"Come on out here Paul before Brandon finishes up breakfast!"
The hell? Paul found himself coming to rather violently. He had become so accustomed to solitude that the sound of his brother waking him up was something of a shock. It took a little while for him to remember just where he was and how he had come to get here. As soon as he did, he let out a silent curse, looking up at the top of his tent with his mind blank. There was a part of him, some slightly childish and naive part which had hoped that he had been dreaming or rather having a nightmare. He'd wished that he would open his eyes and find himself in a tent, yes but alone with only the Sinnoh League before him. This was the sort of absurd detour he didn't have time for, yet here he was… Wasting time and effort on a pointless venture all because his brother had asked him to.
The more he thought about it, the more this seemed like a completely idiotic thing to do. Granted, he had some time before he was actually meant to be there but said time could be much better spent training as opposed to camping. He supposed that he could insist at the end of this that Reggie drove him out to the Sinnoh League to make up for it which would more than make up for this week in the mountains. Of course, there was nothing his sibling could do which would be a sufficient apology for him having to spend a prolonged period of time in Brandon's presence. That was the one thing that he dreaded more than anything and had he been a little more prepared and had more time to think things through, Paul found himself coming to the conclusion that he would likely have refused to come along. What was done was done however and now, like it or not, he was stuck up here with the rest of his family.
Realizing that if Reggie was calling him then that meant that time must be marching on, Paul decided he had better get up before his older brother made him come out. Where the pokemon breeder was concerned that often involved the use of water. Still a little groggy and not quite fully awake yet, he none-the-less made the effort to leave his tent.
The light from outside dazzled him for a moment, forcing him to shield his eyes. He could hear some sounds though. Already around them the forest towards the lower part of the mountain seemed to have come to life, he could hear some of the calls of wild pokemon echoing around them. Equally, the sound of pots and pans clattering reminded him that he wasn't alone either. There mere presence served to irritate him and Reggie's next comment only seemed to make things worse:
"There you are… You sleep deeper than a Snorlax!"
It was well intentioned of course. Paul, despite not being the most social person in the world, was more than capable of telling when his brother was pulling his leg or gently teasing him. He responded with a loud "humph", letting him know that he wasn't in the mood for such pleasantries. As always, his brother just shrugged it off, never taking any offence: that was Reggie in a nutshell.
His gaze then turned to Brandon, the man was currently occupied folding away one of the tents, getting ready to move on. He did so easily. No doubt, he could have done it with one arm tied behind his back and a blindfold on. Give it a few years, Paul was confident that he could as well. Day in and day out of setting up camp and then moving on got them accustomed to the ins and outs of getting your tent ready. It had been Reggie who had taught him and no doubt their parents had been responsible for instructing him. It took the man a moment to acknowledge his youngest son's presence.
It was a hard thing to do to look his father in the eye. It served to stir up all of the bile and hatred which had formed over the years and remind him just why he so desperately didn't want to be there. Everything that he'd spent years which now felt like most of his life running away from and trying to deny was now standing only a few feet away curtsey of his only sibling. Sometimes, he absolutely loathed Reggie. It seemed as if his good heart and noble intentions could be traced back to most of the troubles in the Pokemon trainer's life. Paul shook his head trying to rid such thoughts from his mind. In a week's time, he wouldn't ever have to hear about his father again given that the main person to bring him up had sworn he would stop doing so.
Seven days, well, technically a bit less now, in the scheme of things wasn't a long time. He told himself that he'd spent the best part of a day behind bars. Surely, he could last six in the wilderness and these two.
He sat down at the opposite end of the fire to Brandon. Paying as little attention to the man as possible, he ate the food which had been left for him. For a moment, he felt the Frontier Brain's eyes rest upon him. What's he expecting? Paul found himself wondering as he sat there. Does he really think I'm going to play nice after everything he's done? His father's gaze always seemed to weigh a ton. It lingered on him for a few moments before turning away as he finished doing up his bag. When he turned away, his youngest looked back. He fixed the man briefly, just to ensure that he was still there. It had been long enough since they'd last woken up in the same rough geographical area. Somehow, his presence just felt plain old odd as well as unpleasant.
