need everyone watching him do it.
Malcolm got a couple of sodas out of the fridge and sat down next to Dewey. He put his arm around the younger boy's shoulders. Dewey was flipping through the channels. He sensed something was very wrong with Reese and knew that Malcolm was being nice to him because he was worried.
"Dewey, do you like Reese?" Malcolm's voice cracked, that always happened when he got emotional. "I know he can be really mean sometimes but you like him, don't you?"
Dewey kept flipping the channels, pretending not to hear his brother. Malcolm took the remote away from him. "Dewey, I'm serious. Do you like Reese?"
"Of course I like him! He's my brother! I like him even when he's mean." Dewey made a grab for the remote but Malcolm kept it away from him.
"I know you love him because he's our brother, but do you like him? I mean if he wasn't our brother and just some kid we knew, would you like him?" Malcolm's voice broke again, he was getting very emotional and Dewey told him what he thought he wanted to hear.
"Sure, I'd like him. He's funny. He does impressions of mom and dad and you and Francis, he makes me laugh so hard I hafta pee sometimes. Can I have the remote back, please?"
Malcolm was surprised at his brother's answer. He had never seen Reese mimic anyone and wondered if it was just something he did to keep Dewey entertained. "So, he's nice to you when no one else is around and makes you laugh?"
"Yeah. He's really funny. I like Reese a lot. He's only mean when you're there. He thinks he has to be a big tough guy, he says you expect it." Dewey snatched the remote from his brother's hand and flipped to the Disney Channel. Malcolm's mouth was literally hanging open. It took a minute for Dewey's words to sink in, that Reese acted like a bully because he thought it was expected of him.
"Have you ever told him that you like him? Have you ever told Reese you like him a lot and think he's funny?" Dewey rolled his eyes, he just wanted to watch TV. All this emo-talk made him really uncomfortable.
"No, I never told him that. Now will you go away and let me watch my show?" Dewey looked at the TV and laughed at something Zack had said to Cody. Malcolm stood up. "Ok, I'll leave you alone but you might want to tell Reese sometime that you like him. It would mean a lot to him." Dewey nodded and laughed again. Cody had tied Zack's shoe laces together.
Malcolm went outside and sat on the curb. He couldn't stand being in the house a minute longer. Right now he hated his mother, felt deep sympathy for Reese and was annoyed at Dewey for wanting to watch TV when their brother was in agony. He glanced at his watch and realized it was time for his dad to get home from work. He looked up and saw Hal's car as it pulled into the driveway. He looked away, hoping his father would leave him alone. No such luck, Hal sat down on the curb next to him.
"Hey slugger, you look thoughtful. Something bothering you?"
Whenever Hal Wilkerson talked to one of his sons he tried to be their friend but without much luck. They usually resented his interference and secretly made fun of him behind his back. This time however, he actually got through. Malcolm wiped his eyes and looked up at his dad.
"Do you like Reese?"
Hal was shocked. "What? Do I like Reese? Of course I do, son. I love all of you boys, without question."
Malcolm wiped his eyes again, he was on the verge of tears. "I know you love him but do you actually like him? Mom told him none of us like him and it ripped his heart out, dad! He's in there right now crying his guts out. I tried to fix it but I just made it worse. I don't know what to do, please make him feel better." Malcolm hung his head down.
Hal put his arm around his son. "Hey kiddo, it's going to be fine. You know how your mom and Reese always say hurtful things to each other, I'm sure he's going to be up and laughing about all of this in no time. Let's go talk to him, ok?" Malcolm nodded.
Reese had stopped crying. He was still curled up on his bed, face towards the wall. When Hal and Malcolm walked in they thought he was asleep and almost left but Reese let out a huge sigh and started crying again. Malcolm couldn't take it anymore and ran out of the room. Hal walked over to his son's bed and sat on the edge of it. He put his hand on Reese's head and stroked his hair.
"Hey big guy, what's all this about? You've got your brother worried sick about you, things can't be so bad, what's going on, talk to your old dad." Hal was genuinely concerned. Like Malcolm, he could not recall ever seeing Reese cry. "Buddy, let's get things fixed, ok? Tell me what's wrong."
Reese took a deep breath and forced himself to stop crying. He realized that he must look like an extra pathetic wimpy douche bag crying like a little girl in front of his dad. He laid still for a few moments and sat up. He swung his legs around and put his feet on the floor, sitting next to Hal. He shuddered a couple of times and continued breathing through his nose. He wiped the tears away from his eyes and shrugged his shoulders.
"I'm ok, dad, nothing's wrong." Reese did not sound convincing at all. His voice broke and it was much higher than his normal speaking voice. Hal hugged him tight.
"You had a fight with your mother, didn't you? Buddy, you know she doesn't mean half of the things she says when she's angry. I'm sure whatever it was, she didn't mean it. She loves you boys so much, it would kill her if she knew had badly you feel about it. I bet if you walked into the kitchen right now and told her you love her she'd give you a great big old hug and a kiss, wanna try?"
Reese remained silent. Hal squeezed him harder. "Come on, wanna try that? Go tell her you love her? I bet she melts right on the spot, come on, it's worth a try, huh?" Reese looked up at his dad, actually cracking a smile. He nodded his head. Hal playfully smacked Reese on the butt as he stood up. "That's my guy!" He kept his hand on the boy's shoulder as the two of them walked out of the bedroom.
Lois was busy cooking dinner and ignored Hal and Reese as they walked up to her. Her husband knew that was a defense mechanism and it was up to him to break the ice. "Honey, I have someone here who wants to say something to you." Lois stopped working and looked directly at Reese.
"What is it? I'm busy, make it quick." Lois wiped her hands on a dish towel and folded her arms, staring at her son.
"Mom." Reese looked directly into her eyes. "Mom, you really hurt me and I just wanted to let you know ..." The boy trailed off.
"You just want to let me know what? Speak up!" Lois frowned at him.
Something snapped deep inside of Reese's head. He spoke up, in fact he began shouting. "I just wanted to say that you are a FUCKING BITCH and I HATE YOUR FUCKING GUTS AND I HOPE YOU FUCKING DIE! GO TO FUCKING HELL!"
Malcolm had come from the living room and was standing beside his dad. He and Hal exchanged worried looks and got ready to call 911 in case Lois actually killed Reese.
Lois wiped her eyes and composed herself. "Is that it? Is that your best shot?" Reese nodded.
"Well, mister, I have only one thing to say to that. I love you, too. Come here." Lois grabbed her terrified son and hugged him close. She kissed the top of his head and let him go. "Now if we're done, go get washed up, dinner's almost ready and if you're not back in 2 minutes, I'll throw yours in the trash, scoot!"
Reese smiled from ear to ear. "Yes, mom!" He ran out of the room.
Hal kissed his wife and Malcolm ran after his brother. He followed him into the bathroom and shut the door. "Reese, what the hell just happened?"
The older boy splashed cold water on his face, dried off and smiled at his brother. "You were there, I just told her I loved her."
"No you didn't, you called her a fucking bitch and told her to go to hell!" Malcolm was dumfounded that his brother was still alive.
"Dude, we all have our own ways of saying things like that, I just told her in a way she understands." Reese put his arm around Malcolm's neck. "You're a fucking bitch, too." Both boys laughed.
Dinner was great, Lois had made spaghetti and meatballs and a chocolate cake. Everyone was in a good mood and there was a lot of laughter and good feelings around the table. It was true that Reese Wilkerson didn't have any friends, but he had what really mattered, a family that he loved very, very deeply.