Disclaimer: I own nothing associated with the WWE or Ring of Honor! Just any OCs! Nor do I own the movie this story was inspired by. That belongs to John Singleton and his crew, as does the quote in the summary. And the lyrics used here belong to Black Veil Brides.
Summary: AU. "You keep knocking on the Devil's door long enough, and sooner or later, somebody's gonna answer you." They were considered to be four hopeless cases, but they were each given a second chance by one woman's kindness. When the one person who ever cared about them is killed in a seemingly random hold-up, family proves to be thicker than blood as these four brothers search for the answers to their mother's murder.
Author's Note: Hey, guys! Thanks for the reviews of the last chapter, they mean a lot to me! So, we have the background of how the four came to be a family, and with all that established, we're excited to get this story started! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday, if you celebrated, and I hope everyone has a very happy New Year! :)
"In the end as you fade into the night
Who will tell the story of your life?
And who will remember your last goodbye?"
–Black Veil Brides, "In the End"
Chapter 1– Homecoming and a Funeral
Eighteen years later...
Phil Brooks reached out and turned down the radio, his intense hazel gaze scanning the familiar street ahead of him. Children were running up and down the sidewalk, roughly shoving each other as they played a game that resembled tackle football. The now thirty-four-year-old smiled slightly to himself as he came to a stop at a stop sign, remembering how he and his three younger brothers had always played the same game when they would get home from school, dirtying and tearing up their jeans to the point where Vickie would yell at them and threaten them with grounding, though that wouldn't even keep them from playing.
But then, the dark-haired man's smile slowly vanished at the thought of the woman who had taken him and the other people he considered family into her home. It had been years since he had been back in Chicago, never having been able to make it back home when the rest of the family had, and he wished that he could have returned to the streets he had grown up on for a happier occasion.
Phil was about to keep driving, but before he could, the football the kids were throwing around rolled into the street and came to a stop in front of his tire. Chuckling quietly, he quickly put his car, a beat up brown station wagon he'd had for a few years, in park and pushed open the door, stepping out and bending over to pick it up. He tossed the ball up in the air and caught it once, looking down in time to see a couple of the older boys who had been playing run over to him. His gaze softened slightly when he saw that their thin jackets, jeans, and winter hats were tattered.
"Can... can we have our ball back, Mister?" one of the boys wondered hesitantly, the rest of the children waiting nervously on the grass behind them to see what he would do.
Sighing quietly, Phil lightly chewed on his bottom lip ring before a smile slowly spread across his face. "Go long," he told them.
Both boys grinned broadly before they ran off the street, glancing over their shoulders back at him. Phil waited for a moment before he threw the football, his smile broadening when it was caught before the children started playing again. He ran a hand through his short black hair that was slicked back, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his dark hooded sweatshirt to combat the cold air until he stepped back into his car. He glanced into the rearview mirror, his gaze passing over the couple bags under his eyes before he put the vehicle back in drive, slowly making his way through the intersection on a detour toward a house he knew well.
The familiar street felt strangely empty as he turned the right corner when he reached it, passing through the poorer neighborhood he had spent the majority of his life in. There was plenty of activity, ranging from a few joggers making their way down the sidewalk at a steady pace to an older man walking his small dog to a couple younger men fixing a broken window on the second floor of a house, but it still just didn't feel the same as he remembered it. Phil slowed his car down little by little until he came to a stop in front of a white two-story house with brown trim and an interior porch, his gaze passing hesitantly over the dark windows. For a home that had used to be filled with so much life, it was unusual for him to see it so quiet and empty. Down to the dead, yellowed grass in the small patches of yard in front of it, his childhood house just felt lifeless.
Then, his eyes narrowed when something caught his attention, and Phil once again put his car in park before climbing out, shutting the door behind him and jogging up to the lawn. He stopped in front of one of the two bushes that used to be lush and filled with bright flowers but now appeared as though they hadn't been tended in quite some time that sat at the edge of the sidewalk and gazed at the red and white sign that was sticking out of the ground.
For sale! For more information, call...
Phil stopped reading and bent down, clenching his jaw as he pulled the sign out of the grass before tossing it aside. He may not have lived there for over ten years, but he still felt that it was his home, and that he had some say over if it was up for sale or not. He couldn't speak for anyone else, but he hadn't even had the chance to get his old things he'd left behind yet. It only seemed right that he and his brothers made the final decision on what would happen to the place they had once called home.
"Phil? Phil Brooks? Holy shit! It's been some time since I've seen you around these parts, kid! How have you been?"
