Never Too Late

Chapter Ten

Luke walked towards the parking lot angrily, and as soon as he got to his dad's car, he reached into his pocket for a cigarette, but when he glanced around, he saw that his brother had followed him, and he closed the distance between them quickly.

"What is your problem!?" Johan asked angrily as he stared him down.

"You're my problem!" Luke told him, annoyed that he had tagged along.

The entire week during school had been a nightmare for him as news spread of Johan's existence. His close friends had been curious about his brother's situation and didn't mind him, but the other students had been brutal. When they found out that Johan grew up in foster care and was in a special class for slow learners, he became the topic of all the gossip around school, and due to his popularity and past scuffles, his enemies and opposers were all too happy to ridicule him.

This was what Luke had dreaded the most; all he wanted was for his last year of high school to be his best and most memorable, but everything was falling apart because of his brother. He was clueless about the type of life he lived and what it took to gain the respect of his peers.

"Why are you always in my way!?" Luke continued. "What do you want!?"

"What did I ever do to you!?" Johan answered, irate as he stepped up to him. "You've done nothing but insult and antagonize me all week!"

A wave of anger came over Luke at his brother's words because he couldn't believe he was so oblivious to the damage he'd done to his reputation or how his parents fawned over him like a sick dog. He had also missed two weeks of school, visiting family, so they could meet Johan, and it left him behind in baseball practice as well as academics. He had tolerated Johan so far, but now he felt he was at his limit.

"You've been nothing but a headache since you showed up! Why don't you leave me alone!" Luke shouted as his anger boiled over.

"Fine," Johan responded quietly. "If you stay out of my way, I'll stay out of yours."

"Oh, you mean like how you stayed out of my way by following me here?" Luke scoffed. "You're a joke, no wonder your foster parents kicked you out."

As he laughed scornfully at Johan, he watched as his brother took a step back and put a hand over his face before sighing.

"I tried..." He mumbled and gave Luke a lightning-quick punch to the throat that sent him flying against the fence behind him. Shocked by what just happened, Luke tried to pull himself to his feet but was left gasping for air from his brother's jab. However, when he looked up at Johan, he could see he was glaring down at him in disgust, which enraged him enough to spring to his feet and punch him right across the face.

***
Johan and Luke's father looked in the direction his sons had gone, hoping to see them return any minute.

"What's taking them so long?" He murmured to himself with growing concern. Silently, he chastened himself for not acting sooner to dispel the anger growing between the boys. Now he could tell they couldn't stand each other, and he wondered if there was anything he could do at this point.

"Jacob," his wife said, taking his hand. "I'm glad that we all got to spend the day together."

"Yes, of course." He answered, knowing that despite everything that had happened, he had his whole family together again, and that's what mattered most.

"Dad?" Rachel called, distracting him from his thoughts. "Do you think I went too far? I mean, I was just trying to get them to talk to each other."

"Rachel, it's not your fault." He reassured his daughter. "They'll sort things out with time."

As soon as he finished speaking, he noticed the fence behind them was shaking, and shortly after, a woman ran by saying two boys were fighting in the parking lot. Instantly, Jacob jumped to his feet and ran to the parking lot to see Johan pinning Luke to the fence and repeatedly punching him right before Luke gave him a kick to the chest and returned the blows.

It was a full-on brawl with violent blows being exchanged as onlookers gasped at the sight of the two boys, but immediately, Jacob went and tore them apart before either of them got seriously hurt.

"Both of you, that's enough!" He said, pulling them aside.

Deciding he was done dealing with their behavior, he went and got Rachel and his wife before packing up and leaving. He held his anger back on the journey home, but when they arrived and their mother was treating their injuries, he finally decided to have a word with them.

"What was that today?" He asked angrily, disappointed at his two boys. "Both of you are eighteen, you're not toddlers!"

Johan and Luke remained silent, refusing to look at each other or their father.

"Did you two even consider how much trouble you've caused!?" He said angrily, remembering how much effort his wife had put into planning this day.

"Dear, it's okay." His wife said, trying to make light of the situation, but Jacob couldn't agree.

"It's not alright." He said, shaking his head. "I don't know what the problem is between you two, but you both need to sort it out. You're both grounded for a week."

"What! That's not fair! He started it!" Luke said, finally breaking his silence and pointing at Johan, who sat ignoring him. He had bruises all over him, but he didn't seem to care as his anger took over.

"I don't care, now sit down!" He ordered Luke, who did so begrudgingly.

"What's that?" Johan asked with the right side of his face bruised.

"What?" Jacob questioned.

"You said I was grounded. What does that mean?" Johan asked, confused, and he paused for a moment.

"I'll tell you later, right now, you both need to get cleaned up, but this isn't the end of the matter." Leaving to get the first aid kit for his wife, he wondered if he was doing the right thing or if he was only adding more fuel to the flame.