Disclaimer: I don't own Four Brothers, but the plot and original characters are mine.
Chapter 3:
It didn't take long for Megan to find her friends once they got to the rink. They were standing by the snack counter, pigging out.
"Meggy!" Bobby cried, leaving his soda on the table and running over to Megan. Once he reached her, he picked Megan up and swung her around while she squealed in delight and hung onto Bobby tightly.
"Hey girl," Jerry said as Bobby let her down. He and Angel proceeded to hug her tightly in greeting, showing they missed her just as much as the eldest Mercer had.
"So, Pixie Stick, what's doin'?" Bobby asked using one of her many nicknames.
"Well, Gran picked up a new foster kid. His name's Jack Rhode," Megan said getting straight to the point. "But he's more Ma's type of kid than Gran's," she continued, unsure how to put it. "Not so much trouble as troubled," she finished, trying to explain what she meant.
"So he fucked up in the head," Angel said simply.
"Angel Frederick Mercer, stop talking outta your ass," Megan scolded. Jerry and Bobby just sniggered.
"You two think this funny? It's not," Megan said indignantly.
"Alright baby girl," Angel said. "I was just messin'. So which Mercer is he most like?"
"Well, he's as skittish as you were Angel, but he's not angry. He's really, really sad and scared. He's like that puppy in the pound with those overlarge eyes that you just wanna hug to death and make it believe that everything's gonna be fine and people really do love you," Megan said sadly, her heart aching to help the new boy in her life.
"Ay mami, so sentimental and you just met the boy," Angel said with a small smile.
"Yeah, Meg, maybe you shouldn't be so attached. You just met him," Jerry echoed with concern.
"I know, but you'll get it when you see him," Megan said, looking towards the restrooms in an attempt to locate Jack. "So Bobby, what's you're two cents?" she asked nervously as she turned back to face the boys. Bobby's opinion meant a lot to her and she valued any advice he gave her.
"Who's to say I have any cents?" Bobby retorted
"Man, you always have cents," Jerry said shaking his head.
"Yeah, spit it out," Angel added nodding his head in agreement.
"Fine, gang up on me why donchya?" Bobby said in annoyance.
"We just did," Megan shot back expectantly.
"Well, I dunno, I suppose we'll just have to meet the kid," Bobby said with a shrug. "Where is he?"
"Good question," Megan said as she looked around again. The rink was pretty empty tonight, which was odd seeing as though school was out and no one really had anything better to do at night.
"There's a party down on Fenon tonight," Bobby said, satiating Megan's unvoiced curiosity.
"And you're not there?" Megan asked distractedly as she continued to look for her companion.
"Nope, I needed to come see my girl," Bobby said with a shrug.
"Aw, Bobby, how sweet. Pass up beer for me?" Megan said, her eyes still scouring the crowd for Jack.
"Why didn't he come in with you?" Jerry asked curiously, ignoring all friendly banter that passed between Bobby and Megan.
"Well, um, we sorta walked by his old foster dad's place and he broke down," Megan said sheepishly, turning to the boys again. "He looked a mess and so I sent him to clean up. I also told him we would ditch you guys, get ice cream and walk home," she added, biting her lower lip anxiously.
"Can we get ice cream too?" Bobby asked, cutting off his brothers' cries of protest. Megan smiled gratefully. She knew he would understand and agree with what she was doing. Bobby just winked in response, noting her gratitude.
"Oh! There he is," Megan said as she looked over her shoulder, spotted Jack and rushed over to him. Moments later she returned with Jack following her, his hand in hers due to her fear of losing him, even though there were less people in the rink then usual.
Megan knew the boys were giving Jack the once over and hoped that it didn't freak him out too badly. Knowing how one of her friends from back home who came to visit earlier in the summer took the visual inspection, she held onto his hand tighter, not wanting him to run. As the unspoken meeting occurred, she felt his glance move from her to their joined hands and, finally, to the Mercer boys.
"Um, so, Jack, this is Bobby, Jeremiah and Angel Mercer. Guys, this is Jack Rhode," Megan said as she pointed out each brother. Jack simply nodded, not saying anything that could potentially piss any of the brothers off, especially Bobby.
"Hey," Jack whispered as he took his hand from Megan's and waved slightly.
"Hey Jack," Jerry said kindly. Angel nodded and Bobby mimicked his little brother.
"Jack, Meg tells us you guys are gonna skip the rink and go for some ice cream. We were wondering if we could come with," Bobby asked kindly. Megan bit her lower lip and rocked back and forth as Jack took his time responding. She was pretty sure he wouldn't object, but she was pleased with the fact that Bobby was being so nice. She was so happy that her surrogate brother was being so nice that she couldn't help but bounce up and down. Angel and Jerry saw this and smiled at her. She winked at them as Jack slowly nodded his head yes.
"Well then, what're we waiting for?" Jerry asked as he led the way. Megan smiled brightly as Bobby came from behind her, scooped her up and threw her over his shoulder.
