Based on: Four Brothers
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters that appear both in the movie and the story. Also, the main plot and some dialogs and descriptions are based on the movie, which script I did not write.
Chapter 1
Bobby Mercer hasn't been in this part of Detroit for years. Now he was driving down the familiar streets covered with snow, remembering every single curb and corner. He supposed some people would remember him from the old times but even if they did, they turned their heads away from him as if to ignore him. He was also guessing that they all thought he got out for good behavior and a smirk appeared on his face. Well, they surely weren't THAT wrong…
Bobby was the black sheep of the family or, considering that all of his brothers have had some problems with law, the person who should not show his face over here.
His brother Angel was an ex-hustler, a soldier and people were usually smart enough not to mess around with him. Jack, the youngest, did not look like trouble at all with his baby face, but as an aspiring and not successful rock star he was always ready to pick up a fight. After all, he was a Mercer. And then there was Jeremiah, the only one that actually turned out to be a good one, got married and started a family.
Bobby didn't know how, but somehow all of them fit together and managed to live like a family for a while, even though they were not blood related. People around were always wondering, why a woman like Evelyn Mercer would ever rise four total bastards. The truth was, she helped hundreds of kids to get out of foster-care houses into permanent homes and throughout years she came across only four lost causes that nobody wanted to take in. So she did. And was only thanks to her that these kids were saints comparing to what they would've been.
Shame they were meeting now for their mom's funeral.
***
Lizzie had finally an afternoon off and the whole house for herself only, as her mom and her long-time boyfriend went out. She loved times like this, feeling safe and warm inside on a freezing winter day. She was about to start cooking when she heard a loud knocking on the door and when she opened it she froze.
"Jack?" she said after a brief moment of silence and amazement.
She couldn't believe her eyes. After three long years he finally was there, standing in front of her.
Thousands of thoughts stormed through her head. She imagined this moment so many times and now she didn't know whether to smile or shout at him.
"Hi Liz"
He was as charming as ever. His hair got a little longer and now he was wearing it in a more stylish way but it surely suited his boyish face and those blues eyes she used to stare at for hours. He was still tall and slim, just as he used to be. But she could see he got older from the way he looked at her. Something changed in him, his eyes weren't soft anymore and they were missing something.
"You look great" he broke the uncomfortable silence. He imagined this scene numerous times as well but it wasn't going he planned it.
He hated reunions.
"You too"
Jack Mercer was back in Detroit. Of course, considering the situation she expected him to come but she wasn't really ready for him to show up in her doorway after what happened between them last time they saw each other and all those awful things they said. You never forget that from the person you supposedly love.
"You wanna come in?" she asked but he shook his head.
"Nah, thanks, I was just passing by"
Yeah, right, she thought. As if going ten blocks extra was ever on your way.
"I've heard what happened to your mum, I'm sorry" she knew all this must have hurt him badly; people don't change that much in three years.
"Yeah, it's pretty awful. I was wondering if you're coming to the funeral" she thought he looked rather nervous.
"Yes, of course I am; Evelyn was a really extraordinary lady and we're all gonna miss her" they all already did.
"Great, thanks, I'm sure she would appreciate it. So, I guess, see you then" he said and walked down the icy stair.
She closed the door but could not move or think clearly for a while.
***
There were dozens of people at the funeral standing around the casket bidding farewell to Evelyn Mercer, a woman who helped hundreds but truly loved those four that nobody else would. And these four men were standing in silence, a part of their soul missing. Four man that would rather die than confess to anybody how much they missed her but they knew how hard this blow was about to impact them.
After the ceremony everybody left to Jerry's house but Jack stayed behind, looking at the fresh pile of soil covered with flowers. He flinched when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"You OK?" he felt better when he heard Lizzie's voice.
"You know what's the worst part of all this?" he kept staring into emptiness "We never had a proper goodbye, you know? We all left three years ago without telling her how much she meant to us" he couldn't say anything else.
"Don't worry, Jack. She knew" she wanted to add something to comfort him but she just kept on standing there with him. She knew that her words were enough for him and somehow it was going to get better soon.
