Chapter Four
It had only been twenty minutes and already Nathan was pissing him off. Constantly sucking his teeth and kicking around boxes like an eight year old who couldn't have his way. It was annoying the hell out of him and he was trying his best to stay calm and avoid another fight with his over privileged brother but his patients were warring thin.
"This sucks!" he heard the boy yell as he kicked another box causing Lucas to lose count.
The blond haired boy looked at his younger brother with clenched fist while the voice inside his head pleaded with him not to lose his temper.
"Hey I don't want to be stuck in here with you either but having a temper tantrum isn't going to make this go any faster"
"Listen this may be something that you're used to doing, you know with you being from the other side of the tracks and all but where I come from we hire people like you to do this kind of work for us"
At that moment it took all the strength he had not to beat the crap out of the smug brat who stood there with a grin on his face, obviously amused by his own words.
"And where I come from an attitude like yours would get your face bashed in so I would shut the hell up if I were you"
Nathan laughed a little as he closed the small gap of space between himself and his brother.
"Oh really? Come on street trash, show me what cha got"
The two boys locked eyes with each other as they stood toe to toe, prepared to do battle when someone entered the room.
"Lucas, Nathan?" the dark haired woman spoke in a suspicious tone as she walked towards them "I came to see how far you've gotten but instead it appears as if you two are engaged in a staring contest. Now seeing as how I didn't give you two enough work I'm going to add washing and drying the dishes, sweeping and mopping the floors and cleaning out the gutters on the roof"
"Mom you can't be serious. Do you really expect me to spend even more time with this moron?" replied Lucas with his eyes still fixated on Nathan.
"First of all yes I am very serious and secondly I expect to have all eyes on me when I am speaking"
Off her words Nathan and Lucas both turned to face her not wanting to add more task to their work load.
The woman surprised both boys by adding "And the next time I see you I had better not hear any derogatory remarks or threats from either one of you because trust me you won't like the outcome"
"Yes mamma" replied the brothers.
"Good" she responded while looking between the Scotts "The sooner you two learn to get along the better off we'll all be. Now I know this is hard to believe but in the end you'll realize how much you need each other, especially when it comes to your Dad. Think about that" the woman said turning on her heals and leaving the room.
Once she was out of sight the boys glanced at each other before snatching up their clip boards and getting to work.
"So how's it going back there?" questioned Deb as Karen took a seat beside her.
The woman sighed "Well they're both still alive. We can at least be grateful for that"
"That bad"
"Well when I got back there they were exchanging insults and threats before giving each other death stares"
Deb shook her head and took a sip of her tea "Let me guess it was my darling boy who started it, right?"
Karen only nodded.
"I'm truly sorry about this Karen" the woman spoke sadly "Lucas is a good kid he doesn't deserve any of the horrible things Nathan does to him"
What Deb really wanted to say was that her son was a good kid and that Karen's son was a terror just like his father, but she didn't. Karen had no clue that Lucas was really her son and no matter how much that fact hurt her, the secret had to remain just that, a secret. For now anyway.
"It's not your fault Deb" said Karen.
The woman simply smiled thankfully.
"Nathan's the way he is because of Dan. That man's a world class jerk who treats both his sons horribly but unfortunately Nathan can't just walk away from him like Lucas can. He lives with the man so I guess some of Dan's behavior was bound to have some sort of effects on him"
"But what I don't understand is why he chooses to mainly pick on Lucas. The kid has never done anything to him except join the basketball team. It just doesn't make any sense the way he constantly goes after him"
Karen looked at her, shocked by her question.
"Well I guess it's because he's the next best thing to Dan, you know with them being brothers and all. Or maybe he's just jealous because Lucas doesn't have to deal with Dan the same way he does. In a way Lucas is free from him. He doesn't live with him and he doesn't visit the guy either. He basically has nothing to do with Dan whereas Nathan has deal with Dan every second out of everyday. He'll never be free from him the way Lucas is"
Deb thought about what her friend was saying.
"I guess that makes sense in the mind of a teenager boy but I wish he would just see that Lucas is not the enemy. They're brothers for goodness sakes they should be helping one another to work against Dan"
There was something in the way Deb spoke that led Karen to believe that there was more to the story then her business partner was letting on. The way she was so concerned about Lucas instead of her own son felt slightly odd to her or maybe she was reading too much into it.
Karen shook away the strange vibes she was receiving from the woman and replied "Yeah, well that's the point of their punishment. I just hope that they are smart enough to figure it out before it's too late"
A few hours later a very tired and hungry Lucas and Nathan walked through the café doors and sat at an empty table without saying a single word to each other or anyone else.
"So how are my two favorite working men?" questioned Deb as she flipped the door sign to closed.
"Tired" replied Nathan.
"And hungry" added Lucas as Karen walked over to them carrying two plates of burgers and fries.
"Eat up boys. You'll need to regain some of your energy for tomorrows work"
Both boys sighed and looked up at the dark haired woman prepared to argue when Deb cut them off.
