A/N: I would like to thank you for the interest in my little story! :D It's merely a Four Brothers AU. Absolutely no copyright infringement intended with this story. This is purely fanmade for the fun and sake of writing. Please, enjoy my little bout of creativity. Because really, who doesn't love a little Four Brothers fun? Heheh, read and review, thank you!
Mercer. It was a name that many, mostly law enforcement, came to know in Detroit. Some of those things said about the Mercer brothers were good, but a vast majority of them were bad. And not just your everyday "those fucking punks" bad. More along the lines of "if you want to keep your skin on your bones, don't fuck with those Mercer brothers" bad. Sad to say, they had worked up a reputation for themselves in the last year. Hunting down the murderer of their mother, Evelyn, and then going after the head of the snake; Victor Sweet.
Not many in the Detroit area even dared to speak of the thug lord in a jokingly derogatory manner; not if they didn't want a bullet in their back. But knowing that didn't seem to phase the Mercer's, Bobby the most. And with everything, if you mess with a vicious snake, you will more than likely get bitten. Which is exactly what happened to the youngest of the four. Even now, they can all remember the horrifying, blood curdling screams of their baby brother as he lay practically dying in the snow that fateful day in December.
Jack Mercer. The youngest, the artist, and sometimes the weakest. Jack had been shot point blank in the chest that day and then rattled in the back with a downpour of bullets. The wounds put him in the hospital for 6 months, 5 of which were spent in a coma. After waking up and remembering everything in vivid detail, the Mercer became rather bitter about his fate. It made him feel like he was always needing to be saved, that he wasn't of any use especially in getting Victor Sweet. He had been in the ICU when the lord was buried under the ice, he had missed everything.
Deep inside, though, he knew Evelyn would have a fit if she ever found out about the danger he had put himself in. She would have gone after Sweet herself wielding a hammer and screaming like a banshee for him being shot. The image brought a smile to his pouty lips as he took a long drag from his cigarette, leaning on the window sill.
It was now Fall in Detroit and the cold weather was back once again. After being in the hospital until July, Jack was elated to go home and lock himself in his room. If he never came out again, that was just fine with him. Though, that didn't stop the older three Mercer's from wondering what was going on his pretty head. Bobby pretended to shrug it off like he usually would, he was the oldest and had in his head to act like he had it all together and had all the answers. Jeremiah did his best to take care of Jack, but with two girls under the age of 10 with schedules to keep, he wasn't around as often as he would have liked. Angel was, of course, to busy fighting with Sofi to even let Jack enter his mind. La Vida Loca had him pegged.
"What are you doin' up here all alone, little fairy? Don't you wanna come down and watch the game?" Bobby spoke, leaning against the doorframe to Jack's room. They didn't seem to want to leave their mother's house anymore. This was home; this was where they felt like they belonged. So until something better came along, this is where Jack, Angel, and Bobby stayed. Snuffing his cigarette out in the glass ashtray in his hand, the blue-eyed Mercer slowly exhaled a stream of smoke outside, watching it drift upwards.
"Not really, Bobby. Why you gotta bug me, man?" It was no mystery that being called a fairy got under Jack's skin. Bobby was always picking on his sexuality. When in reality, Jack had more girlfriends than Bobby ever did, gorgeous ones. All of which Bobby remembered screaming their brains out in Jack's room behind that door when Evelyn wasn't home. Twitching his brow in annoyance, Jack dragged a large hand through his dirty blonde hair to push it out of his face and turned to sit on his bed. With his back against the wall, the younger brother lazily switched his gaze to the gruff Bobby in the doorway.
"Why? Because it's easy. Now get your moping ass downstairs and watch the game with the rest of the family. Camille is here with the girls and they wanna see you. Why? I have no idea. They like Cracker Jack more than me," Snorting lightly out through his nostrils, Jack clicked that silver tongue piercing against his teerth out of habit when thinking. He hadn't seen Daniella or Amelia since before the shooting. Pushing himself up from the comfort of his bed, the rockstar pushed past his brother and bumping him in the shoulder.
"Come on, Jack; lighten up. Ma would slap that bitch look off your face and you know it," Bobby had grabbed Jack lightly by the bicep to make him look in his face to see the stern seriousness of his expression. Flinching and pushing Bobby off him, Jack flipped him the bird and stepped lightly down the stairs. With a smug smile on his face, Bobby just chuckled to himself and followed right after.
Jack was slowly coming around. Spending time at home instead of wherever it was he had been before Evelyn's murder seemed to help him along, help him cope with what happened to him. He'd never completely get over it, who could? After being left for dead practically by Sweet's hired guns and helpless while his brothers were trapped in the house, Jack was lucky he was even alive. Had it not been for Sofi calling the ambulance, he'd be buried right next to Evelyn six feet under right now.
