Craaven

Chapter 25: Mortemville, Montana 1986 May 10th

TW: Brief mentions of su*cide and dr*g use

Terrance had to take a few days to plan everything out before I visited and his plans mostly included telling his brother and sister and his dad not to say anything to mum about my visit. He told me in our therapy appointment yesterday that Dylan and Samantha had trouble wrapping their heads around the fact that they had an unknown secret half-brother and I can only imagine how long that conversation took before they finally somewhat got it. We joked about it for a while and the appointment honestly helped me feel a little more excited about coming over.

Not much is happening on my end. The only person I told about my mother was Daniel, who, of course, was extremely supportive of me seeing my mum again but also equally upset for me that she was dying and I couldn't be with her for many more years in the future. I try not to let it bother me so much; it was bound to happen eventually, she is older and she lived a good life, and it's not a tragic end like most everyone in my life. Try as I might, though, whenever I think about her, I grow upset over it. It was still painful to lose another person I care about and it especially hurts more knowing she's going to die.

Eventually, the day came when Terrance called to invite me over and, after getting directions to his house, I made myself look as presentable as possible and drove off. As usual, I used the music on the radio to help calm my racing nerves. I didn't know how this interaction would go and it scared me. I was afraid she wouldn't recognise me because of how long it's been and I would be forced to endure several hours of Terrance explaining to her that I was indeed her son but she still didn't see it. I was even more afraid of the idea that she would be too sick to even wake up and my first meeting with her would be to just watch her sleep and she would have no idea that I was even there. Everything was all just a mess to me and I just wanted to get it over and done with already.

The drive took longer than I wanted because of numerous wrong turns that I made but I eventually made it. I was surprised to find that their house was on the wealthier side and had an extravagant front garden that made it look almost royal. Despite living in a larger house, myself, I was quite envious of the luxury they lived in. Everything looked so perfect and eye-catching, I felt like I wasn't allowed inside because of how much poorer I appeared.

I parked on the curb out front and walked up the drive to the front door, admiring the many blooming flowers that greeted me and the beautiful lawn decorations that fit right in. It was all very organised and I quite enjoyed looking at everything. Even when I rang the doorbell, I continued to stare out at the flowers and watch the butterflies flit about and take care of their business.

I didn't notice the door open at first until I heard it squeak on its hinges and I turned quickly to greet, who I expected was Terrance. However, to my surprise, I was greeted by a small boy no older than Max's age. He shared many of my same features like my black hair and pale eyes, except, his eyes were blue instead of silver and his hair was much wavier than my own. We both shared the same straight beak-like nose and honestly, if I didn't know that he was related to me, I probably would've guessed I was staring at a clone of myself.

"Who are you?" he wondered bluntly and I was just about to answer when I suddenly heard Terrance call the boy's name from somewhere inside.

"Dylan! You should've let me open the door, go on, go play with your sister," and Terrance eventually appeared in the doorway and ushered his brother away. He chuckled awkwardly as he looked at me.

"Sorry about that, he's a little bold," he chuckled.

"It's okay," I waved him off and Terrance gestured for me to come inside.

"Come on in, come on in," he urged. I stepped inside and the moment my foot touched the foyer, Terrance offered me something to drink. I declined the offer and stared blankly at the interior of the house. It was very modern and clean and the colours were all very cheerful and bright. It was almost blinding because of how used to the same pinkish and brown shades that I was.