"Well that was easy," Alex huffed. She walked away from Justin to catch her breath. He was even more out of shape than she was. Her brother had always been more of a nerd, an athlete only under pressure. These last few years, he had spent more time laying down on a couch than working out.
"What can I say? You make a great Trojan horse." Justin laughed. Alex did not, remembering the last time she had to sacrifice her body to get ahead.
"Whatever, you have your wand, right?"
Justin nodded wearily.
Alex sighed, "Fine, let's get this show on the road."
"I want to add something to the agreement."
Alex bulked, "Are you kidding me?!"
Justin huffed, "Really? I've been pretty good here. I just bailed you out of a nasty situation that we wouldn't even have been in if it weren't for you!"
"They had that wand for good reason!"
"It was mine, they stole it!"
"It was confiscated because you were evil!"
"I was not evil, I was taking care of business!"
"Yeah, evil business!"
"It was my business, not yours!"
"And look how that turned out! You went bad, so I had to stop you!"
"You were the bad one in the first place!" Justin was screaming, "Why did you do that?!"
Alex stopped herself. Being a mother taught her many things, "Standing in the woods arguing is not going to change anything."
"I know."
"If you want something," Alex said, seriously, "You have to pay for it."
"I already have," He muttered, "I want my kid back."
Alex blinked through tears that had been forming for quite some time, "There is nothing you can give that would convince me you should be around them. I'm sorry. But you cannot be their father."
"I am."
The two stood, exhausted, staring each other down.
"Justin... please... no..."
He watched her walk away, never feeling more lonely in life.