Chapter Eleven: Haunted (Part 2)
A/N: I just noticed this sitting in Google docs… unposted. Heheh… Oops. This was finished ages ago and… Ohhhhh maaaaaan… So, um, yeah. Let me just… The next chapter is in progress, and looking a little feelsy and angsty. Should be done in a couple of days... maybe. Here's the next chapter."Mom?" he asked, too shocked to say much else. "Mom?!" Seth exclaimed, not believing his eyes at the moment. There was no denying it. Shane seemed just as stupefied as his son and Dean's eyes went wide. Seth got up and took a few shaky steps towards the door, as if the floor would give out at any moment below his feet. She looked past her husband and to her son. He'd grown up so much in her absence. Shane stepped aside and allowed her to enter the house. She walked to her son, who ran and met her halfway, immediately throwing her arms around him, almost weeping. Seth froze, feelings mixed and mind blank, before slowly wrapping his arms around her and returning the embrace. "It really is you," he whispered, hardly believing it. She nodded and he tightened his grip on her.
"It's me, I'm real… I've missed you so much, Colby. My sweet child." Shane watched his family interact, internally cringing while doing so. This mood wouldn't last forever, they all knew that. "Shane," she called to him quietly. He looked her in the eyes. Raw, pure emotion was reflected in them and he just couldn't resist the urge to join the two. He sighed happily, his family whole if only for a moment. Dean clenched his fists, anger bubbling inside of him as he sat next to his mom. He was beyond happy for Seth. Really, he was. But that could be him right now. If his mom wasn't so stubborn, that could be him, his parents, and his sister. His family could all be together again and that could be him. He felt bitter now, wishing he could vanish right now and be back a little over eight years ago in the past. His life had been practically perfect then. Now…
"We can go if you want," Angie said, looking to her son and placing a hand on his shoulder. The three separated.
"No, no, it's fine! You can meet my beautiful wife now." Dean groaned internally. He had no interest in meeting the homophobic bitch who abandoned her son for work of all things. No thanks. "Maria, these are our neighbors and great friends, the Goods. That's Angie and her son, Dean. He goes to school with Seth." She observed the two. Angie wore a pained, but genuine smile and Dean had a scowl etched on his face. He sent a death glare her way before looking to Seth, where his gaze immediately softened considerably. Seth gave him an apologetic look as well. He knew Dean didn't think very highly of his mom.
"It's nice to meet you both," she said honestly. She shook hands with Angie and smiled at Dean, who didn't return the gesture, nodding instead. Angie saw this and decided to relieve some of the tension in the situation.
"Well, it seems you have some catching up to do, so we'll just leave you to it." Angie headed out the door, stopping after a few steps to see if Dean would follow. He shook his head. She smiled understandingly and blew him a kiss before continuing across the street.
"C'mon, Dean. We can just go upstairs-"
"Actually, I was wondering if you would stay down here?" Seth's mom asked, "So that we could all talk?" Seth stopped and considered it. He wanted answers. No, he needed answers, and to apologize for their last conversation. On the other hand, Dean looked ready to rip someone's throat out, so that might not be the best idea. His brother needed him right now (Yeah, that sounds just about right in his book. Brother, brother, brother…) and he wasn't exactly ready for this conversation anyway.
"I… I need a little time, mom," he replied timidly. Her face fell a bit. "Later, I promise." With that, Dean followed him upstairs into his room, where he collapsed on his bed and buried his face in his pillows. "Now I know why you've been so shaken up these last few weeks," he said to him. He rolled over onto his back and reached out for Dean, who had taken a seat on the edge of the mattress. The brunette hesitated, really hating emotions and feelings, but scooted closer and put his arms around the two toned teen, laying down with him.
"Why are you so… touchy feely with me?" Dean asked him hesitantly. Seth sighed, resting his head on Dean's chest.
