A Simple Promise
Chapter 4

Mario and Luigi watched as pieces of their lives began to fall back into place. They watched Sylvia slowly coming back around, becoming the bubbly, energetic woman they have always known. They made sure to always stay close to her, as she was all the family they had left. Sylvia needed her own family more than ever, too, especially during the divorce proceedings. While Luigi didn't really catch on, Mario knew his mom would be very well off- Charles forfeited the home to her, and they agreed to no child support since the boys were old enough to care for each other while she went to work, and she could sell the house and get something a bit smaller for them.

That was almost two years ago. Mario definitely noticed many things in his life changed, and while it was hard at times, he was proud of where they were now.

Mario celebrated his fourteenth birthday, and Luigi his eleventh. Mario also began to notice a few changes within himself and his little brother.

Luigi was growing rather fast for a young boy, and was the second tallest in his seventh grade class. He was also, from what Mario understood, the second youngest. As a result, Luigi was very, VERY shy and awkward, and- Mario hated to admit it- very socially... strange. That was the only way he could phrase it.

No... anti-social. That was the more appropriate term. Luigi was anti-social to a really bad fault. Mario just didn't get it.

Luigi was so quiet, he didn't have too many friends. He barely, if at all, spoke, and as a result, Luigi made very few friends. If anything, Luigi was a walking target for bullies, but Mario made sure to teach his brother how to defend himself, if need be. He wasn't going to have him be pushed around, especially since he was in a different school now.

Luigi wasn't a bad person to be around. He was...just soft-spoken. And quiet. And shy. And awkward. Luigi was just Luigi.

Mario, on the other hand, was a social butterfly. Friends, family, strangers, he just loved people, especially around the girls. Mario had no problem talking to someone and being the center of attention. It was the reason he was growing popular in his grade.

Opposites they were, but Luigi actually didn't mind. Mario included him in every activity (mostly to get him to open up to others), and usually didn't push him to talk too much to others. Luigi preferred to observe and listen than actually talk.

Sylvia was improving each day, and after the move with her sons, she had unintentionally found a new person who seemed kind, sweet, and really loved her boys. While she hadn't been actively searching for anyone, she loved the new person, Michael, and how he treated her and her small family. She decided to give the slowly blooming relationship a try, and they had been together since her move two years ago.

Mario and Luigi loved Michael as well. Of course, they still spoke to Charles- he was their father, after all- but Mario didn't really hold much respect for Charles like he did Michael. He began referring to Michael as 'Dad', and Charles, his actual name. Luigi was still a bit young and confused as to why his older brother didn't love their father anymore, so he still called Charles 'Dad'. But he really, really like Michael and everything he did for them. Mostly, he was just happy his mom was smiling and laughing more, and they spent more time together.

Mario hoped that Michael and his mom would get married soon. Luigi was glad things were getting better. Everyone seemed happy, and life continued on.

Until one Saturday morning, when Luigi stumbled upon something that would explain why Mario harbored little respect for their father, and why he would as well.

Early that morning, around 8am, Charles called Sylvia and asked her to send some leftover things to his new address he now shared with his mistress. Sylvia, naturally, refused. She told Charles she'd moved and all his things were in the house she sold.

"Well, can't you just go and get them? I'm busy!"

"Well, so am I! I have children, you useless lump of meat! Go to the house and get your own things!"

While the divorce proceedings had been more or less quick and professional, Sylvia noticed that Charles had been calling far too frequently for her liking. She moved on, and it was his fault they divorced, so why call? Most of the time it was for stupid things like this, and they boys barely spoke to him on the phone anymore.

Well, if she wanted to be honest, she knew Mario disliked his father for what he did to her. Sylvia sighed and rubbed her temples. Michael was gone for the day, working at his job as a manager at a local retail store, and she didn't feel like getting him involved in her... mess.

So she said, "Listen. I left the keys to get in the back door with the new tenets living at the house. Go to them, let them know, and they'll send your stuff. Got it?"

Sylvia hung up before Charles could argue with her, and she was in the process of blocking his number when Mario came downstairs, whining he was bored out of his mind and rummaging through the fridge for something to eat.

"Hey, Mom." Mario greeted, giving her a quick peck on the cheek before pouring himself some juice. He noticed the worried look on her face and frowned. He knew that look.

"Charles called again, didn't he." He said flatly as he chugged half the glass down. "Did you block his number?"

Sylvia knew Mario understood quite a lot of the mess called the divorce. She didn't have to hide it from him, and sometimes, she found talking to her eldest did help. Sighing heavily, she sat the phone down and leaned against the counter, crossing her arms.

"I did. This is the millionth time that man changed his number. I wonder how he keeps getting my phone number..." she mused, tapping her chin in thought.

"What did he want?"

"He claims he left some things at the old house, and wants me to send it to him. He can get it himself, or send the... woman... to get it for him." Mario chuckled- his mom had to watch what language she said around the house. She knew Luigi had some keen hearing for that sort of thing, and it frightened him a lot.

"That's right. He's a piece of crap anyways. He should've been got his things." Mario finished off his orange juice and washed out his glass. Sylvia smiled and shook her head before she remembered what she had to do today.

"Mario, I need to run to the store to get more things for this little place, and I could really use some help. Care to come with your dear mother?" she asked playfully, hugging her oldest. Mario groaned, but returned the hug.

"Weeeeellllll, if there's food involved... maaaaaybeeee..." he answered with drawn out words. Sylvia winked at him.

"Pizza?"

"I'm in."