"BOBBY!" Megan yelped loudly through laughter as she pounded on Bobby's back in protest.
"Yes darlin'?" Bobby asked innocently as Angel and Jerry laughed at their brother's antics. Jack smiled softly, hanging back a bit even though everything in him wanted to be apart of this. This looked like fun. It reminded him of that house he had stopped at earlier that night. Whenever he could, he would sneak away and sit on the front porch, watching as small groups of friends walked by, running around and playing. He'd always wanted to be apart of that. In fact, one day he was invited to play by a small girl but that quickly ended.
Flashback
A seven-year-old Jack sat on the steps to his front porch, hoping his father wouldn't call for him. He watched as a two small girls, one a few years older then the other, came out of the house next door and started to draw an oversized hopscotch board on the sidewalk in front of his house. It didn't take long for the girls to notice him and ask him if he wanted to play. He wasn't so sure at first but, after looking back at his house and seeing it was quite, he decided it would be okay if he played for a bit.
"Alright," Jack said hesitantly as he walked over to the two small girls. One of them was a blonde and the other, the older one, was a brunette.
"You go first," the blonde insisted holding out the stone for Jack. He looked at the unusually pretty stone curiously, not knowing what he should be doing with it.
"Silly! How do you not know how to play hopscotch?" the brunette scoffed.
"Chloe!" the blonde reprimanded as Jack hung his head in shame.
"Sorry," Chloe whispered. Jack just nodded his head and looked to the still unnamed blonde for directions.
"What ya havta do is throw the stone at one of the boxes. When there's one box in a row, you put down one foot, but then when there're two boxes, you put down both feet, one in each box. But then, whatever box that has the stone in it, you gotta skip it," the blonde said. Jack looked at her, still slightly confused. "Here, I'll go first," the blonde said kindly as he handed her the stone. She threw it and quickly went through the hopscotch board.
"I think I get it," Jack whispered as he picked up the rock from its box and tossed it. He managed to get through with only messing up twice and the two girls cheered, Chloe quickly forgetting her sour disposition towards her new friend.
The trio played for almost three hours until a loud noise came from Jack's house and the two small girls shrieked in fear. Jack nearly did as well. He was having so much fun that he almost forgot how much pain was inflicted on him everyday.
"Jack, what's that?" Skye asked fearfully. The two girls had gotten to know Jack a lot better over the hours they had played together and names were exchanged not long after Chloe had thrown her first stone.
"You guys better go home," Jack said in an unsteady voice.
"Jack, come with us," Chloe said tugging on his sleeve frantically.
"Chloe's mommy has milk and cookies waiting!" Skye offered, figuring no one could turn down milk and cookies.
"No, I gotta go home," Jack whispered. "Go, 'kay?" he pleaded, not wanting the two girls to get hurt.
"Alright, but promise we'll play together soon?" Skye asked dolefully as another noise came from Jack's house. Jack could tell she knew just as well as he did that she would probably never see him again, but he knew why she was asking anyways.
"I promise," Jack said. Chloe and Skye hugged him tightly.
"Jack, keep the stone. It was my sister's before she gave it to me and I don't really like it," Skye said handing him the thin, silver-colored chip they had been using. It had a hole at the top of it, clearly meant for a chain and was slightly scratched from being thrown around. "Just in case you ever needa stone to play hopscotch and you don't got nothin' else," she added.
"Hurry!" Jack said after hearing a third boom coming from his house. He hugged Skye again and pushed her after Chloe, who had already started walking across the street, towards their safe haven. Jack ran back into his house, praying his father hadn't noticed he was gone yet.
"I saw ya out dere Jackie, with dose girls. You tink you're so smart goin' out like dat when I'm sleepin'," Jack's father slurred as Jack closed the front door behind him. "Well don't cha ever tink about doin' dat ever again Jackie, because no matter how hard I beat ya dis time, it's gonna hurt a lot more next time!" Jack's father said, pulling him close enough so that him could smell his putrid breath.
Just before the first blow fell, Jack's gazed landed on the window to see Skye and Chloe's faces pressed against the window, trying to see what was happening. Why couldn't they just leave like he told them to? He bit his lip and turned from them, trying to keep the attention on him and off the window, so the girls wouldn't get the same beating he was about to get.
Jack shut his eyes and waited for the first smack. It landed right across his cheek, where it normally does. He could almost hear Chloe and Skye gasp in horror. Thankfully, he kept his eyes shut until the beating was over so he wouldn't look over at the girls and feel more miserable about his situation than usual.
When his father left the room to go back to his room and drink himself into oblivion again, Jack took stock of his injuries. His shirt was ripped and he had tons of gashes all along his small torso. When he felt his head, he could feel blood matting down his long hair where his father had hit him with his belt buckle. He also felt scratches where his father had hit him across the face. His neck had finger print-bruises from where his father had held him while administering the beating, nearly cutting off his air-supply and killing him. All in all, this beating wasn't as bad as the others.