"You're my brother, Jon. I know I have one, but you're like family to me. You're always there for me and I feel… safe… with you. Besides," he mumbled, "you're like a huge teddy bear when you're not being Mr. Tough Guy." Dean scoffed, but pulled Seth closer. He stroked his cheek comfortingly. Seth leaned into the touch. That's when Dean nuzzled his head into the crook of Seth's neck, trying to contain a smile.
"I like the sound of that. Brothers… The three of us, huh? Joe needs to be here." And, of course, as soon as he says that, the other Shield member opens the door and walks in. He smiles softly at the sight before him. It's almost sweet.
"Here I am. Figured I'd see how you guys were doing. That your mom downstairs, Colby?" Seth nodded, reaching out to Roman as well, who he'd texted earlier before and after dinner. The Samoan, wearing basketball shorts and a sports T-shirt, clambered onto the bed on Seth's other side, holding him tight. Dean then began carding his fingers through Seth's hair while Roman rubbed his side gently. "Don't start slipping now, Mr. Level Headed. We need you, man." Seth chuckled softly at that comment.
"Thanks for this, guys."
"Anything for you," Dean murmured. "Our baby brother." Seth was about to snap that he wasn't a baby, but he wouldn't dare ruin the moment. He contently snuggled with his brothers (That sounds even better) for a little while longer. Maybe the night wouldn't be as bad as he thought.
XxX Meanwhile, downstairs…Shane and Maria were seated at the kitchen table facing each other, mugs of tea in hand, both staring at the wooden surface. Neither wanted to break the silence and get the conversation started. Neither knew what to say or how to say what they wanted to say. Neither wanted to deal with this issues between them. Eventually,after an internal battle, Shane spoke the first words. "What are you doing here, love?" he asked her. "It is good to see here, but why now? After all that's happened, after all this time, why would you choose to visit now?" She took a few sips of her green tea before responding.
"I've done a lot of thinking. A lot. I thought about what you said to me. And I am done." Done? What was that supposed to mean?
"I… I don't… understand," he replied. She sighed, pulling at her hair a bit.
"I'm done tearing this family apart. I'm done not being a part of my youngest son's life. I'm done not being the wife you fell in love with all those years ago. I'm done ruining so many people's lives unintentionally. I want another chance with you both." Shane didn't know what to say. He loved Maria with every fiber of his being and wanted her back in his and his son's life. However…
"You know how I am. You know how I think. You know how I'll respond. But… You need to convince our son of your intentions."
"Can't you just talk to him and-"
"He's not some scared little ten year old anymore. He's fourteen and has gone through things that a mother should've been there for. Where were you when he got bullied everyday at school? When he went to the hospital after being ganged up on at school? Where were you all those birthdays and holidays we spent without you? Where were you at our oldest son's graduation? What about when we moved in? The first day of school? When he made the wrestling team? Yes, he made the wrestling team, and he's still the top of his class. Did you know that he told me every birthday wish was for you to come home? He's been begging for you to come back for four years. Justify missing four years of your son's life because you care more about the money than your family." She didn't know what to say to that. Had she truly missed that much? Had he gone through that much without her there to comfort him?
"And you've raised him and turned him into the wonderful young man he is now? Sometimes I wonder if you two need me at all…"
"Don't say that. Of course we need you. We've just had to adapt to the way things are without you around. We want you back. Colby just needs time to come to terms with everything going on. Things are a lot more complicated than they seem. And I heard you two didn't leave on the best of terms after a phone call…"
"It was my fault. I… It's not that I don't like it or don't accept it. It just caught me off guard when he told me. I needed time to understand, to accept it. He must hate me for it…"
"Our son can't hate you. Colby is the most compassionate, understanding boy you'll ever meet. He's stubborn in his ways too, because that hasn't ever changed. I think he gets that from you." She laughed softly, making Shane's insides melt a bit. That beautiful laugh from a beautiful woman. "I have missed you for so long. I'm fine with you being here if Colby is. If that's what you want." A grin appeared on her face and she embraced him.
"I took the night shift, you know," she said after they let go. "So I could be at home sometimes. Like you wanted, right?" Shane shook his head.
