Hello everyone I am back so sorry for the long delay, lots going on. Thank you to those who are still sticking with me. Thank you to those who have left me wonderful reviews on my last chapter, and thank you to those who are following, favorites or just reading. And a big thank you to Bkworm4life4 for helping me out with this chapter. You are awesome. :) Here's my new chapter hope you like it. Let me know your thoughts.
A Brother's Revenge Chapter 11
Frank hurried over to the window carefully avoiding the pieces of glass on the floor. He looked down to see the crutch land on the ground along with the rest of the window. He didn't know what to say to Joe, he was just stunned by his brother's actions.
A twinge of guilt began to wash over him. He had thought that Joe was making good progress with his sessions with Dr. Reese. Joe had even said so himself. Frank should've realized clearly that was not the case. Damn it! He'd been so caught up with his own problems, that he had failed to see that Joe was going through some shit of his own. What kind of a brother am I?
He glanced at Joe noting his face was just as stunned. "Joe..."
"What'd the hell I just...do?" Joe murmured, his blue eyes widening as the realization of his actions. He ran a hand through his sweaty hair.
"We're never getting off of restrictions, are we?" He added with a grimace, "No, I take that back, you will. You're the good son, as for me you can forget it. Dad's never going to let me work a case again, much less leave the house."
"Joe, stop saying stuff like that." Frank shook his head, "It's going to be..."
"No! Don't tell me everything's going to be alright!" Joe shouted, angry tears burst from his eyes and ran down his cheeks. "It never is! Not for us!" He winced as pain shot up his leg, and he held on to the wall for support.
Frank wasn't sure what Joe meant by that comment but before he could respond, Fenton hurried into the room with Laura, and Gertrude at his heels.
Joe quickly wiped the tears off of his face. Here it comes, he thought preparing for a confrontation with his Dad.
"Are you boys alright?" Laura asked hurriedly. She was afraid for the boys lives after Fenton had told them about the threat. "We heard the commotion."
She noticed Joe's face was pale and his hair was matted with sweat, Frank stood by the window with a guilty look on his face, she was starting to realize something was going on between them.
"Oh, good heavens!" Gertrude exclaimed she pointed at the broken window.
"How did that happen?" Fenton asked. His heart was pounding in his chest. That threatening message against the boys had him a little on edge, and he thought for sure that they were in danger.
Joe exchanged looks with Frank, Frank gave him a slight nod, "Go ahead Joe, tell him. It will be alright."
Joe knew it was best to get this over with, so he cleared his throat, He confessed. "I got angry when Frank told me the news and I threw my crutch at... at the window."
Fenton went over to inspect the window carefully avoiding the pieces of glass on the floor. He looked down and sure enough the crutch was laying on the ground along with the debris from the window. "You're lucky someone wasn't down there!" He replied, he stabbed a finger at the window.
"Dad, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking."
"You got that right. Joe, when are you going to grow up?"
"I said I was sorry." Joe shot back. He couldn't stop his temper from coming out. "Besides that, you should've told me about Frank's phone call! He was in trouble; I should have been there!"
"Stop it you two!" Laura interjected.
"I want to know more... about this threat." Joe said breathing heavier as his anger began to rise. His mind flashed back to...Nurse Crazy, Bartend... Hayden's younger brother...and Henry...his blood began to boil just thinking of that little lunatic.
"Joe, honey, you need to calm down." Laura said, all the while doing her best to do the same.
"No! If Ryan is here... that means there's a chance Henry could be too...we have to find him. He killed Phil and Seth…he almost killed Frank! I want a piece of him! Dad, please let me be a part of this case." Joe pleaded.
"Absolutely not." Fenton pushed back his anger, he was fighting hard, but he managed, "You're not ready."
Frank shifted his eyes to Joe and mouthed the word, 'shut up', to him when he saw him open his mouth. But Joe's stubborn pride and anger took over and he couldn't help himself.
"Fine, then I'll do it on my own." Joe argued, folding his arms to his chest. "No one's going to stop me not even the great Fenton Hardy."
"Oh Joe", Frank groaned, under his breath. He squeezed his eyes shut, and lowered his head in disappointment. He thought about his brother's comment, as the threat flashed in his head 'a brother for a brother, an eye for an eye...soon a Hardy boy will die!'
There was only one thing he could do, even if it violated the court order, and got him thrown in jail, then so be it. There was no way in hell he was going to let Joe go after Ryan and Henry on his own. He wasn't going to lie; he wanted a piece of them too.
"Excuse me?" As quick as a flash of lightning, an angry, red-faced Fenton took a menacing step toward Joe.
"Dad! Fenton!" Frank and Laura shouted in unison.
Frank immediately stepped in between them before the situation escalated even more than it already did. He couldn't believe that he had to play referee between his father and brother.
