Moving Forward

Nuclear Meltdown

Gabriel's POV

"You don't f*cking get it," I was ready to explode. "We aren't little kids anymore, we learned how to make decisions for ourselves a while ago. You f*ckers may be older than us, but the age sh*t doesn't make you smarter or f*cking better. For the past six god damn f*cking years we have kissed his lead impounded a$$, practically worshipping him. He still doesn't trust us. Well f*ck you both. Once this sh*t a$$ mission is over with, I'm gone. I'm done being a pathetic little minion, never good enough to have him call me by my first name or trusted." I knew I was acting like a wild man, I didn't care. I had f*cked up, I betrayed my best friend for an emotionless robot that would never fully trust any of us. I let the fear of getting kicked out of this family control me when it was an empty shell to begin with. We weren't superheroes, we never rescued the downtrodden or captured the bad guy. We were always a day late and a dollar short.

Luke Taylor had been my best friend from the moment we met. He never cared that most people thought that I was gay because of my interests or that I lived in a dump of a trailer. I was Gabe, his partner in crime. The one who helped him with his pranks and didn't lecture him about his sweet tooth. Sometimes I envied him his happy nature, his ability to look at the bright side of life.

I had been angry with Luke at first. I felt he betrayed me when he stood up for Victor as if he considered him more important than me. I had thought Mr. B had done the right thing by throwing them both off the team, I was jealous and vengeful. What a f*cking jacka$$ I had been. Luke was doing what the rest of us should have done, he was supporting a brother who wasn't being treated fairly. To further compound my error in judgement, I asked to borrow Victor's credit card to get new clothes for school. I had expected him to hand it over, to let me blow a sh*t load of cash on seven guys who had turned their backs on him because he got a chance in a lifetime. I guess you could say I got lucky that he only hung up on me, I had deserved a lot worse.

I swear a demon took control of me, I would be swearing it to my dying day. There was no other explanation for what I did next. I pretended to pull something from my a$$ and hand it to Doc. "Return Mr. B's dick to him, I'm through being screwed over by him. I'll help with this job, but then I'm gone. I quit this team and a f*cking excuse of a family. Let him find someone who enjoys kissing his a$$."

As I turned to walk away, I heard Kota. "Gabe!" He snapped, outraged by my little performance. I gave him the finger, I no longer cared. I wasn't the only one who had turned my back on a brother who had done nothing wrong. I meant every word I had just said. I was a f*cking idiot, giving my loyalty to someone who didn't deserve it.

Sean's POV

I gave a heavy sigh. The team was falling apart and we had no on to blame but ourselves. We acted as if we were their only family, trying to erase their blood family's existence from their lives. We expected them to act as adults, but treated them like the ten-year-olds we first met. We were trying to keep them from growing up, controlling their every move. Owen, especially, needed to ease up on the reins. They were teenagers, they wanted and needed some independence. The tighter we held on, the harder they would fight to get free. It was human nature, the need we all have to make our own choices. Both Owen and I went through it, so why were we trying to prevent the boys from becoming men? I knew the answer, we were afraid that they would leave us. It wasn't being done to protect them, it was pure selfishness on our part. We were greedy, we didn't want to share them with anyone.

I thought of Victor and felt guilty. We were using a double standard. I have trained to become a doctor since I was fifteen, yet, we insisted that Victor turn down the special program at MIT. Special programs weren't offered to just anyone, they only accepted a select few. It wouldn't have hurt us to let Victor attend the program, he could have returned to Charleston to work with the team during holidays and summers. Having an Electrical Engineer on the team would have been a huge asset, the favors would have poured in. By kicking him off the team, we just gave the asset to another team. It was the same with Luke.

Nathan's POV

It wasn't the same without Victor and Luke. Gabe was an emotional mess and serious about quitting the team when we finished this job . The lecture Doc gave us yesterday had angered all of us. How dare he tell us that Mr. B couldn't trust us, not after Vic and Luke quit the team. The dumba$$ had it wrong, they hadn't quit the team, they had been kicked off by a petty tyrant. Gabe was right, Owen Blackbourne was only happy when everyone was kissing his bony a$$. No more kissing a$$ for me.

I grabbed my school transcripts and headed to Kota's. Erica was going to help me figure out what I needed to do for college. Kota and I would select what colleges we would apply to later. We hoped to attend the same college, join the same fraternity. Victor and Luke were sticking together, so would we.