A Tale of Three Brothers (Completed)

Back to School

"You left if in my car," he said. "Dylan showed me."

"Dylan knows too," Sam said.

Elliot rolled his eyes. "Jesus, Sam. It's a phone, not evidence of a crime. I'm just saying you should have gotten clothes instead. What do you need a phone for anyway? Yours works just fine."

"It's not for me," Sam said. "It's for....nevermind."

Sam was able to borrow a pair of Dylan's jeans, but the morning was already off to a bad start. And Sam knew, days that started bad tended to end that way.

Elliot drove them to school. Sam felt the familiar shift in his stomach at the prospect of seeing all the people he'd worked so hard to avoid over the summer. Dylan was feeling something along the same lines. His whole face looked green. Only Elliot seemed flush with confidence. A few moments later and it was clear why. Karen.

"I'll catch you guys later," Elliot said as soon as he saw her. Karen gave Elliot the kind of kiss Sam had previously only seen in movies, and he was both impressed and disgusted at the same time. "Let's go," Sam said to Dylan.

They were used to the stares and used to the way people would get quiet whenever they were near. Teachers stumbled over their names like they were surprised they'd showed up and there was always a nervous energy in the air, like people thought they were dangerous.

Elliot and Sam could handle the way people treated them, but Dylan wasn't like them. Over the last year, he'd grown nervous and withdrawn. Elliot had recommended that Dylan be homeschooled, but their father wasn't for the idea. No son of mine is gonna be homeschooled because he's too wimpy to handle school, he'd said when Elliot proposed the idea.

"Just be cool," Sam said to Dylan before they separated to go their first period class. "It'll be alright."

Everything went fine for Sam until lunch, the moment he'd been dreading the most. He scanned the room for his brothers and spotted them in the corner near the trashcans. Karen was with them and so was Martha. He debated going over there, but then Dylan caught sight of him and waved him over.

Sam sat down across from Martha, who kept her head down and avoided looking at him. "Any problems?" Elliot asked him.

"Aside from school is just as boring as it was when we left? Afraid not. You?"

It was Karen that answered. "There are some people who aren't happy about us dating, but they'll get over it."

"You're dating?" said Dylan.

Everyone with the exception of Martha laughed. "Of course they're dating," Sam said. "What'd you think that was this morning?" Sam cuffed Dylan over the back of the head. "Dude, where is your head?"

Dylan shrugged, looking embarrassed. "You don't have to be so rude about it," Martha said in the first words she'd spoken to Sam since that night in the bathroom.

Sam was annoyed. "I'm not being rude. I'm just saying it was kind of obvious."

"Not to Dylan," Martha said.

Sam glared at her, and she glared back. The rest of the table exchanged uneasy glances with each other. "Hey, guys. It's not big deal," Dylan said.

"It is a big deal," Martha said. "He has to learn that he can't just go treating people however he feels. Actions have consequences."

"Do they? Sam said.

"Yeah, they do," Martha said. She stood up. "I think I've lost my appetite."

Sam stood up too, grabbing her arm to stop her from leaving.

Sam stood up too. "Hey, you don't have to leave. I'll go."

Martha ignored him. He grabbed her arm to stop her from leaving. "Did you hear me? I said-"

"Don't touch me." Martha yanked her arm back from him. Her shout was loud enough to be heard over the noisy cafeteria and she looked around, horror on her face. She aimed her now watery eyes at Sam. "This is your fault." She ran from the cafeteria.

"What the hell was that?" Elliot said.

Sam was furious, but at himself or at Martha he wasn't sure. "Nothing," he said. And he found that he too had lost his appetite.

He was still fuming when lunch ended. During the passing period he slammed his locker door shut so hard that it bounced back open. As he slammed it closed a second time, a hand clamped down on his shoulder.

He turned around, expecting to come face to face with a teacher, not the group of boys from the restaurant. They'd cornered him and Sam felt stupid for letting his guard down.

"I'm not doing this with you," Sam said, and he tried to push past them.

He was pushed back. "Do you hear that, Brock?" said the one with the rat face. "He's not doing this."

There was laughter from the group. People in the hall had stopped to watch, but nobody made any moves to call for help.

"What is your problem?" Sam asked. "I don't even know you."

"No, but you knew my cousin. She was six," Brock shoved Sam backwards into a row of lockers. "I had to transfer over to this dipshit school because of you." He grabbed Sam by the shirt collar and pulled him closer. "First I'm going to fuck you up, then I'm going to get your older brother and then I'm going to get the retard."

Sam struggled to get free. "Don't talk about him like that," he said.

Brock laughed, and then out of nowhere chose to sink his fist into Sam's stomach. Sam felt like throwing up and passing out at the same time. "Now, you know my problem," Brock said as Sam sunk to his knees.

The bell rang and everyone began to drift to their classes. Sam stayed where he was. He didn't think he could walk. "That looked like it hurt." He looked up Lara was standing over him. She held out her hand to him. "Come on."

They shared a cigarette behind the school trash cans. Sam laid his head in Lara's lap and watched the smoke from his cigarette unfurl and disappear into the air. He'd never liked smoking. He hated the taste and the way they made his teeth feel. He only smoked when he was stressed out. Between Martha, Brock and having to go back to school again to face them both the next day, right then seemed like an appropriate moment.

Lara touched her hand to his face. "You alright?" she asked.

"Not really," Sam answered.

Lara smoothed back his hair and looked down at him. Her face blocked out the sky. "Wanna talk about it?"

Sam closed his eyes and finished the last of his cigarette. "No."