Sorry this chapter is so short :0 but I really wanted to write this scene and now seemed like the perfect time. I really want to emphasize just how disconnected Altair was to the family and how badly he treated his brothers.
Altair took a deep breath and opened his golden eyes. His gaze was met with the bright red door of his family's house. He hadn't been inside, or even seen his brothers for that matter, since their parents' death. Ahmad, an old family friend, had been taking care of the boys after the abrupt and tragic accident. But now it was Altair's job to take care of them all. His responsibility.
Finally, Altair forced his hand to move forward and twist the doorknob open, pushing the door inward. The inside of the house in which Altair had grown up in was very much the same as he remembered it, with only a few minor changes, but it felt foreign. It felt like Altair was stepping into someone else's territory. It had been several months since Altair had stopped calling this place his home and instead gave that title to his apartment that he had moved into. But that was all lost now. Now Altair would have to reestablish himself here to look after his brothers.
"Alty!" Desmond called Altair's old nickname as he spotted his older brother. Ever since he learned to talk, Desmond could never pronounce Altair's full name and so had been the instigator of the nickname.
The first thing Altair noticed about the small lad was that he wasn't as small as he remembered. Desmond had grown an inch or two and his hair was shorter, meaning he must have gotten a haircut not too long ago. Despite not having seen each other for months, Desmond wrapped his arms around Altair like he had only just left yesterday.
"I'm glad you're home." he said cheerfully, gazing up at the older boy with soft brown eyes. Altair noted that his speech had improved as well.
The next youngest boy appeared soon after. Clay, a bit taller with longer hair, came into the room and grinned up at Altair. He gave Altair a hug of his own and a quick greeting before grabbing Desmond's hand and they both ran off giggling.
"You're back." Ezio's voice sounded from where he stood at the end of the hallway. He stared at Altair with a careful, guarded gaze. He was the oldest of Altair's brothers and understood most clearly what had happened and what was happening currently.
"I'm back." Altair agreed dully.
The two fell into silence. Altair really didn't know what to say. He had been a terrible brother, it had to be said. He was rude to his younger siblings and all in all treated them like trash. They had become even more distant when Altair became an adult and moved out, "claiming a life of his own", as he put it. Now that he was forced to come back, things were awkward.
Suddenly the loud thunk of the sliding glass door being thrown open broke the silence and brought Altair's head around to his final brother. Connor stood there on the threshold, just staring at Altair with bloodshot eyes, looking like he had been crying not too long ago. His bare feet were dirty and his long hair was messy with dirt clods, moss, bird feathers, and stray twigs mixed in with the brown strands.
"Why did you come back?" he asked coldly, giving Altair a dark frown.
Altair was surprised by the menace in the boy's voice. Connor was one of the kindest out of all of the boys, surpassed only by Desmond perhaps, and Altair rarely heard him like this.
"I have to take care of you now." he managed to reply.
"Why!?" Connor repeated the word in a shout. Tears broke past his eyes and lazily dripped down his dirty cheeks. "You don't care about us! And you didn't care about mom and dad! You hate us! Just go away!" he screamed loudly.
Tears now streamed steadily down Connor's cheeks, but no sobs escaped him. He glared at Altair with a cold fury that almost made Altair shiver. The brown eyed boy turned and sprinted away, leaving the door gaping open. For a moment again there was silence and stillness before Ezio sighed and went after his brother, closing the door quietly behind him. Altair was left in the empty living room feeling lonely and unwanted.
How was he suppose to care for these boys? These boys that hated him and believed he hated them. Altair had been so disconnected from the family, he hadn't even spoken to their parents for months, let alone seen them. his reunion with them had been in the morgue. And suddenly he was thrust back into the family, and put at its head no less. Altair hung his head and let his bags drop to the floor. Who decided he was fit to take care of these children?
Altair woke with a slight start, his eyes shooting open and flickering around his darkened room.
Just a dream. It was just a dream.
Except it wasn't. Altair had just dreamed about the first time he came home after his parents died. It was one of the hardest moments of his new life and he remembered it vividly. Of course he had to dream of this just before Sofian came. From the very beginning Altair doubted himself, though he rarely let it show, and he felt that now more than ever. What if he wasn't strong enough? What if he couldn't keep everyone together? Would they start to hate him again? Had they ever truly stopped?
Altair groaned and rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands.
Tomorrow. He would worry about all this tomorrow. Tonight, he had to try and get as much rest as he could. Sofian was a tough social worker and would most definitely try to trip Altair up, hanging on even the slightest details. If Altair wanted any hope of competing with that, he would have to have his wits about him.
