John and Virgil stood over Gordon, both glaring at him with rare frustration and disgust over his actions. John who had the scariest temper between him and Virgil was really trying his hardest not to lose it. Virgil on the other hand had been delivering a strong tongue lashing to Gordon and John was loathe to interrupt.
"Since Alan's come back into our lives, you've been nothing short of a spoiled child who isn't getting his way! How could you even think that picking a fight with Alan was appropriate? You know he's still too fragile from the accident! He shouldn't have to deal with your added pressure!" Virgil stopped long enough to take a breath and that gave Gordon time enough to speak.
"I'm sorry okay? It wasn't my intention to make Alan mad! I didn't set out to cause a fight! I just went in to refill my glass and when I saw Alan, a teenage boy shouldn't look so domesticated! I couldn't stand the thought that he's here and not back at home where he belongs with us! Sure, I feel bad for him, I mean I lost a mom when he did too! But he should have come home with us, not stay here, away from us and only talking to us when we think to pick up the phone and give him a ring."
"Gordon that's where you're wrong, Alan doesn't belong on the island. He's just a kid, he deserves to have a life, with friends, school and a stable home with someone to greet him with dinner and a hug if he needs it. We can't offer that to him. Dad's busy with work as the day is long, we're running all over the world with IR and that's not healthy to take Alan away from all he's known and isolate him on the island. We were all at least adults when we made the decision to move to the island, or adult enough. It wasn't long after Alan was taken from us that we moved to the island. Alan's just a kid. He deserves to live the life of a kid while he's still able to." John said, azure eyes glowing with emotion as he tried to make his younger brother understand exactly why Scott chose to stay stateside with Alan and Mae, why it wasn't fair to force Alan to move to the island.
"Gordon, when Scott and Alan get back you are going to apologize to Alan for all you said to him last night. Then there will be no further mentions of Alan coming to the island or remote schooling. Leave Alan be." Virgil said, order promising there would be consequences without verbally issuing the threat.
"Fine." Gordon said. He wasn't happy about it, but he'd keep his promise to John and Virgil.
"Fine." John said before he stood up to go work on dinner. They'd had to throw out the noodles the night prior after they had become a congealed glob in the pan. John was going to start work on the spaghetti again. Virgil joined him in the kitchen, jaw tight with frustration.
"Hey, why don't you go play on mom's piano. I'm sure Alan wouldn't mind." John suggested, knowing that Virgil needed to unwind, but without his art set the next best way would be to play on the piano.
"No, I'm not touching mom's piano after I tried last time." Virgil said recalling just after their mom died. Jeff and Scott were bringing Alan home from the hospital and had left John, Gordon and Virgil at the house to keep an eye on Mae. Virgil started playing twinkle little star for Mae when she wouldn't stop crying and Alan had come in not long after. He'd hobbled in, crutches squeaking with the weight as Alan made his way to the living room.
Alan had said in no uncertain terms that Virgil would have broken hands if he ever touched their mom's piano again without his permission. Virgil who'd simply been playing to soothe Mae hadn't known what to say. Alan was mad and distraught. Tears had been coursing silently down his cheeks before he turned and left the den as quickly as he could and a few minutes passed before a door slamming upstairs signified that Alan wanted to be left alone.
"How about I text Scott and ask him to ask Alan's permission. It couldn't hurt." John said as he was texting Scott before he'd finished his sentence. Virgil was ready to argue with his brother but the replying text put a smile on John's face. "Scott said Alan gave his permission and he said Alan appreciated it but you don't need his permission to play it."
Virgil was tempted to text Scott and say he'd changed his mind, but he decided against it.
"Thanks John." Virgil said before he left the kitchen to go play on their mom's piano.
… … … … … … …
Scott and Alan walked side by side through the cemetery, biding their time before returning to their home. They stopped, Alan kneeling first, soon followed by Scott in front of their mother's headstone. Scott stayed quiet as his brother placed the flowers they'd picked up on the grass at the base of the stone. Alan looked at the inlaid photograph of his mom and couldn't help but to smile. Despite his mom being gone, he still thought she looked beautiful. Alan shifted slightly so that he glanced at Brandon's headstone which lay beside their mom's.
"Hey mom, Brandon. It's me again, I brought Scott to say hi." Alan said softly, his smile sad.
