Twin Image: Family, Before Anything

Chapter 44

~Tobias Jr's POV~

-January 9th, Tuesday-

"Who knew the vampire overlord would have a crush on my mother." I state, earning laughs from some as we all walk into Dauntless together. I watch Mason push my daughter in the stroller as Natasha watches beside him. He offered to push, and after seeing him so willing to die for my daughter, I let him. My father looks at me dirty but I knew he found my comment funny from his suppressed smirk. "He does not have a crush on me, he simply wants my blood so he can be as powerful as me." My mother speaks up, and everyone 'ehh's' and 'mhmm's' her.

Including me. "Come on ma, he had the hots for you. That's the only reason why a fight didn't break out. Watch, he's gonna wanna see you again, and you're gonna have to go in order to keep him from serving his justice." I say, and just from the snort I heard from my uncle Alex, I knew a dirty joke was afoot. "And then you can get him to serve his other kind of justice Nat, if ya know what I mean." Alex jokes, making everyone laugh. And I laugh too, given for once, it's a dirty joke not referring to him and my mother. "Did you just laugh at one of my jokes?" Alex asks me, like I knew he would. "Breaking news, Hell just froze over guys, Tobias Eaton Junior just laughed at one of my jokes." He announces, and I catch my mother smile back at me.

"We may not get along anymore but, you're still just about the funniest uncle I got." I tell him, and I literally watch his ego-meter bust. "Ouch." My uncle Miles says exaggeratingly, and I shake my head. "Calm down Miles, you're still the coolest. I mean, come on, if I asked Alex to take me to get a tattoo, rather than getting as far as we did into the parlor, he'd turn around and snitch on me." I make clear, and Miles nods and we fist bump. Alex doesn't even object, "Nah he's right, his father's my brother and his mother's my bestfriend. I'd snitch my ass off." He says, making us laugh. "What about me?" I hear my uncle Liam say, and how he said it nearly made me feel bad.

"Oh come on, you should already know your the insightful uncle. Literally. Fuck a tattoo, you're the one I'm going to if I need advice and they're just not cutting it." I tell him in a hushed tone, gesturing to my parents in front of us. "Heard that young man." I hear my mother say, cringing because I forgot my mother can hear a fucking crumb drop if she wanted to. "And me? By the way, you only have two aunt's so, this should be relatively easy." I hear my aunt Mel say behind me. "You're the fun aunt, obviously. I love Teresa but, she's so focused on seeming like a good aunt, she's kind of a kill joy. You though, you're awesome. I remember just before all of this, when you and Brandon would smo-," I cut myself of quickly, facepalming when my mother stops in her tracks, stopping my father with her. She turns, "When her and Brandon would what?" She asks, as everyone continues passing us. Melody tries to hide inside the crowd of family and friends, but my father catches her and pulls her back over.

"Ugh fine, we might've, sorta, kinda smoke your son out a couple times okay?" She comes clean, and honestly, I wasn't really worried, how much trouble can I really get in for this? "First, you get our brother smoking freely, then get my wife smoking again, and now my son? Are you fucking kidding me Melody?" My father talks down to her, and I watch how hurt she gets when he calls her Melody. Not once have I heard my father call his sister by her full first name. It's always Mel, Mellie, or Mel-bel. "Y'know, I'm trying my hardest not to be a hypocrite since I smoke too but, I smoke nowhere near as much as you and your husband do. And you're really starting to get my fucking nerves. And you." He says, getting my attention, "When she offered the first time, you should have said no and told me. Especially if it was before all of this. I know your more mature than boys your age, and even boys over your age but, you're still a teenager. The moment you turn eighteen, by all means, smoke to your heart desires. But until then, I catch you high, especially at this very responsible time, you're getting an ass whooping of a lifetime. And I don't mean with a belt either." He makes clear, and the look in my father's eyes made me swallow hard. The only time he got close to beating my ass without a belt, was in that empty courtroom. I nod to my father, "I hear you, loud and clear." - "Yeah you better, now, let's go find your sister's boyfriend. You have ass to kick."