I thought about it and I thought about it, and I couldn't figure out a good way to tie in the abandoned house to the story. So, sorry to anyone who was curious about that. I'm going to leave you hanging. Sometimes questions don't get answered. You must use your imagination…
xxxxxxx
Things didn't turn out as bad as Bradon had been expecting. Yes, his parents had been getting worried. After confirming they were okay, Mrs. Frome told them they weren't allowed in the woods the rest of the trip. Artemis was slightly put off by being punished by someone who wasn't even his mother, but she was giving him a place to live.
Bradon did some complaining. Artemis could tell he wanted to go back to the abandoned house again, but he never told his mom that's where they'd gone. In the end everybody went to sleep.
On Saturday morning, Mrs. Frome made a big breakfast. The delicious smell overwhelmed the entire cottage. Even Artemis had to admit the sausages tasted very good.
Around eleven o'clock-ish the boat was taken out. They had a small motor boat that they took onto the lake sometimes. It wasn't a very impressive sight, by Artemis' standards. It exceeded his expectations just by floating. He declined the invitation for a ride.
"Are you sure?" Mr. Frome coaxed.
"I'm sure."
So, Artemis stood on the wooden dock as Mr. Frome took the boat out into deeper water. Mrs. Frome, Bradon, and Robin were in for the ride. No one even asked Chase if he wanted to join. The boy stood on the grass, just shy of the dock. He wore a sad expression and eyed the boat longingly.
Artemis had to ask, "Why are you not out there right now?"
Chase's gaze shifted from the boat to Artemis. "Why aren't you?"
"Ah. Answering a question with a question, a means of distracting me from what I originally asked."
Chase cocked his head as if to say 'huh?'.
Artemis eyed the ground Chase stood on. Artemis was near the end of the dock, more than ten feet away. "You know," he said. "Talking over distances is not something I care for. Come join me on the dock."
Chase shook his head no.
"Why not?" No response. "Just because you ignore me doesn't mean I am going to drop the subject."
He gave Artemis a death glare. "I don't like water. I can't swim."
The glare did not effect Artemis in the slightest. "I am not asking you to jump into the water. Just come onto the dock."
"I don't want to."
Artemis folded his arms. "You won't come onto the dock?"
"Too close to the water," he mumbled. "I might fall in."
"Only if you're careless," Artemis said knowingly. "Perhaps you'd be less afraid if you learned to swim-"
"I won't go in!" Chase backed away a few steps. "I don't want to!"
Artemis frowned. He was really scared, Chase that is. For the first time Chase looked like a little kid instead of a non-social videogame fanatic.
"You know," Artemis said. "The best thing to do to a fear is conquer it."
Chase took a few more steps backwards.
"I'm not telling you to swim, just come out here where I am. I won't toss you in the lake," Artemis tried to smile reassuringly, but failed. He wasn't good with sincerity.
"W-what if the dock breaks?" Chase asked nervously.
Artemis refrained from making a sarcastic comment. "If it can hold my weight, it will surely hold you." He walked over onto the grass. "Come on. I'll help you."
What am I doing? Am I being nice? I never cease to amaze me.
Chase approached Artemis cautiously. Artemis stepped onto the dock and Chase stepped behind him. Immediately, Chase grabbed Artemis by the shirt and clung on with two hands. Artemis had a flashback to Fowl Manor. Once, Beckett had been walking and tripped. He'd grabbed Artemis' clothes for support. His little brother…
Artemis felt his heart soften. He moved slowly towards the end of the dock, Chase in tow.
"How old are you again?" Artemis asked.
"Ten," he whispered.
In the distance, Robin was driving the motor boat. She was going fast, too, for a quiet conservative girl. Who knew speed was her forte?
They reached the end of the dock. Chase stared into the water, terrified. He didn't let go of Artemis' shirt. After a few seconds he said, "I want to go back."
"Alright, if you want," Artemis led him back onto the nice, safe ground, where Chase relaxed dramatically. He might have smiled (it was hard to tell) before he ran back inside the cottage.
Not even a thank you, Artemis complained. That's the last time I help anyone.
And yet, for some reason, he felt good.
xxxxxxx
Artemis stayed out on the dock and watched those in the boat take turns driving. When they finally came in Mr. Frome had the idea to play a board game. Artemis thought that sounded dull, but Monopoly ended up getting pulled out from some dusty closet. And everyone had to play. They were 'bonding.'
Of all the board games in the world, Monopoly ended up being a good choice. Artemis had never played it before but soon learned that there was some skill involved if you wanted to play a competitive game. And the game was long, too, especially with six people. They huddled around the round kitchen table.
After playing for half an hour Artemis was in a good mood, until he found out Mr. Frome was winning.
"Didn't I ever tell you?" he said to Artemis. "I've never lost a game of Monopoly."
"Is that so?" Artemis said more to himself.
No one had ever beaten Artemis at anything. Ever. Even a board game. He wasn't about to let it happen today. He was smarter, after all.