Paul was willing to do his part to help. Whilst in his mind his father and brother might perceive him as being self-serving, he wasn't about to be a burden to them. That would just be an insult. Not to them, he knew that both of them had pretty strong opinions, even although it might be less obvious in his brother's case. They felt they knew him and how he worked. That meant that in his mind, he had to prove them wrong. So, as soon as he had finished his breakfast, he set about washing up the dishes. He didn't care to see his family's reactions, simply concentrating on the task at hand.
They were ready to leave less than half an hour later. He'd memorized just where exactly they were heading. The route was rather difficult, that was surprising coming from Reggie, usually he was the cautious type. Mount Coronet might have been a popular area for young trainers but few would actually try to climb it. The proper mountaineering wouldn't be until the third or fourth day roughly so they had that to look forwards to. "Looking forwards to" being obviously something of a sarcastic thought in Paul's case. Only an idiot would have thought this up and there wasn't even a word to describe someone who would actually think that it could ever possibly work.
He said nothing as they set off walking steadily. Being quiet was something he was very used to. Those days travelling alone, unlike Ash and his little gang of friends, required no talking whatsoever. It was noticeable that things were getting gradually steeper as they continued to ascend. The one bright side to all this was that he might encounter some pokemon which could conceivably be of some use to him. That being said, he was rather content with his current team. Despite his recent bashing by Brandon, they were efficient and powerful. If anyone needed proof, they needed only to look at his recent confrontation with Ash. Unless they came across something truly incredible, then he saw no reason to change his current line-up by catching a new and more inexperienced pokemon. Which lead him back to the conclusion that this was a massive waste of, well pretty much everything really.
That thought would resurface several times. The silence left him simply to think. There were only so many things that he could ponder at a time like this. Yes, he could try and dream up different battle strategies in preparation for the approaching Sinnoh league or even wonder where he would go from there. Paul wasn't a fool, whilst the league was as he saw it an achievable goal, the Elite Four and the Champion were, no pun intended, in a league of their own. He was unlikely to get past them. None of that mattered, it all paled into insignificance regardless of how hard he tried. All of his thoughts inevitably came back to the same old thing, as if they were being pulled there by some supernatural force. Him…
Once more, his eyes fixed the back of the Pyramid King. Why was he back in their lives? Only a soft-hearted fool like Reggie would ever think that they actually needed (much less wanted) him around. He knew for a fact that the Frontier Brain didn't want to be here either. He'd objected just as fervently (albeit more politely) to the idea, confirming that he too thought that his eldest son had popped a gasket. That left two people who didn't want to be in each other's company and another who was trying to force them together once again. How did anyone with any sense think that this was going to end well?!
They came to a small rocky ledge. It was probably only about twelve feet high. Brandon stopped for a moment, contemplating it. Paul waited for a moment, half-expecting him to declare it too dangerous and that they should fine another way around. That would bode pretty badly for the rest of the trip if this was enough to intimidate him. Oh, how the youngest of the brother's wished their father would chicken out. He didn't of course. His hesitation was likely just working out the best way to go about climbing it. The man reached out, finding some crevices which would support his weight. One, two, three. Somehow he was already at the top. Somewhat surprised at both the man's speed and agility, both brothers simply gawked up at him for a moment.
"What are you two waiting for?" He called down to them. "Don't tell me you're out of shape!"
That of course was like a red flag to a bull as far as Paul was concerned. Without waiting a moment longer, he rushed forwards and grabbed a hold of the rocks. It didn't matter if some of them were sharp and cut at his hands, the idea that his father was up there taunting him was unbearable. He realized that his older brother was starring at him. It took him a little while longer before also beginning to climb. For some reason, this didn't stop him from catching up with his younger brother remarkably quickly. Naturally, he was older and therefore taller and stronger but for some reason, it still irritated the younger sibling that he could be matched so quickly and seemingly easily.
Brandon peered down over the edge, watching their progress. When they neared the top, the man offered him his hand. Reggie of course, took it. He'd do pretty much anything to avoid a conflict and please their father. It turned Paul's stomach. Just how his sibling, who had lived through exactly the same events as he had could so easily forgive the man or at least pretend to was beyond him. He would have been lying if he said he didn't feel at least somewhat betrayed by that. The Pyramid King managed to easily help up the eldest of his sons before to Paul's surprise, he held out his hand once more.
