Disclaimer: I do not own The Covenant
It had been a little over a month since Mr. Danvers had died, giving Caleb his powers. Caleb hadn't found out until he went home after dropping Sarah off at the dorms. When he found out he called Pogue, who then called Tyler. I'd been changing out of the clothes I'd worn to the dance, when Tyler's phone rang. Turning to look at him, with my boxers and undershirt on, I listened. I should've known better, because half of Tyler's phone conversations were answered with monosyllable words on his end. Then something happened and I wasn't quite sure what it was. I didn't know what was going on, just that Tyler was bringing his phone down unnaturally slow and there was a look on his face. The last time I'd seen that look was when his grandmother had died. We were thirteen then.
"Mr. Danvers is dead." He said simply as he sat down heavily on his bed. I'd looked at him like he was crazy. Caleb's dad could not be dead, the man didn't have it in him to die, or so I thought. The man had been addicted to the point where he was merely flesh on bone, but somehow he'd continued living. He'd been sitting up in that old house close to six years now.
"How?" I asked after a long minute.
"Willed his power away." To Caleb. The part didn't need to be said, it sat there in the air, hanging between us. I let out a low curse as I stood up and started pacing the room. I could feel Tyler's eyes on me.
By some odd chance of fate Caleb's dad and my dad had been best friends back in the day. Both had become addicted. Five years ago my dad died in the hospital. Six years ago Mr. Danvers found himself in the old house, basically rotting away. Now he was dead.
The week went by with either one of us, or all of us, with him. The funeral had gone smoothly and Caleb had even been able to speak without breaking down. Although in reality he hadn't broken down once. I hadn't been there when he first heard, but whenever I saw him afterwards it was as if someone had hit the off switch. Caleb was void of all emotion. When Tyler or Pogue showed him sympathy he just gave a weak smile and shrugged.
Now I know the guys think I don't pay close attention, but they're wrong. I know everything that goes on and when I don't, I try to figure it out. But what the other two didn't seem to notice was Caleb needed more than sympathetic phrases to bring him out of the zombie like phase he'd found himself in. They seemed intent on proving me wrong and for a brief moment I'd thought they had when it happened. Caleb had snapped out of his zombie funk.
The others were happy, figuring he was fine. The others were idiots. No one gets over their father's death in less than a month, not even when said father had been practically dead the last six years of his life. No, Caleb had been taking medication to the old home since he was allowed to drive. Personally I don't think it was him just being the "good boy", no, it was because the guy was his dad and that always means something.
I never got along with my dad when he was alive. We were always fighting, even before I had my powers. It probably didn't help that even then I was getting into trouble. Of course, the year before he died it got worse because he was trying to tell me to be careful, I just blew him off, like I do with Caleb. I can be a real idiot sometimes, but in all honesty I usually only really use when I'm with the guys. It hurts my mom too much when I use at home, who unlike Caleb's mom did not turn to the drink, no, she turned to the cancer stick and to taking on every task asked of her. Being at school helped me not wonder if she was digging herself into an early grave.
I got off topic though. The point I'm trying to make is that even though you might not talk to your dad every day or even really get along, it doesn't changed the fact that it's going to have a major impact on your life and that it'll hurt worse than anything. Caleb Danvers, after a month of his father's death, was not fine, he was far from it and I could tell.
The first week of the news I cut down on using so I wouldn't get him upset. After the funeral I still kept my using to a bare minimum. Once Pogue declared his true belief that the eldest of the Covenant was fine, I kicked it up a notch. Part of me wonders, or really maybe knows, if I used to get a rise out of him. It never did, he barely gave it a twice over. Once in awhile there'd be a brief, "You're gonna kill yourself, Reid." But then that'd be it, no yelling no nothing. When I suggested something was wrong to Tyler he just told me to stop worrying and accept, and be glad that Caleb wasn't yelling at me anymore. Baby Boy is as clueless as Pogue sometimes, although he is the fairly optimistic one of us and it's nice, so I didn't fault him too much on his comment. Either way something needed to be done, because I was wondering if the older boy was even dealing with his father's death. Finally I decided to do something.
We were sitting around one of the back tables laughing. Pogue had just told some story about something one of our teachers did, or said, I'm not sure which, I wasn't really paying attention, which should not come as a surprise since half the stuff that comes out of Pogue's mouth I don't listen to. I was getting bored really. We'd been there ten minutes and I didn't want to continue sitting around the table, I wanted to get up. Glancing over at the pool table I saw Aaron Abbot, the worst jerk on the planet, but I was still willing to play him, especially if it earned me a little cash.
The game lasted as long as it took for me to make a comment annoying enough to make Abbot want to hit me. I think if Nicky and the guys hadn't been there we would've fought right there, but no, we took it outside. Abbot got one good swing in before I started at him, of course Caleb attempted to pull me off, which only ended up in a stray punch landing right on his face. I really hadn't meant to hit him and for a second I felt bad until something flashed in his eyes, it wasn't the power, no he wasn't using, but he was angry. He punched back. Pogue tried to stop him, but Caleb pushed him away.
"You really think you can fight me, I thought we've been over this." He shouted at me as we circled behind the local pub.
"And I thought there was something about using against each other."
