For the prompt Bridge Over Troubled Waters by Simon & Garfunkel
Virgil feels lost. Hell, he knows all his brothers are feeling lost, except possibly his big brother, but Scotty isn't very good at showing how he really feels, he only shows what he thinks he should show – strength in the face of adversity, courage in the face of fear, the absolute stubbornness of being a Tracy – and that is some kind of comfort to the ten-year-old, that there is some sort of stability, of normality in the weirdness that is now home and family.
John has withdrawn into himself, not even Scott can reach him, and Virgil knows he's been trying really hard. Gordon, well, Gordon's only six and he's sad too, but he thinks he can make things better if he just tries harder to be better. It doesn't really work, though, because Gordon isn't being himself, and Scott's trying here too, to help Gordon find himself again. Alan, at four, is too young to understand what's happened but knows something isn't right. He gets nightmares and screams for Scotty and Scott is always there.
Virgil may only be ten, but like all the Tracy boys, he is smart, and he knows that Scott is spread thin, so he hides his tears and pretends he's strong like Scott.
For a time Scott buys this version of Virgil. At first Virgil is relieved. Then he's a little upset that the one brother who can read him like a book seems to have forgotten how his soul speaks. Then Virgil stumbles onto a truth. Scott is too busy with everyone else to worry about him.
And that breaks his heart just that little bit more than Virgil can bear.
So Virgil does what any ten-year-old who no longer feels at home would do. He packs a bag and runs away. He has a little money saved, and he thinks that maybe Grandma might not mind if he stays with her for a while, even though she hasn't been around at all since the funerals. That's true, maybe Grandma is a bad idea, but by the time Virgil has thought this he has arrived at the bus station.
It is almost midnight, and everything looks so big and alien to him, he feels so small in comparison, that he begins to regret his decision, but before he can back out the person behind him has pushed him forward, and he is a startled rabbit caught in the headlights of the woman on the desk. She takes one look and Virgil is suddenly scared to be here, alone, and he turns tail and runs.
He runs home, where he finds Scott is up and on the phone, pacing the driveway agitatedly. Virgil slows down before Scott sees him, and he notices things about Scott he hadn't seen before. His thirteen-year-old brother is thin, he's distressed. He's been crying. And as Scott turns around to pace back he catches sight of Virgil.
There is a second where they just stand there, staring at each other, before they both run forward and crash into each other's arms. And they are both crying and apologising and talking nineteen-to-the-dozen.
Scott pulls back a little, and he wipes Virgil's tears away with his t shirt. Then he pulls Virgil onto his lap, even though he really is too big for that, and rocks him slightly. Neither boy pays any attention to the damp ground they are sitting on, nor the fact that their dad is shouting from the abandoned phone. They only have space for each other. Eventually Scott speaks, promising never to leave Virgil alone again, apologising for not realising his little brother wasn't coping, to always be there to dry his tears and be that bridge Virgil can use to climb over the troubles he is having, just like their Mom used to sing to them.
Virgil may not fully understand what his brother is saying, but he understands the intent, and he promises he will never run away again, that he will always talk to Scott when he's feeling down, that he will never again hide how he is feeling.
Suddenly, John is there too, and Gordon and Alan, and all five boys are hugging in the driveway, all promising to share and be there for each other, just like they used to be when their family was nine and not five as it is now. Scott's at the bottom being squashed by his brothers, but he doesn't care. Because Virgil is there and John is talking and Gordon is pulling a face and Alan is laughing.
And best of all, their dad sweeps into the driveway, jumps out of his silver car and joins them on the floor and hugs them all tightly to himself. And he is making promises too, promises that things will get better, promises that will turn them from five into six once more, promises that they will once again shine, that there is a silver lining for all of them.