"Uncle Jack!" Squealed Jerry's two little girls. Jack knelt down on one knee with his arms open wide and the two ran directly into them, wrapping their arms around his neck and giggling. Wrapping both of his arms around them, Jack squeezed his nieces and held them close, letting the lids of his eyes drop as he just sat still. He hadn't realized how much he missed these two little girls until he almost came close to never seeing them again. He'd been avoiding them in fear of rubbing his dark attitude off on their innocent demeanors.
"Uncle Jack, are you feeling better now?" Asked the little one, Amelia. Chuckling deeply, he finally pulled them back to look at their pretty little faces. Nodding his head, a strand off dark hair fell in his eyes. Daniella used her hand to sweep the pesky hair out of his face and smiled cheekily.
"Yeah, feeling much better. Are you two still being good little girls and listening like I told you to?" Amelia giggled and Daniella grinned a smile with missing teeth.
"YES!" They both squealed in his face and erupted into a fit of laughter as he made a playful mean face and dug his fingers into their sides, tickling them. Camille sat in Jerry's lap on the other side of the room, Angel sprawled on the couch and Sofi was somewhere in the kitchen. Thumping down the last step, Bobby smacked Jack on the back of the head as punishment for making these little girls wait so long to see him.
"Uncle Jack! Stop!" They both pleaded through gasping laughing breaths. After getting a laugh of his own, Jack pulled his hands back and placed kissed on their foreheads. They ran off to play outside with the other kids in the neighborhood. Watching the girls leave, Jack stood and looked around the room, his eyes falling on each member of his family. None of them were related by blood, but this was as close to a family as he was ever going to get. They were all he had, and the ones who stuck by him through absolutely everything.
"Look who it is, Jack Mercer," Angel threw a piece of yellow plastic in Jack's direction as he often did with a joking smile on his face. With a smirk on his face, Jack shrugged. Walking over to slap the back of Angel's bald head, the youngest winked.
"Here I am. Seriously Angel, need to stop whitening your teeth; it's bad for you," Angel's smile quickly vanished as he rubbed his lips over his teeth then scowled. Jerry and Bobby just laughed from their respective seats as they always seemed to do when that joke came out. Angel did have rather white teeth, Jack couldn't help but make fun of him for it.
"Shut the hell up, asshole before I come over there and kick your white ass," Holding his hands up and feigning fear, Jack slapped hands and bumped fists with Jerry and poked Camille in the arm as his own 'hello'. Looking at the television screen, he could see it was a Detroit Redwings game, they were playing the Rangers. Could be an interesting game. He had to get a beer first before he could enjoy anything.
"Hey Sofi! Can you bring me a beer" Jack called after pushing Angel's legs off the cushion and flopped down.
"Get it yourself, lazy puto!" The Latina spat from the kitchen doorway, throwing a dishrag at him. She missed but stormed off anyway, feeling triumphant. Feeling the glare from Angel, Jack just lazily chuckled and got right back up and headed to get a cold one. The night went on pretty much like any other, despite the lingering emptiness of Evelyn not being there. Jack kept looking at the recliner she'd always sit in and watch hockey games with them. Things were different now, he had to accept it despite that foul taste it left in his mouth. Change wasn't always a bad thing, but it was hard to deal with especially when your rock was gone.
Jack's rock wasn't always Evelyn. She'd adopted him, loved him, given him everything he hadn't had before; but there was one person who had managed to leave a stain on his bruised heart. A girl he'd known since he'd been brought into the Mercer family. Nina Petrovski. A girl born in Russia but raised in Detroit since she was 3 after her parents decided to pack up and leave the country, they were the same age. She always had the smallest accent that he made fun of just to make her angry but secretly he adored it.
A girl small in stature with eyes so grey, they rivaled the sky on a December day. Her hair was always long, he remembered, dark chestnut like his mother's coffee. It wasn't a secret that Jack was sweet on the girl or that she had returned the feelings. They dated on and off throughout high school. But after graduation, they had one last night together before she disappeared. He remembered her sneaking into the house and creeping up the stairs to give him her own goodbye.
Now, neither of them were even close to being virgins that night. In fact they'd been with each other on several occasions, but that night the feeling was scary; like it was their first time. They fumbled with their hands, clicked teeth, and even smacked foreheads once or twice. But, that was the first time that either of them had made love to someone and even said it to each other. But then when he woke up in the morning, she wasn't at his side where she'd fallen asleep. Nina was gone. No note, no calls, no emails as to where she had gone. Just disappeared like a thought thrown to the wind.
Back in his room, laying on his bed, Jack stared at the ceiling with his hands laced behind his head. He swallowed thickly as he looked to the side to cast a glance on a photo he and Nina that Evelyn had taken when they were 16. His arms were around her placing a kiss on her cheek. Her grey eyes were closed but a smile was on her face; Nina was the vision of bliss in Jack's opinion. Sighing heavily, like the weight of the world was on his chest, Jack turned his cold blue gaze back to the ceiling. He wondered if he'd ever see that girl again.