June 30th, 2017
- Present Day -
A few hours after he had fallen asleep, Gray finds himself slowly raising up, rubbing his eyes groggily. The fluffy white quilt gradually slides down his chest as he glances around, his older brother nowhere in sight. As soon as his feet hit the soft carpet, Zach's voice echoes down the stairwell and into the theater room.
"Gray! I don't know if you're awake yet, but if you are, can you come up here? I'm in the kitchen!" he shouts as Gray throws the blanket off of his lap and takes one last look around before dashing up the stairs. He strolls into the kitchen to find Zach leaning over the granite countertop, several fast-food menus scattered around him.
"Oh, look who it is. Mister sleepy head," a smug grin tugs at the corners of his lips, Gray plopping down across from him—smiling warmly at him. "I may have a fancy house, but that doesn't mean I can cook a super fancy meal. So, what do you want for takeout?"
Gray places his elbows on the counter and rests on it, scanning his eyes over the different assortments of menus. "Well, I don't know. What do you want?" He glances up at Zach, and their eyes meet.
Zach shrugs carelessly, removing his phone from his pocket and putting it down on the hard surface. "I don't care, Gray. It's up to you. We can get American, Italian, Chinese, pretty much whatever."
Gray gazes down at the Italian menu and then back up to Zach. "Can we get a taco pizza?"
"Yeah, sure," Zach replies flatly, unfolding the pamphlet version of the menu. He reads the number off and types it into his phone, holding it up to his ear. Before the receptionist answers, he glances down at Gray and covers the speaker. "You wanna just get it delivered here?"
"Yeah! Let's do it!" Gray exclaims anxiously, a broad grin exposing his excitement. "I haven't had taco pizza for so long. Mom won't buy it because it's more expensive than the other types. We usually just get cheese or pepperoni."
Zach places his index finger over his lips—signaling for Gray to be quiet—as someone comes across the other side of the line. "Yeah, hi. I'd like to order two large taco pizzas. And how long will the wait be on those?"
Gray gazes away from Zach and finds himself staring out the huge window through the doorway of the living room. The sparkling reflection of the pool dances on the clear glass, and he shivers, quickly looking back at his brother.
"15 minutes? Okay, thanks," Zach grabs a pen and a small pad and begins to scrawl shortened notes on it. "Yeah. 2405 Tradewind Avenue."
Gray dangles his feet off the tall barstool and watches as he swings them back and forth, glancing up at Zach when he says Thank you to the person on the other end of the line and places his phone on the countertop.
"Guess what," Zach pauses momentarily, Gray staring intently at him, waiting for him to continue. "If they're a second later than 15 minutes, we get free pizza, Gray. Free pizza!"
"No way!" Gray exclaims eagerly, doing his signature handshake with Zach. "I can't believe you remember that handshake. It's so old."
Zach grins faintly as he glances down at Gray and walks around the other side of the counter, slapping him on the back. He fumbles around in his pocket for his phone—which he had put in there before doing the handshake with his younger brother—and tugs it out.
"Of course I remember it, Gray. Now, I need to call Andrew and alert him about the pizza delivery."
Gray's brows furrow in confusion as he slides down off of the three foot tall barstool and trails behind Zach into the living room. "Who's Andrew?" he questions eccentrically, plopping down on the cream-colored sofa next to his older brother.
"The security guard at the gates," Zach responds blankly as he dials the number to Andrew's office and waits while it rings. "Hey! Andrew! Yeah, it's Zach."
"Zach! It's good to hear from you. What's going on? Has there been another break-in? I told them to put extra security cameras around your house and patrol the areas at night. These people. I'm telling you; they never listen to me."
Zach chuckles, absently carding his fingers through the fuzzy teal throw pillows on the couch. "No, everything's fine. I just wanted to let you know that I ordered some pizza for my brother and me. It should be here in about"—he gazes down at his watch—"10 minutes, and if a delivery van shows up, you don't have to taze them this time."
Gray hastily glances up at Zach, an inquiring expression on his pale face. "What the heck?" he murmurs softly, gaping at his brother in obvious discombobulation.
