Nolan sat up slightly "What do you mean it's a real mystery?" he asked as he placed his elbows on the table. Gabe shrugged. "just wait and see." he told his brother, patting him on the head softly. Gabe walked over to the fridge and grabbed the carton of milk, drinking straight from the spout. Katharine groaned and grabbed a wooden spoon from the drawer and hit him in the back.
"Ah mom, what was that for?" he asked as he rubbed his hand against the tender area on his back. Katharine scoffed and took the carton of milk from his hands. "Do that again and it will be much, much harder." she threatened him as she held the spoon out in front of her to prove her point. Gabe held his hands up, signaling that he wouldn't do it again.
Nolan smiled and turned back to his homework and continued to work silently. He glanced up every so often to check on how much longer he has to wait for dinner to be ready. He turned his phone on and put his earbuds in to drown out his older brothers complaining which could still be heard throughout the house.
Gabe groaned and walked away from the tense situation that he created in the kitchen. His parents went back to cooking the food. Gabe walked into the living room and sat down on the couch. he crossed his arms over his chest and waited. Gabe stared at the clock for a moment and then collapsed on the couch. he threw an arm over his eyes and let out an irritated sound.
Dinner was soon ready and the family of four, along with their Australian Shepard, Adley. they sat silently as they slowly sipped on their drinks and ate their clam chowder. "Gabe, I heard that you were thinking about going on a trip," His father said to him as everyone looked up from their dinner, "Where exactly were you thinking?" he asked. Gabe straightened up and looked over to meet the gaze of his father.
"I have been saving up so that I can take a road trip around some parts of Europe," He told the three of them as he looked around at his family, "I have been preparing for months, gathering necessities and building in the van," he told them as Nolan's eyes went wide. "Wait he's been doing what to the van?" Nolan asked as he looked towards his parents for confirmation.
"Well, you know that we have a second car. We don't really use the van much, Gabe decided to buy it from us." Daniel told his son as he looked at the awestruck facial expression that Nolan showed. "But Dad, we literally just used the van yesterday." Nolan said to his father, not happy with the outcome of this certain situation. "And he bought it from us yesterday Nolan." His father said nonchalantly to his younger son.
Gabe smirked at his younger sibling and leaned back in his chair. "However," Katharine interrupted, "Gabrial was only keep to buy the car under two circumstances. The first is that he can only go if he proves that he can be safe. The second is that he will take you." she told the two of them. Gabe, who was eating some of his vegetables dropped his fork and let it clatter against his plate. Nolan on the other hand was taking a sip of his water when he heard his mother speak.
Nolan spat out his water and coughed for a moment before grabbing a napkin and wiping away the water on the table. He then shook his head. "No way I would ever spend a month in a van with him," he told his mother in disgust. "Three months actually," Gabe said to Nolan as he propped his chin up with his hand. Nolan rolled his eyes. "I could never do that. I can barely stand him for more than 1 hour a day," he argued. "To be honest I trust Nolan more than I do you, Gabe," Daniel told his eldest son. Gabe scoffed. "that's ridiculous!" he yelled as he stood up. "Okay, if you can prove that you are responsible and trustworthy, we will help you with your trip," Katharine suggested to Gabe. Gabe nodded and looked over at his mother. "deal." he announced as he walked away.
Nolan looked over at his parents. "Why are you letting me do this? I have school and I should probably go," he told them. "Nolan, you will be in your second semester when you go and your work will all be online so you can access it from your computer." His mother told him. Daniel leaned forward to be closer to his son. "Nolan you need to get out, you are always inside and studying. you need to get out and do something." He stated.
He groaned. "Seriously," he said to his parents. "What about school?" He asked them. His mother looked up at him. "Online, all of your courses can be accessed by the internet," she said to him as he nodded slowly. "I still think this is a horrible idea, just by the way," he told the two of them. His father slowly smiled at Nolan and stood up and took the empty plates.
Nolan got up after his father, not really wanting to talk to his parents or his brother about what could happen. Adley followed behind him, his tail wagging as he followed Nolan up to his bedroom. Nolan sighed and walked over to his bed. He laid down and took his prosthetic off. Adley jumped up onto Nolan's bed and curled up at the bottom.
Nolan sighed and ran a hand through his hair out of stress. His parents always knew what was best for him so obviously, he was taking that into consideration. However, he would never want to spend 3 months in a van with his older brother. They didn't exactly have a picture-perfect relationship, or any relationship really. Gabe was 11 years older than him and never really talked to him when they were little kids.
Nolan closed his eyes, he was ready to let sleep take him.
