'I've known my mother was alive for as long as she's officially been dead,' Alec said. 'The day of the accident was December seventeenth. Izzy had told me that our parents were going to a dinner, so I was on my way to sneak into the house and spend the evening with my siblings. I was at the bottom of the slope, hiding in the trees, waiting for their car to pass by and leave. It was going far too fast and wasn't slowing down. I watched the car roll and slam into the old pine.
'I didn't hesitate but ran over. The driver's side was completely crushed and my father's face was covered in blood, his eyes open and lifeless. The airbags hadn't deployed. Then my mother made a sound. I opened the car door and dragged her out, already calling the emergency services. She was bleeding, but she was conscious and alive. She had this large gash on her leg that I managed to tie my scarf around to try and stop the bleeding, but there was so much of it everywhere.
'My mother opened her eyes and recognised me. The first thing she said was: "The breaks were cut. They cannot know you were here." I can barely remember what I said. I just remember her looking at me with that soft look I hadn't seen in years as she reached out and brushed some hair out of my face.
'When my call finally went through I told them there had been an accident. One dead, one severely injured. Nothing else. They were a few minutes out, but they were on their way. And I sat with my mother, trying to stop the bleeding, keeping her conscious for as long as I could. When we heard the sirens in the distance she told me to go. If they knew I was there, they might come after me too. I was to go home and take care of my siblings until the call would come that something had happened to them. No one was to know that I had been at the site.
'So I did. I snuck away as the paramedics showed up. I washed my hands in the creek and went up to the house, pretending that everything was fine. Izzy was really excited about this party that was coming up, and I slipped Jace anxiety medication along with his usual medicine. I was tucking Max into bed when Hodge showed up at the door.'
'Who is Hodge?' Magnus asked quietly.
'A colleague of my parents and close family friend. He would have become our legal guardian if I hadn't destroyed my father's will.'
'Why did you do that?'
'Because Hodge is the one who sabotaged my parents' car.' Magnus tried to keep his calm, but his efforts were not enough. His eyes were wide as he put the now empty cup of tea down before he would drop it.
'When Hodge came that night he took me aside and told me that my father had died in a car accident and my mother was in critical state in the hospital. They didn't know if she was going to make it. Information I already knew, but it still hit hard, hearing someone else say it. The police needed me to come and identify my father in the morning. He thought it was best if I told my siblings. I agreed. Hodge offered to stay, but I told him I'd take care of them.
'Max didn't understand, Izzy was inconsolable and Jace was just numb because of the medication I'd given him. I don't think I slept that night. I kept seeing my father's dead eyes and my mother's blood on my hands. The next day I went down to the police station to identify my father, and then took my siblings with me to the hospital. My mother had slipped into a coma, but she was alive because someone had kept pressure on the wound on her leg.
'I was called to the hospital, by myself, two days later for something that couldn't be told over the phone. I expected the worst as I drove the hospital, but I found my mother alive and awake in a private room. She was in terrible condition and in pain, but she was refusing drugs so that she could be lucid for the discussion she needed to have with me. And as I sat down she told me everything.
'My parents had made a very powerful ally in Valentine Morgenstern at the company they worked at. He promised my father a rise in rank and position as he was going to take over the company from the inside. As he did so, my parents started to doubt his methods and their discontinued cooperation was part in the reason why his takeover failed. He was ousted and swore revenge against many people, including my parents. Over the past two months my mother had seen the pattern of car accidents occurring, but there was nothing she could do. All she could do was try to keep the target on us, her children, as small as possible. Give no excuse for violence against us.
'Hodge had stayed loyal to Valentine, he had access to my parents car, but she knew that there was no way to prove that he had actually sabotaged it. And she knew that Valentine was not going to stop until he had exacted complete revenge on my parents. And if he couldn't get to my mother, then he would get to us. And so, my mother had talked the nurse into faking her death, but she needed my help to get it done.
'I begged and pleaded for her to not to this, that we couldn't lose her too, but she was right. As long as she survived the accident, Valentine would not let up and Izzy, Jace and Max would be in danger. So I agreed to her plan. We said our goodbyes and I went home to tell my siblings that our mother had passed and that they couldn't say goodbye to her. It's the only time ever I've seen Jace cry and then Izzy asked me the question of what was going to happen to them. And I promised them… I promised them that I would take care of them, be there for them…
'At night I snuck into my father's office as my mother had instructed. I found his will and burned it. He'd never had it officially made up, so that was the only copy. I then found my mother's will, which she had made up when she had first started suspecting that Valentine may do something. It was short and messy, but it very clearly stated that I was to be legal guardian for Izzy, Jace and Max and all their assets would go to me. I signed over a small amount of money from my mother's account into a new one and paid the bribe to the hospital under the guise of fees.
'And then the police figured out that the scarf that had been used to save my mother's life was mine. They tried to use it to place me at the scene, get me to give information. I had to tell them that I hadn't been living with my parents since they had reacted badly to my coming out. I was careful and they concluded I had run away, which would give my mother reason to have my scarf with her as a token of memory. But that put me in a position of suspicion. I had reason to be angry at my parents and they found the transfers of money to the new account. I couldn't do anything without compromising our safety. Eventually they couldn't find enough evidence and the case was closed, classified as an accident.