"Hi you two." Scott said, feeling out of place talking to a couple of headstones. He hadn't planned on coming out here, but Alan asked if they could. He hadn't come out the week prior because of being sick and he'd made it a point to come visit once a week.
"Scott's been staying with us. I know I told you two that Scott has custody of us, but I just wanted to let you know that we're okay. He's doing a great job filling the shoes you left behind." Alan said, reaching over and picking up the guitar pick that he'd left for Brandon. It'd been his stepfather who encouraged Alan to take up lessons and had bought him his first guitar. He was twelve when he learned to play, practicing with a guitar that was almost bigger than he was. Alan leaned the lone guitar pick back against the headstone after cleaning mud and a couple blades of grass from the plastic triangle. "Brandon, I just wanted to let you know that I'm still keeping my promise to you. I won't let you down."
Scott was curious by the mentions of this promise, he didn't know what promise Alan could be talking about. He didn't ask though. Alan would tell him when he was ready.
He zoned out whilst Alan talked to the headstones, completely at ease with talking to structures that couldn't talk back. He didn't know how much time had passed before he watched Alan kiss his fingertips and put his hands on their mom's headstone. Scott felt awkward about copying the gesture, but he did it also feeling better about giving his mom some form of affection after not being able to since she left following the divorce.
The brothers stood up and Alan brushed away a couple fallen tears before sucking in a deep breath and moving ahead of Scott. They both walked back to the vehicle, silently contemplating thoughts on their mind. Alan and Scott had discussed at the burger place why Gordon would be jealous of Alan and Mae and the only thing they could think of was that Gordon was jealous because Alan and Mae got Scott all to themselves for the next two years. That was the only logical explanation to Gordon's behavior.
"Let's go home." Scott said, mentally preparing himself for the barrage that was sure to come upon walking in the door.
"Yeah, probably won't be very pretty." Alan mumbled under his breath. He glanced at his watch, shocked to discover the whole day was practically over. Alan had a homework assignment due the following day at school and he had to finish that before the night was over. The day before, Saturday had been filled with an all-day practice for the school drama production followed by the performance at the Lean Bean. They didn't have practice scheduled today, but they did tomorrow. Alan was hesitant to ask but once they'd begun driving Alan turned to his brother and guardian. "Am I grounded?"
Scott had considered it, grounding his brother but he couldn't fault Alan for escaping the argument the only way he knew how. He could have gone to his room, but he'd have still been in too close a proximity for Gordon to not want to continue their argument. He shook his head before seeing Alan's questioning gaze.
"No Alan, but I'm issuing a warning. You ever do that again, walk out without at least telling me where you're going or sending me a text to let me know you're okay, you will be grounded. Am I understood?" Scott glanced to the side to see his words had the desired effect on Alan.
"Yes Scott." Alan replied, wisely keeping any other comments or otherwise to himself.
They continued driving in silence, Scott turning on the blinker that would take them down their street towards the house. Scott followed the speed limit signs, slowing down where necessary before he spotted the driveway that he'd grown familiar with. Pressing a button on the steering wheel, Scott watched as the garage door raised to allow Scott to drive in. Once in, Scott turned off the ignition and the brothers sat in silence for a few moments.
"Can you run over to Mrs. Perkins and pick up Mae while I go in and deal with Gordon and the guys?" Scott asked, giving Alan a chance to keep away from Gordon for a few more minutes.
"Yeah." Alan said before he climbed out of the car and shut the door before he went to the door.
"Oh, and Alan?" Scott paused before opening the door that led into the kitchen.
"Yes?" Alan asked as he also paused at the door that led outside.
"If you and Mae come in and you hear arguing, I want you to take Mae upstairs to your room. I'll come get you afterwards if necessary." Scott said, waiting for the nod of agreement from Alan. "Don't forget to look both ways before crossing the street."
"Yes Scott." Alan said with a roll of his eyes.
… … … … … … …
The argument that Scott was expecting never happened. Gordon refused the theory that he was jealous of his little brother and sister wholeheartedly. He didn't disguise his irritation, it was plastered across his face in silent indignation. Alan and Mae returned after a few minutes. Alan was carrying a plate of cookies covered with saran wrap and a four-year-old little girl was clinging to Alan tightly. Virgil remained in silence before he stood to go join Alan and Mae in the kitchen.