"I don't plan on using, but I will if you make me, Reid." Then it hit me, I'd use, why not get him angrier, it'd be something more than the basically lifeless boy we'd seen for the past month, even if Pogue and Tyler said he was perfectly fine. Bull, he wasn't fine and I was going to proof it here and now.
Feeling the power in me I shot at him. It didn't have much of an impact other than making him turn his eyes black and shoot out a stinging ball of energy. Much to my dismay it momentarily disabled me as I landed hard on the ground. I saw him come into view as I cleared my blurred vision.
"Don't. Test. Me." He said in a slow menacing voice as he crouched next to me. Then making my voice soft and low, so the others didn't hear, I whispered in his ear.
"Then face up to his death." He chose a physical punch then.
"I have." We were both standing now.
"In a month, don't think so, Caleb." I chose to swing. He swung back.
"Don't talk about things you don't understand." The guy really was an idiot when he was upset.
"I don't understand? Let's see, last I checked Pogue and Tyler still have a father, you and I, don't." he started to walk away. I watched him. The other two were watching us, probably wondering how this fight would end up. I was sure I'd done something to get him to clam up again; I was proven wrong when he turned around and punched me hard in the nose.
"Just shut up, Reid. Maybe your dad was right to die before he saw what his son had become; a hopeless, addict driven, punk." Caleb had made a low blow and he knew it.
"I'm sure your dad would be proud knowing his son has used against his own Brother on several occasions. He'd find out you were just like him, an addict" I found myself being held up against the wall with a hand at my throat.
"Don't you dare talk about my dad like that." I could feel the power rise through me as I pushed him off.
"Then deal with his death. Ignoring it does nothing."
"Just because you took more time to get over your dad's death doesn't mean I have to take so much time with mine."
"It doesn't go away, Caleb. The pain, it eases, but it never goes away and you never get over it. Trust me." We'd stopped flinging magic and swinging punches, we now stood facing one another. Tyler and Pogue were watching us, probably wondering what to do. Part of me was wondering if I could erase their minds of this little scene. Nobody needed to see me being sensible and nice, it just wasn't me.
"It'll go away." His tone was defiant, almost as if he were trying to convince himself that the pain would go away. I knew I'd breached the barrier though, he'd started to admit that he was in pain and that he wasn't really fine.
"Sometimes maybe, but it doesn't really go away, it's always there in the background."
"Why?" the question shocked me. Caleb Danvers did not ask me, Reid Garwin, questions concerning life. No he asked me questions about why I was being so stupid. And what had him thinking I knew the answer to this question. I still asked the question, just not out loud. I didn't know what to say, because I doubt anyone, let alone me, knew the answer. As time went on the question was asked less and less and the pain was buried deeper and deeper, but it was never deep enough to stay buried. Little things would always bring it back. For me it was usually the first good warm day of spring, where the smells assaulted the air with new life. Tyler was the only one who really had a clue that this day affected me because I'd usually grow quieter than usual, I'm just not sure he knew why. He probably didn't because I never felt the need to indulge in the meaning.
My dad and I always, before I turned twelve, would play catch in the backyard. The year he died, we didn't play because we were both to stubborn to stop arguing for just a little. Then by the end of the fall, he was dead and I'd never played catch. Yes, I know that sounds almost lame, but it was the time we spent together, I know that, he enjoyed the action and so did I and it was then that I'd tell him about the good things in my life as well as listening to the bits of advice he gave me. I listen to half of the advice, but Caleb, if his father had ever told him to be careful and to take care, was listening to his father.
Caleb would grow to be a man his dad would be proud of, probably very much unlike me. In order to do that though he had to show some emotion and not just anger. I'd seen my mom when we're both home. The anger she'd felt after grieving had never really gone away, it had led to bitterness, a bitterness I only ever saw. I didn't want Caleb to be bitter.
I looked hard at him before answering. "I don't know, Caleb." His shoulders sagged and he looked exhausted and defeated, it wasn't something I'd ever expected to see on our fearless leader, but he was human and he had been through enough to deserve the look. After a moment I spoke up, hoping to lighten the mood a little, even if I was the one who'd helped in weighing it down. I hated somber silences because somber silences led to somber thinking and I doubt somber thinking ever led anywhere good.
"Anyone up for a special game of pool?" Special game meant we used, or more I used, Tyler and Pogue rarely used when it came to sports, in fact I rarely did too, but they didn't need to know that.
"Only you, Reid, only you." Pogue said looking at me. I only grinned and gave him the finger. I stopped grinning when I heard a sound coming from my right. It was Caleb, he was laughing, I mean really laughing and I had no idea why. I don't think I'd said anything that funny, or maybe I had, sometimes I don't always remember the things I say, which is very bad sometimes as it gets me into trouble. I looked at him and raised an eyebrow.
"Finally cracked, have we, Danvers?" he was leaning against the wall as the laughter slowly started to subside and then when he looked up at us there was no joy or laughter in his face or eyes, just sorrow.
"I really miss him." He stated simply. He didn't sob or make any noise signaling he was crying, but he was. We all saw the tears streaming down in his face under the light and as the good Brothers we are, we went to him and stood there with him until the silent tears turned to sobs, that's when we hugged. We embraced our eldest brother and we embraced each other.
The End