Words [Riley Matthews]

13 ~ home

Justin and Emma picked Gabriel from school like always. Gabriel had a few extra minutes for his siblings.

"Sorry we're late," Justin said. "I got held up at school."

"Sure," Gabriel said. "Let's go home."

"We'll see you tonight, Gabe, right?" Lucas asked Gabriel as he was walking.

"Yeah," Gabriel confirmed.

"Great," Lucas smiled.

"Who's that?" Emma asked.

"No one," Gabriel responded. "He's just a friend from school."

"What's his name?" Justin asked, tilting his head.

"It doesn't matter," Gabriel said. "Let's just go," he said as he adjusted his backpack's strap.

"What's the matter with you?"

"Nothing," he responded.

"Fine, let's go home," Emma said.

The three siblings headed to the subway station so they can head home together. Gabriel stared down at his notebook in the subway train. Instead of writing like always, he drew.

"What are you drawing?" Justin asked.

He leaned over to look, but Gabriel wouldn't let him see it. Gabriel closed his notebook halfway and move his notebook away.

"Okay, then," Justin said.

Gabriel put his notebook on his lap again and reopened it. He continued to draw in his notebook. They soon arrived at the apartment and the trio went to their apartment. Gabriel immediately went to his bedroom.

Right when he got there, he dropped his backpack by his desk and Gabriel dropped his notebook on his desk. He walked over to his bed and collapsed on it.

***

Gabriel started on his homework just so he doesn't have much to do when he comes back home from the library.

"Gabe, why haven't you been answering my calls or texts messages?" Grant asked his son.

"Because of some assignment Mr. Matthews wants us to do in school," Gabriel said.

"What's the assignment?" Grant asked.

"Like you'd care," Gabriel said.

"Gabe, I do care," Grant said.

"If you really did care than you wouldn't have left me to dust," Gabriel looked at his father in anger. "You focus all your time at work or with Emma and Justin! Never with me! How do you think that makes me feel?"

"Look, Gabe, I'm sorry," Grant said. "I really am. It's just since what happened to your mother, it's just been a lot for me to handle."

"Yeah, right," Gabriel said, rolling his eyes. "That would've worked on me when I was younger, but it doesn't now. Tell me the truth. Why are spending less time with me and more time at work and Emma and Justin? I want to know the real reason. I don't want to hear some made up excuse."

"Gabe, trust me, I'm trying to spend time with you," Grant said.

"Then prove it!" Gabriel said. "Prove that you're trying! If you were really trying than I would've stopped lashing out on you!"

"Gabe -" Grant started.

"Don't call me Gabe!" Gabriel said. "The people who actually care about me and the people who try to put in the effort to spent time with me and see how I am can call me that!"

Gabe stood up from the table and stormed into his room, abandoning his homework on the table.

Emma was standing by the door. She didn't know what to do.

"Dad?" she said, quietly.

Her saying that caused Grant to jump.

"Sorry," she quickly said.

"It's fine," he assured her.

"I'm guessing that didn't go well," Emma said.

"None of my conversations with Gabe ever goes well," Grant said.

"Yeah," she agreed.

"Can you go talk to him?" Grant requested. "Out of the three of us, you're the one who Gabe doesn't lash out on the most."

"That's not true," Emma said. "He rarely lashes out on Justin."

"Yeah," Grant agreed. "But can you talk to him?"

"Sure," Emma said.

She left the living room and went to Gabriel's room.

"Hi, Gabe," she said.

"What do you want?" Gabriel, who was sitting on his bed and doing nothing, asked his older sister.

"I just wanted to talk to you," she said.

"If you want me to go out and talk to Dad, don't bother," Gabriel said.

"I'm not going to make you talk to Dad," Emma informed him. "I just came to talk."

"There's nothing to talk about," Gabriel said. "Just leave me alone. I have a lot of homework."

"Which you left in the living room," she pointed out.

"So what if I left it in the living room?" Gabriel said. "I can just go out and get it."

"Gabe, listen," Emma said. "I know that you're angry. And I know it's been hard since Mom died and us moving here and you getting expelled at your last school. I get it, but -"

"If you get it, then you must understand what it's like to have Dad barely look you in the eye without seeing Mom," Gabriel said, "and how he barely spends tome with you because you remind him of Mom. Does Dad do that to you? No, he doesn't. I know that I remind you, Dad and Justin of Mom. Don't bother denying it."

"I'm not gonna lie deny it," Emma said. "It hurts to know that Mom isn't around anymore but it'll get better."

"It'll get better?" he repeated. "Yeah, right! It won't get better! I know it won't! It's already bad enough that we had to leave all my friends back home. It's even worse that Dad hates me!"

"He doesn't hate you," Emma said.

"Keep telling yourself that," Gabriel said.

Emma sighed.

Gabriel stood up and started to go to the door.

"Where are you going?" Emma asked.

"I'm going to Riley's apartment," he responded. "We have a history project to work on."