"Hey, how're things going?" Virgil asked as he closed the kitchen door and walked in towards his brother and sister.
"They're okay." Alan replied softly.
"For what it's worth, I'm sorry on behalf of Gordon's actions last night." Virgil said as he watched Alan grab two cookies from the plate. Alan set each cookie on a paper napkin folded into quarters. Alan grabbed two small drinking glasses from the cupboard and filled them with milk before going to sit in the breakfast nook. Mae refused to detach from Alan, remaining bound to his side like a mini octopus. "Mind if I sit with you two?"
"It's a free country." Alan replied before he broke his cookie in half with one hand. Mae stared solemnly at her milk and cookie. "Mae, eat your cookie."
Virgil watched Alan's behavior and saw how closely attached Mae was to him. He could understand the way she was acting was because of Alan's running away the night previous. The way Mae was acting was reminiscent to how she had acted after the accident.
"Alan?" Virgil asked after observing his brother's actions for a few moments.
"What?" Alan replied sullenly. "Mae, are you going to eat your cookie or not? If you don't want it, I'll give it to Virgil."
Virgil was about to protest when Mae murmured that he could have her cookie and cup of milk. He accepted the sweet treat when Alan pushed it across the table top to him. 'Thank you."
"Mom and Brandon hated it when food went to waste around here. If either of us got something and changed our minds or didn't want it, we had to either save it for later or give it to someone else." Alan said as he handed half of his cookie to Mae and pushed his cup over so they could share. Virgil watched as the younger kids shared without a qualm. He took a bite of the cookie and smiled at the flavor. They were reminiscent to his mom's cookies. He hadn't had them in a long time, but he remembered exactly how they tasted the last time he'd had them.
"I really liked the song you played on the piano last night." Virgil said, hoping to break the ice.
"Thanks, I was just goofing off though. It was a song I'd heard in class a few weeks back." Alan said, voice remaining quiet.
"You know we're not mad at you. Mad at Gordon maybe, but not you." Virgil said as he ate the rest of the cookie he'd been given before drinking the milk in one go. "You had me, John and Scott worried. Scott especially."
"I know, he talked to me about it already." Alan said before he reached across to pluck Mae from his side and lifting her up and over his lap before putting her on the floor. "Why don't you go change out of your dress and into your play clothes?"
"I don't want to." Mae said, crossing her arms and looking at Alan with a look of defiance. Virgil had to cover his mouth and look away so as not to laugh. If it wasn't for the brown eyes, Mae would be Alan's double. She was already for the most part, except she had their mother's brown eyes. Seeing Mae with the same look of defiance Alan would get when he was her age made Virgil want to coo at the toddler about how cute she looked even if she was disobeying a friendly suggestion from her big brother.
"Mae, not now…please. Go get changed and I'll start on dinner." Alan said as he prepared to stand. Mae huffed and stamped her foot, but she ran off nonetheless leaving Virgil and Alan alone together.
"John's taken care of that already." Virgil offered quietly and watched as Alan sank back into his chair. "Sorry, John wanted to make it up to you by taking care of dinner preparation tonight. As soon as Mae comes back down and Scott is done talking to Gordon, I think we should be able to eat dinner."
"You do not want to go out there." John said as he entered the kitchen and thrust his thumb back toward living room. "Scott and Gordon are having a pretty heated discussion."
"Great." Alan murmured under his breath.
"Alan…I'm sorry for not stepping in before it got worse last night." John said as he sat in the nook beside Virgil. Both older boys looked down at their younger brother who had his gaze planted firmly on the table top. "Alan?"
"I know." Alan said before he slid from the seat and went up the stairs. The house was older, had a set of servant stairs in the kitchen that went up, right by Alan's room. John and Virgil both watched him go at a loss for how to help their little brother out of his funk. They knew Alan was still upset over his and Gordon's argument the night prior, but they didn't know quite how to help him.
"I'll go talk to him." John said, closely mirroring Alan and sliding from the nook before he made his way up the servant staircase. He walked up to the door, noticing how the door was closed but the light was on inside. John knocked softly, waiting for a reply. When he didn't get one, John opened Alan's door and peeked in at his brother.
