Chapter 35: Lonely
Thomas and Bandit were both driving home from Stripe's house. "Dad," Thomas said looking out the window. "Yes mate?" Bandit said, while driving. "I'm sorry I slept on you basically," Thomas said now looking at his father. "It's okay mate, it just felt like old times," Bandit said with a smile. "Old times?" Thomas asked confused. "You used to sleep on me all the time back in the day," Bandit said, as they pulled up to their house. "I did?" Thomas asked still looking to his dad. "Yep, when you were a baby I would let you sleep on my chest all the time," Bandit explained. "Oh, I didn't know that," Thomas said. "Your mother would be worried that you would fall but I wouldn't ever let that happen, not to a child of mine" Bandit said, while placing his hand on Thomas's hand. That caused Thomas to smile, glad he was able to work things out with his father. He then turned to the house. "We better go inside I have some explaining to do," Thomas said as he got out of the car. Bandit also got out of the car and joined his son walking up to the house.
They walked into the house as Bluey and Bingo raced to their brother and jumped into his arms knocking him over to the floor. "Big brother you scared us!" Bluey said hugging her brother tightly. "You promise me you wouldn't run away!" Bingo said hugging her brother tightly as well. "I know and I'm sorry, and I know have some explaining to do, what I will do as soon as I can" Thomas told, as he hugged his sisters back. They broke the hug and the kids got out of their older brother to let him stand up. "Mums got breakfast going and I think she wants to talk to you," Bluey said. Hearing that, Thomas started to feel himself a little nervous. "Yeah I bet she does," Thomas said as he stood up. Thomas then looks at his father who nodded at him, giving him the okay to go into the kitchen to talk to Chilli. "It will be okay, son," he told him. Feeling himself a little more confident after hearing his father saying that, Thomas took a deep breath and then started to climb up the stairs.
Thomas then walked into the kitchen alone, fearing for what might happen. "Mom?" Thomas said as he walked into the kitchen. Chilli quickly turned off the stove and went to hug her son tightly. "Thomas, honey, you had me and your dad worried sick," Chilli said still holding her son. "Mom… I'm fine really," Thomas said with chuckle. Chilli then pulled away from her son and looks at his with tears in her eyes. "What that boy said to you wasn't fair and I get that," Chilli said with a crack in her voice. "Mom…" Thomas started to say. Chilli hugged Thomas again and whispered. "You are my son, Thomas, when you get hurt, I get hurt," Chilli said softly with a tear falling from her muzzle. "And when you hurt us by running away like that, it hurts even more… however, I want you to know that you'll always have my love, no matter how much you hurt me," Chilli told. "Thanks mom," Thomas said hugging her back. They stayed like that for a few moments. "Why don't you go play with your sisters while I make breakfast," Chilli said breaking the hug. Thomas nodded as he went to the playroom.
After Thomas left, Chilli wiped her tears away and went to finish up breakfast. Bandit walked into the kitchen and placed his keys down at the table. "Did you two talk?" Chilli asked her husband. "We did and we made up," Bandit answered, sitting down at the counter. "Good, I'm glad he needs his father," Chilli said with a smile. "He also needs his mother," Bandit replied. "Yeah, you're right about that…" Chilli told. There was a pause that was interrupted by Bandit. "Did you ever imagine that raising a teenager would be this challenging?" Bandit asked his wife. "It makes me wonder if Bluey and Bingo will be like that," he added. "Well, we were at some point teenagers," Chilli replied. "I bet we both had already given a lot of work to our parents," she said. "Well, Rad was the one to give a much bigger headache to my parents, but… you're right about that," Bandit said. "And we can't forget that Thomas is his own case, the boy already experienced more than any other normal teenager," Chilli said. "He lost his mother, he moved into a country he barely knows, he has to deal with those nasty panic attacks…" Chilli told, grabbing her husband's hand next. "I believe, overall, we're doing a good work with him," she told, making Bandit to make a smile and then share a kiss with his wife.
