Chapter Title: Until Tomorrow
Series Title: Unlikely Brothers
Ages in this chapter: Dashen (15)
Chapter Summary: Colton reaches out again to Dashen, who is still struggling to find reasons to live day to day, more than a year after the death of his baby brother, Kossi.
"Why do you care, Colton? Seriously. Why do you give an ounce of anything about my life? I don't even know you, you don't know me. You're some criminal mastermind larger-than-life guy that everyone in town is either in hock to or afraid of and you're here helping a broken kid with a lost soul who has absolutely no reason to wake up each morning to be a functioning member of society. These jobs I'm running for you, why do you even let me do this? I could implode at any minute. None one damn bit of this makes sense. I mean, come on, give me one legitimate reason why… whythe hell do you care?"
That was Dashen Lesedi. Barely fifteen years old. Orphan. Parents dead. Baby brother dead.
Tall. Lanky. Green eyes, black hair. Broken heart. Shattered soul.
This was Virgil Colton. Criminal. Wealthy. Large. Broad. Blue eyes. Blonde hair. Never had need for kids in his life; yet for whatever reason, taken in by the white-hot emotional pain of this one.
"Because…" The big man began. "First, you have my business all wrong. The entire town is neither in hock to me nor afraid of me. Well, a few here and there, but as a whole, no. Second, because, damn it! Because everyone needs somebody now and then to pat them on the back or reach a hand out or just give a crap. I'm not telling you how to run your life, Dashen. Far from it. I am telling you that you are more than you give yourself credit for. That baby brother of yours, he knew that. With all his heart he knew that. Yeah, he was transparent when it came to you and you had no idea. He'd pass by me, smile and wave, but he'd say things sometimes when you weren't listening. Things that told me how damn proud he was to have you as his big brother. You. The one who thinks so little of himself. That kid knew more about you... But… but… the bottom line is that he's gone. He's gone and he's not coming back. He thought you were worth something. So I gave you a hand. That's all."
Dashen shook his head knowing that it couldn't possibly be so simple as a kid brother smiling and waving.
"No, it's not all. You actually act like you care. I mean, legitimately care. Why the hell would you care? Why would anyone in their stupid right mind, care about me?"
"You don't see what he saw. Your brother." Colton's normally booming deep voice stepped down a notch, reaching a gentler tone. Last thing he wanted was to run this boy off and put that final nail in the coffin.
Lesedi took several steps backward, stopping only when his stumbled slightly into a lose patch of stone. His eyes pleading with the man before him. "Please… Just please stop talking about my brother. He's gone forever and… and I don't want his memories tarnished or… just…"
"Your brother. He saw the true version of you, Dashen. You work your ass off. You try harder than anyone I've ever seen. You face the impossible and you fight it off, time after time. But you can't see that, you've never been able to see that. All the kids around this town, I have eyes and ears out. Have for years. Gotta keep tabs on the ones who may take their shots at me, or toss stories around, or the ones that try and scale my security. Most are in jest or fun or challenge. Mostly, no harm done. But I watch them, I know them. I watched you and your brother. No, not every second, but enough to see. Kids come and go. Most find their path and move on. Your path changed time after time after time. And it knocked you on your ass time after time after time. Yet, you got back up. Over and over. Stubborn idiot is what you are. I'm sure your brother saw that too. But damn if he didn't love the hell out of you. Damn if he didn't think you where the best thing to ever happen in the entire galaxy."
"Kossi was just a kid. Just a boy." Dashen shrugged, straining to think past his burning and blurry eyes. "I was his big brother. He'd have looked up to me regardless."
"Kid, you are so wrong. Just, so wrong. He knew something, saw something in you. It's why you're still here, still vertical. Still breathing. Still alive."
"Not for lack of trying." The boy's voice was flat, hopeless.
Colton tried again to float that lifeline past him as he'd done one other time. Maybe, just maybe he'd grab hold at some point.
"You keep running for me, Dashen, and you'll see. I need a runner like you. Fast, agile, not afraid to do the hard job right. Figure out impossible situations and pick yourself up after you fall. You're good, kid. Real good."
"It's just a job, Colton. Not a life. Not living. I don't care about it, really it's just something to put a roof over my head and keep me from starving to death, that's all. Maybe if I do it right, I don't screw it up like I did trying to take myself out of this stupid excuse for a life."