"The matter is not up for discussion and even if it were we don't have time to listen" she said handing Karen her coat while slipping on her own.
"Where are you guys going?" asked Lucas as he stuffed a french fry in his mouth.
"We're heading over to the high school for a PTA meeting where I'm sure this evening's topic of gossip will be our heathen sons who enjoy trying to kill one another in hallway brawls"
Neither boy responded to the blond lady instead they continued to eat in silence.
"If you need anything call us on our cells"
"Oh and boys" added Deb "Please behave yourselves while we're gone other wise your party days will be over for the remainder of the school year"
Nathan and Lucas groaned as both women exited the café.
"By the way you're welcome" Lucas finally spoke once Deb and Karen had driven away.
"For what?" the other boy snapped.
"For saving your sorry ass from falling off the roof"
Nathan rolled his eyes "I would have been fine besides I would think that my death would make you happy"
Lucas sighed. He hated the guy but he would never want to see him dead. "Whatever dude"
Nathan stopped eating and turned to him "Well you would be, right?" he didn't know why he was asking. He didn't even know why he cared.
"Sorry Nathan but I'm not like you. I don't take pleasure in other people's pain and I sure as hell wouldn't want to see anyone dead. Not even you"
The dark haired by felt a weird sensation come over him before turning back to his food without responding to his brother's words.
That's when both boys heard a noise coming from the kitchen just a few feet away. They looked in the general direction of the sounds and realized that they were no longer alone.
"Well, well isn't this cozy" the man spoke with disgust as he looked the brothers up and down.
"What are you doing here?" questioned the blond boy as he stood in front of his brother for the younger boy's protection.
It was an odd occurrence that both Dan and Nathan were surprised by. Even Lucas looked down for a moment, shocked by the way his instincts as an older sibling forced him to react.
"This doesn't concern you boy. I came here to talk to my son"
"I have nothing to say to you Dad. So you can go now" replied Nathan while still standing behind Lucas.
Dan smashed his fist into the counter causing the two boys to jump slightly as the man's sudden movement.
"I don't have time to play games with you boy. We need to go home and talk about what happened today. Now grab your things and let's go"
The look in his eyes made them both shiver.
"We can talk when Mom gets back"
"We'll talk now I swear to you if I have to tell you to get your things one more time you're going to be very sorry" replied Dan as he took a step towards the two boys.
"He said he doesn't want to go with you. So why don't you just leave?"
Dan smirked and took a seat directly next to where his sons were standing.
"Isn't this sweet? Nathan has his own personal little body guard in the form of his bastard sibling"
Lucas flinched at his estranged fathers words but didn't budge from his position.
"You need to leave. Now Dan"
"Or you'll what?" questioned the man as he stood from his seat and towered over the younger boy.
Lucas was sacred but tried his best not to show it. "Or I'll make you"
"Really" the man said in a low growl "I'd like to see you try"
Without another word Dan grabbed Lucas roughly by the arms and threw him almost clear across the room before advancing on him.
Nathan stood there watching, unable to move as his father picked the blond boy off the floor and punched him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him.
He was shocked when Lucas recovered quickly and nailed Dan with a hard right hook to the jaw and followed up with a kick to the mid section. This made the elder Scott stumble backwards and into one of the tables before he rushed into Lucas, knocking them both down to ground.
They struggled for a little while before Dan allowed his full weight to pin the smaller male to the ground. Once he did he began choking him.
"Come on Dad, that's enough" yelled Nathan.
His eyes grew wide as he noticed how Lucas was turning a light shade of blue and his movements were becoming less.
"Dad please, you're going to kill him" he pleaded as he rushed over to his father and tried to pull him off his brother.
Dan roughly pushed him back and continued to drain the life from the Lucas's body.
Nathan quickly got to his feet and began to panic as he saw Lucas's eyes start to close.
He ran his hand over his hair unsure of what to do when he noticed a glass vase on one of the tables. Looking back at the man who raised him the boy knew that there was only one thing he could do.
He ran over to table and retrieved the glass item, taking it into his hands and holding onto it tightly. Now standing behind the man he raised the object high above his head and with closed eyes he brought it down with brute force. Instantly the man collapsed onto the young boy who began gasping for air.
"Lucas man, are you okay?"
The boy only continued to grab at his throat shaking, and coughing. After a few moments the boy was able to shake away the clouds that held his vision hostage and when he did he looked down in shock.
"Oh my God" he said as he looked at the substance all over his left arm.
"Lucas I did what I had to do. Gees I've never seen my Dad go so ballistic before" Nathan said with a heavy sigh "But don't worry man when he comes around I'll deal with him" the boy then laughed "Now who owes whom their gratitude?" but his laugher came to an abrupt end when he noticed the look on his brother's face.
"What?"
Lucas looked up at the dark haired boy with fear in his eyes as he held up his arm.
Nathan's mouth dropped open when he realized that it was covered in something wet and red.
It was blood.
More importantly, it was his father's.