The youngest son found himself starring at the man, not at his hand but rather at his face. That perpetual frown of Brandon's made it rather difficult to make out what was going through his mind. It took Paul a moment to realize why the man would possibly do such a thing. There were two reasons, either he believed him to be too weak to pull himself up. One of his two sons injuring themselves on a trip he was on wouldn't exactly look good if the press got a hold of that. Either that or Reggie had asked him to try and make an effort as part of the deal. Although both were possible, they equally had a common dominator: unsurprisingly, at the end of the day, it was all done to benefit him.
Paul swatted the hand away. Instead, he elected to pull himself up. It took more of his strength that he had initially anticipated bur he managed to hoist himself onto the rocks above. That lead him to be uncomfortably close to Brandon. The man looked down at him for a couple of moments. It was a gaze which carried a cold intensity that his youngest son managed to return. For a second, it looked as if the man might be about to say something. Instead, a disgruntled "hmph" was all the reaction he got. Then, the Pyramid King simply stood up and continued walking. The effort didn't seem to have affected him in the slightest.
Paul allowed the man to gain some ground. Irritatingly, Reggie stayed with him. No doubt waiting to make sure he was alright or some brotherly nonsense like that. After all these years, he still hadn't learned that he didn't need or want any help. Getting to his feet, the youngest brother started to follow their father, taking care to remain a good distance behind and well out of earshot. This didn't seem to bother Brandon who made no effort to wait for his sons, continuing on without so much as glancing over his shoulder to ensure they were still there.
"Kind of spritely for an old man..." Paul grumbled as he watched the Frontier Brain striding out ahead of them as if it were a meagre walk in the park.
"Given the amount of exploration he does, he's got to keep fit." Reggie told him before pausing for breath. "Besides… He's not decrepit."
"How old is he anyhow?" The youngest brother questioned in a quiet voice to ensure he couldn't be overheard.
"You mean you don't know?" His question was a genuine one.
"No." Paul shrugged his shoulders. "Why should I?"
"Oh, I don't know… Because he's our father?"
Paul had to bite his tongue to avoid snapping back at his brother. Instead, he tried to take his mind off of it by remembering just how old the Frontier Brain was.
Brandon had aged. Given the amount of time which tended to pass between the two of them seeing each other, it was always rather striking. The memory of his father Paul tended to maintain was that of a man with darker hair, chose to the same shade as Reggie's and a hard face but one which wasn't marked by the same lines it currently bore. Now, a myriad of steel coloured strands marked his hair causing the whole to look duller, no doubt in a few years he would be completely grey. Those dark eyes of his were also hard and cold, like ice. He looked like someone worn by the world. Any traces of youth had vanished, leaving place for the man he was now. For all that, he remained strong and sturdy, like an old tree. Paul had accepted long ago that the man he used to know was gone. This man, he was determined, would be a stranger to him.
He was like a spine in his foot, prickling him just enough to make him impossible to ignore but not enough to reasonably justify a fight. Brandon was a tricky customer, one of these guys nobody with any sense would have tried to provoke but given everything that had happened, Paul felt himself obliged to stand up to. The notion that he owed him anything or should even think about him other than the occasional reminder of how much he loathed him struck the lad as insulting.
"It's not like he's any better!" Paul snapped at his sibling.
"Who do you think paid for that Pokedex of yours? I'm not exactly made out of money."
For a split second, Paul considered handing the device over then and there. Fortunately, it didn't take him much longer to realize just why that would be a terrible idea. His pokedex was the one thing he couldn't do without. That was the sinister genius of his father's plan. Clever old man… Paul thought as he glared up at the man who was still walking ahead, seemingly oblivious. Of course he would have known that such a gift would be something that his youngest couldn't do without, maybe he was trying to make a point and rub in the fact that try as both siblings might, they couldn't do without him.
"He told me not to tell you..." Reggie confessed looking down at his feet. "I guess he thought you wouldn't accept if you knew it was from him."
"What does he think he can just buy forgiveness?!" Paul growled his voice low and angry full of bile.
"Paul..." Reggie started far quieter than his sibling. "It wasn't his fault…"
Paul didn't respond, instead, he sped up in an attempt to get away from his brother. It was rare that Reggie chose to bring up the events relating to that night. Every time he did, it felt like a dagger to his younger sibling's heart and never failed to anger him. Ordinarily, he would have told him not to mention it again and reminded him of the numerous reasons why he didn't want it mentioned. He decided against it however as he was almost certain that if it came to it a fair amount of shouting would be involved. Given Brandon's proximity, there was too much chance of the Frontier Brain overhearing and butting in. If there was one subject he didn't want his father to get involved with, it was that one.
