Rated T for violent scenes. Read at your own risk.

Chapter Description: Focuses on civilian Adam when he was with family. This isn't necessarily a chapter that focuses on Adam's journey, it's just a filler chapter to better explain what Adam will do in later chapters.

Chapter 2 - Flashbacks

Five years ago, this house was the same as any other mansion on Billionaire Butte. The lights were hung around the holidays, teenage drama filled the walls of each and every building. Laughter erupted in the majority of conversations, only to be filled with retaliation after someone comes up with a snarky comment. This was the way life was meant to be lived in the wealthy part of the United States. Donald and Tasha were living the dream along with their family. Except for one thing, Adam wasn't necessarily happy.

Don't get him wrong, he loved each and every moment he could conjure up with them. He loved video games with Leo, Bionic Brother Toss with Chase, "Brother does my makeup" videos with Bree, cooking with Tasha... the list could go on and on. However, Adam was never happy with all of what he was doing. Adam's heart felt like it was always missing something.

Instead of living a normal civilian life, it was Adam's dream to become drafted into the military. To be able to serve his country was something he's dreamed of doing ever since he was a kid. He would eventually wear that uniform with honor, and fight like he's always wanted to.

There's only one problem: he wouldn't know how his family would react. So, with nerves of pseudo-steel, he finally got the chance to be able to come out and say it.

"Mom, Dad..." Adam quietly called, his body shaking from all the nervousness, "there's something I need to tell y'all."

The family was sitting at the dinner table, quietly eating the pasta that both Adam and Tasha made. Everyone had concerned looks for what Adam was about to say. Glancing back and forth between his family and his food, he sighed, eventually blurting it out.

"I want to join the Marine Corps."

There were five seconds of silence.

Five seconds of deadly silence.

"Honey," Tasha whispered, taking Adam's hand and squeezing it tightly, "are you sure this is what you want?"

With a small tear going down his face, Adam slowly nodded his head. There was nothing else Adam's ever asked for.

"I don't think this is what he wants," said his almost drunk father. A face of anger was plastered all over, signaling he was not happy with the situation. Donald always imagined Adam going into sports and eventually working to build a sports center in Davenport Industries. The amount of money they would get would be unimaginable.

Of course, Adam wanted better with his life.

"Dad, this is my dream," he cried, tears now starting to flow down his face like a constant waterfall. Everyone sat there, mouths open. Adam just sat there, feeling like he was being bolted onto a chair to be tortured.

"No, it's not. Your dream is to become a football player and to build up Davenport Industries."

"That's your dream, Dad! You only want me because Grandpa wouldn't ever let you play sports! Let's face it, you only want me because you want me to be the son you never could be!"

Anger spiked and rushed through Donald's blood, giving him a burst of adrenaline. With a quick motion, Donald pounded his fists on the table, a large crack remained throughout the entire glass. Fear was spread throughout the whole table, especially Adam. No one knew what to do, they'd never seen their father be this furious in front of them.

It wasn't a second later that Donald leapt out of his seat, rushing over to Adam and grabbed his neck. He squeezed it tightly, not allowing Adam to take a breath.

"You better take that back, young man!"

Adam's face was almost purple as he struggled for air. He really thought his father was going to kill him. As the room faded into darkness, he could see his family trying to get Donald to let go, but Donald wouldn't budge.

"Please..." was all Adam could whisper before falling into the dark nothingness.

Adam woke up suddenly, his body covered in sweat. Heat came over him like a hot sauna just waiting to happen. His eyes jolted open, a slight gasp following. He reached for the tiny flip phone in his pocket and read the time.

Zero three hundred. Time to wake up.

Three in the morning was not early for a Marine like Adam. As he continued to rise, he noticed the surroundings were quite familiar, he just couldn't remember where he was. Nevertheless, he climbed out of bed and headed into the bathroom perpendicular to the bed he was sleeping in. Taking his clothes off one by one, he looked through the cabinets trying to find some soap. Almost giving up on finding soap, he found something hidden back behind one of the drawers. He pulled the item out and noticed that it was a box.

A box with Chase's name on it.

He opened the box as quickly as possible, not hesitating one moment. Inside was something that he had never been more happy to see... his family. There was a picture of the whole family, a picture of Adam, Bree, Chase, and Leo, and there was a picture of just Adam and Chase. He dug even further through it and found a tiny folded note.

Adam,

I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for the way Dad treated you. I can't believe that he would do such a thing to his kids, and I'm sorry that I didn't have your back. You are my all-time hero, and knowing I could've punched Dad in the face hurts more than anything. You are my brother, my best friend, someone who I can wholeheartedly trust. Knowing that you are going to become a Marine makes me know that I have the coolest brother in the entire world. There is no one else that I would rather have as my brother, and I'm sorry that I wasn't there to help you.

I just don't know what else to say. If you're wanting to know what our family's been up to since you've been out of the hospital and drafted, well here it goes: Dad was put on trial for almost killing you, but they had to drop it because you weren't here. Mom's been hurting a lot since you've been gone, we all have. She hasn't made a home-cooked meal since then. As for Bree and I, we're both in the same boat, anxiously awaiting your return.

I can't wait for the day that you finally come back and we can be reunited again. Maybe we can finally be a whole family again. I really hope so. Things have changed... a lot. It's almost like I'm living in a dream-nightmare hybrid of some sort. Anyway, I hope you get back as soon as possible... I'll be waiting for you.

Semper Fi,

Chase.

P.S. I had to look up "Semper Fi" online... I hope it's the right thing to say.

Adam couldn't believe it, this was a letter from Chase. He was relieved to know that Chase was okay after Adam was drafted. This was a note Adam was going to keep forever.

Semper Fi, Chase, Adam thought to himself, Semper Fi.