GROWING UP Chapter 5
Masters quickly slammed the stubborn door closed. The storm picked up quicker than he thought it would and he got caught up in it as he ran his errands. The man had chosen to return to the Fenton house since it was closer than the hotel and he didn't feel like risking the drive in such a horrible storm.
He started to pick up the papers that had blown away in the wind when he came in. His attention was quickly grabbed by a small shivering mass on the couch. The man walked closer to examine it in the dark, only to see a very scared Danny trying to hide from the raging storm.
The lean man tried to turn on the light, but found that the power was out, so instead, he laid a gentle hand on the boy's back. The small mass flinched in fear. Danny hesitantly turned his head to look at the tall man looming over him. "Is that you Mr. Vlad?" his tiny voice asked.
The man just grabbed the boy and held on to him. He rocked the boy as the small black haired child shook in his arms. Vlad stroked the boy's hair to help him calm down. "You're okay now. You're fine." He started to walk around the house. He checked the kitchen and living room for a scared red headed mass to match Danny. "Is your sister here?"
"No, she's with a friend." Vlad chewed on his lip then looked over at the note the girl had left on the table for her parents. It had all the information of where she was. He gave the number a quick ring, glad to hear the phone lines still worked. He talked to the other girl's parents and made sure Jazz was safe. "Your sister is fine." He told the now calm boy who he continued to hold to his chest. The tall man wanted to make sure he could feel the boy's steady heart beat just to know he was still there in the dark house.
The two boys walked down to the lab. Maddie and Jack were far from the turmoil of the natural world. A back up generator had kicked in for the lab, so they had plenty of light and power. They had just finished putting out a fire from a failed invention as the two men made their way down the stairs. Danny's mom rushed over to the two of them when she saw how the boy was clinging to Vlad. "What's wrong?"
"It's scary up there!" Danny wined. Maddie took the little boy out of Master's hands. She slowly walked around the lab, rocking the boy into comfort. Jack walked up to Vlad muttering something about how it was their fifteenth try that week.
"Vladdie! What brought you down here?" The orange suited man gave the lean built, grey haired man a smack on the back.
"There's a horrible storm outside and we wanted to make sure you two were alright."
"A storm? We didn't even notice. Thanks for taking care of Danny though."
Maddie was now sitting in a chair that obviously doubled as her bed. Danny was being rocked still, however it seemed the both he and Maddie were quickly falling asleep.
"Jack, mind if I talk to you, upstairs?" The two men made their way into the kitchen where Vlad started to make a quick meal for the family. Thankfully they had a gas stove.
"What's on your mind, Vladdie?" Jack asked in a booming voice. He started to get plates down and food for Vlad.
"I've noticed a few things on my visit. Things that really need pointing out." Vlad quietly washed the produce for a minute before going on, hoping Jack wouldn't take any offense to what he was saying. "Jack, I think that-"
Maddie walking into the kitchen and shoved Danny in Jack's arms. "Jack, be a dear and play with him upstairs for a bit." Her hair hid her eyes and she seemed to be looking at the floor a lot. The orange clad man didn't seem to notice this and just did as he was told. The two boys waddled off upstairs.
"What's the matter, dear?" Vlad asked, noticing right away that the woman was crying.
"Vlad, I can't do this. I just can't let things be like this." She sat down at the table and Vlad handed her a tissue.
"What can't you do?"
"This!" she said as she gestured wildly to the house. "This isn't a family, it's horror. Danny was telling me about how much you've done for him, and I realized that Jack and I haven't' done anything like that for the kids in years. It's just so hard to be there for him like you are when we're constantly trying to make ends meet." Her body shook from her sobs.
"You're doing the best you can, and I'm sure he understands that." Vlad wiped a tear off her face and tried to get her to smile.
"I have no right to ask this, but can you stay, please? Just until we get things together. We can give you the room upstairs since Jack and I don't seem to use it anymore. Just, please Vlad. The kids need someone who will actually listen and be there for them. I promise this will only be until we get on better standing financially."
The tall man was taken aback by the suggestion. "I-yes. I was actually- just yes." The man tripped over his words trying to respond. "I can take the living room or something for now. I was thinking about moving to Amity soon anyway."
"Thank you so much Vlad. I swear we'll get this family thing down quick. We just need to impress our employer with the next invention and we should be better off.
"There's no rush." Vlad whispered to himself as he turned back to the food cooking on the stove. "Mind if I tell the kids though?"