When we were wallflowers

9

"How was your day? Tell me everything!" Papa smiled. He had set the table up for dinner and waited for us to come home. Matthew and I agreed not to mention anything to him. We didn't want him to be stressed out. He was too stressed as it was. "Alfred, where are your glasses?" Papa asked. "Ah! I dropped them! The lens popped out," I explained. "Oh, do you still have the extra pair? We can get you a new set too," papa smiled. He was too good for this world. "Yes, I have my spare, and that would be nice, thank you," I smiled.

"You too, Matthew! I think it's time for the eye doctor," papa laughed. "Yeah, I guess you might be right," Matthew spoke. He took his glasses off and looked at us without them. "Have you met any nice kids?" Papa asked. The question stung Matthew and me, and we froze. "Ah, not really, maybe eventually," Matthew smiled.

~
That night, Matthew and I sat in my room talking. "What should we do about Ivan and that other guy? I don't think they will stop soon," Matthew spoke. I began to mess with my fake sword and pointed it at him. "Worry not, dear brother! I will protect us!" I spoke in a noble accent. "How? Dad said no fighting," he said. "Not with fists! But with my heart! They can try and tear us down and insult us! But I will smile at them! Plus, it would scare them!" I laughed.

Deep down, I knew a plan like that would not work.

"I'm not sure, but we should still try to make friends," Matthew said. "Yes, I know! I will put in the effort, I promise," I whispered. I began to smack his head with the styrofoam sword. He laughed at me and began to smack it away. We both sat in silence, and I looked at my desk, which had a picture of our dad. We would have been more vocal about what happened today if he had been here. Both papa and dad would have gone next door by now.

"I miss him," I whispered. I placed my head on Matthew's shoulder, and he leaned his head on top of mine. "Me too..." he whispered.

~
The next day, Matthew and I decided to walk to school without telling our papa. It was okay, and I missed the walking anyway. "Have you met anyone interesting in your later classes?" I asked. "Eh, not really, there is this one person I would like to talk to, but he seems a little scary," Matthew laughed.

"Scary? How?"

"Umm, I suppose it's more intimidating," he laughed.

"What about you?"

"I haven't; however, in one of my classes, there are usually supposed to be two people per desk, and there was a name on the seat beside me, but no one there. I think they might have been absent, so I hope they are nice," I explained. "I'm sure they will be! How about we try and make friends with the people we mentioned!" Matthew suggested.

"Yeah! We can make it a competition! Whoever brings a friend over first is the winner!" I cheered. Matthew laughed at me as we continued to walk. "What will the winner get?" He asked. I thought for a moment about all the possibilities. When it comes to him, I like his destiny two games, but he never lets me play.

"If I win! You will let me play that game of yours!"

"What?! You will mess up everything!"

"If I'm the winner, it seems fair!"

"Ugh! Fine! If that's the case, then if I win, you will let me use your telescope that you won't even let me look at!" He laughed. My eyes widened, and I felt determination run through my veins. "Now it is on! No way in hell are you touching my expensive telescope!" I laughed. I held my hand out for him to shake, and he grabbed my hand firmly. "Deal then! You are on!" He laughed.

"Oh! And to add fuel to the bet, the winner will eat the loser's dessert for a week!" He grinned. My eyes widened, and I glared at him. "So not fair!" I laughed. "I'm sure it won't be hard to make a friend, especially if someone sits next to me. Don't be such a cocky brother! You are the anti-social one!" I exclaimed.

This was going to be a breeze! No way in hell was he going to have the balls to go up to someone. Also, I'd rather die than lose to him. "We will see about that!" He laughed.

As we got closer to school, I began to check my phone a couple more times before I put it on silent. As much as I loved being on my phone, I didn't want it to get taken away. "Oh, uncle Gilbert texted me," Matthew spoke. I lifted an eyebrow and looked at him. "Really? What did he say?" I asked. "Hmm, he asked how papa and we are doing," he explained.

"He worries so much," I spoke. Our uncles on our dad's side always text Matthew as well. It is because he always answers everyone. Our uncles on our dad's side saw us before we left, and they had a crying fit, asking papa if he was sure he wanted to move. It was because our dad's grave was in Scotland, and we would not be able to visit it as often. However, papa insisted that we needed to get away.

Our other "uncles," Gilbert and Antonio, are around us more than on our dad's side. It is not bothersome; they live in different countries, so it's hard. Our aunt, Lucille, lives in France and promised to come to visit us soon. When she found out about our dad, she came to visit me in the hospital every day. Matthew told me that she insisted on taking care of me while papa and Matthew dealt with the aftermath. Papa still worried and visited every day, but the stress was lighter, knowing his sister was there to change my clothes and ensure I was well kept.

My uncles on my dad's side helped plan the funeral with our papa, and they waited for me to wake up. It was hard on papa, but they gave me a time limit.

They didn't want me to wake up and not see our dad anymore, so they waited nearly a month. Matthew told me papa didn't say much during the time. I was sure it killed papa knowing that his husband stayed in an ice box.

I woke up and nearly a month passed, and our dad was waiting to be buried. To me, being asleep felt like no time had passed. I felt even more guilty that he was stuck in the morgue.