"It doesn't matter what I want. All that matters is that our family is back together." She smiled and so did he. They looked into each other's eyes. That's when Shane began leaning forward. Maria met him halfway and their lips connected. Their passion and love hadn't weakened during the time they weren't together. It had only grown stronger. Seth was heading downstairs to grab a few snacks for the three of them when he saw his parents. He stopped and stared. Then, he smiled. That conversation didn't seem all that intimidating as before.
"And you chastise me?!" Seth asked loudly when the two broke apart. Maria jumped and Shane's head snapped towards the stairs. The two toned teen smirked as his dad huffed with a smile. Maria looked between the two. She had a lot of catching up to do.
XxXShadows linger, only to my eyes
I see you, I feel you
Don't leave my side
It's not fair. Just when I found my world
They took you, they broke you
They tore out your heart
Seth couldn't stop thinking about his mom. She had cooked a gourmet breakfast for him today, packed him a lunch, and kissed him goodbye out the door. It almost felt normal. It was anything but, of course. Four years was a long time to be away from someone. When you finally see each other again, even if you knew that person like the back of your hand, they're like a complete stranger now. Such was the case with his mom. He wasn't ten anymore. He thought and acted a different way, liked different things, different people. They were in a different state with a different school, neighborhood. He had friends now.
His mom had also changed. She was a bit closed off at times. When she was busy with work, she was dead to the world around her, so intensely focused and determined to get it perfect. She snapped at him once, when he interrupted her when she was going through the papers of a case. She'd immediately apologized and distanced herself from him for the rest of the day. She was trying to get used to actually being home, around her family, without getting lost in the house. She and Seth would trade off on housework, like dishes and laundry, even when both insisted they could do it themselves. She didn't smile as much as she used to. She didn't spend as much time with him as she used to. She didn't look at him the same way, or read his mind the way she always did when he was a child. Seth didn't know who she was anymore.
He knew his mom wouldn't be the same woman she was a few years ago with all the time away she'd spent. He never expected her to be so different either. She seemed to be only a shell of her former self. Seth wasn't the only who noticed. Shane had tried everything to get her comfortable while they were home together. He'd tried to be the best husband she could ask for. Nothing he did could bring out that sweet, kind, beautiful woman he'd fallen in love with, not permanently or for very long. Sometimes, he'd see glimpses of the caring, invincible mom he poured all of his love out to every minute of every day. They'd only last a few seconds, minutes if he was lucky. He just wanted his mom back, not this lookalike who claimed to be her.
Four years of being a workaholic had taken its toll on her. It had taken her heart and turned part of it black. It had taken some of the warmth from her. It had ripped out every motherly instinct and feeling from her and tossed it into an abyss. He'd been so overjoyed to get her back. Now, it only hurt more to know that she never really came home. She was still sitting in that office, typing away on her computer and looking through files.
"She just seems so cold towards me these days. She never used to be like that… It's like she's a completely different person." Dean listened raptly.
"Well, think about all this for a second. She's spent years away from her family because she wanted to make sure you could always afford a place to stay, food to eat, bills and taxes. She knew that if she stayed at home with you two that she'd lose sight of that goal. She shut away her mom side and created a businesswoman side. She just has to get used to being a mom again." Seth nodded. "And dude, it's been four years. She's bound to've changed a little. I bet you have."
"I know it's gonna take her a while to readjust. I just wish she was already readjusted to being home." The bell rang, signaling the end of AP World History. The two gathered their things and headed to AP Environmental Science. They were fortunate enough to be lab partners and they were doing some experiment to test pH in different solutions. Seth had some trouble with determining which numbers meant the solution was acidic and which ones meant basic. Dean gave him a look.
"Dude, what is goin' on with you? Is this because of your mom, 'cuz you guys complained about me when I was hung up on my dad. If I can't have a bad day, then you can't have a bad day. Smaller numbers mean they're acidic, bigger ones mean basic. Seven is-"
"Neutral, I know. And you were hung up for over two weeks. It hasn't even been three days yet. Cut me some slack." He poured the contents in the test tubes down the nearest sink and wrote a few things down in his notebook.