'Hodge tried to fight me over custody for my siblings, but my mom's shoddy will eventually did tip the judge in my favour. He gave up after that and Valentine seemed satisfied in his revenge. I couldn't look Hodge in the eye anymore, knowing what he'd done. Having seen him use the fact that the police had suspected me of a crime he'd committed, to try and sway the judge to take my siblings away from me. I was angry and I told him to get the hell out of our lives. Jace and Izzy stood by me, but they had no idea of what we were facing.
'I learned a couple of days after the accident. My mother had thought that the medical debt would be in her and my father's name, but it wasn't. It was also in Jace's name. Meaning I was still on the hook. I figured out what mortgage was and what payments my parents were making on a monthly basis when I saw large sums of money disappear from the account. I tried to stop it all. I sold the house, the car, everything. My siblings were confused, but they accepted my explanation at the time. It was hard for them, coming from where we did, but we had each other and that was enough.
'To my siblings, nothing much changed except for money. They didn't know but I have pretty much taken care of them since I was twelve. I fixed school lunches, attended competitions and graduations. I had changed Max' diaper, helped Jace with his medicine and waited up for Izzy at night. Our parents sat down at dinner, relished in the accomplishments of their favourite and disappeared. I don't think they realised how little our parents were around until we lost them.
'But not having them around. The burden of the responsibility. It was a weight on my shoulders that I carried every day, along with the secrets and the lies I told them and everyone else. I had dropped out of school to work. I got a second job to secure a stable income that would support my case for getting custody, I got a third to combat the debt. I had no safety net. I'd miss a payment and we'd lose our house. The wrong move and I'd lose my family.' Alec swiped at angry tears that had started forming. Magnus could see the pain in his physique, but he had promised not to do anything or look at him with pity.
'My mother never contacted us. I don't know where she went. I knew she was alive, but she didn't exist to us anymore. We had no other family and we couldn't trust Hodge. It was just the four of us against the world. I thought I could do that. I thought I could protect them. I did for six years. We were doing good. And now she reappears and… What am I supposed to tell them? Hey, you know all the shit that we've been going through for the past six years because our parents died? Well, it was unnecessary because our mother is still alive and apparently we're still targets for the maniac that tried to kill her six years ago. Also, I knew about all of this, but didn't tell you, how's that for trusting me?'
Alec let out a heavy sigh and buried his face in his hands: 'I don't know what to do, Magnus. I honestly don't know anymore.' A hand on his shoulder got Alec to look up and meet Magnus eyes. Though the older man was clearly affected, his eyes held determination rather than pity.
'You are an incredibly strong man, Alexander. You've carried the world on your shoulders for so long by yourself. Now let me share some of that burden with you. Not out of pity, but because I want to, as your friend, as someone who cares about you and your siblings. Tell me what I can do?'
'I don't know, Magnus,' Alec shook his head. 'I don't know what is coming and that scares me.'
'What are you worried about?'
'That they'll come after my siblings while I'm not home, that they'll come after you or Madzie. Valentine can't find my mother, but he can find me and through me… You are all I have and if something happened to any of you…' Alec trailed off. 'And that is on top of every day. I'm worried I can't make payments, that Izzy relapses, that something happens to Jace. That they'll try to take Max away from me…'
'Okay, we're going to get to the bottom of this,' Magnus sat up straight. 'Do you have the paperwork here?' Alec nodded confused. 'Okay, well, get it while I fix us some drinks. We're going to need something a little stronger than tea if we want to get through this. You didn't take any medication today, did you?'
'No. Magnus, are you sure about this?'
'About needing a drink for this? Absolutely,' Magnus got to his feet, but Alec grabbed his hand before he could move away.
'About getting involved in all of this.'
'Alexander, I'm already involved, because I'm invested in you. I'm not going to let you go through this alone. So let me help.' A little bit of a pained expression appeared on Alec's face before a weak smile broke through.
'Thank you,' he pressed Magnus' hand before letting go and getting up as well. When Magnus was still fixing them drinks when Alec reappeared with a document folder that, while definitely worn, looked very well cared for. And it was thick. It took a moment before Magnus finished making the drinks. He handed Alec a tumbler before sitting down himself.
'That's it?'
'Yeah,' Alec replied leaning back and staring at the fat folder he had put down. 'That is every document I've kept over the past six years and the important files I took from my parents' house. It's got all our medical files, birth certificates, a couple of bank statements, all my siblings report cards, court statements, official death certificates for my parents, insurance and loan information. I think an old cv of mine should be in there and a couple more things that I can't remember off the top of my head.' Alec took a sip of his drink and instantly pulled a face. 'That's strong.'
'You don't like it?'
'No, just strong.' The next sip he was expecting it and it was actually pretty good. 'So,' he set the glass down and turned to Magnus. 'Let's talk real. I'll answer anything you ask. But you have to promise me you wont get all… All sappy and pitiful.' Magnus gave a firm nod that satisfied Alec. 'What do you want to know?'