Reggie didn't bring it up again, apparently he knew when it was best to let things lie. It was probably the best/only good decision he had made since suggesting this tip.
Ironically, it would have been more bearable if it had been just him and Brandon. It would have been easier to ignore each other if it were just the two of them. With a third party member however things bizarrely became a bit more difficult. Whether he wanted to or not, Reggie ended up acting as a bridge between them, not always intentionally it had to be said. He was someone they would both interact with. Every time that Brandon asked his eldest if he was okay, it was a reminder to Paul that he was no longer alone and that it was bad company as far as he was concerned. Things became even more awkward and jilted when for reasons known only to himself he actually tried to get them all talking together.
That night, Paul found himself once more in charge of fire duty. It was a task that he found suited him much better than having to put up the tents as it allowed him to briefly get away from his father and brother whilst he went to gather wood. It was a few moments of solitude and a chance to breathe which he desperately needed. Around those two, he just felt as if he was suffocating. It was possible to live with Reggie. Up until recently, he'd had precious little choice. It was easier to be alone, no one to tell him what he should or shouldn't be doing and how a nice young man would act or remind him of things he tried so desperately to put behind him.
"Damn them..." He spoke angrily to himself as he picked up a final piece of dead wood. "There's no changing what happened! So why even try?!"
He spent as long as he could realistically afford gathering wood before heading back. If he lingered much longer they would start to wonder just where he had gotten off to. He couldn't bear a potential lecture about the importance of not straying too far away from the campsite. When he got back, all three tents were already set up and ready. Not paying any attention to that, he dumped the wood around where they would eat later on. If he didn't get this thing lit soon, they would start to feel the mountain cold, that was for sure. Already, he'd noticed a drop in temperature as they had continued their climb. They'd all brought warm clothing but Paul couldn't help but wonder if it would be enough for the final few stages of their journey.
The teen found himself struggling with the matchsticks. It was almost as if someone had designed these things so that they were difficult to light. What sort of a maniac would do that? Paul cursed silently under his breath as a third one snapped without so much as the faintest trace of a flicker of flame. By pure chance, he raised his gaze to see Brandon's Dusclops rapidly approaching. The memory of a sudden surge of flame and the smell of his singed clothes and hair flashed before him. Instinctively, he jumped back to ensure he wasn't about to become the latest barbecue the ghost pokemon created.
"No! Stay away you bandage covered midget cyclops!" Paul yelled at the Pokemon as it came over.
"Dus-" It began stretching out its hands.
"I said no! Beat it!" He stamped his foot in an attempt to add some emphasis. "I can light this thing myself."
His father's pokemon hesitated for a moment longer, eyeing him up carefully. Then, without saying anything else, it turned around and rushed over to join the other pokémon. By the looks of things, Brandon was helping with the feeding. Paul watched from a distance, he took care to glance away and pretend to be more occupied by the fire as soon as he felt that one of them might have been looking in his general direction. Ordinarily, he wouldn't have cared. Reggie seemed to genuinely enjoy caring for pokemon and often looked after his brother's team. It was more the Frontier Brain which interested him.
He was right next to Torterra, Paul's first pokemon. Brandon had been there when he had first got it. It had witnessed the Pyramid King smash Reggie's team into the dirt. The man was crouched down in front of the grass-type. They appeared to be looking each other dead in the eyes. Then the strangest thing happened. The Frontier brain reached out his hand and gently stroked the creatures' head. All this happened under his brother's amused gaze.
"You've become strong..." Brandon told the pokemon.
"Torterra..." It muttered quietly.
"Torterra!" Paul called out to it. "Come here!"
Without so much as hesitating, the pokemon did as he said. It came over a little more slowly than it would normally have done, no doubt sensing that he wasn't best pleased with it. Generally, with pokemon he'd had for longer a mere look would suffice to let them know that he was either disappointed or angry with them. His old companion stopped just in front of him. It didn't matter to Paul that his father and brother were watching. With some of his newer team, he might have excused them interacting with the Frontier Brain but with Torterra, it was different. He knew full how his owner felt about the man, so to be anywhere near him was unacceptable:
"Traitor..." Paul spoke quietly but harshly.
"Oh come on!" Reggie called out to him. "Brandon just wanted to see him."
