Bommie's Story: Part 3

Chapter 3: Poison

 "WHAT?" shrieked Bommie. "Dommie is... your son?"

"Yes," Tomasa explained, "Abenation is his father... I was always worried about whether he would get into some trouble because of it. Is this about Abenation again? I thought he was in jail."

"No, not Abenation," Devin answered. "This time it is a direct threat from the Devil World."

Tomasa dropped the cup of coffee she was holding and it shattered all over the ground.

"What... do you mean?" Tomasa asked. "The Devil world?"

Bommie began sweating. All of this was happening so fast. He tried to break the ice, "It's okay! We'll find him... together!" He tried to mimic Devin's tone. But he just got more uncomfortable.

"Um..." Devin began. "Yeah! I know this may seem intense, but it's something we deal with on a day to day basis."

Tomasa engaged in rapid breathing. It felt like she was having a panic attack. But Harold knew exactly what to do. He nudged Tomasa's hand with his soft little nose until she was paying attention to him. Then, he let Tomasa pet him. He even purred a little bit. Tomasa seemed to relax.

Finally, she was ready to talk.

"Should I come with you?" she asked, her voice quavering.

"No," answered Devin. "You really don't know what you're getting into." Devin soon realized that wasn't the right thing to say.

"I miss him..." Tomasa began.

"Huh? He's only been gone for a day." Bommie said bluntly.

"No. I haven't seen him ever since he was a young boy. He left the house a long time ago."

Bommie's eyes widened. Was it possible that Dommie didn't really have a place he called home?

"When did you last see him?" Devin asked, always the logical one.

"I send him to boarding school in London... to get him away from Abenation. It was the only way that I could make sure he would be safe." Tomasa sniffled. Bommie began quietly sobbing at Tomasa's words.

"I had no idea..." Bommie said, shocked, but upset. Bommie knew that if he didn't bring back Dommie alive, he wouldn't see the end of Tomasa's misery.

"Abenation tried to sell out many different things that could be deadly," Tomasa said, tears in her eyes. "I heard he made spin-offs of different foods with slightly sillier names. So avoid those at all costs. They cause brain damage."

"Are you talking about... potartar chaps?" Bommie asked, in disbelief. "I've been eating those my whole life..."

Tears came to his eyes. He couldn't figure out if he was crying because he had eaten so many chaps or because he knew he could never eat a chap again. And it was all about his father! Again. Bommie's eyes quickly shut as he passed out.

"BOMMIE!" yelled Devin. He quickly caught him with his tail, wrapped around his entire body.

"Don't worry, this happens often..." Devin sighed. "But... what are some of the effects of chaps?"

"Oh. There's a lot." Harold said, joining the conversation. "I saw all of them."

"How?" Devin asked. "Did he tell you?"

"No. I've been watching him for a while now. At least until he found me. I have no idea where he went." Harold added, wistfully. "I saw him create chaps."

"He's a very negative person," Harold explained. "He only knows how to make himself feel better by making others feel worse. Chaps was a scheme to both make money and sow destruction. I tried to stop him... that is actually when my accident happened."

Devin was continuing to lick Bommie's face and wake him up. Bommie slowly came to, and looked around him.

"We need to go and find Dommie," were the first words that came out of the newly determined Bommie's mouth. "I can't let anything else bad happen to the people I love."

Tomasa patted his back. "I think you should try his boarding school in Britain... Sir Kensington's School of Distinguished manners. He once said that place felt like home to him..."

A fat tear ran down Bommie's cheek. Tomasa patted Bommie on the back lovingly.

"You need to be strong, Bommie!" she encouraged him. "You need to be strong to bring Dommie back."

Bommie embraced Tomasa for a long time. Then, he set out with Devin to find Quinn. They were going on a trip... to Britain.

After spending two hours walking home, Bommie and Devin were exhausted. But they needed to keep moving. Their plan was simple, ask Mommie's permission to travel to Britain, get Synthia to drive them to the airport, and pick up Quinn on the way.

But first Mommie needed to be convinced.

"Please?" Bommie begged. "I need to go help my friend."

Mommie looked uneasy.

"You need to bring an adult, and I can't travel due to my... injuries. Who will go with you?"

"Quinn!" Bommie shrieked. "Quinn is responsible and will watch over us and guarantee our success and safety."

Mommie didn't want to say yes, but she could see how important this was to Bommie. She sadly nodded her head.

"Mommie, I found out something about Abenation." Bommie paused. "There were others before you."

Mommie's jaw dropped. "Really...?" Bommie sadly nodded. Mommie's face quickly turned into anger. It wasn't like she was jealous, she left Abenation a long time ago. So what was this feeling?

"Yeah... Abenation was with someone named Tomasa." Bommie confirmed. "Dommie is Tomasa and Abenation's child. He's my half-brother..."

Bommie never realized this until he said it out loud. He knew the reason he cared so much about Dommie was because Dommie was part of his family.

"So... I need to find him." Bommie finished, somewhat lamely.

Mommie was overwhelmed. She had spent so many years trying to forget Abenation, and now there was an unfamiliar stirring in her heart. She didn't want to still feel anything about him, but the feelings were coming up.

"Go..." Mommie said, almost choking on her words. "Go find your brother."