When we were wallflowers

23

Papa forced Alfred to sit down, and he began to close the blinds shut. "Hey, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have escalated the situation," I spoke. Papa looked at me, worried, and shook his head. "Surprisingly, I'm not mad, just really worried about what will happen," he laughed. We both looked to Alfred, who was tapping his foot angrily. He had blood on his hands and was a mess.

We both were.

I walked over to Alfred slowly and plopped myself beside him. My shirt was covered in blood, and some of it dried on my face and pants. I was starting to get a headache from it. "Matthew sit down; I will get towels," Papa spoke. I nodded at him, and he quickly ran off.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have told you to fight him," I spoke. Alfred stopped fidgeting and looked at me straight. "Don't be sorry; I wanted to punch him for a long time. I did not want you to be disappointed, but once I started, it was like all the anger I had built up was being released. Even the anger that had nothing to do with him. I got out of control, and I am sorry you saw me like that," he responded.

I shook my head at him and took a deep breath. "Don't ever be sorry," I started. I smiled at him, and Papa rushed back with two wet towels. He handed one to Alfred and began to wipe the blood off his hands. Papa knelt in front of me and started to help wipe the blood off my face. "Does your nose hurt?" Papa asked. "A little, but I will be fine," I responded. Papa looked at me sadly, and I grabbed the towel from him so that I could wipe my face.

He grabbed Alfred's hands, then mine, and looked at the two of us. "How long has this been going on? Is he the one that broke your arm?" Papa asked. I felt nervous, and I could not look at him. "He wasn't the one that broke my arm...his friend did..." I finally admitted.

Papa looked at me, shocked, and I looked to Alfred, who had a face full of regret. "It has been going on since the first day of school..." Alfred spoke. Alfred looked down sadly, and I looked to our Papa, who had so much regret on his face. "I am so sorry; This is my fault; I should not have taken-"

"No! Do not say that! please!" Alfred started.

"People suck...no matter where you go. We thought we could handle it, but it started to get out of hand," I explained. Our Papa still looked sad, and I could tell he wanted to cry.

But he didn't.

"Do you want to move schools? What can I do?" He asked. "No! I do not want to move!" Alfred started. I felt the same way and nodded in agreement. "I do not think he will mess with us anymore after that; he would be stupid to do that," I reassured. Papa breathed out sadly and sat between us. He put his arms around us, bringing us closer. "I know it has been challenging, but do not be afraid to talk to me. Please...That is all I want from the two of you. I just want you to be able to speak to me. Do you promise to tell me things from now on?" He asked.

I felt despondent about the whole situation. I looked at Alfred, who looked like his world was crashing down around him. This was hard and made me wonder what our dad would have said if he had been here. "I can not bare watching the people I love most get hurt. Do not cause me more heartbreak. I love you, bother, and want only the best. Please promise you will speak to me; that is all I ask of you," Papa added.

I nudged my head into him more and nodded. "Yes, we promise...we will not hide anything from you anymore," I spoke. "Thank you, now, what has happened? You both need to tell me everything that they have done," Papa said. I looked over to Alfred, who had a horrified look. I was thinking about what had happened to him, but I was sure he was not ready to say anything. "There is one thing..." He started.

My eyes widened, and I looked at him. I felt my heart shatter as I watched him struggle for his words. "The day that Matthew fell down the stairs... I waited in the library and decided to go and check on him early, but before I did, I went to the restroom," Alfred started.

My eyes widened more.

He was finally saying what had happened to him.

"And what happened?" Papa asked, his voice cracking in the process. "Ivan came into the restroom and locked me inside...this was minutes before I heard Matthew fall from the stairs."

To think he was going through something like that while I was dealing with Adnan. It was like they split us up on purpose. "Ivan...he..." Alfred started. Suddenly...Tears began to fall from his eyes. "What did he do?" Papa asked. He looked at Alfred sadly and was preparing himself mentally. I was sure that he understood what had happened. "He forced himself on me...so I punched him," Alfred cried.

"Oh god..."

The way his voice broke was like the night he found out about our dad.

"I am so sorry," Papa cried. His eyes began to tear up, and he held us closer. Alfred began to cry into his arms, and I held onto him tightly. Hearing Alfred's sobs made me start crying too. "My babies, it's okay... I am here," Papa spoke. He was holding in his feeling and kept us close. Why was our family cursed to go through so much heartbreak? What did we do to deserve all of this? " Do you both want to go back? We can move back to Europe and stay with your aunt in France. We can go back if you want," Papa suggested.

However, Alfred and I did not respond.