Recognizing the sudden voice, Phil glanced over his shoulder and watched as a shorter, portlier man with a balding head, what remained of his black hair pulled back into a small ponytail behind his head, made his way from a house across the street to him. He couldn't help but smile slightly as he nodded once while the older man patted his arm.
"Good to see you, too, Paul."
Paul Heyman had lived across the street from Vickie ever since he had been brought into her home. Being a salesman and a single father raising two children on his own, he had always done most of his work from home, so their mother would often send him, Jon, Colby, and Jimmy over to help with any house or yard work that needed to be done or run any necessary errands on the weekends and after school, as well as babysit the kids when Vickie would bring Paul out for a relaxing dinner and some time to himself.
"You, too. You're looking good, kid," Paul said, returning the look. "What have you been up to? Taking care of yourself?"
"Yeah, I've been okay," Phil replied with a quiet sigh. "I've been meaning to come home sooner, but..." His sentence trailed off as he looked up at the house he had grown up in again. His gaze faltered. "I wish I didn't have to be back for something like this."
Paul nodded in understanding, a downcast look passing over his face. "I wish you didn't have to be either," he muttered. "Your mother was a good woman. Couldn't find anyone with a kinder and more generous heart. She was loved by all. I'm going to miss her."
A moment of silence passed between the two men before Paul offered the younger a small smile. "She did a fine job with you boys," he continued. "The last time I saw her was when she came over with a ham she had made for dinner last week for me and my kids, and she stayed and ate with us. She said that she couldn't be any prouder of the four of you, and she just wished all of you could have gotten together more often. I saw Jimmy on occasion, since he came home to visit Vickie whenever he wasn't on tour with that band he has now, and I've seen Jon every once in a great while when he was home from active duty. Colby I see all the time since he still lives in the city with that beautiful family of his. He was always over at your mom's house to help her out. But seeing you here is certainly a treat."
Phil remained silent, allowing all of this new information to sink in. He had always known of his youngest brother's inclination toward music since he was a teenager, but he had no idea that Jimmy had actually followed through with that love and started a band of his own. He knew Jon had enlisted in the Marines after he graduated high school since he was the brother he had kept in touch with most, so that didn't come as much of a surprise to him. But he had no idea that Colby had been the only one to stay in the area and start a family.
A pang of regret gripped his stomach. Why had he allowed the only family he had ever had to get so far out of his reach?
"But as long as you're happy and doing well, that's all that matters," Paul concluded, patting Phil on the back. "I suppose you're on your way to the cemetery for the service?"
The crushing reality of why he had returned to Chicago to begin with brought Phil out of his reverie, and he let out a long breath and passed a tattooed hand over his dark hair. "Yeah, that's where I'm headed," he confirmed, briefly pulling out his cell phone to check how much time he had. He was cutting it close.
"Well, then, please pass along my condolences to your brothers," Paul told him. "I would attend the funeral myself, but I'm behind on my work... It's that time of year, you know."
Phil nodded once in understanding. "I will. Thank you, Paul."
The older man simply gave him a smile and squeezed his arm before he turned away and slowly started to make his way back toward his house across the street. Phil watched him until he was inside before looking down at the for sale sign lying by his feet. He kicked it once before getting back in his car, waiting for a long moment before he put it back in drive and continued on his way toward his destination.
Paul had certainly been right in saying that Vickie was a woman who was loved by all, something he had always known about the woman he had called mother for most of his life, since there wasn't a parking space to be had when he reached the sweeping cemetery tucked away in a busy corner of the neighborhood. Phil found a free spot a block away, preferring it to the congestion of the lot in the graveyard, and locked up his car before sticking his hands in the pockets of his black hooded sweater in attempt to shield them from the brisk November air as he made his way toward where people were gathering for the funeral service that would take place in a matter of minutes. His hazel gaze passed over the tall, black iron gate that surrounded the cemetery as well as the rows of tombstones in all different hues of gray and brown on the other side of it. He couldn't say for sure what it was, but something about these places always made him feel uneasy.
As he approached the entrance where people were still filing in, Phil slowed his pace when he heard a familiar voice float over to him over the murmuring of the crowd. He craned his neck to see around the people gathered in front of him, noticing a tall man with a scruff-lined face and long, black hair that was bleached blond on one side wearing a long black coat was pacing on the sidewalk in front of the cemetery as he spoke into his cell phone. The gleam from the pale sunlight hitting the silver wedding band on his left ring finger on the hand that held the device to his ear caught his eye.
