Here we are - Chapter 2! Thank you guys so much for reviewing, the response was so great and way better than I expected. It really means a lot to me!
Just a quick note - I had a very helpful Guest point out that Alan was acting a lot younger than 5 and I've realised they were completely right so I've changed Alan's age to 3 and Gordon to 8 (just because it works better if their closer in age). Sorry if this confuses anyone.
Scott sat with his back to the lounge door listening to Virgil playing, it was the same music as he'd been playing all week but now there seemed to be sad tone to it. It could just be that he himself was just stuck in that mindset due the mornings argument but he had a feeling Virgil too was taking their fathers absence hard.
He heard Virgil make a slight mistake which wouldn't normally alarm him but the curse and bash on the keys that followed had him on his feet in seconds. It was time to intervene.
He cautiously peeked round the door to see Virgil sat at the piano, tears again flowing down his face. Scott quickly made his way over and sat down next to his little brother, draping an arm around his shoulder. From experience, Scott knew the worst thing he could do was baby the middle Tracy as he would commonly jump from upset to an argument about how he was old enough to take care of himself in seconds. Today however, he knew Virgil just needed him there for support. Today Virgil needed comforting.
"Are you alright Virgil?" Scott said softly.
Virgil's reply was so quiet Scott had to lean in to hear him sob "Dad hates me doesn't he"
Scott could have sworn his heart broke in two at that statement. How could his dad not see how much his absence was affecting his boys.
"Of course he doesn't! He's just a bit distracted at the moment, that's all"
Scott wished that was all, he wished it would only be for 'the moment' but in all honesty he was starting to wonder if their dad was ever going to go back to being the person they all used to love. He definitely wasn't about to tell Virgil that however, he didn't want any of his younger brothers feeling like they had been abandoned.
John was too old and too smart not see through all the excuses and lies he made up, trying to give excuses for their dad. Virgil, however, had usually believed him, it was only recently he'd started asking more questions and beginning to see through the child safety net Scott had tried to uphold.
Lately, Scott had gotten so caught up in the moody pre-teen Virgil that he'd forgotten how young he was. Looking down at his younger brothers sad face he tried to give his best 'everything will be alright' smile.
Virgil merely looked down at his hands and mumbled "I just wanted him to be proud of me"
Scott closed his eyes for a second, trying to get rid of an image of him punching his dad in the face before reassuring his brother.
"Of course he's proud of you. We all are. And dad might not be coming but you've got 4 amazing brothers who are going to be supporting you through the entire thing"
He wiped the tears off his brothers face and tried again with his signature big brother smile. He got a small smile in response which, in his mind, counted as a victory.
"You alright now?"
Virgil nodded sniffing the last of his tears away "Yeah, Thanks Scott"
"No problem, now lets go get some breakfast?"
He made to get up but Virgil hesitated, staring at his music again.
"John's making pancakes"
Suddenly the smile crept back onto Virgil's face and he hopped off the piano stool heading for the kitchen.
Scott chuckled and thought to himself I guess John was right about the pancakes.
...
Getting Gordon and Alan up hadn't been a problem this morning - turns out pancakes fixed that problem too. Now though, standing in their bomb site of a room Scott was almost giving up as he watched Alan run about screaming dressed only in his boxers with Gordon chasing him, the sleeves of his shirt tied around his neck to make a cape.
"I will catch you ocean master!"
"NEVER"
Of course Gordon was pretending to be Aquaman, his all time favourite superhero and had dubbed Alan as the villain. Even when Scott informed him Aquaman did not in fact wear a cape, Gordon would not end his tirade.
Scott sighed "Kill me now"
He startled at a snort that sounded behind him "Having a little trouble here?"
Scott turned round reluctantly to see John's smug face staring back at him. Refusing to be undermined by a younger brother he countered "As if you could do any better"
The smugness just intensified, if that was even possible "Watch and learn, big brother, watch and learn"
He walked into the room "HEY!" he shouted to get the younger boys attention.
They both paused to look up at John from the floor. Gordon was on top Alan, holding a cardboard tube above his head, presumably pretending it was a trident.
"I've got a little challenge for the two of you, do you accept?"
Gordon quickly scrambled off his little brother, nodding vigorously, his curiosity keeping his attention. Alan, copying his immediate older brother, nodded too.
"Okay, if the two of you can get dressed in the next 5minutes Scott will order pizza for dinner tonight. Okay? 5 minutes starting...NOW"
The two younger boys immediately started to get ready, if not a little too fast. Scott just raised his eyebrows at John.
"We were already ordering pizza tonight"
John, keeping up his smug act stated "Ah but Scotty, they didn't know that did they?"