It's not often you get to witness such a heated game of Monopoly. It was like Artemis and Mr. Frome were the only ones there and the rest of the family wasn't even playing. Mr. Frome wasn't about to let his winning streak be threatened, and Artemis wouldn't let his precious ego be lessened by being beaten at such a juvenile activity.
Two hours later, they were the only two left playing. Bradon and Robin watched in avid interest. Chase sat on the couch with his gameboy. And Mrs. Frome had gone off to do…whatever mothers do in their free time.
I could go into the details, give you a play by play of what happened. Or I could cut to the chase. To make a long story short, Mr. Frome won.
Artemis sat in shock. "Impossible," he said in awe.
"Don't take it personally. I always win," Mr. Frome gloated.
I can't believe I lost. The funny thing is, no one else in the room appreciated how significant this turn of events was. Artemis was at a loss for words. No, that's not true. He had one word. "Rematch."
"Hm?"
"I want a rematch. I was rusty at first, but now I have gotten the hang of it. I want to play you, again."
"For real?" Bradon piped up. "You already played forever."
"What time is it?" asked Mr. Frome.
"7:45," Artemis told him.
"It's still early. You're on." He set up a new game.
Robin was bored. She left the table, wondering why all guys were so competitive, even when it came to little stuff that didn't matter.
Bradon left too, not that either player noticed. The game was steady. No one seemed to have an advantage. They played until Mrs. Frome had to yell at them both to go to bed, because it was too late. "I don't want you two staying up all night!"
Artemis almost retorted with a snappy comeback, unused to being ordered around, but thought better of it. When he got in bed, he made himself feel better; I clearly would have won anyway. There is no doubt about it.
xxxxxxx
Artemis had trouble sleeping that night. He blamed it on the mattress he was laying on. It was stiff and lumpy, and it did a number on his back. He woke up before 7:00 a.m. and could not fall back asleep. Sunlight was already shining through the window.
He got up and got dressed. Out in the sitting room, a book belonging to Robin was left on the coffee table. Artemis picked it up and read the back. It was a fantasy novel. Artemis rarely read fiction and set it back, uninterested.
He sat on the couch, not sure what to do. Last night, when he couldn't sleep, it gave him a lot of time to think. He thought of his home, his family, his friends, not that there were very many. He missed his home, as immature as that may sound. He'd left Ireland plenty of times before, but it was always for some criminal spree or another, which always kept him fairly busy. But here, he had nothing to do to keep his mind from wandering back to his life at the Manor. His family would all be awake right now, probably eating lunch.
Look at me. I am becoming much too emotional. I must be careful of that.
At that moment, Mr. and Mrs. Frome congregated in the kitchen, unaware that Artemis was awake and sitting in the next room. He could hear everything they said. He didn't mean to eavesdrop, but the opportunity was too convenient to pass up. He listened in silence.
"Are you okay?" he heard Mr. Frome ask gently.
"Under the circumstances, I'm doing alright," Mrs. Frome said sadly. "I'm just nervous about telling the kids."
"Would you rather I told them?" Mr. Frome offered.
"No, I want to," she replied.
"At least we were able to have a nice family vacation before you left."
Left? What was going on? Mr. Frome, usually boisterous and loud-spoken, remained gentle and soothing, showing consideration for his wife. She was clearly upset about something.
"That's true," she said. "I'll break the news when we get home. Sound good?"
"Yeah…don't worry. Everything will work out for the best."
If Artemis could have seen them, he would have known Mr. Frome held his wife in a comforting way. Mrs. Frome let him. She even allowed a single tear to roll down her face before pulling herself back together.
xxxxxxx
Later that afternoon, everyone helped pack up the minivan so they could leave. It was Sunday, and the kids had school tomorrow. If there had been any signs earlier that something was bothering Mrs. Frome, they were gone now. She acted normal and happy. Artemis wondered if all parents were this good at hiding their problems from their children.
Nothing eventful happened on the way home. Although, Artemis had never been so happy to see a stop light before. He loved the city. There were people there and more importantly, technology!
Once at home, Artemis unpacked his bag and ate dinner with the others. It was after dinner, when Mrs. Frome was clearing plates off the table that she said, "Kids, don't go anywhere. There's something I need to talk to you about."
All three of them picked up on her serious tone of voice.
"I'm sorry, Artemis," she said kindly but firmly. "Could you please go wait in your room. This is…family business."
"Oh," Artemis was taken aback. "Of course." He went to his bedroom so the family could talk.
He heard Bradon ask, "Mom, what's going on?" before closing the door shut. He sat on his bed, a million and one different scenarios running through his mind.
xxxxxxx
Not one of my better chapters. There's other stuff later that I just want to get to as quickly as possible. Sorry if it seemed rushed at all.
Out of curiosity, who is your favorite character (other than Artemis)? I'd like to know which of my OCs you think is the most interesting to read about.