Randy
"Hello?" Devin answered, a laugh laced through his voice.
"I think my brother is here," I replied into the phone. "He wasn't supposed to come home for another week. If he finds me I swear I'm dead."
"What? Why? I thought your brother liked you."
"He used to. Then he found a- um, he found something of mine and threatened to tell Mom and Dad. The...thing isn't really supported in my family. If he told Mom and Dad I think they would've kicked me out."
"Oh. Wow. Well, what's the thing?" He asked.
"I can't say."
"Why not? You know I'll never judge you."
"I just can't, okay?" I snapped.
"Okay. Well, what do you want me to do? Because I can't really help if I don't know what the issue is."
"You don't need to do anything. I'm just scared that I'm not going to have a home within the next few days. I tried to call Knox but he didn't answer. I don't know what to do. Mom and Dad are seriously going to murder me if they find out."
"Did you get rid of whatever it was?"
"No. I have it hidden in the one wing of the house no one ever goes to in the room that we never use. I'm in that room right now. Maybe that way Thomas won't find me. I don't think I'm supposed to be afraid of someone younger than me," I grumbled.
"Why is he with your grandparents again?"
"He was acting out and Mom and Dad couldn't handle him anymore."
"Oh, yeah. I remember that. Well, I hope everything goes okay. Why did he only get there now, though? It's almost midnight," Dev said.
"It's a six hour drive from here to my grandparent's house. They probably left after they ate dinner. And yes, Grandpa and Grandma are here, also. Isn't that lovely?" I grimaced.
"Extremely."
"Ha. Yeah. Okay, I'm gonna go try to stuff this thing into a box in here somewhere, I doubt they'll find it if I do that. Bye, thanks for picking up."
"No problem, man. See you tomorrow." And with that, he hung up.
I sighed, sitting up from the corner I was hiding in. Why the hell are my grandparents still awake at midnight? Are they sleeping here? Fuck. I put it in the useless room none of us go in so that I didn't need to throw it out and I could come back in and look at it without my family knowing. I threw the magazine under some old clothes of mine in a box and snuck out of the room.
Then, I made my way down the staircase. Keep going, you've got this. Just say hello and goodnight and go upstairs again.
I stood in the hallway to the kitchen where I could hear my grandma telling Mom a story and Grandpa explaining how he's teaching Thomas how to use power tools. Oh yeah, totally teach the kid that threw all of the living room furniture out the window how to use a table saw. That'll go great. What are the chances anger issues run in the family? Because we got me a punching bag for a reason.
"Hello," I blurted, walking into the kitchen.
"Oh, hello Randall! Oh my goodness, you've gotten so big!" Grandma replied, rushing over to hug me.
"Nice to see you again, Grandma." I hugged her back. "Grandpa, how have you been?"
"Oh, the same. Sleep, wake up, eat, read the newspaper, eat again, watch TV, have supper, repeat. The normal. How are your grades?" Grandpa answered.
Should've known I would get asked about my grades. "Straight A's, like always."
Grandpa nodded his head. "Good man. Keep that up, and you'll do well."
And finally, I turned to my brother. "Hey, Thomas."
"Hey Randy," he responded, his face free of emotion.
"You...look different. More like me, definitely."
"Mhm. So, how are you enjoying that thing?" He taunted. Thomas, I swear to God I'm gonna murder you.
"Um. I'm sorry, I don't quite know what you're talking about. I'm very tired, I'm going to go to sleep soon. I assume the three of you will be staying the night?" I inquired.
"Yes! We will be here when you get home from school, also. We decided that Tommy could miss a day to see his family again," Grandma said in reply.
"Oh...that's...great." I tried to be as excited as possible, but there will be at least ten opportunities for Thomas to expose me.
"Very. You should go to bed. We were just about to go up as well until you came down. Have a good night, pumpkin." Grandma kissed my head.
"You too."
Alright, less than 24 hours to go, and for part of that you'll be asleep. You can handle him.
How could I be so completely stupid to think that I could sneak a magazine containing pictures of naked guys into the house without anybody finding it? Even more so, if I get outed I swear my room will be a storage in less than a week. I fucking hate Thomas for what he's doing. I can't believe that little jerk was snooping around in my room.
Fuckass.
~~~~~
I woke up at 5:30am just to hear... thunder. And a hell of a lot of rain. Since it was still dark outside, you could see some lightning, too. Why the fuck is there a thunderstorm in the middle of October?