"Yeah, a lot of people are here. I'd guess between eighty and a hundred or so... No, I've only opened the invitation for the reception at our house to people who were close friends of the family, so we can maybe expect thirty to forty. I'd plan for that much at least, just to be safe... Uh, no, not all of them. Jimmy's here, but I haven't seen Jon... Phil? God, I don't know what's up with him. We left messages to tell him the time and date of the service, but who knows if he got them? It's almost impossible to get a hold of that guy... Okay, Lacey. Yeah, I'd say about an hour or so, and then we'll make our way over, and people can come and go as they please. See you then. Love you, too. Bye."
Phil's gaze faltered as the one-sided conversation he had overheard came to an end, watching as the other man slipped his cell phone back into his coat pocket. Taking a deep breath, he broke away from the crowd and slowly made his way over to where he was still waiting to get into the cemetery.
"So, Colby, is one of those invitations to the reception for me?"
Colby Lopez quickly looked up at the sound of the sudden question, his dark eyes wide as an unmistakable look of surprise crossed his face. "Ph-Phil?"
The older man came to a stop in front of his younger brother, a small smile appearing on his face. "I don't know why you look so surprised," he muttered.
The thirty-one-year-old shook his head briefly. "Maybe because I haven't seen you since you left after you graduated from high school," he stated. "Maybe because it's impossible for you to return a simple phone call from time to time." He paused and let out a low breath. "Where the fuck have you been, man? We haven't heard from you in years. You never come around..."
Phil steadily met the other man's gaze. "You really think I would miss this?" he asked.
Colby stared back at him for a long moment before his shoulders noticeably slumped, and Phil took a step forward and pulled him close in an embrace, an action which the younger man immediately returned. They stayed that way for neither one knew how long before they parted, and a small smile appeared on Phil's face as he looked back at his brother.
"So, how have you been?" he wondered. "Heard you have a family now. Had no idea you got married."
"Yeah, well, if I would have had an address for you, I would have sent you an invitation," Colby replied with a quiet chuckle, blinking to force back the thin line of tears that had formed in his eyes. "I met Lacey back when we were in high school. She's a friend of Jimmy's. We've been together ever since, and we're happy with two beautiful daughters."
Phil's eyes widened as he laughed. "No fucking way, man..."
Smirking, Colby pulled his phone out of his coat pocket, looking for something for a moment before holding the small device out to his older brother. Phil took it, and he couldn't help but smile when he saw a picture of Colby and a woman with dark blonde hair that fell past her shoulders sitting close together. On the former's lap was a grinning black-haired girl, and on the latter's was a girl with light blonde hair who appeared to be much shyer.
"Ophelia's five," Colby explained, pointing to the darker-haired child sitting on his lap. "And Adella's three. I would have sent you a picture of them when they were born like I did to everyone else, but, again, I didn't have your address."
A moment passed before Phil handed the phone back to him, his smile lingering. "Beautiful girls you have there. All three of 'em," he muttered, making the younger man smile as well. "It's good that at least one of us stayed around here. Moved on with his life..."
Colby sighed as he nodded, meeting the other man's gaze. "Which brings me back to my original question," he told him. "Where the fuck have you been?"
Phil took a deep breath. But before he could say anything, he glanced through the entrance gate of the cemetery to see that most of the people were now seated for the service. "Looks like it's gonna start any minute."
"Why don't we go sit down?" Colby suggested, though there was some reluctance in his tone. Clearly, getting to the bottom of his brother's whereabouts was still something he was determined to do. "Jimmy's saving a couple seats. We had one for Jon, but since I haven't seen him, it's yours now."
"You go on ahead," Phil said with a nod in the direction of the group assembled. "I'll be a minute yet."
Colby again seemed reluctant. "You sure?" he asked. "You're not leaving, are you?"
Phil smiled slightly as he shook his head. "I'll be there in a minute, I swear," he assured him.
The younger man gazed at him for a moment before he gave a conceding nod, turning away from his brother and sticking his hands in his coat pockets as he hurried over to where his saved seat was. Phil watched him until he was out of sight before he pulled his own cell phone out of the front pocket of his jeans, his brow furrowed as he checked his call list.
The received call a few down on the list was dated a few days prior at almost midnight. It was simply labeled "Ma," and the duration of the call was listed as five minutes and twenty-seven seconds. For him, it had been a long conversation, but it was a call he was grateful he had answered instead of holding off and intending to get back to without ever following through.
But for Vickie to contact him so late was unusual, which was the only reason he had accepted the call. She had been her normal cheerful self, just making sure that he was happy and healthy, and though she was acting like everything was fine with her as she told him about the plans she had for the Thanksgiving holiday coming up, he could tell that something was off as he told her he wasn't sure he would make it back to celebrate with the rest of the family. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something just didn't feel right. The feeling was so strong, even after the conversation had ended, that he had gotten into his car later that night and started the long drive back to Chicago.
