Author's Note:
Hello and welcome to Four Brothers: Past, Present, and Future. I apologize for having such a lame title, but it was all I could come up with. So much for creative genius. Anyway, I just wanted to offer a few tips before you read my story.
1) If you have not seen the movie Four Brothers, you will probably have a hard time understanding what is going on. This story is somewhat of a sequel, and I will not be going into great detail about things the movie already explained. On that note, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me with your e-mail address (or leave feedback). I can be a bit vague sometimes and usually don't realize it unless someone brings it to my attention.
2) I do not keep a schedule. You cannot expect to see a new chapter posted every day or even every week. I'm quite busy and sometimes I need inspiration to strike before I'm able to write (which doesn't always happen when I'd like it to). If you don't understand, check out some of the feedback from my Pirates of the Caribbean story (The White Cole). Probably about half of the comments are people demanding a new chapter because they'd been waiting for months. I will warn you right now that I've been writing that story for almost two years, and it's not quite finished. I just don't want anyone to be upset because the story never ends. That said, I will try my best to submit chapters in a timely fashion.
3) Please leave feedback! I thrive off of it, and I would really appreciate honest responses and constructive criticism. The entire point of this experience is to learn to be a better writer, so PLEASE let me know if you notice any errors.
4) If you want me to respond to you, please leave your e-mail address.
5) This is the last you'll hear from me on the actual pages of the story, I promise. ENJOY!
Wastin Mytime
Chapter 1 – Secrets
15 years ago (November 1990)…
Tears of anger coursed down Grace's frozen cheeks as she walked faster with her head down and book pressed tightly to her chest. Her boots made shallow imprints in the snow as the wind howled past her uncovered ears. She shivered and squeezed the book tighter as if it might offer her some warmth.
As furiously distracted as she was, Grace did not realize she was lost. Nor did she realize she was being followed. She continued walking nearly as fast as her eight-year-old legs would carry her as if the devil himself were on her heels. As it were, he was.
Above the wind, Grace heard the snap of a branch. Her eyes widened in fear, but she did not turn to see who pursued her. She had wandered too far off the beaten path for her shadow to be a friendly one. She was sure that she was either being tracked by a Bad Person or an unfriendly animal.
Grace broke into a run, not sure what she was going to do or where she was going to go. Pretending to stumble, Grace picked up a branch laden with ice and whirled to face her attacker. She found herself face to face with a leering teenage boy in a jean jacket.
"Hey there, little girl," he said. "Are you lost?" He contorted his face into something she supposed she was to take as a frown.
"What do you want?" she asked.
"You," he replied, the wicked grin back in place.
For some odd reason, Grace felt very calm all of a sudden and she was no longer afraid as he began to approach her. Once he was close enough, she smacked him as hard as she could across the face. The frozen branch cracked in half, and the boy screamed.
"YOU BITCH!" His hands reached blindly for her throat and she easily dodged out of the way. Tossing her book to the side, Grace began to run. The boy chased after her, stumbling and bumping into things as he came. He continued to curse and yell at the top of his lungs.
Breathing hard, Grace dodged stumps and low hanging branches. She was getting very tired and her lungs burned with the cold. She was ready to collapse when she saw movement in the trees ahead. She stopped dead in her tracks worried that the boy had friends waiting to attack her. Grace glanced up and realized she had only one choice. Without hesitation, she shimmied up the nearest tree, hoping against hope that no one had seen her.
"Who the fuck are you?" she heard the teenager ask as she watched him look in the direction where Grace had seen the movement.
"Who the fuck are you?" a new voice asked. Grace watched as another teenage boy with greased hair and a leather coat emerged from behind a tree.
"I asked you first. You got a problem, little man?"
"No, no problem. As long as you get the fuck out of here and stop chasing little girls," the new boy said.
Grace gasped when she realized this new boy was trying to protect her. Or was it that he just wanted her for himself?
"What the fuck is it to you, bro?"
"I'm not your 'bro'."
Grace watched as the boy in the leather jacket approached the first boy. "Get the fuck out of here," he said coldly.
"Who the fuck do you think you are?" her attacker asked as he backhanded her rescuer across the face.
"Bobby Mercer," the greased kid grunted as he shoved the kid backwards.
"Well, fuck you, Mercer," the boy said and started to charge Bobby.
"I got my little brother to do that if I need it, thanks though," Bobby said, lashing out at the guy's cheek with his fist. Grace wasn't sure why, but she laughed quietly at that comment.
The kid shook himself and punched Bobby in the stomach. "Oof," Bobby groaned as he fell to his knees. Grace watched horrified as the kid kicked him in the balls. Bobby fell over onto his side with a moan.
"Not so tough now, huh little man?" the jean jacket boy asked, leaning down close to Bobby's face.
