2 kids

Painful memories pt. 2

Alex.

The man looked at the two boys over for him.

He knew why they had come. Yet he was still surprised by their presence. It was clear that he didn't know how to approach this situation. He had seen the boys many times before, taking special interest in them. They weren't strangers. Could you call two thirteen year old boys and a man in his twenties friends?

Regardless of their relationship, he felt a strong feeling of responsibility now. He felt the need to protect them, knowing they were here alone.

The younger boy looked just like him. Like a carbon copy of him, reflection in the mirror. Hard to believe they weren't the same person, one from the future, one from the past. Not only did they resemble each other visually, but they also resembled each other in their behaviour - the way they spoke, the way they thought. They resembled each other in literally everything. So the man knew it was no surprise the boy was now standing here, demanding answers. He knew he'd figure it out sooner or later.

"What's going on?"

Did the man call him earlier, the boy wondered. He wanted to ask that too, but first things firsts.

The man looked at the boys. He would suggest they take a seat, but he knew they'd both decline. This wasn't a business meeting; these were two desperate boys demanding answers. And God be the witness, he knew they wouldn't leave until they didn't get them.

"Nothing you two need to worry about."

One thing was them already knowing about it all and being dragged into it. Another thing was dragging them deeper. They really didn't need to know about this. They didn't need to know how involved they were in reality.

Elliot would kill him if he found out.

The younger boy took a step closer. "I don't agree."

"You don't agree," the man repeated calmly. "That's not up to you."

He was feeling strangely small. These two boys, half his age, made him feel small. He wanted to laugh. It felt like a joke to him. He had to be the older, stronger one. He couldn't let these two boys make him feel small. For if he felt small, there was no one else left to protect them.

"I don't agree either," the older boy spoke up. "Where's Elliot?"

Straight to the point, the man thought. "He's not here, that I can say for sure."

The older boy continued to speak while the younger one eyed him carefully. "We figured that out ourselves. He left ten hours ago and hasn't gotten in touch yet. Something is clearly going on. We want to know what, and we want to know where he is."

It was pointless to lie to them, but he still tried. "Nothing you two should be worried about."

The boys scoffed in unison. And the man wondered if it was perhaps possible for three boys to resemble each other so much.

"That's a lie," the younger one spoke this time. "Clearly something is going on. You're tense, Elliot is tense. Your people are tense. It's empty here and the few people left are tense as well. You've gotten yourself in some trouble and I'd like to know where my brother is."

He was intelligent. Maybe even too intelligent for his age; for the man to know what to say. Fast to put two and two together. He didn't want lies, white or real. He just wanted the truth – with whatever consequences come along.

"It has nothing to do with you two, so I suggest you go home. There's no need for you two to worry about anything."

"I worry about my brother." His voice was ice cold and sharp, tone flat. That wasn't the voice of a thirteen year old child. "Especially when there's a situation like this and he's been gone for ten hours."