"Stubborn ass. You're so wrong about yourself, Dashen. So damned wrong. But regardless, do me this favor. Just… give it a chance. That's all I ask. No commitment to me or my team. Consider it a hand to get you on your feet. Take it, do the best you can and run with it. I think you might be surprised in the end."
"I'll keep trying. That's all I can give you. And only because Kossi would've wanted me to. Maybe he did see more in me than I do. But, Colton, for eight years, he was my whole damn life. He was why I got up in the morning. He was why I tried hard. He was why I picked myself up time after time, like you said. I don't… I don't have a clue what to do with out him. I can't do this without him. This… living thing. It's the hardest thing I've ever done and it's just not possible. I've been trying and…"
The blurry green eyes boiled over and the emotion Dashen had been working so hard to contain fell alongside. Colton softened his voice once more, refusing to give up and let this kid become another street casualty.
"Kid, I know you've been trying. I've seen it. Those tears on your face, it's amazing you have any left, yeah? It can get better. But, I'll send a few jobs your way, you do the best you can and go from there. You want to bail, let me know. You won't, I know that. It's not who you are, to give up and give in. Not completely. I also know you won't reach out to me if you need anything, but the offer is there."
Rubbing a hand across his running nose, Dashen sniffed hard and nodded shortly. "I'll try. Thank you for the job and the chance. My rent is due end of week and the last credits I had went for food, so whatever you have this week, I'll take it and I'll do a good job for you. I swear it."
"You will. And one day… one day… you'll be better."
"Well, we'll have to agree to disagree on that. I need my brother. I want my brother. But I can't have what I need or what I want, can I? So, until I figure out if I can live in this world without him, I'll do the best I can to make sure he would have been proud of me."
"It's the right place to start." Colton stood, pushing his long blonde hair back behind his shoulders." I've got two runs tomorrow, one the following day. They're yours. You'll get paid standard rate, no charity."
"I don't live on much. I only need what I need to get by."
"I've noticed." Colton replied, eyeing the boy's weathered clothing and battered boots.
"We never had much. My family. My folks worked hard. They worked their asses off to give us the best life they could. It wasn't anything, but it's what we had and they loved us. Mostly, that was enough. I tried so hard to give the same to Kossi." Dashen's emotions boiled over again, more tears on his face and stutters in his words. "I did, Colton, I-I swear I did. I tried so stupidly d-damn hard. And I still lost him. I still couldn't stop him from d-dying… from leaving me. I j-just…" The young man's head fell in defeat. His heart with it. The last part of his emotional spill, barely a whisper. "I don't know what do without him."
"I know." So tempted to reach a hand out to the boy's shoulder, yet Colton withstood the urge. He'd made progress here, even to the point of being rather certain that the kid wouldn't try and overdose on death sticks within the next few days. The big man didn't want to lose whatever trust he'd gained during this encounter with young Lesedi.
Dashen sniffed again. "So, yeah. Sorry. Enough of my tales of woe, right? Send the info to my com and I'll make those runs for you."
"Good. I'll do that shortly."
"Okay. I'll talk to you tomorrow then. Guess it's a reason to wake up for one more day, huh?"
"It is. And maybe a few more after."
With a shrug and shuddered deep pull of breath, Dashen's bright green eyes began to clear. They stood stark to the stunning blues of Virgil Colton. These two were opposites if ever there was a pair. The boy still couldn't fathom Colton's interest in his well being. This was the second time the man had reached out. He didn't want his pity, but he saw none in Colton's eyes or in his face or in his words. And well, Kossi had liked him. That meant something.
"I still don't understand you, Colton. Why you care. But… I don't know. Kossi, as young as he was, he was always smarter than me with just about anything. He knew things, he knew people. He liked you. So, okay… for the moment… yeah, for the moment, that'll be enough for me. Until tomorrow then."
"Tomorrow."
Colton watched Dashen walk off. A defeated slump in his shoulders, a slow, emotionally drained stride. There was purpose there though. The head held just a tad bit higher. The breaths slightly more purposeful.
Yes. This kid was worth helping. This kid was worth saving.
Why? Honestly, Colton had no idea. It just… was. And so it had to be.
Until tomorrow.
END