"Why hasn't Roman had to go through shit like us?" Dean asked, washing out the test tubes and putting them back in a storage cabinet. Seth closed his notebook and shoved it in his bag as the bell rang.
"Something tells me he won't have to wait long. Somethin'll happen."
"Gettin' that weird vibe too, huh?" Dean questioned. Seth nodded. "Well don't jinx it! What has Joe done to deserve anything like that happening to him?"
"Nothing! But you just said-"
"Forget it," the brunette responded with a dismissive wave of his hand. The two headed into the boys locker room and met up with Roman for gym class. They each got a hug from the Samoan before they started to change.
"Guess what unit we're starting this week?" he asked the two. They shrugged and Roman grinned. "Wrestling. Not just amateur either. You can hit and punch as much as you want." This news brought smiles to both their faces.
"So what? Is there, like, a ring with ropes and stuff out there?" Seth inquired. Roman finished lacing up his shoes before answering.
"You'll just have to wait and see." Once the three were done getting dressed, Seth ran out the door and stopped after a few steps. He beamed and so did Dean, who let out an overjoyed laugh. Roman stood behind them, ecstatic as well. Regardless of that, the three thought the same same thing, 'This was going to be fun.' What a field day they would have.
XxXI miss you, you hurt me
You left with a smile
Mistaken, your sadness was hiding inside
Now all that's left of the pieces to find
The mystery you kept
The soul behind the guise
"For the last time, I'll help you when I finish this," Maria said exasperatedly. Seth had been asking for her help on a paper he was writing for his English class. It was some interview narrative on her that he was supposed to finish. He was asking her about what she did at work, what it felt like to be an attorney, and she just couldn't focus on him right now. "I've got a file I need to go through for an upcoming case."
"Okay, mom," he whispered defeated, pecking her on the cheek before quickly exiting the living room. She looked up when he left and sighed. She knew how much she was hurting him whenever she did that. She just couldn't remember how to be a mom these days.
"What am I doing?" she asked herself. The next few times Seth asked her for something, she made it her goal to let him down as nice as possible and be less of the ruthless attorney and more of the loving mom he remembered. It got to the point where Seth was about to leave the room, fuming with anger and frustration and using all of his self control not to yell at someone before she called him back. He froze in his tracks.
"What do you need, mom?" the two toned teen gritted out. She beckoned him over and he, reluctantly, complied. Maria shut her laptop, sealed her briefcase, and shredded whatever paper she'd been working on right in front of him. He gave her a curious look, all traces of anger gone. "What are you…?"
"Hello?" she said into her phone. "Yes, it's me. How much sick and vacation time do I have on the books?" She patiently waited for a response. "Excellent! Can you put down that I'll be taking the next two weeks off?" Seth gaped at her. "Gracias. That'll be all." She hung up and turned to her son, whose mouth was opening and closing with disbelief.
"Why did you do that?" He finally got out. She smiled sweetly and pulled him in for a hug.
"Because my son deserves to get back the mother he thought he lost. Besides, I'm out of practice." They shared a laugh and sat together in a comfortable silence on the couch, Maria stroking his hair while he snuggled into her side. "I promise you, I'm going to be like the mom you remembered. So," she mumbled about an hour later, "How about some of my homemade brownies?" Seth nodded eagerly and stood up with her. They were pulling them out of the oven a little later when Seth's phone started ringing. "You have a phone?"
"What's up, Joe?" he asked his friend. He was silent for a moment before trying to calm him. His voice was hysterical and filled with grief.
"Colby! It's my pa! He's-!" A sob ripped through Roman.
"I'll be right there, don't worry."
"Is everything alright?" she asked him. Seth shook his head sadly as he hung up and slipped his phone back into his pocket. He began walking out the door and across the street.
"Joe's dad was taken to the hospital earlier today. *gulp* He's in emergency surgery."
A/N: Whelp, that didn't turn out exactly how I wanted it to. Um… So, yeah. Sorry if I killed the mood with that last part. Anyway...