Zach wraps his arm tightly around Gray's shoulders and pulls him into his side, and the 13-year-old leans closer to his ear in attempt to decipher the other side of the conversation.
"Hey, that van looked pretty suspicious. You can never be too careful. Especially after all the break-ins around here lately. I mean, look what happened to your place. They busted three windows and made it out with a couple hundred dollars. The house down the street lost a couple thousand dollars."
As quickly as Gray had leaned in to eavesdrop on the conversation, he wishes he wouldn't have. He hastily wriggles out of Zach's grip and stares at his brother with a look of terror in his baby blue eyes.
Zach curses quietly under his breath—realizing that the 13-year-old has heard what Andrew said—and latches tightly onto Gray's upper arm. "Heh, yeah, I know. It's crazy. Well, thanks, Andrew. Have a good night."
"You, too. And I promise I won't taze the pizza delivery guy this time."
"Alright, I'll hold you to it," Zach cracks a genuine smile as Gray continues to struggle to get out of his grip. "Bye."
"Hasta luego, man."
Zach pulls the phone away from his ear and taps his thumb on the red end call button, calmly placing it down on the coffee table. "Gray, stop wrestling with me and sit down!"
"No! No way!" Gray shouts, blonde brows furrowed crossly. "I'll sit down when you explain why he said there's been so many break-ins around here!"
"And I'll explain when you sit down!" Zach yells crisply as Gray sighs and gently rests his weight on the edge of the couch. "Okay. Now, it's no big deal. Really."
"You said you would explain, Zach! That doesn't tell me a darn thing!" Gray exclaims, crossing his arms sternly. "Am I gonna get kidnapped while staying at your house? Am I gonna get murdered? Is someone going to steal our soon to be free pizza? What the heck is going on?"
"Gray!" Zach clutches Gray's shoulders firmly and gently shakes them. "Calm down! No, no, and no! None of that's going to happen! I installed a very expensive security system after that day! No one's breaking in here!"
"Zach! You're not understanding!" Gray shouts angrily, clinging back onto his older brother's forearms. "What happened that day? What is that day?"
"Gray! Calm down! Jesus Christ, bro," Zach sighs faintly as he releases Gray's shoulders and leans against the back of the couch, gingerly rubbing his fingers over his temples. "Okay, okay. One day, I went out to the grocery store to get a few things, and when I came back- well- three of my windows were busted open and a couple hundred dollars was missing out of my saved money."
"Yeah? And, what makes you think they won't come back?" Gray questions attentively as he flails his arms about in the still air.
Zach chuckles softly and grabs his little brother's biceps, tugging him into his side. "Relax, little brother, relax. First of all, they're in jail. They aren't coming back any time soon. Second of all, did you hear what I just said? I installed a very expensive security system. Anyone who wants to get in here is gonna have to be pretty damn stealthy."
Gray glances up at Zach through his tousled golden curls and lies back across his lap, sighing faintly. "Well, you should've told me that in the first place. I wouldn't have flipped out quite as much."
Zach places his hand on Gray's forehead, gently brushing his bangs out of his eyes. "You shouldn't have flipped out in the first place. You know I wouldn't put you in any danger."
"Well, yeah, b-"
The shrill ring of the doorbell interrupts Gray mid-sentence as Zach motions for him to move off his lap. "Scooch, dude."
Gray raises up, resting his weight against the arm of the couch as his mind races endlessly.
Of course Zach wouldn't put me in any danger. Well, not purposely, anyway. What if he just told me that they were put in jail to calm me down? Maybe they're still out there, prowling for the next victim to rob. No, no, no. Zach wouldn't do that to me. Would he? No. Shut up, Gray, shut up. You know the answer to that! But… No! Stop i-
"Hey, Gray! Look what I have!" Zach exclaims enthusiastically, holding up the two boxes of pizza in his arms as he enters the living room. "This here… is something you will never see again. Free pizza."