He had been en route when he had gotten anxious voicemails from Colby and Jimmy the next night telling him that Vickie had died.
Sighing, Phil slipped his cell phone back into his pocket, slowly making his way toward the group of people all sitting together in hushed sorrow as they listened to a priest he didn't recognize begin to talk about the life of the woman who had raised him as her own. How different it was for him to hear an outsider talk about all the good she had done for this small, poorer Chicago neighborhood, especially for the children, when all she had done for him and his brothers was put a roof over their heads, give them warm clothes and comfortable beds, and ensure they had enough food to eat. To him, it was the most important thing she had ever done, but it was one that wasn't mentioned.
He soon spotted Colby sitting in the first row with an empty chair on his right side, while on the left sat a shorter man with black hair that had a streak of pink in it pulled back behind his head in a short ponytail wearing a black leather jacket, skinny jeans, zebra-print boots, and a decorative leopard print scarf around his neck with a pair of sunglasses hooked onto the collar of his dark gray t-shirt. Even with the mascara that accented his dark eyes, the piercings in his ears, his nails that were painted black, and the scruff that lined his face, he recognized his youngest brother immediately.
Quietly and politely excusing himself, Phil made his way past the others who were sitting in the front row before taking a seat in the empty chair beside Colby, who gave him a nod before nudging the other man in the arm. Jimmy Jacobs looked up at him with a hint of irritation, but the look instantly vanished from the twenty-eight-year-old's face as his eyes widened in shock when he saw who Colby gestured to.
"Phil?" he whispered, causing a woman with dyed red hair and hazel eyes wearing a black coat over a black, thigh-length dress and black tights sitting on his other side to look up curiously while the oldest brother smiled slightly in return.
As the service continued, the priest paused and called Vickie's sons up to speak a few words they had prepared to say in a form of shared eulogy. The red-haired woman gave Jimmy's hand a reassuring squeeze as he rose to his feet while Colby did the same, lightly patting the younger man on the back as they both started to make their way up to the front. Phil, who hadn't planned anything to say, sighed as he followed after his brothers. His eyes passed over the smooth, ornate coffin with a decorative wreath and red ribbon placed at the head of it as he passed by, his gaze resting on an enlarged photograph of their mother beside them as he stood in place next to Jimmy, who was visibly trying to keep himself together. The oldest of the three continued to study the photograph of Vickie, who had a broad smile on her lined face and had changed her hair so it was short and dyed black. She looked beautiful, like she always had, but to him, the picture just didn't seem to capture her true beauty.
Colby took a deep breath as he stepped up to the podium first, adjusting the microphone slightly to fit his taller frame before he leaned forward with his hands resting on the edges of the wooden surface. "I'm not sure what I can say about my mother that hasn't already been said so eloquently," he said, attempting a small smile before he cleared his throat. "Vickie Guerrero was an influential part of the foster care system long before I entered into it, working miracles big and small for any child who asked for it. She gave everything she could to those who needed it. But one thing that she hadn't intended to give was her home, as well as herself."
He paused as he tried to force back the thin line of tears that were threatening to fall. Phil set his jaw as he gazed out at all the people who were listening intently to his brother's speech, all people who had been reached by their mother's kindness in some form or another. Beside him, Jimmy's head was lowered as he wrung his hands together, his own tears already making themselves known as the first one slowly trailed down his cheek.
"Like my brothers, or so they have become over these many years, Vickie brought me into her own home so I could have a place to live," Colby continued once he regained himself. "My own parents died when I was very young, and it was that kind of family structure I once believed I would never have again because no one was willing to take the same risk she did. While others looked at us as though we were just delinquents who wouldn't do anything with our lives because we were beyond the point of saving, she believed that even we deserved the love only a mother could give. Without her efforts and her belief in us, I'm not sure where we would have ended up. But like all of us, she saw something in me that was worth redeeming, even if others couldn't, and she gave all of us the second chance she thought we deserved, even if we ourselves didn't think we did.
"Because of her love and patience, I went on to college before I started my own attorney business. I married my beautiful wife, and Vickie accepted her as a part of the family. She was an influential part of the lives of my two wonderful daughters, and every time she told me she was so happy to have grandchildren, I was so grateful that my girls had the chance to receive the same love from the most wonderful woman I've ever known." Colby paused again, his tears returning as he glanced back at Jimmy and Phil. "Hell, because of her, we... we've all gone on to achieve things we never thought we would be able to and wouldn't have if she hadn't put us on the right path."