There was one question that had been burning in Magnus mind for as long as he had known the younger man: 'Just how bad is your money situation?' Alec groaned and picked his glass back up. Of course that was going to be the first question.
'It's not as bad as it was, but we are in literal mountains of debt. My parents never saved any money and, despite insurance, medical bills were expensive. We have a very large medical loan, Izzy's student loans and two payday loans I took out that I've only recently paid off. The medical debt is the main problem right now. I started with a little over four hundred thousand dollars in debt, after selling everything and six years of payments, currently it is around two hundred and thirty thousand dollars, not including Izzy's student loans.'
'I thought Isabelle had a scholarship?' Magnus said surprised
'She does. It just doesn't cover everything. I didn't tell her because she would have refused to go and back then the only way I saw to get out of this spiral of debt was for her to get a well paying job.'
Magnus nodded in understanding: 'Your siblings don't know anything?'
'They know we're poor and Jace knows some of the medical debt. He found out a couple of years back and was so determined to help he turned to prostitution. It was dangerous for his health, and when I found out I told him to cut it out. I lied and said that Izzy's scholarship in New York covered some of the housing costs and that normal jobs would suffice from then on. I made him promise to never turn to that line of work again and he agreed. I don't think any of them knew about the night shift jobs I took here.'
'And you have no family to help you out?'
Alec shook his head: 'My father's parents are dead and he had no siblings. We've never been in contact with my mother's family and it was not possible to contact my mother herself.'
'Isabelle said that your relationship with your parents was complicated?'
'That's a bit of an understatement,' Alec took a sip before continuing. 'Being the oldest meant that there were a lot of expectations, but I'm not as naturally gifted as Jace and Izzy. Izzy was doing my math homework for fun, and Jace could beat me in hand to hand combat despite being three years younger. My father was mostly absent, but when he was there he was trying to impart business knowledge onto me that I was too young for. I'd try to keep up, but I never could and he'd just be disappointed and ignore me. My mother was always pushing, nothing was ever good enough and I wasn't permitted mistakes.
'Knowing what I know now about their situation I think they took their frustrations about each other and their situation out on me. Max was probably an attempt to fix their marriage, but my father kept cheating and Max ended up being mostly raised by me. Jace and Izzy were the favourites. My father spoiled Izzy rotten with gifts, so she could deal with my mother's disapproval of her wild behaviour. Jace could deal with my father's ignoring him because of my mother's continual praise of anything he tried.'
'When I realised I was gay, I knew that was never going to be okay. It didn't fit in the picture of the perfect son they had for me. I knew telling them was going to be bad, but I somehow held out this hope that if I just did everything else and didn't do anything about my sexuality, that it was going to be okay. I didn't expect that during that second confrontation my father would actually kick me out.'
'He actually kicked you out of the house?'
Alec grimaced as he took another sip: 'On the record, there was just a lot of yelling and disappointment followed by a week of tense silence before another shouting match after which I ran away. Off the record, my father told me to get out of his house and never come back during the second major fight. So I did. Packed a few things in that same duffel I still use and went to the only person I was sure wouldn't judge me for the answers I had to give to questions they would surely ask. Underhill was out to his parents and they were supportive. When they asked why I couldn't go back to my parents, I only told them that I'd come out to them and that was enough. I stayed there for a month until I found a job that could pay for a shitty apartment I was going to rent, but then the accident happened and my siblings needed me.'
Magnus took a thoughtful sip of his drink: 'How much of this do your siblings know?'
'I'm not sure,' Alec answered. 'I don't think Jace knows anything really. I talked about my responsibilities as their big brother with Izzy a bit, but I never told her that they had kicked me out. But she's always had this sort of sixth sense about some of these things. Sometimes I feel like she knows me better than I know myself.'
'I could see that. She's very perceptive,' Magnus replied with a gentle smile.
'Yeah,' Alec got this soft goofy smile that had pulled across his face before when he talked about his siblings. 'They are amazing. I mean, it's hard, having younger siblings who are so talented. But Izzy's so smart and confident and she's just always there. Jace has the charisma of a greek god, he's worked through his illness and he is so fiercely loyal to all of us. And Max… I've watched him grow from this tiny little thing into the sweetest little man, and he's smart and creative and cheeky but that is part of being a teenager and I just want to bundle him up and protect him from all this bullshit that is our lives.'
'Max is your son,' Magnus stated before taking another sip of his drink.
'No court in the country is going to agree with you, but yeah,' Alec downed the last bit of his drink. 'We're quite the pair, you and I, aren't we?' He sighed over the now empty tumbler.
Magnus simply looked up at Alec, waiting for him to elaborate. 'I've got mountains of debt, three siblings with their own issues to look after and a mother who faked her own death. You have some seriously justified anxiety issues, the shitiest business rivals in existence and no less than four stalker exes. How the fuck did so much misery find each other?'
Magnus huffed before downing the last of his drink as well: 'Misery loves company.' He put down the glass before turning back to Alec. 'We should probably get to your files.' Alec agreed and soon the coffee table was covered with varying sets of sorted documents of the different categories as Magnus went with Alec over everything they had.