"Enough!" Aunt Gertrude cut in sternly. "Have you all lost your minds acting like a bunch of buffoons. Fighting like this is not going to solve anything. We are a family for goodness sake so let's act like it. "
"Gertrude is right. This fighting has got to stop." Laura added firmly.
"Joe, please." Frank advised him. He was starting to freak out, he needed to force his own problems away and focus on Joe.
After a few minutes Joe finally calmed down and got his breathing under control and back to normal. He suddenly felt ashamed of his actions. He couldn't believe that those hurtful words to his father came out of his mouth. What was wrong with him?
Shamefully, Fenton took a step back as well. He began to question himself, 'Was I really going to put my hands on my youngest?' From the time the boys were younger and until now, he and Laura had always found it more effective to sit down with them and talk things through when disciplining them. And if they felt that further punishment was needed the occasional grounding would be put in place. Raising a hand to the boys had never been an option in their house. The way to handle this was with calm and rational thinking. Maybe now was the time to have that talk with the boys about their disrespectful attitudes however, before they could get this argument settled between them, he had to calm down first.
"I agree this has to stop." Fenton said keeping his voice calm but firm. "However, Joe, the first thing that you are going to do is clean up this mess. Find something to cover the window. Then you are going to take a shower and get yourself together. Once all that is done come find me, I'll be in my office." With that the adults left the room leaving the boys alone.
Joe's eyes widened, He glanced at his brother. "Do you think he knows that I was in his office?"
Frank looked at him. He must've been thinking it too. He sighed heavily, "I don't know." He shrugged, "It's probably best not to keep Dad waiting. You start getting this mess cleaned up. While I go find something to cover the window."
"Yeah." Joe pursed his lips together. He had made this mess literally and figuratively, therefore he had to be a man about this and clean up his mess. As he worked he mentally began to prepare himself for the consequences.
FJFJFJFJFJFJ
By two in the afternoon with Frank's help Joe had all of the glass cleaned and the window covered up with a tarp Frank had found in the garage. Joe retrieved his crutch off after cleaning up the glass on the ground. Joe stepped out of the bathroom dressed in a fresh tee shirt and jeans and into his room where his brother was waiting for him.
Frank noticed Joe was shifting nervously with his crutches from one leg to the other. He put an arm around his brother's shoulders and squeezed comfortingly. "Do you feel better?"
"Not really." Joe sighed combing his fingers through his damp hair with his fingers, "I don't think I can face Dad. What if I say something stupid that gets us fighting again?'
"That's why I'm going to be in there with you. That and, to make sure that you two don't kill each other."
"That's not funny." Joe glared at him.
"It wasn't a joke." Frank retorted.
"Why are you helping me anyway? You shouldn't have to keep cleaning up my messes."
"I'm as much to blame for this as you are."
"But, I've been awful to Dad. I deserve whatever punishment he gives me. I almost wish that he had hit me, then maybe I'd feel better."
"Dad's not going to do that, Joe."
"He almost did."
"Yeah," Frank nodded, he had thought for sure that their father was going to hit Joe. Fenton had never laid a hand on them when it came to disciplining them. Yes, he'd scolded them when needed or gave them a stern lecture, but never his hands. "Dad's probably feeling guilty about that. He's always been fair and honest with us. We just need to remember that Dad has gone through some stuff of his own, as well."
"I get what he's been trying to tell me." Frank added sadly. "And he's right depression is a hard thing to fight and for some people it can be a short-term battle and for others it can be a long-term battle." Frank's mind rested on his words. He quickly blinked away tears as the rollercoaster of emotion began swirling around him.
Joe saw that far away expression in his eyes. That damn depression. He frowned as he realized what his brother was getting at. "Do you think Dad is still fighting it?"
"I do. Think about it, Joe, Dad was our age when he witnessed Grandad's suicide. He hasn't talked about it to anyone until he told us recently. He kept it a secret for years, going into depression because of it. On top of that he's been dealing with our shit too. That's some pretty heavy stuff."
"Now I really feel awful," Joe murmured.
"Joe, can I ask you something?" Frank asked changing the subject slightly. "It's about some comments you made."
Joe looked at him strangely. He shook his head, "You'll have to be a little more specific, I've made a lot of stupid comments lately." He said dryly.
"It was something about 'not everything being alright'," Frank quoted Joe's words, "It never is. Not for us."
"Well, it's just the way it is with us. Something bad always happens that outweighs the good." He answered his brother. "I told you Vanessa and I are going out on Friday. We're going to the 4th of July celebration at the pier. Looks like that's not going to happened because of that threat and I'm probably going to be grounded because of the window."
