-A Few Days Later-
Dean sat with Michael on the swings of their school's playground, watching as Sammy and Andrew scaled the jungle gym, chasing after each other, laughing. Besides the fourth grade after school soccer team and a few faculty members, the boys were the only ones there. Dean smiled and chuckled once at his baby brother's joy. There was a similar sparkle held in Michael's eyes, and Dean knew he enjoyed watching Andrew having a good time and just getting to be a kid.
"So why did you and your family move here?" Dean asked.
"The last place we lived my dad didn't have a job there anymore. So we moved in the sake of him finding work." Michael shrugged.
"What about your mom?" Dean wondered as Michael looked over at him.
"We don't talk about her," he said in a glaring low tone.
In that instant, Dean knew that something had happened to Michael's mom. Quite possibly something on the same level of horror and trauma that had happened to Dean and Sammy's mom Mary.
"What does your dad say?"
"He just says that she took her own life," Michael said, now looking down at his beaten up pair of sneakers. They had seen so many better days…
"You sound like you don't believe him," Dean pointed out.
"Oh I believe him. For now, anyway." Michael shrugged nonchalantly, now looking up at nothing in particular. "But when I find out what really happened to her, then I'll stop believing my dad," he said before turning his eyes towards Dean. "What about your mom?"
"What makes you think something happened to my mom?" Dean asked.
"First time I ever dropped Andrew off at Ms. Carson's class this morning I noticed a bunch of family drawings hanging on the wall, all colored by kids. 'Sammy's Family' was scribbled on one of the papers, and then you mentioned you had a brother named 'Sammy' soon after."
'Wow, Dad sure would be impressed with his observation skills…' Dean thought before explaining to Michael how Mary died when their old house went up in flames when Sammy was just a little baby.
"Oh…sorry to hear that," Michael said.
"Is what it is." Dean shrugged, for now, anyway, choosing to put on a brave face, mainly for Sammy, but he also didn't want to look like a wimp in front of Michael, who always put forth a tough exterior. Come the day he finds that evil son of a bitch that killed his and Sammy's mom, he was gonna do more that tear it a new one.
Michael dropped his head and thought for a moment before speaking. "Hey, you and Sammy wanna come over after this?"
"My dad says we're supposed to go straight home…"
"Yeah, my dad said the same thing. Andrew and I aren't even supposed to be here right now," Michael said. "Betting your dad said the same thing to you. 'Come home straight after school, no side stops, no distractions!' Am I right?"
"Well…" Dean bit his lip, thinking long about the offer. Sammy and Andrew got along famously, and Dean had to admit, he was kind of glad that Sammy found someone else to play with. Someone who had the same ample amount of energy as he had. Plus he thought this Michael kid was alright. Not too bad of a person to hang out with and kill some time. That and Michael was also able to relate to Dean more than pretty well.
"I guess that'd be alright. Just as long as Sammy and I are home before our dad gets there."
"That's not a problem. I have to kick you guys out before our dad gets home anyway," Michael answered.
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The rented home Michael and Andrew were staying in with their father wasn't too far a distance away from school which was why Rich felt they were alright to make the walk home every day after school. The vinyl home sitting on a crawl space was a nice little once story house set in a cul-de-sac on a hilly piece of property, set on its side so the front door wasn't directly facing the street. It had a nice sized chunk of land with a spacious deck set semi high off the ground, plenty of room for the boys to run around.
Michael pulled the spare key to their rental home out of his pocket when they had finally arrived and stuck it in the keyhole on the doorknob, unlocking the house and motioned for his brother and friends to go inside before him.
"This is where you live, Andrew?" Sammy asked after stepping inside the Keller's home.
There wasn't much to show off. The small living room had a medium sized TV sitting on an entertainment system, above it sat a small radio. There was a couch that sat three sitting on the wall opposite of the front window and an arm chair sat next to the window. A coffee table sitting close to the couch was in the center of the room. And a small end table sat by the threshold leading to the kitchen had a lamp sitting on top of it. The kitchen was furnished with a fridge, stove, table and chairs, and a microwave, and few cabinets and counters and a sliding glass door leading to the deck in the back. Finally in the living room there was a hallway that led to the only two bedrooms in the house and the bathroom.
"Yeah, come see my room, Sammy!" Andrew said before taking Sammy's hand in his own and leading him off to his and Michael's bedroom.
Sammy's smile grew even wider when he saw that Andrew slept in a bunk bed. He always wanted to sleep in a bunk bed. They were so cool! The top bunk was off the ground, in the air. And if you stood on it, you could touch the ceiling! And the bottom bunk could easily be turned into a tent. What child didn't want so sleep in a tent?
"Which bed do you sleep in, Andrew?" Sammy asked.
"The top!" Andrew smiled pointing to his bed. "Michael sleeps on the bottom. And my dad's friend made me and Michael these beds and he put these drawers on the bed, see? Under Michael's bed? They're attached so we don't need a dresser and we have more space!"
"Your dad's friend built your bunk bed?" Dean asked incredulously as he and Michael stood in the doorway of the bedroom.
"Yeah, he's a carpenter by trade. This is his house, but he rents it out to different people. Most of the stuff in here is his, minus the stuff we brought in," Michael explained.
"Hey, Dean, look at me!" Sammy called. Dean looked up at his brother, who was now on the top bunk with Andrew, both boys grinning. "It's so cool up here, Dean! We're so high up!"
"I see that, squirt." Dean grinned before looking around the room and seeing a collection of dinosaurs, model cars, army men and random action figures. Most of the dinosaurs, however, were dormant on Andrew's bed. He and Sammy were now playing with them.
"You know, my dad was in the Marines," Dean said.
"Really?" Michael asked as Dean nodded. "My dad was in the Air Force. He tells me all these insane war stories when he was in Vietnam!"
"So does my dad," Dean said right before the dynamic duo dropped down on the floor and started setting up the army men. They switched turns re-enacting the tales told by their respective fathers. The Keller boys had a few jets and tanks lying around that were brought into action.
When Andrew and Sammy joined Michael and Dean on the floor, the war went from Vietnam to a time travel war where the brave American shoulders went up against the vicious dinosaurs. The game lasted for about an hour before they started getting restless. So Dean suggested they take their game outside, except they play the parts of soldiers and dinosaurs themselves. After all, the Kellers had a nice sized yard. So after getting their jackets on the four boys scrambled through the house and went out the back door.