Meanwhile Thomas went to the playroom where his sisters were playing. "Hey guys," Thomas said sitting down at the middle of the room. Bluey and Bingo then sat down next to their brother. "Thomas, why did you leave last night?" Bluey asked, looking at her brother. "I felt lonely, Bluey, and I'm sorry I put you and Bingo through that," Thomas said softly. "But why do you feel lonely, big brother, you have us," Bingo added. "I know I do, but I just… I miss how things used to be," Thomas confessed. "How things used to be when… I lived with my mom," he added. "But if things were how they used to be, we wouldn't see you anymore," Bluey said looking down with a sad face. "Yeah, we love having you around," Bingo added, placing her hand on her brother's leg. Until up to that moment, Thomas didn't realize how much his sister would miss him and needed him in their lives. "Do you guys mean that?" Thomas asked, looking at his sisters. "Of course we do!" Bluey spoke up. "Seeing you on the computer wasn't enough for us," Bingo added. "You guys missed me that much?" Thomas asked. Both Bluey and Bingo nodded.
"You're very important to us, big brother," Bingo said, hugging her brother. "Yeah, being half a world away really hurt us," Bluey said, also hugging her brother. Thomas really didn't know what to say. He knew his sisters loved him, but he didn't know how important he was to them… even before he came to live with them. That made him realize how fool he was for thinking that, after his mother died, he was alone and for thinking that after what happened at school. "Do you guys really want to know why I ran away last night?" Thomas asked. Bluey and Bingo then pulled away from their brother and looked at him and nodded. "Yeah," They both said. "Alright… so there's this kid at my school who is the same age as me… he is not very nice with me, ever since I arrived there, and… well, some big kids' stuff happened between us and… he didn't get very happy with me, so he told me… something really mean that… caused me to get really mad at him" Thomas told. "What did he say?" Bingo asked. Thomas took a moment to reply to that question, as it still hurt him a little bit. He then took a deep breath before answering.
"Do you guys remember when I was sick?" Thomas asked. Bluey and Bingo nodded. "Well, he told me… I should have stayed sick… like my mom," Thomas explained. Both girls gasped. "What?!" they both asked, not wanting to believe what they heard. "Who is this boy?! I'll give him a piece of my mind!" Bluey said. standing up. "I'll tell his mommy and daddy!" Bingo spoke up, standing up as well. Thomas chuckled at that. "Good luck with that, little sisters, but I don't think Zach Shepherd is scared of two little pups like you two," Thomas said looking at his sisters. "Wait did you say Zach shepherd?" Bluey asked looking at her brother. "Yeah, do you know him?" Thomas. "Yeah, he's our friend Gruber's older brother," Bluey explained. "Wow… that's a very coincidence…" Thomas said. "I can't believe Gruber's brother said that to you, oh, I will give him a piece of my mind," Bluey said. "Oh no, Bluey, please, don't get mad at Gruber because of this," Thomas replied. "I mean, it's not all Zach's fault, I… overreacted, I did something wrong too," he added. "But he started it, you said it, I can't be friends with someone whose brother is so mean with you," Bluey replied. "Yeah, I agree with Bluey," Bingo said.
Despite appreciating the loyalty his sisters were having for him, Thomas simply couldn't allow himself let them think because he didn't get along with Zach, they couldn't be friends with his brother. "Look, girls, I love that you love me that much, but… Gruber is not to blame for his brother being a meanie to me, so you can't condemn him like that," Thomas said. "Are you sure?" Bluey asked, as she and Bingo sit down. "Yes, I'm sure," Thomas said. "Girls, as you get older, you'll realize that, at some moments of your life, you'll feel… like you're alone, that no one can understand you… and maybe that is true, but during times like those, you'll need friends to help you, to comfort you… because of that, you can't possibly shut out any possible friend, because you never know when you'll need them," he told. "Oh, okay…" Bluey said. "I'll keep being Gruber's friend," she decided. "Good, that's what I wanted to hear," Thomas said. "Thomas, did you have friends like that back in America?" Bingo asked. When she asked that, Thomas immediately remembered Hannah and Joey, the friends that had been by his side soon after the worst moment of his life, and that caused a big smile on his face.
