A pair of empty rope swings swayed in the gentle, autumn breeze. The swings were old. Paint was chipped and peeling off, exposing the worn wood underneath. The tree that was holding the swings seemed just as old with gnarled branches that were thick and growing around the rope, permanently keeping the swings in place. A tall man stood in front of the great tree. His hands were in the pockets of his black suit jacket and his head hung low in sorrow. The man's curly blonde hair was obscuring his face but tears gently ran down his cheeks and eventually dropped into the grass by his feet.
Scott watched this scene with his sister from afar. He too was dressed in a black suit and his sister was in a modest black dress with a black veil over her face. The teen was also crying with her face pressed against her eldest brother's chest. Scott had his arms around her in an attempt to silently comfort her but still watched his other brother in the backyard. The dark haired man sighed. "This is going to be hard on him, Adria."
The thirteen year old looked up at Scott. "Yes." Her blue eyes were still wet with tears as she looked out the window of their father's house. Adria was going to have to face the pains of womanhood alone without a mother to guide her.
Scott's brother soon collected himself and walked back inside. He held no emotion in his face but his honey brown eyes betrayed his deep sorrow. The blonde walked up to his older brother and said, "Where is Kristine?"
"She's not here. Said she was busy." Scott replied softly. His brother's eyes revealed more sorrow as he nodded and walked away. Scott watched his brother go to the other side of the room and sit down in a chair. The eldest brother was startled when he heard movement behind him that came from his father who was walking to the blonde. Scott grabbed his father's arm and pleaded, "Don't be hard on him. He's suffered enough." His father scoffed and pulled away. Then he yanked the blonde out of his chair and pulled him outside. There was nothing Scott could do about his father's harsh criticism towards his brother.
Adria looked at her brother. "Scott... Dad blames him for mom's death...."
Scott's face went pale. "I need to help him."
"Go." Said Adria.
Scott left his youngest sibling and went outside to find his brother with a straight face and held no emotion still. The only exception were his eyes which burned with pure hatred, anger, and frustration. His father, on the other hand, just kept a straight face. He didn't even hold emotion in his eyes as he softly spoke to the blonde. Scott could not hear what was said but he heard the deep buzzing of his father's voice. "Dad!" Scott called out.
His father stopped speaking and turned to face his elder son. "Not now Scott. Your brother and I are having a.... needed conversation."
"Actually, I need to borrow Eli for a second." Scott persisted. His father narrowed his eyes but said no more.
Gratefulness flashed across Eli's eyes as he swiftly moved towards his brother. "Thank you." The blonde said softly. The father watched with a scowl on his face as the two men walked away.
Once they were out of earshot, Scott promptly said, "You need to not let him boss you around. Your a grown adult. You could actually press charges if you wanted to at this point."
"And what's that gonna do? Stop him?" Eli said with a cross face and started to walk away. "It would only make it worse." He added softly.
Scott watched has his younger brother walked away with his head low. He wished that something could be done to help...