"Why don't you stay the hell out of this?!" The younger brother snapped back.,
Reggie as usual, overlooked the comment. Paul was rather used to it. His brother seldom reacted in a hostile manner to anything, he or pretty much anyone else said to him. He seemed to be able to shrug it off without taking any offence. The youngest was well-aware of his own attitude and reputation and suspected that his sibling probably expected the occasional unpleasant comment or tone. It was how they'd been interacting for a good few years now, anyone who knew them wouldn't have batted an eyelid. After a while, they simply accepted that was how the brothers were, even if Paul suspected they didn't quite understand.
Well… That was true for pretty much everyone save for one person.
Brandon clenched his hands, forming them into fists. He stood up, straightening himself to his full height. For some reason, although he was the physically the shortest of the male Frontier Brains, he always seemed to be much taller to most people, especially when they were on the wrong side of him. Instantly, Paul readied himself. He had a good idea of what had angered the man in such a way and so prepared his counter-arguments. If the Frontier Brain had won their first encounter back at Reggie's and thought he could easily do the same here, he was in for a surprise. Round two old man… Paul thought to himself, truly looking forwards for the opportunity to make things even.
"Noooo!" The man's voice bellowed through the mountain. "I don't care how you talk to me but you don't talk to your brother like that!"
"He's my brother. I didn't hear Reggie complain." Paul responded trying his best to stay calm, he knew full well if his temper flared then he would lose just like in Snowpoint.
"You know full well your brother is too good natured for his own good." Brandon reminded his youngest son. "I however am not and I'm telling you now, you cannot talk to people like that!"
"Really? Then why did you teach me to?"
That caused the man to stop for a moment. Good, it was rare that Brandon was struck dumb. He had to press the advantage. Much like his Pokemon, the man prided himself on his ability to take pretty much anything head on and not so much as bat an eyelid. That meant that the few times he did appear to be destabilized, you needed to charge forwards and try to knock him out for the count. He maintained eye contact with the man, something he wasn't entirely used to either. Generally, most people he was angry at shied away from him. Open opposition was not something the Pyramid King had to face all that often, at least not in a situation where he couldn't resolve it with a pokemon battle.
"You always said to stand your ground, to be louder and stronger than everyone else. Isn't that what you told me?!" He continued his yelling.
"You're confusing the courage to stand up to others with fighting everyone who disagrees with you." Brandon shook his head negatively. "I don't condone bullying, boy."
"Really? You seem like a big one to me."
"Mature, Paul." Brandon folded his arms and raised an eyebrow. "I'm your father. That means, like it or not young man, I outrank you until you are a mature adult, like your brother."
At the mention of his name, Reggie looked up concerned. Paul didn't expect much from him. Much less any form of backup in the face of their father. His policies were all neutral and he never intervened in an argument other than requesting that it ceased. Sometimes, the youngest brother wondered if his sibling even listened when they bickered. He certainly seemed to be surprised to have the attention suddenly focused on him. He looked decidedly awkward as his gaze darted between the two of them.
"I'm staying out of this." He declared after a moment literally stepping away.
Paul had been expecting nothing less. As always, he would be left alone to face Brandon. A task he had found himself assigned for years now. He knew that he couldn't trust Reggie to stand up for him or anything else come to that. It hadn't taken him long to figure out that when it came to the Frontier Brain, not many people would chose to back his youngest son. They were either afraid of the man or deluded enough to believe that he always knew what was right or even worse, believed he actually did what was right. It seemed to him that the entirety of his existence with the man had been one of conflict.
"Don't call yourself our father, it's not like you act like one." Paul's voice was quieter but didn't even attempt to hide the rage underneath.
"Decide: either you want me in your life or as you've made perfectly clear several times, you don't." He sounded oddly calm given the situation.
"Want you in my life?! You sent me to counselling!"
It had been an experience Paul would never forget and could never forgive Brandon for subjecting him to. From the outset, the youngest son had made it abundantly clear that he wanted absolutely nothing to do with any form of counselling. Naturally, his father had overruled him and back then, well, Paul hadn't been granted even the faintest glimpse of a choice. The humiliation of being made to sit in some armchair talking to someone who saw dozens of kids a day and whom he doubted cared about much asides their pay-check continued to sting even to this day. He would spend hours, trying to convince the moron that he was "all right" and didn't need (or want) any of this hassle. Socializing difficulties? Trouble coping? Of course not, his issue was with idiots who got in his way and had called him weak.
