Ryan Flame - The Library Window

Stories

Two years earlier

"What do you mean it's a bad idea!" A woman shouted from behind the door to Ryan's parent's room. Three boys sat in front of it. Ryan, Luke, and Lukis, the three sons of the parents argue behind the door.

"I mean it's a bad idea! It's not okay to put any of your kids through that kind of suffering! It is abuse." Their father was a quiet man. Even in the heated discussion about Ryan's fate, he still kept his voice down.

"It will make him a prince!" Ryan looked at the ground as the three continued to listen in. He wasn't sure how crazy his mother had gotten after the party of life she went to a few weeks ago, but he was starting to get the picture.

Ryan blinked and looked over at Luke who had put a hand on his shoulder. Luke's light blue eyes glowed with empathy as he watched his eldest brother. The same blue eyes always looked up to him. Ryan let the pride and joy tickle his heart enough to smile at his brother, but soon that faded as his mother continued shouting.

"He will be unstoppable! Isn't that worth the risk!"

"No! It is not!" Their father shouted. Silence fell over the house as they heard a loud thud. The voices, once loud enough to hear through the door, were now quiet.

'Did dad die?' Lukis's voice drifted through the other triplet's minds. They didn't respond. Ryan stood up silently and motioned them to follow him instead. This was their cue to leave. The situation would only get worse if their parents knew they were listening. The other two understood this and moved out after Ryan.

One after the other they made their way through the red-lined halls. Candles lit their way as they walked towards them, but then went out when they walked away. The red carpet that lined the floor silenced the quiet steps from the boys.

Once they had entered their room Lukis spoke up, "What was mother talking about? Prince? Ya right!" He ran a hand through his brown hair, letting his blue eyes be seen. Lukis was the tallest of the brothers and the one with the most attitude.

"I don't know what she was talking about, but Father seemed really against it. I am assuming it has either mental or physical harm involved." Luke was the smartest one in the group when it came to puzzles or books. From the day he opened his eyes, he was reading books. He was the smallest and the youngest of the three brothers.

"I bet Ryan could handle any kind of abuse, but what kind of mother would do that to her kid? She should have never gone to that stupid festival!" Lukis growled as he flopped onto his bed.

"It was a party, not a festival." Luke corrected as he calmly sat on his bed. "But I do agree. She had no right to go to that party. I am assuming bad people told her fake stories."

"Ya, but what kind of stories?" Lukis frowned as sat up. Ryan had already laid on his bed. His mind was racing. There was no way that his mother would hurt him. He was a good son. The one that always did his chores and looked after his two younger siblings. He made sure that they ate all their food, had enough rest, and even kept them obedient to their parents. So why would his mother want to hurt him?

"What do you think about this Ryan?" Lukis asked, looking over at his brother's calm frame.

Ryan was quiet for a long moment. He wasn't sure what to say. Should he speak his mind or keep his peace? What was on his mind? What did he think of the situation before him? "I don't know." He spoke in a calm voice, his brothers needed him. They were both worried dearly about him, and their worry was valid.

"But I do know that no matter what happens we will be alright." Ryan smiled at his brothers. His heart warmed as they smiled back.

"Ryan is right. Father won't let anything bad happen to any of us. He is the head of the house and the protector. We mustn't get our tails into knots." Luke backed Ryan's words up. Looking at the lighter end of the situation rather than the reality of it.

"Ya. I guess you're right." Lukis grumbled before lying in his bed. "Good night."

"Swell sleep." Luke smiled as he slid under his covers. Both he and Lukis seemed to be at peace. Ryan waited for a second before following suit. His worry did not cease. For you see, his brothers were not there at the beginning of that conversation.

His brothers did not see the look of insanity in his mother's eyes. Nor did they hear the tale that she told her father that night. They got there at the end of the conversation, yes, but they did not hear what hell Ryan's life was about to become.

"Good night," Ryan whispered to his already sleeping brothers. He knew he wouldn't be sleeping well that night.