Bobby spat at him and jabbed his elbow into the other kid's already wounded face. The boy howled and Bobby stood to kick him the ribs. When the boy saw that Bobby was coming after him again, he rose to his knees and crawled away as fast as he could.
Bobby watched him go, clutching his aching testicles and wiping the blood from his cut lip. The fucker had been wearing a ring on the hand he'd punched Bobby with. Once the boy was gone from his sight, Bobby called up into the tree," You can come down now."
Grace knew it was okay. She could feel pain in her face and her stomach and her crotch, and she knew that Bobby was a Good Person. She slid down the tree and landed in a heap. Bobby took her hand and hoisted her up into a standing position. He was a very good looking boy, and Grace was sure she was going to fall in love with her rescuer. She looked up at him with eyes wide as saucers.
"Did he hurt you, kid?" he asked, still clutching her small hand.
Grace shook her head. In truth the boy had hurt her but not directly.
"Did he touch you anywhere?"
She shook her head again.
"What were you doing out here by yourself?"
"Escaping," she answered quietly, watching his reaction.
"Me too," he answered, looking toward the direction he'd come from.
"From your parents?" she asked.
"No," he answered with a grin. "I already did that. What's your name?"
"Grace."
"I'm Bobby. Can you keep a secret Gracie?"
She tilted her head to the side and stared at him as if trying to decide whether or not to trust the boy enough to hear his secret. Once she was satisfied with what she saw, she nodded.
"Okay, follow me. I want to show you what I was doing out here," he turned and pulled her along beside him. "No one else knows about this."
Bobby led her to a clearing in the woods. On one side there was a huge snow hill that was speckled with small dark marks. Grace's brow furrowed as she tried to understand what Bobby was going to show her. He stopped walking and turned to look her directly in the eyes.
"I want you to stand right here. Don't move no matter what happens. You have to cover your ears very tightly with your hands, and don't be scared. I'm not going to hurt you," he promised.
"I know," she whispered. Bobby just looked at her with something akin to awe as she slowly raised her hands to her ears and pressed as hard as she could. The kid could not have been more than nine years old, but she seemed aged way beyond her years. "I'm ready."
"Okay. Remember – don't move." Bobby walked closer to the hill and pushed what looked like a beer can into the snow. He backed up several yards but was still a safe distance from Grace. He reached into the waist of his jeans and pulled out a gun. Grace frowned as Bobby raised the gun and took careful aim at the can. Finally, he squeezed off a shot and the gun sparked and kicked back in his hand. The can exploded and Bobby let out a hoot of pride.
"What are you practicing for?" Grace asked, lowering her hands.
"Life," Bobby replied with a youthful enthusiasm. "I've had a gun since I was younger than you Gracie. Problem is, I never was much good at shooting it. The reason I'm showing you this is cuz I'm gonna teach you how to shoot. You need to know how to protect yourself. Detroit is a dangerous place."
"Why doesn't anyone else know about this?"
"Cuz my mom would kill me if she knew and my brothers wouldn't understand. Not yet anyway," he answered tucking the gun back into his pants and walking toward her.
"I thought you escaped from your parents."
"I did. It's a long story Gracie," he mumbled.
She looked at his hand and said, "I have a secret too, Bobby."
"You do?"
"I'm going to show you. Don't be scared," she said.
For a fleeting moment, Bobby was scared. It was completely against his character, but there was such sadness in the little girl's voice that he was somewhat afraid to see what she was going to show him.
"I'm going to touch you," she said.
"Okay," Bobby answered. The fear was gone and a sudden calmness took its place as she touched his face. She skimmed her thumb over his cut lip and Bobby's eyes slipped shut. Her hands moved down his body, sliding over his neck, shoulders, and chest. She stopped at his stomach and pressed lightly. Bobby did not feel anything except intense relaxation and a small amount of heat from her hands. He didn't even notice when her hands passed lightly over his crotch.
Then Grace broke contact and turned away. Bobby opened his eyes. He looked at Grace's back drowsily for a second and then said, "What happened?" as he touched his lip. The swelling was gone. He pressed a hand to his stomach. No pain. His balls felt fine too.
"I healed you," Grace answered, turning to him with tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Gracie, don't cry," he said softly, wiping her tears away with his thumbs. "How long have you been doing that?" Bobby was completely stupefied by what he'd just experienced. Perhaps he was in shock.
"A long time," she answered, a bit surprised by the question. "My twin sister Gloria is very sick. She has been for most of our lives. I've been trying to heal her for years."
"Is that why you were escaping?" Bobby asked.
Grace nodded. "I can't heal her. I can only make her feel better for a short time, but then she gets sick again. My parents hate me for it."
"C'mon, let's get out of the cold. I know a great place to go for kids whose parents hate them," Bobby said, taking Grace's hand.
"Where's that?"
"The Mercer house."
