Baited

Chapter 31. John

Mama Sophia and Papa Ray's house was decked out in Christmas decoration. From the lawn ornaments, to the hundreds of dancing lights that hung around the house and through the interior, every inch was covered in Christmas. My house was equally as decorated but Christmas Eve was held at Cooper's parents house since their basement was finished and equipped with a large sectional, flat screen TV and a pool table. It gave us, the younger generation, a place to escape the adults mingling above.

Vicky met me at my house before we headed over. She claimed to be a nervous wreck and so I thought a moment alone would be a nice way to ease her nerves. "What if they hate me?" Vicky asked with a pout.

"How could anyone hate you? You're too nice to hate." I replied honestly. Say what you will about her but she really was such a sweet girl. It often made me feel guilty for not fully knowing if I liked her in the romantic sense. I didn't want to hurt her or lead her on. I was still just so confused.

Vicky blushed and then leaned up to peck me on the lips. "You're the best boyfriend, you know that?"

Boyfriend? I guess we're official? Shit.

"Hmm" Was all could muster up.

We left my house and took the short walk two doors down. Outside, you could hear the bustling of chatter and Christmas music coming from inside. As we approached the front door a wave of uncertainty hit me. Maybe this was a mistake. So much could go wrong tonight. I was tempted to stop, grab Vicky by the hand and lead her back to my house but the door came flying open before I had a chance to really decide.

"Spencer?" I froze. The deep manly voice was one I did not miss.

"J-Jo-John?" Cooper's oldest brother. The one we dare not speak of was home.

So here's a short back story about John and the fallout.

John was the first born out of us all. The eldest son of Mama Sophia and Papa Ray. Up until he was Seventeen, he was just as intertwined in both our families as the rest of us. In fact, he was the reason we called his parents Mama Sophia and Papa Ray and the reason his siblings called my parents Mama Jo and Papa Greg. When he was a toddler, he insisted on calling my Mother Mama Jo which led to him deciding my father was Papa Greg and it stuck. Our parents thought it was the cutest thing and so when Thomas, my parents first born, started speaking, he was taught to call Cooper's parents what we call them today. You get the gist.

John was everything. A great student. A loving son to his parents and like a son to mine. He was good looking and charming. Everyone just loved him until he graduated and was accepted to a prestigious Ivy league school - on a full scholarship might I add. When he returned home a few months later for break, something about him changed. He was rigged and cold. He would rant about politics and his views became rather right wing. That would have been fine, our families don't judge people on their beliefs so long as you don't try to shove them down our throat. As a rather liberal family, John returning much more conversative was a hard pill to swallow.

During one rather unforgettable Thanksgiving meal, he blew up when my father politely disagreed with his views on something President Trump had done while he was in office at the time. I couldn't tell you what it was. I didn't care enough about politics to have a clue what they were talking about. What I do remember was John throwing his plate across the room. It shattered everywhere and Mama Sophia was struck by some of the flying debris.

Papa Ray lost his temper and started screaming at his son. My Mother rushed to Mama Sophia and my dad went in to back up Papa Ray. It was like something inside John snapped. He started spewing crap about how embarrassed he was to be part of our family, how we were all uneducated white trash and then when we thought it couldn't get any worse, my father reached out to grab him by the shoulder in an attempt to calm him down. When my father called him son, he threw my fathers arms off him and said "you are not my father and that women '' he was pointing at my mom "is not my mother. This fake ass 'Brady Bunch' shit is sick and you're all fucked up!" His father had enough and demanded he go up to his room to cool off. When he wouldn't leave, his father tried to drag him out. John stopped him by punching his own father right in the face.