The Fragile the Broken and the Brave

4. Told Off

7.20.20

I dove around another corner, but when I looked back Connor wasn't behind me. As I spun around, I saw him in the intersection of the corridors underneath his papa, and his arm reached out for me. "Leave me behind," he shouted like we were in some dramatic movie, and I decided to play along.

"But Conny! We were supposed to do this forever! You were supposed to be my partner in crime."

"Benji, I can't be saved. The beast mauled my legs... Run, I'll only slow you down." At that moment, he decided to play dead, and I had to fight to contain my giggles.

"I'll always remember you," I acknowledged, but when his papa turned to stare at me with his hawk eyes, I spun on my toes to sprint away. However, when I rotated, I almost ran over a man just standing there. His unamused baby blue eyes stared up at me while he slow clapped, and I realized that I was trapped. "Goodbye cruel world." It was just a joke, but the person in front of me's eyes faltered with a bit of sadness. I found it entertaining that a grown man was shorter than me, but I would never say that to him. His glare is scary!

"Thanks for the help, Jack. I thought having one of them was hard."

"Pfft, you were bad back in the day too. That one got it from you... Wait where did Connor go?"

"Damn it! Here, take this." The short man caught me from falling after I got pushed, and I smiled nervously. Left alone with a creepy man and my own thoughts... I'm going to die.

"Come on, we have a special room for when y'all teenagers act up."

"Where are you taking me?" He was not helping with my anxiety in the slightest.

"Oliver's office."

***

"Sit down, the both of you. Care to explain to me why this has happened?" Connor's dad is extremely scary, but the boy didn't seem frightened at all. In fact, it was quite the opposite. He was being bold and up in his father's face.

"I don't understand why y'all are so strict about this stuff. It's not like we're actually doing anything dangerous! We didn't even mix up the information in them, we just switched the order. Trust me, I know when my actions graduate from fun to plain stupid."

"Connor Nikolas you sit your ass down this instant and listen to me!"

"I am listening, I'm just saying that your opinions are stupid."

"Don't you make me."

"Make you what?"

"Make Ariel next in line."

"Dad you wouldn't! I've been training since three!"

"Then sit down and listen!"

Whatever they meant, it made Connor sit down on his chair real quick. Eh, it's probably not important. "Yes sir!" Real nice squeak, Connor, you sound like Mickey Mouse on helium. You can't blame it on puberty this time.

"My husband told me to yell at you both, but I really don't want to so I'm going to exaggerate RANDOM words so that HE thinks I'm actually yelling at YOU! I do WISH you wouldn't DISRESPECT me when you KNOW I would NEVER actually yell at you WHEN the PRANK is harmless. BENJI you're a lovely BOY and I HOPE you settle WELL into our HOME!" My eyes widened, and I watched the father and son begin giggling. "My HUSBAND actually thinks I'm TELLING you off when I DO THIS, so don't WORRY about getting in MORE TROUBLE! That's WHY we stared the WAY we did is because HE starts out LISTENING closely, but NOW we can GET AWAY WITH THIS! Would EITHER OF YOU like a drink?"

"Yes SIR!" I played along, and he nodded approvingly.

"Now TAKE this AND SHUFFLE it between your hands BECAUSE IT MIGHT be cold." I took the glass of water he handed me, and I noticed that it was really cold. I shrugged my shoulders and drank from the cool glass, and the chilled water slid down my throat nicely.

"FATHER permission to STORM out?"

"Go AHEAD!"

Conner stood up from his chair and hit it against the wall dramatically, and he slammed the door open loudly. "I hate you!" As he stomped down the hallway, I looked at the man in shock.

"Olive?" I rejected the offer with a giggle before adjusting my face so that I looked upset. I walked out of the room with my head down, and I called tears into my eyes as I walked down the hallway. I wasn't actually feeling super sensitive since the numb had came back, but I could pretend.

"Benji? Are you okay?" Papa looked at me with concern, and I jerked my head up to look at him. I sniffled at a convenient moment, and the man wrapped his arms around my shoulders. "What happened."

"The way he told us off reminded me of dad," I sobbed, and I knew that he felt bad about it.

"I'm sorry, I didn't intend to evoke your memories. Just... Please don't touch the stuff in my office."

"Yes sir." My forehead rested on his shoulder as I cried, and I soon realized that the tears had grown real. The support he's giving me now really did remind me of my dad.

"Now... One of my old friends is coming over tonight, and he makes food to die for. Come downstairs at 6:30, and try not to get lost. There are some things in these walls that you shouldn't see."

I nodded slowly before pulling away, and I wandered upstairs while wiping my eyes. "Hey, was that too much?" Conner asked as I walked up the stairs.

"No, I just got reminded of..."

"I'm sorry, Benji. Don't worry about it, okay? If you ever need a shoulder to cry on, I'm here."

"Y'all are cute together," a voice declared from the shadows, and I jumped about five feet in the air.

"Emile, you can't keep doing that!"

"What did I do?" A nineteen year old boy stepped out of the darkness, and I noticed how his expression was slightly sad. However, I was distracted when a little black and white cat rolled out from behind him, and I remembered suddenly how much I adore the cute little things.

"You did that weird talk from the shadows thing. Your dad did that to me once and I punched his nose."

"Emile, it's time for your daily meditation session!" A man in his late thirties appeared around the corner, and he waved his arms around wildly while complaining about one thing or another. His kid's expression dropped like a rock, but he managed to produce a small, fake smile.

"Bye, I'll see you later."

"Uhh who's he?"

"I think the technical term is first cousin once removed, but he's always just been my cousin because who has time for that many words." Connor shrugged nonchalantly, so I knew he really didn't care. However, I could tell that they were pretty close when they could be.

"That is a lot of words."

"You get used to it. My family is large and very strange; I have 5 siblings, 2 cousins, 1 living uncle, my grandparents, my great grandparents, my crazy grand uncle, and then his son which you just met. That's just those who live in this mansion."

"That's absolutely insane."

"It kind of is. Now go get ready for dinner."

"Food!"