Scott getting a bit tired of John superiority act decided he needed to assert his dominance on his younger brother. He quickly grabbed the smaller boy around the neck and held him in a headlock "Sorry Johnny, what was that? Couldn't quite hear you from down there"
Giving in to his brothers struggles, Scott eventually let go. John, now red in the face and breathing heavily glared at his brother "You try to help a guy and that's the thanks you get?"
Scott just smirked at him as Gordon burst out of the room dressed messily with only half his shirt tucked in. "Done!"
John suddenly got a very devious look "Bet you can't get undressed quicker!"
Gordon's eyes lit up as he disappeared back into his room and John sprinted off down the hallway to avoid Scott's wrath. Scott's smile dropped as he glared daggers at his retreating brothers back.
This was going to be a long day.
...
By the time everyone was dressed and standing at the door, Scott was exhausted. It was just past 9 and they were about to leave. Scott knew they couldn't get the bus, he was not going to make Virgil late. No, he could drive them himself. He knew how, he had his learners permit.
Virgil was looking much happier than he had earlier this morning but Scott could see the nervousness present in his brothers eyes.
Scott kneeled down to his eye level and began tying his tie properly "You ready?"
Virgil bit his lip but nodded all the same, Scott knew he could be a brat sometimes but his music was what really mattered to him.
"You'll be great"
Standing up to his full height he announced "Lets get this show on the road then"
He picked up Alan, holding him on his hip before waiting for everyone to exit the house. He'd long since mastered the art of carrying Alan while doing other jobs so he quickly locked the front door with one hand and proceeded to the family car. They had a seven seater which they used when the entire family went out together. He strapped Alan into his booster seat, watching John make sure Gordon was securely belted into his own. Virgil sat to left of the two, only recently out of his own booster.
John climbed into the front passenger seat beside Scott looking a bit uneasy "You sure you can drive us?"
Scott just grumbled "Well we don't have much of a choice do we"
"We could get the bus?"
Scott sighed "Nah the nearest bus stop is miles away from the hall, we'd be late"
"Okay...drive slow"
Scott chuckled at that "You know funnily enough I am quite a good driver John, don't worry"
And he wasn't lying, he was a natural when it came to driving. He'd had a few lessons with one of the neighbours and he'd done plenty of runs to the store by now. He could get them there except he suddenly realised he didn't really know how to get there.
"Can you do directions for me, John?"
John reached out for his phone to get the GPS up.
Scott started the car and moved slowly out of the drive, Scott cursed quietly when the car jerked at the bottom. He didn't want to give John any more reason to be nervous.
"Scott..." John said warily.
"Just finding the bite, don't worry, I got it"
John leaned back into his chair sighing "This is going to be a long journey"
...
Half an hour later and the car was chaos.
"GORDON! Quit it!"
There was some suspicious ear flicking going on in the back and Virgil seemed to be at the end of his temper. Alan was giggling like crazy as Gordon entertained him at Virgil's expense. Another flick and Virgil's face was like thunder "STOP!"
Gordon just smirked "Make me"
"Scccooooott" Virgil drew out his name "Make him stop!"
Scott looked at them through his rear-view mirror, his own temper running short in the small car.
"Gordon! Behave we're almost-"
"Turn left!"
Scott quickly swerved the car to the left, resulting in a long sounding horn from the car behind "Dammit John! A bit of warning next time!" He said harshly.
John just mumbled an apology. Scott knew he would feel bad later for shouting but he didn't have the patience right now and John wasn't one to hold a grudge anyway.
Soon enough Virgil wasn't supplying enough entertainment for Gordon anymore as he tried ignoring the younger boy as a new strategy so in retaliation Gordon started flicking Alan as well. While Alan continued giggling at first, he soon became aware of the annoyance it was meant to cause and started wailing. Virgil coming out of his vow of silence had had enough and Scott looked through the rear-view mirror just in time to see Virgil smack Gordon on the side of the head - really hard.
Then Gordon started crying as well and Scott's patience snapped, noting the straight empty road ahead, he turned fully around in his seat glaring daggers at his younger brothers.
"ENOUGH! Stop acting like-"
"SCOTT!"
At John's cry of panic Scott whipped around just in time to a car smash into the side of theirs.
There was a few seconds of complete disorientation and pain where Scott was sure the car was flipping over. The breathe was knocked out of him for a moment and all he could see was white. The car finally stopped, luckily the right way up and Scott realised his airbag was pressing into him. He could hear screaming and cries of distress coming from somewhere but his mind was foggy and his ears were ringing. Not long after the white air bag obstructing his view gradually turned to black as he lost his battle with consciousness.
To be continued...
Ooft it's getting intense! Are the boys going to be alright or are there going to be more serious consequences from the crash?
Sorry to leave you guys on a cliff-hanger but just a heads up I won't be able to update until at least next weekend because I'm going away this week. Sorry :/
Please Review!