Phil met the other man's gaze, his hesitance on his words not going unnoticed. He knew both Jon and Jimmy had gone on to do what Colby had said, but he wasn't sure if he could put himself into the same category.
"And I'm grateful that my mother was able to reach out to so many children in our community," Colby concluded quietly, a tear escaping from his eye despite his best efforts. "Especially to those who needed that kind, guiding hand the most. I'm hoping that whatever she has been able to do for them, rather it be big or small, has the same impact on them as it has on us."
Not knowing what more he could say, Colby let out a long breath and nodded once before he took a step back from the podium. He met Phil's gaze, who gave him a reassuring nod, as Jimmy slowly approached it himself, having to lower the microphone so he could speak into it. He sniffed quietly before blinking furiously and wiping at his cheeks to brush the tears away before he leaned forward a bit and rested his arms on the slanted surface.
"What my brother said about us was an understatement. Our mother wasn't just a sweet, compassionate woman, she was a saint trying to raise four sinners," the youngest of the brothers stated. "Her capacity to love must have been infinite, because no matter how much hell we put her through... and believe me, it was a lot... she still somehow managed to forgive and love us for who we were. For who we are." Jimmy paused and briefly dropped his head, taking a deep breath before raising it again. His eyes were filled with tears. "We didn't deserve her, and she sure as hell didn't deserve to put up with us, but she did. She did... and she gave us everything in return..."
His sentence trailed off when his voice cracked, a couple tears falling from his eyes. He waited for another brief moment before he continued in a slightly shaking tone. "Vickie taught all of us a lot during our time in her care. I can't speak for my brothers, but the most important thing she taught me was I didn't have to be afraid anymore." He smiled slightly despite the tears that were continuing to slide down his cheeks. "Fear was... fear was something I always felt when I was a kid. No one ever gave me a reason not to be afraid, even the people I was supposed to love and call family. But... but Vickie was different, she... she told me that there are people in this world who will hurt you, but... but there are some genuinely good people out there, too. And she... she was the best. She showed me what it meant to... to be a part of a real family, which... which is something I never knew before being brought under her roof with my three brothers... I... I wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for her and the love she had to give, I know that... For someone to... to take that away..."
A quiet sob escaped from Jimmy then as he gave up on trying to keep his tears from falling, and he stumbled back from the podium and turned away from the crowd in attendance. Colby, who had tears in his own eyes, immediately stepped forward and wrapped his arms securely around him, holding him close and rubbing his back as the younger man returned the embrace. Phil glanced at the podium, knowing the floor was now open for him to add something to the farewell speech for their mother.
Instead, he walked over to his brothers and wrapped an arm around each of them, sighing when he felt the youngest hold onto him tightly as well as he continued to cry.
Once Jimmy was calmed down enough, Colby and Phil led him back to where their three empty seats were, just as the priest approached the podium to conclude the service. The red-haired woman rose to her feet as they approached, and Jimmy pulled her close to him, resting his head on her shoulder as she wrapped her arms tightly around him. Colby sat down in his chair with a sigh while Phil watched Jimmy and the woman curiously until they also sat down, each holding the other's hands, before he lowered himself into his own seat.
The last few minutes of the funeral seemed to pass by in a blur, and Phil was hardly aware when the priest led them all in a verse and prayer to finish the service and send them on their way. He had never been the most religious of men, but hearing the man speak of how justice would be done was something that stuck out to him.
It was this thought that caused him to echo the same word that all those around him spoke at once.
"Amen."
Author's Note: For those who may not be too, too familiar with her, Lacey was a pretty prominent figure in the career of Seth Rollins and Jimmy Jacobs as their manager in the group all three were both a part of in Ring of Honor, The Age of the Fall. She was also a successful in-ring competitor in her own right, appearing in places such as Ring of Honor and the all-women's promotion, SHIMMER, as well as appearing with (thought not alongside) both Tyler and Jimmy in MTV's show, Wrestling Society X. Her most well-known storyline in Ring of Honor was alongside Jimmy Jacobs, first managing him for the tag team, Lacey's Angels. When the team broke apart due to Jimmy's infatuation with her, she continued to manage him and ignore his obsession with her until finally, she gave in. When she told him she loved him, he felt nothing, which led to his forming The Age of the Fall with Seth and Lacey as a part of it. She has since retired from in-ring competition.
So, there we have it! Three of the brothers, at least, are back together years later. And it appears Phil is starting to get his own agenda. Where that leads him, we'll have to see! Thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!
