The AH family

Chapter 47

"Alright guys, have fun at school." Geoff says, feigning cheer as he drops Michael and Gavin off near their classrooms.

"Bye Geoff!" Michael yells, running to his class.

"Bub-bye Geoff, I'll miss you at school!" Gavin says, hugging his brother's leg.

"I'll miss you too buddy." Geoff bends down to return his brother's embrace. "Now go on, get to your classroom." Gavin nods up at his brother before turning and running in the same direction as Michael. Geoff watches him run, a somber look on his face. He reflects on the time when Jack and he were that young, Ryan was just an infant, barely a year old, Michael, Gavin, and Ray weren't even a thought in their parent's heads yet. Those were simpler times. It was better in some ways, but also, a lot more boring. Yeah, they were happy, but it wasn't until Gavin and Michael were old enough to get into their usual shenanigans that anything really exciting happened.

Suddenly Geoff snaps back to reality. He realizes that maybe, a seventeen year old man standing in the middle of an elementary school hallway, staring at kids may look a bit off. He quickly gathers himself and turns out the door. He walks over to the high school, the building isn't that far away. He wasn't uncomfortable walking that distance, but he did wish that he had brought the car. He decided that Jack should have it, in case Ryan suddenly got worse and had to go to Urgent Care or something. Or if he just needed to send their father to the store for orange juice or whatever it was Ryan wanted. Geoff sighs, he's still really uncomfortable leaving Ryan and Jack alone with him. Jack was way too trusting of him. If Geoff was there, at least he could keep an eye on him. Well, there's nothing he can do about it now.

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"I don't have the money yet, but it's coming, I swear!" Thomas says desperately into the phone.

"We want it this afternoon." The voice on the other end replies.

"This afternoon!" He begins to yell, but quickly drops his voice, peeking over his shoulder to make sure neither of his sons were within earshot. He quickly discovers that no, neither one is nearby, but to be safe he gets up to take his conversation outside. "I need more time than that." He pleads, silently closing the backdoor behind him.

"This isn't a negotiation, Thomas." The man on the phone says sternly. "This afternoon. Remember, we have your son, and we know where to find you. Do not underestimate us. 2 o'clock."

Realizing the man hung up, Thomas throws his phone as hard as he can into the fence, bursting it into a hundred pieces."Damnit!" He runs a hand though his hair. "Where in the fuck am I going to get that money?"