Joe went over to sit on his bed to rest his leg since it was starting to throb. He swallowed a lump in his throat. "I haven't dated anyone since, Iola." He began rubbing his hands on his jeans. "I like Vanessa…in fact I think I'm in love with her. If anything were to happen to her...or if she's in some kind of danger because of me... I'd never forgive myself... I can't go through that pain again, Frank, I just can't. That's why the date can't happen."
"I know you'd feel the same way with Callie. Someone vandalized her car, but yet the threat was made to us, and against us. Eye for an eye... A brother for a brother... soon a Hardy boy will die. That's a pretty bold statement and to the point. And she's in danger now because of US. "
Hearing the sharp tone in Joe's voice made Frank suddenly feel cautious. He sat on the bed next to Joe. "I've had those same thoughts that you're feeling right now. You know, the "why" questions like, Why do these bad things happen to us? Why can't something good happen to us for a change?" Frank swallowed a lump in his throat as Phil Cohen came to his mind. "Why do the people close to us have to get hurt or worse? All because someone wants revenge on us."
"Maybe it feels like bad stuff always happens to us. But I'm going to fight for the good stuff, we have to, because it's worth fighting for, we have a right to be happy, Joe. I'm going to college; Callie and I are going to get married. You and I are going to have our dream of working with Dad as fully licensed private detectives."
Frank paused and then said, "my question to you little brother is, do you really like Vanessa?"
"Yes." Joe sighed.
"Then fight for it, don't cancel your date with her."
"What about the threat? What if it is Ryan?"
"I promise you, Joe. You will have your date with Vanessa on Friday." Frank said with conviction. That date with Vanessa was important to his little brother, Frank was determined to make sure it happened.
As Joe locked eyes with Frank, he saw the seriousness in them. It made him smile to have his big brother and protector back.
There was a quiet pause between the brothers, Joe spoke up first, as he elbowed Frank in the arm. "So, I take it things are good with you and Callie?"
"You can say that."
"Where did you guys go after leaving the courthouse?"
Frank blushed in response. "We, ah, went to the Bayport college campus. Callie wanted to show me her new apartment."
Joe saw his brother blush as a smile spread across his face. "Oooo…Was it a nice place?"
"It was."
"So... Did you two talk?"
"We did."
Joe wiggled his eyebrows and prodded a little more. "Did you do more than talk?"
A smile came across Frank's face, Joe had a feeling he was onto something. He liked seeing Frank smiling and happy.
"I don't want to know details."
"Good because I'm not going to give you any."
"Just give me a yes or no."
Frank turned his head away for a moment. It wasn't just the physical part of being intimate with Callie it was just an amazing feeling of feeling free and expressing his love to her without worry and shame.
"Yes," He finally answered, "And that's all I'm going to say."
"I'm good with that, that's all I need to know."
"How would you feel if Callie and I moved in together?"
Joe jolted right up as wrinkles began to form across his forehead, Joe just looked at him. "Move in?"
"Yes, that's right, Callie asked me."
"Are you considering it?"
"I am. When I come home from Princeton I'll be staying with Callie. Would you be okay with that?" Frank asked again. "You know I'll always make time for you."
Joe paused to think about it. As much as he would love to have Frank's time all to himself. He couldn't be selfish. This wasn't about him, this was about Frank and what he wanted. It was time for Joe to take a step back and let his big brother live his life with Callie. His big brother was right, the good stuff is worth fighting for. He so much wanted to have the same kind of relationship with someone as Frank had with Callie. Maybe not exactly like theirs, but someone to love, and to be happy with and to eventually have a future with. Hopefully that someone was Vanessa.
"Yeah, I'm okay with it. It'll take a little getting use too. You guys are engaged. I want you to be happy, if living with Callie is what you want then I support it."
"Thanks, little brother."
Frank's smile faded into a thin line. "Joe, there's something else I should tell you. You already know about Callie's car, and about the possibility of Ryan Hayden hiding somewhere. Well, there's more." Frank let out a heavy sigh and ran a hand through his hair.
Joe noticed serious look on his face, that matched the tone in his voice. He wasn't sure he was going to like this.
Frank quickly told him about the dark-haired mystery kid from the lobby.
"So... you think," Joe said slowly, thinking out loud. "That this kid and the dark- haired figure from the security tape could be the same person?"
"It's a possibility," Frank answered. "We need to find him; he might be important. That kid could be the key to clearing my name."
"But before we can move forward...we need to make things right with Dad. This time with a real sincere apology." He put an arm around his brother's shoulders and squeezed comfortingly. "We're in this together."
"Are you ready to face him?"
Letting out a sigh, Joe squared his shoulders, somehow finding the courage he needed at that moment. He finally nodded. "Yes, I'm ready."
With that the brothers got to their feet and left Joe's room and made their way to Fenton's office.