Begrudgingly, I got out of bed and put on my uniform. Gotta love wearing a suit pretty much every day of your life. I chose a white button down shirt and a black suit coat, of course along with the mandatory green tie.
Making my way downstairs, I could hear Thomas talking about school. Apparently a girl named Odeline likes him. Poor girl. Doesn't know what she's getting into.
"Good morning," I said to my grandparents, hugging Grandma and shaking hands with Grandpa. The night before, I had overheard Grandma telling my parents that they would be heading back at 4:00pm.
Ten hours and fifteen minutes.
I grabbed a slice of lemon loaf and poured myself some coffee before sitting at the table next to my Mom. Then I pretended to read the newspaper like I do every morning (why is it necessary for every rich person to read the newspaper in the morning?) and ate my food. Thankfully, Thomas was still conversing with Grandpa and Dad so I didn't need to do much. Nine hours and forty-five minutes.
The storm remained in full swing all throughout my drive to school. I got away with leaving a little early. I pulled into the parking lot and searched for a spot as far away from trees as possible. Because, you know, my baby getting a tree fallen on it would be a tragedy. No one and nothing hurts my Jeep.
Even though I had been in the building with few people there many times, it was strange seeing the nearly empty hallways, and I cringed at the silence. I grew up in that school, so the crowd of people and friends hollering to each other was what consoled me. The setting was appropriate for the abnormal circumstances, however.
The large cathedral ceiling in the entry suddenly seemed all too large, and the swooping staircases intimidated me. I looked around, feeling a sense of discomfort for the first time in that building. It frightened me, knowing that my imbecile of a brother was back to ravage my life yet again.
I opened my locker and got out my books. After a minute of standing pathetically in the hallway, I contemplated going to the library to research ways to dispose of your little brother. Although, I decided against it, and continued waiting for Knox or Devin to arrive.
Soon, the halls began filling. And across from me, I saw a particular brown haired boy laughing with who I assumed was one of his friends. And his hair was damp, most likely from the rain. My God, how can someone look so beautiful? Soon after, the friend yelled, "Freshman, welcome to your first ever Rockefeller High Spirit Week! You all better know the fight song... or else!"
Liam buried his face in his hands, and surprisingly called out, "Don't worry, Rhys won't hurt you if you don't know the fight song that shouldn't exist in the first place." And when Rhys (apparently that's his name) smacked his shoulder after, Liam shrugged. I laughed at the irony of somebody like Liam hollering to myriad people, yet saying something he would definitely say in normal company.
And then he saw me.
And oh shit, I was staring at him.
Liam raised an eyebrow at me, almost as if saying 'The hell you looking at?' I grimaced in reply, then mouthed, 'Sorry.'
Then, he crooked his finger at me, calling me to him. Uhhh. I walked over. He said, "Lean in closer." So I did. He whispered ridiculously seductively into my ear, drawing the word into like four syllables, "Hi," and left.
I stood in a state of shock for a second, until Liam spoke again. He turned around and remarked, "Always leave 'em wanting more, Rockefeller." And with that, he was gone.
Rhys pivoted towards me, then quipped, "I assume you didn't know he's a huge flirt?"
"Clearly not."
~~~~~
Liam
"Oh my God, that was hilarious," I said to Rhys and Kenzy on the way to homeroom.
"What?" Kenzy responded, oblivious as to what I just did.
"Liam full-on screwed with Randy. He went into flirt mode and just left Randy standing there like a statue. It was amazing," Rhys answered, cracking up along with me.
"Damn McCoy, you're really out here turning all the guys gay for you." Kenzy also began laughing.
"I know, it's my speciality. Been doing it since age five when I got Stefan Budworth to share his crayons with me, because I'm just that hot," I joked, waving my hands in an arrogant fashion.
"Devin is gonna have soooo many questions for you," Kenzy replied. "It'll be like you murdered Randy, and Devin is the police officer asking why you have red stains all over your shirt."
The three of us chuckled, and I went into homeroom with a large grin on my face.
~~~~~
Randy
"I'm home," I yelled. Why did I do that? That means Thomas will know I'm here and can prepare his blackmail material. Luckily, only two hours and ten minutes to go. I didn't see Grandma's Mercedes in the driveway, either. But of course, that could also be a result of the torrential downpour.