Jack's attention was only taken from his injuries when he heard a soft knock on the door. He inched over the door to open it and see Chloe and Skye standing there with tears in their eyes. "Go home, please," he rasped. "Don't say anything. He'll just hurt you too," he added painfully as his throat began to hurt even more from talking.
"Jack!" the two girls exclaimed quietly as they hugged him gently. "Please come with us," Chloe said as he brown hair fell into her face, obscuring the fear that filled her eyes.
"No, I understand, we gotsta go. Come on Chloe," Skye said tugging at Chloe. Chloe gave Jack one more hug before running from the house in fear. "I'll save you Jack, I promise," Skye whispered when she hugged her friend, and before he could protest, the two small girls were gone.
End Flashback
Jack snapped out of it after realizing he'd walked the entire way to the ice cream parlor spacing out the way he had. The others must not have noticed since they were so busy playing around. After that day, Jack never left the house unless his father told him to. Nor had he seen Chloe or Skye again, but he knew that if he were to see them again, he would recognize them.
"So Jackie, what flavor do you like?" Megan asked kindly as they stood in line for ice cream.
"Never really had ice cream," Jack muttered.
"No ice cream?" Angel exclaimed in shock, nearly fainting. Jerry clucked his tongue and slapped Angel on the stomach with the back of his hand. "OUCH!" Angel yelled. "I better be gettin' double now," Angel grumbled as he set his hand on his stomach and Jerry just shook his head.
"No," Jack said shaking his head, almost shamefully.
"Well, that's alright then, we'll just get him some vanilla to start out with," Bobby said as he shoved both of his brothers. "I never had this stuff when I was little neither. Never saw the point of makin' myself fat with all that sugar," Bobby said throwing Angel a look.
"What? You callin' me fat Bobby?" Angel asked angrily.
"Alright boys, that's enough, no fighting during my shift," the elderly woman behind the counter said mischievously.
"Franny!" the boys cheered as hey saw their favorite employee behind the counter. Megan shook her head, smiling at Franny. Franny just smiled back. She was one of the very few people in Detroit who saw the good in the Mercer boys.
"Well, hello Bobby," Franny said after giving both Angel and Jerry their ice cream. "It's good to see you 'round these parts."
"It's good to see you too Franny," Bobby said.
"You're usual?" Franny asked.
"When have I ever asked for anything else?" Bobby responded. Franny just laughed as she handed him a cone of vanilla covered with chocolate chips, complete with a bowl to catch any dripping ice cream, which secretly held extra chocolate chips for him to share with his brothers.
Bobby smiled and winked at Franny as he handed her his money and walked to sit down with his brothers. He watched as Megan introduced Jack to Franny. The still-skittish boy responded timidly, just as Megan and Angel had, only four years earlier.
Bobby shook his head as he watched Jack. He was surprised Jack was taking so well to Megan, and even to him and his brothers. He expected Jack to act just as jumpy and scared around them as he was with everyone else in the store. He expected Jack to break down and run. Little did everyone know, that's exactly how he reacted when he got to Ma's house. He would never admit it, because it would ruin his tough guy image, but that was the truth. He just hoped Megan could eventually help Jack get out of his funk.
When Megan and Jack moved to join the Mercer brothers, Bobby threw those thoughts from his head, just aiming on having a good time and showing Jack what it was like to not have to worry. By the end of the night, Jack was talking more and had actually thrown a few chocolate chips at Angel, mimicking what Bobby had done earlier on in the night when Angel had said something stupid. All in all, Bobby was impressed and told Megan so on their walk home.
"Hey Pixie, I think you might not break your back helpin' this one," Bobby said as Jack walked with Jerry and Angel, the three horsing around a bit.
"I know," Megan said, her eyes over-bright with hope.
"You have to talk to him about his demons. Just remember not to push too hard," Bobby cautioned.
"I'm always careful," Megan said seriously. "Don't worry. I have your cell number and you have mine. You're the first person I'd call if I needed help."
"I've taught you well," Bobby said as they reached Megan's house. "Would you look at that, 10:50. I got you home early, Cinderella. Now I won't have to see you dressed in rags," he teased.
"I like looking like a princess, not a pauper," Megan said as she hugged Bobby tightly. "I've missed you. Don't leave again, huh? I'm here to stay for a bit, so why don't you return the favor?" she whispered.
"I'll try," Bobby said as he let go of Megan so she could give Jerry and Angel their goodnight hugs as well. Jack stood off the side waiting for his housemate, choosing simply to wave goodbye to Bobby. Bobby waved back and waited for Jack and Megan to get inside the house before shepherding his brothers home.
A/N: Well, I brought you the Mercers. I hope you liked how I portrayed them. I know that I made Bobby really nice, but that's because I think he would be in that kind of setting, but I just hope you guys don't totally hate it. I'll try and show his tough guy attitude later, but as I said, I think he'd be nice to Jack in that situation, especially for Megan.
Love and Luck,
Gaby
