There's Always A Plot Twist | Wattys 2023 ✓

36| The Emergence

Kaizen sits in his car with the stereo turned off, leaning back in the drivers seat with the windows wound down.

He spots a small family of three, made up of a mother and her two children, holding hands as they struggle to carry all of their belongings to the picnic.

He wonders where their father is, if there even is one in the picture, thinking up a myriad of reasons why they are all alone.

Kaizen never thought that he'd be having a child so soon in his life but it doesn't scare him, he views this opportunity as a blessing, knowing that he could be the best father for his child when faced with the task.

But when Kenna first revealed the consequential result of their actions, a part of Kaizen did start to panic.

He'd spent his childhood practically raising his younger sister Hannah, especially since their parents were always busy. 

Sure they had nannies and caretakers but it was his bed she'd run to whenever she heard a bang in the night, his hand she'd squeeze onto when they'd cross the street, his knuckles that would bleed when tackling a dummy to the ground.

He always thought that his experiences with that would set him back a few years, maybe consider having children in his thirties, spend his twenties reclaiming borrowed time.

Then he met Kenna, and god had other plans.

"You must be in the dog house if you're hiding out here."

Kaizen doesn't even flinch when Arlo opens the passenger door, having spotted him a few seconds before with a giant packet of Cheetos in hand.

The car shakes as he climbs in and closes the door behind himself. "That's cool, My life's pretty shit right now too."

Kaizen looks over at Arlo in the corner of his eye, meeting his eyes before turning around and lowering his window even more to let some fresh air in. "Yeah, well, you're problems are pretty simple."

"Oh yeah?"

"Just pick a girl bro." Kaizen hesitates, biting down on his molars to restrain himself. "Just...pick one."

Arlo lays his head on the headrest, joining Kaizen outside of himself, knowing that it must have taken a lot for him to say that.

They've been friends for what feels like forever, more like brothers than anything, and yet Arlo can count on one hand the amount of times that Kaizen has pulled him up on his actions.

He only ever does it when he feels like he's crossing lines that he can't return from, always there to pull him back from the abyss and steer him onto another path.

"I'm still figuring it out."

"I know, because you lost your parents, you have a lot to give...but you're not invincible and you're not missing anything. Trying to give your all to two people is eating you up and hurting everyone in the process."

"I hear you."

"You need to decide, which one of them you need to feel good about yourself...and which one could you not see yourself living without."

"And then what? Which do I choose?"

Kaizen shrugs his shoulders. "That's up for you to decide man."

Arlo checks his phone to see if Amber has sent him the message to come pick her up, only now realising that his phone is almost dead.

Before he can say anything, Kaizen hands him the wire to his charger and lets him plug it in, still moving two steps ahead of everyone else.

"Thanks."

"Its whatever, just keep those Cheetos closed. I just got this thing cleaned."

Arlo chuckles, reluctantly throwing the crisp packet in the back but still following his rules. "You know how to fix one of my problems, so what about yours? Got any of that Yoda wisdom for yourself?"

"Me?" Kaizen utters, observing a second family of three, the mother and father swinging their kid by the arms, laughing merrily as if shooting for an advertisement that would probably be about something stupid like butter. "No ideas."

"Why not?"

"She says she wants me. I tell her I love her...but I'm clearly not doing something right." Kaizen smirks, not remembering the last time he felt so utterly lost, so out of control in a situation of his own making. "I don't know what it is and its killing me."

"Have you tried to ask?"

"No."

"Why not?"

Kaizen rolls his eyes, plucking out the first thought that comes to mind. "Because if I have to ask then I've already failed!"

"Is that what you think or is that something your parents told you?"

"I..."

"You...what?" Arlo asks, turning to face his brother.

"...don't know...I don't know."

"Well..." Arlo begins, sighing as he gathers the rest of his thoughts, pushing open the car door to escape from their own funk. "...I may not be a genius, but our thoughts should be out own, no?"

Kaizen nods his head, being able to count on one hand the amount of times that Arlo was able to open up to him enough to give actually good advise. "Yeah, you're right."

"Great, now get your ass out the car and come have some fun. You're going to be a dad in nine months so you need to get it in while you can."

"You're still a pain in my ass." Kaizen declares, hating that Arlo can bring a smile to his face even when he doesn't feel like it.

"Yeah, yeah, don't forget to grab my Cheetos."