"Randall, come in here. We were just talking about you," Mom responded.
Uh oh.
Nervously, I proceeded to the living room. "Hello."
"How was your day, hun?" Grandma questioned.
A really cute guy flirted with me and I found out he's simply like that, in addition to hysterically argumentative. "Fine. Are you three leaving soon?" I tried to ask as politely as possible, and I think I did okay, but holy shit, I really didn't want to see Thomas. Nor did I want to be in the room he once tore apart, along with the floor to ceiling glass panes he broke by pushing all of the furniture out.
God, I despise him.
"Yes, actually we decided to leave a little earlier so Tommy could get a better night's rest. We were discussing how well you've been doing in school when you got home, and we were all wondering what your future plans were. Obviously you will be taking over the company at 25, but do you have any ideas for college?"
"Oh. Well, I'm sorry, but I don't quite know yet. I've got time to think."
"Of course! It's a big decision, you should work through it carefully and logically. I'm sure you'll make the right choice. You always do." Grandma winked at me.
"Thanks, Gram." Grandma is the one person in my family besides my sister I can actually somewhat tolerate. She is kind and supportive.
"Hey, Randy?" Thomas said.
Great. "Yes, Thomas?"
"Could I talk to you for a minute before we leave?"
"Um, yeah, I guess," I answered. Fuck, he's gonna kill me.
"Now?"
"Oh. Uh, sure."
Thomas rose from the chair he was sitting in and made his way to the entire other side of the house. I followed him, because I'm a moron who wants his body to never be found. He started to head towards the useless wing. Oh no.
And then the even more useless room. Shittttt, I'm fucking dead.
And finally, he lifted up the box, and the clothes inside, and pulled the magazine out. He handed it to me, I took it, him still not saying anything until he whispered, "I won't tell anyone. I promise. I started a medication that's helped a lot, and I've realized I've done enough to this family. And even more specifically, to you. I wanted to say that I have very recently discovered I may not be straight and I've also met a lot of LGBTQ people. Actually, my best friend is trans. I know that none of this makes up for what I did, but I also know that I really need to say sorry. And about yesterday night, it felt like natural instinct to be homophobic around Mom and Dad and Grandpa. Otherwise, I was afraid I would say something way worse and I would out you." When Thomas finished, tears were beginning to stream down his face.
"I don't need or want you to forgive me. What I did was so completely and utterly wrong. I just hope you're doing okay with everything." He stopped because his voice was starting to crack. "I'm sorry."
I stood there, confused as to what the hell had happened. First, he somehow knew where the magazine was, and then he talks about how he's sorry. I thought about if he was telling the truth or not, but I ultimately decided he was. Thomas wouldn't cry if he wasn't. "I'm not saying that it was okay, and I don't think I'll ever forgive you, but I appreciate that. You are of course my brother, and I'm glad you're doing at least a little better," I replied. "And, though this may sound weird, do you have my number?"
"Uh, no."
"Do you have a phone?"
"Yeah."
"Okay. I'll give you my number. That way, if you ever need to talk about something, I'm here. From one person with anger issues to another."
"Really?" With my words, Thomas seemed to brighten a little.
"Sure."
And then he hugged me. More like tackle hugged, if I'm being honest. I laughed and hugged him back.
We exchanged numbers, and he told me that he has a crush on a boy named Nolan. Apparently the whole Odeline thing is made up so Grandpa would stop talking to him about trying to find a woman to marry. I wish I could tell him that Thomas isn't even able to legally marry anyone yet.
I wasn't lying when I said that I would never forgive Thomas. I won't. He made my paranoid and angry for so many years, and basically made my life a living hell. But I also understand that I am his older brother, and I want him to look up to me, if anything. I would like to be a brother to him, regardless if he was a brother to me.
~~~~~
A/N: HELLO EVERYONE
sorry I left you all on a cliffhanger last chapter 😭 I will still be posting chapter six on Monday if I can, but I've decided I'm not going to do a posting schedule. it's too much pressure, and I usually have things done before the designated time, anyway.
also, I saw a story where the author left a little random fact about the story of themself at the end of each chapter and I really liked that idea. I've seen it done a ton of times on other stories, and I want to try it here. Let me know if you like it or not (:
First one: I have zero plot for this. I just decide what will happen as I go on. Example: when I wrote the "and Randy was frantic" part, even I didn't know why he was frantic LMFAO