Being a Barrow - A Sequel to Barrow's Boy

Pain Turns to Tears

Who are the characters from the Christmas special, you ask? Well, that is for all of you to figure out. 

They will be back, so I suggest that you read the chapter if you haven't already :). Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming.

     "Thomas-" One look from the butler had Mr. Bates backtracking, "Mr. Barrow, if you have a moment-"

     "What is it, Bates?"

     "Theodore just ran past me on the stairs. Well, ran into me, though he did apologize-"

    Confused, Thomas began rising from his seat. Bates, of all people, didn't talk to him about Teddy for no reason.

     "He seemed rather upset."

     "Thank you," Thomas said simply, walking around the valet to find his son. It wasn't a hard guess to determine where he had gone so, climbing the stairs, Thomas beelined for Teddy's room. It was much more bare now, with so much of Teddy's belongings now residing in his dorm room, but the fact remained that it had been his for six years and would be his for as long as Thomas had a say. Sure enough, there were muffled sounds coming from the other side of it. 

     Thomas knocked, then walked in, closing the door behind him. Theodore sat on the floor in the corner, staring at a pile of random things in front of him. 

     "Ted?" Theodore looked up. "What's going on? What are you doing?"

     One by one, Teddy began picking up items from the pile. 

    "Abi gave me this book as part of my gift for my birthday." He put that one to the side. "She gave me these cufflinks last Christmas, and she painted these and gifted them to me, and she gave me my bloody car. A car, Dad!"

     "Yes?"

     "So why?" Teddy turned back to the items, shaking his head. "Why does she think that we need to stop? I thought we were good. That we could talk and be fine. Why?"

     "What do you mean stop?" Thomas asked, walking further into the room. Teddy swallowed, then looked up at his dad. Thomas' heart dropped.

     "Teddy, I'm so sorry." Thomas sat on the ground across from his son, ignoring the soreness of his knees as he got down. "I don't get it either, and I'm so sorry."

     "I'm not even sad yet," Teddy confessed, "just confused. Shocked. I wasn't expecting it."

     Sadness would come, of that Thomas was sure, but it wouldn't do any good for him to say as much right now. 

     "Hurt," Teddy landed on. "I'm hurt."

     "And you have every right to be," Thomas replied, taking Teddy's hands. 

     Right before Christmas, Teddy had lost the person closest to his heart. Thomas' own heart went out to him for that. 

     "I don't know what to do with myself."

     "You don't have to do anything if you don't want to," Thomas offered. Teddy shook his head, and Thomas tried again. "Do you want some friends to come by?"

      "Maybe."

     "I'll see what I can do."

      The sadness came, as was to be expected, and Theodore secluded himself in his room for the time being. He would come down for meals, plastering on as realistic of a smile as he could. At one meal, Anna asked about Abi. Theodore's face had fallen, and nobody asked again.