Chapter One-Hundred and Twenty-Eight

Thomas and Paul moved John's soaked belongings out of his room, avoiding Clarissa and Jan as they began ripping up the carpet, and moving around John, Amelia, and Claire as they mixed the new paint colors that John had picked out when they were buying the new things he would need.

Claire smiled as she opened the can of light gray paint, dipping her finger into it before she touched John's nose. She giggled, watching his eyes cross to see the paint on his face.

He gave an evil smirk, running a paintbrush dipped in the navy blue over his hand and lunging for her. His hand pressed to her white t-shirt leaving a print on her stomach. "You really wanna do that, Sweets?" He asked, pinning her under his body as her hands touched the back of his neck.

"You. Are an asshole." She smiled, leaning his forehead against her own.

"AH!" The young pair screamed as Amelia poured a small bowl of paint that they'd given her over John's head. "Amelia!" Claire whipped some of the paint from her cheeks, glaring at the little girl as John's eyes followed Asher's path into his room with a roll of new carpet.

Mary shook her head at the three, able to see that John was still hesitant about his uncle. "Come on Sweet-pea, let's go see if Brian needs any help with dinner." She took her daughter's hand, leading her away from the teens.

Asher laid the roll of carpeting on John's floor, unrolling it and starting the process of fitting it to his room. He listened as soft footsteps entered the room, barely able to hear the uneven steps. "How's it going John?" He asked, turning to see the shocked expression on his nephew's face.

"You could hear me?" He asked, placing some plastic wrap on the carpet after Asher had secured it to the floor.

Asher chuckled, nodding his head as he held the staple gun to the carpeting and secured another section to the floor. "Not many people would hear you, but I used to walk that same way when I was a kid." He brushed his hair back from his eyes, showing a light scar leading into his hairline. "Grandpa wasn't the best dad either." He reached a hand toward John, praying that he would finally allow him to touch him. "Jacob took it to a whole new level though." He lowered his hand when he saw John's muscles tighten, seeing a fading scar around his neck move with his pulse. "I swear, I would have taken you boys with me if I had known you would live." He smiled as John's dark eyes met his own, able to see the Cherokee fight in him that had been passed down from Bender to Bender. "I thought for sure you would be a still born baby… your mother… she kept spotting and I thought for sure she was going to miscarry."

John nodded, remembering what Beverly's last letter had said about his birth. "I guess I almost was a still born…" He looked at his uncle, fighting to not see his father. "Beverly told Clarissa that I was blue in her last letter."

Asher dropped his gaze, able to see a hint of his sister-in-law in John's eyes. "Doesn't surprise me." He remembered Dominic as a newborn, still able to see his fight for life. "Dom went straight to NICU when he was born… the only thing I got to see of him was his little heart flat lining before I decided I couldn't take it anymore." He looked at John's beard, able to see the Greek in him from his mother. "Beverly wrote me saying that Dominic had survived the night, but a few months later, your father told me you'd both died." He placed a wooden chip on the carpet, showing John what it meant. "I spent a few years lost to booze after that. I was homeless, worked odd jobs, and blew all I ever made on more beer, that is, until I realized I was turning into my brothers." He smiled at his nephew. "You're welcome to come to an AA meeting with me. There are plenty of people who're going through what you are. And I think it would help you see that you're not alone."

John looked up as Claire entered his room with a bucket of paint and handed him a brush. "I'll think about it." He kissed Claire's lips as she leaned down to him, dipping his brush in the gray and starting on the wall as Asher finished the flooring. "But no promises."