10 Years Ago Today

Chapter 1

Leon sipped some whiskey as he looked at the history on his phone. Ten years ago – Today read the caption over the picture. It was when they were all close and all together... when they were all there. He saved the photo and then pulled up the text screen

-Look what came up on my feed.

He hit send and waited for the onslaught. No sooner had he sent it did his phone ring and he sighed, answering it.

"Yes?"

"You are a piece of shit, you know that?" a disgruntled voice growled on the other end.

"Yes, you remind me every time we speak."

"Did you send the picture to him as well?"

"Why wouldn't I? It was a fond memory."

"Fuck you. Now he's just going to go off again. I hate you."

He hung up immediately and Leon sighed, looking at the photo again. It had been ten years since Nate disappeared in the forest that seemingly wonderful early evening. One minute he was joking around and calling his brothers chickens, going into the forest to try and find that strange light; the next minutes, it had gotten deathly quiet -usually quiet- and then there was screaming. Leon put his hand to his head, trying to block out those terrified screams that still haunted him to this day. When they had gone to look for Nate, they had all split up to find him. From what Leon had gathered, Aelan had found him first, but something happened. They don't know what exactly because Aelan would never talk about what happened. All they know is that when they found Aelan, he was sobbing on the ground next to the oak tree with he maple leaves, Nate nowhere to be found.

A text came through on Leon's phone and he looked at it. It was from Aelan.

😊

Leon smiled. At least it was a smiley face. The phone rang and he answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hey."

"Hey, man... How you feeling?"

"I'm on some new meds that are kind of working. I don't feel like hurting myself anymore and they even let me have my phone."

"That's always good."

"When are you guys going to come and see me?" Leon stiffened. "It's been a year or so and... I mean, you know Mom and Dad stopped coming by a while ago. I know the last time I wasn't in the best of states but... I'm better now so..."

Leon looked at the glass in his hand and took a sip of it.

"I'll... I'll have to see when I'm off next."

"Yeah, your hospital hours are kind of whacky, huh?" Aelan said, a sadness behind his slightly chipper demeanor.

Leon sighed, feeling guilty. "I'll try to see if I can stop by tomorrow, okay?"

"Really?!" Aelan asked, his voice brightening. "You'll come?"

"I'll see what I can do. No promises." Leon added quickly (in case he chickened out).

"That's okay! At least call if you can't come, okay?"

"Sure thing... Will you be okay? That picture won't cause a problem, will it?"

"No. It's a good picture... You know I made it where you can tell us apart now, right?"

"I know, Aelan. I'll do what I can."

Leon hung up the phone and drank the rest of the now water whisky, grabbing the bottle in front of him to refill his glass. Of course he knew that Aelan 'made it where they could be told apart'. How could he ever forget?

+++++++++++++++++++

FLASHBACK – 8 YEARS AGO

After two years of searching high and low for Nate, the police had other things to do and other children to look for. No matter how much they tried to pay the officers, Nate wasn't a priority anymore. Mrs. Splinter got off the phone with said police and turned to Leon angrily.

"I hope you're happy now." She snarled at him.

"Why?"

"The police have called off the search. Your brother is now just a number in the many other missing children cases. He's a statistic. I hope you're happy with what you've done, Leon."

Leon looked away from her, anger boiling within him. It was Nate's fault for running off...

"Mom, don't worry, we'll-"

"Don't look at me!" Mrs. Splinter yelled, turning dramatically away from Aelan, who had tried to comfort her. "You're just a reminder of what I've lost."

Aelan's crushed look made Leon angry.

"Don't talk to him like that! It's not his fault that he's a twin!"

"You're right. It's not his fault, it's yours. Because of your laziness, now I only have one child instead of a pair of twins! Now I can't even look at my son!"

"How about you buck the hell up, woman, and maybe try to love Aelan even more instead of making him feel guilty for looking like his brother!"

They began arguing as Hael just sat in the living room playing his game. Aelan was standing there, silent, as Leon and their mother screamed at each other. Aelan clenched his fists and walked away from them. Thinking he was just upset, Hael ignored him, continuing to play his game. A few minutes later, Aelan came back and a scream caught Hael's attention. He looked up and fell out of his seat, screaming as well.

"Does this help, Mom?" Aelan was saying.

"OH MY GOD!!!"

"What are you doing?!" Leon yelled, horror in his blue eyes.

Aelan can come back in with blood all over him, his mouth split on either side clear up to his temples. A Glasgow smile.

"Since it hurts for Mom to see me looking like Nate... Does this help? Are we different now?"

END FLASHBACK

++++++++++++++++

Leon yelled, waking up in a cold sweat. He hadn't had that memory in forever. He looked around and realized he had fallen asleep on the couch. He ran his fingers through his dirty blonde hair, leaning forward and grabbing the bottle in front of him. It was light as a feather and he shook it, trying to make sure that it was empty. He sighed and got up, stumbling a little to the liquor cabinet. He grabbed another glass and a bottle of gin, pouring a glass. He drank it like a shot, letting the battery acid feel slip down his throat.

He knew he should visit Aelan more often, but he always felt guilty. No matter what happened, it was his fault that Nate was gone, his fault for Aelan losing his mind, his fault, his fault, his fault. Leon poured another drink and drank it like a shot. He had to get the memory from his mind. Erase it with liquor... Alcohol was a cleanser; it purified wounds... So why didn't it do anything for him?