Gray cracks a genuine smile as he glances up at the clock on the wall, his brows furrowing slowly in confusion. "But, wait… it's been 14 minutes. Why would they give it to us for free when they said 15?"
A smug grin tugs at the corners of Zach's lips as he places the two cardboard boxes down on the coffee table. "Well, a certain security guard at the front entrance threatened to taze the guy if he didn't give us the pizza for free."
Gray bursts into a fit of laughter—as does Zach—slowly opening the box and snatching a slice of the delicious taco pizza. He takes an enormous bite out of the pointed tip, cheese stringing from the end to his lips, and savors every crumb; he sighs faintly. "Oh, it tastes even better than I remember."
Zach chuckles softly as he tosses a paper plate and a napkin at Gray that he had quickly grabbed from the kitchen. "Alright, I've got root beer, Fanta, Sprite, and Coke. Take your pick."
Gray gazes up from his pizza and hesitates momentarily, running over all the possible options. He glances back at Zach, an unsure expression visible on his face. "Can we have root beer floats?"
Zach's grin broadens as he ruffles Gray's golden curls affectionately, disappearing back into the kitchen. "That's my little bro." He returns shortly after with two root beer floats, each filled to the brim of the plastic cups.
Gray takes his from Zach and carefully places it down on the table, redirecting his attention to his third slice of pizza. "Thanks, Zach. Thanks for the drink, thanks for the pizza, thanks for letting me stay here for a whole month. I know a lot of people wouldn't be able to tolerate me for that long."
Zach plops down on the couch next to his little brother, grabbing a slice of the taco-cheesy goodness. "It's no problem. I've lived with you my whole life; I know how to handle your ridiculous antics."
Gray makes a fake pouty face towards his brother, and Zach leans against the back of the couch, taking a sip of his ice-cold drink.
"Happy summer, lil' bro," he comments quietly as Gray scoots closer to him, his paper plate and napkin still in hand. Zach wraps his free arm around his younger brother and squeezes him gently. "I hope you're having fun so far."
"Well, I was," Gray pauses momentarily, "And then, I went and eavesdropped on your conversation over the phone, and it just about scared the crap outta me. But yeah! Now I'm having fun again!"
Zach glances down at the 13-year-old and shakes his head slowly, an odd expression on his face. "You, my little brother, are one different type of person. A different type of person with some serious mood swings."
Gray beams at him, exposing his crooked tooth gap, and lies his head back down on Zach's shoulder. "I know, I know. Mom said I have to work on that."
Zach nearly chokes on a Frito that had been on top of the pizza slice and takes a small swig of the root beer to soothe his throat. "Really? She said that to you? Like, in all seriousness?"
Gray nods his head. "In all seriousness," he replies flatly, eyes darting restlessly around the room until they land on the dazzling pool outside—once again. This time, since it's beginning to get dark, the water is illuminated with a rainbow-assortment of different colors, and Gray gasps faintly—not quite loud enough for Zach to hear. "Your pool lights up."
Zach glances past Gray out to the patio, and he grins down at him. "Yeah. It's so we can go swimming in the dark. Of course, if you even do want to go swimming while you're here."
"Heh, yep. That sounds like a blast," Gray comments enthusiastically—acting—as he places his plate down on the coffee table and begins to rise up. "I'll be right back. I'm just gonna go to the bathroom."
"Okay," Zach hesitates momentarily, "You remember where it is? Just past the kitchen and to the left."
"Yeah, yeah, I remember," Gray replies quietly as he rushes away and gently closes the bathroom door behind him. He begins to run the tap water and leans over the sink, clutching his head in his hands. "What's wrong with you, Mitchell? You were over this. Now what?" he mumbles incoherently under his breath—irritated with himself as he quickly turns the sink off and backs away from it. Get yourself together. It's just water! It's not going to hurt you, you big baby!
Meanwhile, back in the living room, Zach sits silently on the couch, gnawing on his fifth slice of pizza. Thoughts begin to fill his mind the longer he stays there by himself, Gray still in the other room.
There's definitely something screwy going on with Gray. I'm just not exactly sure what it is.