Luigi, who had been in his room watching some TV and working on the last bit of his homework, heard Mario come in. Big brother tapped Luigi on his head to get his attention.

"Oi, Weegie. I'm gonna help Mom make a store run. She's bringing some pizza home for lunch." Luigi was nodding, but too engrossed to hear what his brother had said. So Mario stood in front of the TV.

"HEY! Come on Mario, move! I'm missing the show!" Luigi complained, trying to see past him.

"Annnnnd doing homework on a Saturday... nerdddddd..." Mario playfully teased. Luigi pouted and crossed his arms.

"I love you, fratello. But seriously, I need you to hear me. Mom and me are running to the store. You'll be okay for an hour or three?"

Luigi uncrossed his arms and nodded. "I know all the rules. Don't answer the door, don't go out unless its an emergency, charge my phone, I have you and Mom's numbers, don't touch the stove..."

Mario blinked. "Why do you... ah, forget it. I know you'll be fine." As Mario started to walk out, he remembered one more thing.

"Listen. Charles has been harassing Mom lately. She doesn't want to Michael to know about it, and whatever you do, DO NOT answer the door or your phone if he calls, okay?"

Luigi still didn't understand what the big deal was, but if his Mom and brother were warning him, it was something important and he had to listen. "Got it, bro. Do not answer Dad."

Mario grinned and ruffled his little brother's hair. "Good. We'll be back. Try and actually relax, eh?"

After he heard the door shut, Luigi went back to his homework. After another half hour, Luigi went and got himself something to eat, then relaxed for awhile in the living room.

As he flipped through the channels, something caught his attention.

He noticed the martial picture frame resting on the mantelpiece. Luigi walked over and looked at it. There was no photo inside of it, but he was just analyzing the frame itself. He knew Sylvia loved the frame dearly since it was a present from her mother right before she fell sick.

He still remembered when his mother had showed that frame off. They weren't even born when their parents got married, but hearing them talking and relieving those memories made it seem like they were right there. It was Luigi's version of his favorite bedtime story.

That got him thinking. 'I wonder...why did Dad leave us in the first place?'

Luigi kept running that question over and over in his head for awhile before he decided to do some detective work.

'I mean, I'm eleven, and I get the feeling Mom and Mario never told me the whole truth. I think I deserve to know!'

Luigi went into his mother's bedroom, frame in hand. He knew most of their dad's things were back at the old house, and Mom never took anything that had to do with him- or at least, as far as she knew. There was something in her nightstand drawer that Luigi recognized instantly.

"This belongs to Dad... he always said that we aren't supposed to touch it, but why...?" he mused, holding a small black box.

The box looked more like a fireproof safe instead of a keepsake chest. It was entirely black and made of steel. Luigi shook it, and heard a lot of rustling going on. It sounded like paper.

"What could be in here?" he mused. He tried to open it, but ran into a roadblock.

The box was locked with a combination lock. Luigi sighed. No way his mother would have the code... would she?

Luigi looked around the master bedroom. There wasn't that many places she could hide a code. It had to be here somewhere.

"Where would Mom keep the combination?" he asked himself. He scratched his head in confusion as he looked around for a clue. After checking the bedroom once, he checked the nightstand dresser again. The first dresser was a bust, but the second drawer contained a small notepad. The name on the pad said 'Charles', so Luigi grinned.

"Perfect." Luigi put the steel box down and flipped through the notepad. After a few pages, he found what he was looking for.

"Got it! I think I'd better take this, though... seems like Dad had some notes in this thing, too..." Luigi fit the notepad in his pocket and took the steel box back to his room. It was then he heard a car door slam, followed by some conversation. Luigi freaked out.

'Shoot! If Mom sees me with this, she is going to kill me!' he frantically thought as he tucked the box under his pillows. He adjusted them to make it seem he'd been in there, and the pillows were big enough and fluffy enough to hide what he'd taken.

Sometimes, Luigi wished he didn't have to share a room with his brother, but luckily, his brother never noticed much since he was a freshman. Luigi chuckled to himself. 'Mario... sometimes he's just... dense.'

Luigi finished his hiding, remembered the notepad, and shoved that under his pillow just as Mario stomped up the stairs. Glad he managed to pull that off, Luigi returned to his bed and acted like he'd just woken from a small nap.

"Whyyyyyyyyy meeeeeeeeeee? Mom's so cruel, Weege!" he screamed dramatically as he walked in. He flopped on his bed and sighed loudly. Luigi 'stifled' a yawn and sat up, wondering what his deal was.

"What actually happened, bro?"

Mario went into a forty five minute rant about how annoyed he'd gotten when Sylvia dragged him along to look for Glad trash bags. And not just any kind, either. They had to be the strongly scented kind- he had no clue why!

"Mannn, I tell you! Next time, I'll let you go with her. You could use the exercise, green bean." Mario laughed at the glare Luigi cut him.

"Shut up. Anyways, did Mom bring pizza? I'm hungry."

Mario nodded and jerked his thumb towards the door. "Downstairs. Supreme pizza today... yuck, olives..." He shuddered as he imagined those horrible looking olives on that good looking pizza. "Of course Mom ordered before I could choose-"

"You usually pick horrible, anyways." Luigi laughed as he exited the room. Mario rolled his eyes.

"No, you're just weird, little brother." Mario sat up and kicked off his shoes. He changed his clothes and as he was exiting the room, he noticed the small notepad half sticking out of Luigi's pillow. Mario stared at it, then shrugged.

"Nerdy brother of mine... probably his notes for Monday's math assignment. Might need those for later." Mario thought nothing more about it, and went to join his brother and mother for some pizza.