The only other time he'd found himself faced with what seemed like such complete and utter incomprehension was when he was dealing with his father and he actually expected it from Brandon. After all, not many people went to the Pyramid King for emotional support (least of all his sons) and he certainly didn't charge an hourly rate for it. The Frontier Brain knew how he'd loathed those sessions. He'd listened to the boy beg for them to stop. Honestly, the alternative wasn't so bad. He'd do anything so that he didn't have to be told that "It was alright to be angry..." or that he should try "expressing himself". It made him sick. His father hadn't listened, he never had and never would ever again.
In a way, Paul was almost glad that he'd been forced to go through all that. Not because the counselling had even remotely helped him but because it had allowed him to open his eyes and see just what the man he called "father" was.
"I shouldn't need to remind you that it was that or a two week trip to juvenile hall." The Frontier Brain told him. "Trust me, that's not somewhere you ever want to go."
"Then why didn't you defend me?" He hissed angrily under his breath. "Why did you side with them?"
"A man needs to admit when he's out of his depth." Brandon conceded with a heavy sigh. "That's where I was with you, Paul. What you did to that young man was unforgivable, no matter what he said."
"He had it coming!" Paul muttered under his breath, his voice trembling. "What did he think he could just say all those things and I wasn't going to do anything? If you're going to start mouthing off, you've got to be able to back it up with actions. You're the one who taught me that."
"I never told you to do that! I told you to defend yourself and others when they were threatened." The man looked away for a moment, his gaze lost to the sky before turning back to look at his son. "Hurting others because of a comment is never right. No matter how hurtful it may be to us or someone else."
Someone else… For some reason which Paul couldn't quite place his finger on, those two words were like an insult, not to him but to the person in question. He remembered feeling almost exactly like this a good few years ago, back in a time he preferred not to remember as his father had yelled at him for a good twenty minutes for breaking a young man's nose. He'd been wondering all the time just why the man couldn't or wouldn't understand. He should have been supporting him not scolding him. All that time as he'd stood there not understanding, he'd felt the anger building up inside of him. Ir was a rage he had very quickly realized he couldn't control.
Right now, that same anger had just one thing to say, because it was the only thing that seemed to matter:
"She was my mother!"
"She was my wife!"
"And she wouldn't want either of you to bicker like this." Reggie stood between the two of them. "Let's stop this, hm? Before someone says something they'll really regret."
The eldest brother stood there for a moment as an angry silence hung between them. Whilst he might have been able to act as a barrier, there was little that he could do to stop the cold glare Paul decided to give his father. The man didn't so much as blink. His gaze was one of contempt as opposed to anger. That was all he seemed to have for his two sons. The one thing that Reggie did seem to possess was the ability to become a rather remarkable human shield. So long as he stood there, neither of the two of them were inclined to continue their fight. Perhaps that was because the big guns had just been drawn and for the moment, they both dreaded what unleashing them would potentially mean.
It was Brandon who backed off first. He turned around, no doubt pretending to have to check one of the tent pegs. Paul opened his mouth, preparing to let fly yet another sting but caught sight of Reggie's stern look and thought better of it. Usually, his brother was a pushover in terms of discipline. If the guy ever had kids, they would have him wrapped around their pinky in little to no time at all. There were a few matters he took a firm stance on however and his younger brother had discovered to his cost that it was best not to push him too far where they were concerned. Instead, he turned around, giving the Frontier Brain one last glare before heading back to the fire. He could vaguely make out Reggie's disheartened sigh but took little to no notice of it.
The rest of the evening was a blur. Largely because once more, it went by in complete and utter silence. It was the same quiet that followed a storm, where the anger still lingered and the one person who hadn't been involved in the fight was too afraid to speak least he start up another round of shouting. That suited Paul just fine. He paradoxically had a lot and nothing to say to his father at the same time. Silence, somehow managed to do both for him.
He was quick to bed that night. Retreating into his tent almost as soon as he had finished dinner. Outside, everything remained quiet. Apparently the earlier argument had been enough to convince both of his other family members that discussions were not the order of the day. That suited him just fine. The sooner they could quit all of this phoney business and get back to not having to pretend they cared, the better. The lad was still angry as he lay there, it was something he couldn't shake off. He closed his eyelids, trying to force himself into a sleep he wasn't quite ready for.
Five more days… He could last five more days… Couldn't he?