Alan was laying on his bed, flat on his back. He was tossing a baseball up and catching it before tossing it back up. John's eyes tracked the ball, up and down like a yo-yo. He waited for Alan to respond to his presence and when he didn't get one, John cleared his throat.
"What do you want John?" Alan asked, eyes not leaving the ball he was still tossing up and holding his hand slightly over his forehead to catch the ball before repeating the tossing.
"Will you just talk to me?" John asked before going to sit on the foot of Alan's bed. He looked around his little brother's room, taking in the simplicity of it. There were pictures all over the room, that Mae had drawn. John continued looking around before seeing the frame lying face down on the night stand. He looked at Alan before he walked over to pick up the frame and look at it. He frowned and his shoulders dropped when he saw the picture of their family together before the divorce. His mom looked happy in the picture, but John knew that was a façade. "Alan?"
"What?" Alan asked as he quit with the baseball to sit up and look at John. He leveled a stern gaze at John before shook his head. "What do you want?"
"I wanted to apologize for last night. It wasn't fair of us to keep quiet when we knew Gordon was in the wrong. Can you forgive us?" John asked as he set the frame upright before walking over to sit in Alan's computer chair. "If we'd known that Gordon was cruising for a fight, we'd have stopped him sooner than we had."
"It doesn't matter." Alan said in argument as he kept his gaze from his brother.
"It does matter. This is your home and Gordon had no right to come in here and accuse you of wrong doing." John said before he offered Alan a sad smile. "I guess a visit just wasn't a good idea. Yeah?"
Alan went quiet, refusing to speak for the longest time. John had grown hopeless of the situation and he stood up to go tell Virgil that he'd failed at changing the direction of their visit. When he reached the door, Alan stopped him.
"John, I'm sorry. I guess I'm still sore over the argument last night." Alan said, making John turn his way. "Stay?"
John looked back at his little brother and his lips lifted from the frown into a smile before he went over to sit in his vacated seat beside Alan's bed.
"I'm sorry, it's not fair to take my frustration at Gordon out on you and Virgil." Alan murmured softly. John quietly observed his younger brother, before going over to hug him.
"It's okay kiddo. I understand." John said before he smiled at his brother. "Why don't you come on downstairs with me and we'll sit and have dinner?"
"Gordon doesn't want to be in the same room as me." Alan said with a solemn shake of his head.
"Not true Al. Gordon's been the one who's been most excited about the prospect of coming to visit." John said. "You can ask Virgil to know I'm not lying."
"Yeah, well if he was genuinely excited to see me I don't think he'd intentionally try to pick a fight with me." Alan said before he knocked John's hands away and stormed from the room, assumingly downstairs to face the so-called music.
"I can't win for losing." John said with a sigh as he stood to follow Alan downstairs.
A/N: So here is the latest update to the story, I'm working on a new update for Rising From The Ashes. Please forgive the delay, I've been busy with school and just received news that my cousin that's been fighting lung cancer could fight no longer. Between work, school and coping with so many deaths (friend that was murdered, cousin losing fight with cancer) I've felt numb inside and not up to writing much of anything.
In an attempt to spread the word, if you or anyone you know is facing domestic violence/abuse you can text loveis or 22522 for the domestic violence hotline. You can learn more on the /Marykay website.
Hope you enjoyed this latest update and I won't tolerate disparaging comments on my stories. To the Guest that commented on my story Whatever Will Be Will Be - I realize that some university professors don't care when a student comes in, but I didn't go to your university. The one I went to DID count the time you arrived. I DID have a professor that told me and my class that if we couldn't be bothered with being on time, we might as well not show up at all because he wouldn't give us extra time to finish our finals and since our finals were usually an hour to an hour in a half long, it'd be pointless to come in if we were later than 20 minutes late. As for the unrealistic grading scale, not all universities are the same. The aforementioned professor I had DID make our final well over half our total grade. My professor told our straight A student in front of the class that if he failed the final he'd fail the class. Not all universities are the same. There is a reason this is posted on a fan-FICTION site. It's fiction, everything is unrealistic in fiction. If you don't like my stories, DON'T READ THEM! I'm not going to stop posting them.
Sad-Blue-Eyed-Angel 2010