"Yes, I did… or rather, I do," Thomas replied. "I have two great friends… they stayed by my side when my mom… passed away, they gave me a lot of comfort," he told. "Do you miss them?" Bluey asked. "Yeah, I do… a lot, but I know I'm going to see them again, we made a promise that we would see each other again after I turn eighteen," Thomas told. "Does that mean… you're going back to America?" Bingo asked, a little sad. "Yeah, but just for a visit, so there's no reason for sadness," Thomas replied to her, while poking his little sister's nose, causing her to let out a chuckle. "This is my home now, of that I am certain, besides… I'm hoping you can come with me… along with mom and dad, we can go spend Christmas with my grandparents at Oregon… that way you can see snow," Thomas said. "Yeah, snow!" the two girls shouted, happily. That caused Thomas to let out a laugh, as he loved when his sisters did that. "Brekky is ready!" they heard their mother calling. "Yeah, brekky!" the three siblings shouted. "What about a race to the kitchen?" Thomas asked. "No fair, you always win!" Bluey protested. "Yeah, because your legs are long," Bingo seconded. "What if I give you a heads up?" Thomas asked, to which the girls agreed. "Ready, set… go!" Thomas exclaimed, while playfully grabbing his sisters' ankles to prevent them from moving and using that to start running. "See ya, losers!" he said. "Oh, you cheeky cheater!" the girls replied, as they started to run as well.
During the middle of the afternoon, the doorbell rang and Bandit came to the door. Opening it, he found… "Tori, what a surprise!" he said. "Sorry, but… Thomas is grounded, he can't have any visit from friends," Bandit told. "Yeah, I imagined that… but I'm here because school has asked me to bring Thomas some work for him to do," Tori replied, while showing Bandit a folder. "Oh, I see… thank you, I'll give him this," Bandit replied, while receiving the folder. "And… Mr. Heeler, could you also give him this?" Tori asked, while extending to him an envelope. "I understand Thomas can get visits from friends, but… can you at least give him this letter? I think it would make him feel… less lonely," she said. That caused Bandit to express a smile. "You're a great girl, Tori, and I'm glad you're friends with my son," Bandit replied, while getting the envelope from her. "Don't worry, I'll also give this to him," he said. "Thank you, Mr. Heeler, that means a lot to me, good bye," she said, while going away. Bandit then closed the door and started heading upstairs.
Thomas was at his bedroom, playing his guitar, when the door opened and his dad came in. "Hey there, son, I see you're playing," Bandit said. "Yeah, after spending the day making chores, this is the best way to spend the time," Thomas replied. "Yeah, I'm sorry for that, but you know that, despite we're not mad at you, you still need to be punished, right?" Bandit said. "I know, dad, don't worry," Thomas replied. "Great… because now that you're done with the house chores, you have now some school work," Bandit told, while showing the folder Tori gave him. "What?! School work? But I'm suspended," Thomas said. "Suspension doesn't mean not having to study, remember?" Bandit replied, while handing the folder to his son. "How did you get these, either way?" Thomas asked. "Tori dropped by and gave them to me," Bandit replied. Hearing that, Thomas could feel his heart beating hard. "Wait, Tori was here? Dad, why didn't you let her come in?" Thomas asked, receiving then a look from Bandit that made him realize the reason why. "Oh, yeah…" he said. "Don't worry, son, she asked me to give you this," Bandit replied, while handing Thomas the envelope from Tori. Seeing it, Thomas hasted to get it and then started staring at it with a big smile. Knowing he would not listen to anything else at the moment, Bandit just smiled and then got out, closing the door.
After his dad went out, Thomas hasted to look carefully at the envelope, noticing Tori's delicate letter spelling his name at the back. He then opened the envelope and took the letter that was inside and went to read it: 'Dear, Thomas, I know probably you're grounded and can't have any visits, but I couldn't help but try to tell you something, even if by writing you, I wanted you to know that you don't have to justify to me what happened, I know what Zach told you and why you reacted that way, I'm on your side, not just me, but Liam, Alfie and Sam too, you have our full support, I hope that we get to see each other soon enough, because I can't imagine a school day, or any day for that matter, without seeing you, hoping you're alright, Tori.' After reading that letter, Thomas just lied down on his bed, looking to the ceiling with a dreamy look, while holding Tori's letter close to his heart. Knowing that Tori was on his side regarding what happened made Thomas feel so much better, that he would able to endure those two weeks of suspension full of house chores and school works, but always counting the days until the moment he would be able to see her again.
Kodiwolf321 A/N: Here we are back again! Hope you all enjoyed this chapter I already have the next one set up just adding a few more finishing touches to chapter 36 and we should be good to go!