“Thank you for choosing Kazair, Kasmar’s national flag carrier. We hope you’ll enjoy your time here in Brairwood.” The flight attendant continues the usual spiel as the aircraft, a seemingly ancient Boeing 737-500, pulls into the parking stand. “We kindly ask that you remain seated until the disabled and elderly disembark the aircraft first.”
The aircraft jerks to a stop and the engines are shut down, the rumbling fading away as they spool down. After a minute or two, the seatbelt signs are turned off with a chime and the doors are opened. Thankfully, the flight is mostly empty, being a red-eye flight from Oakridge, across the strait. I unbuckle my seatbelt, standing up and stretching with a groan. I look down at Kaiden, who is still asleep, surprisingly. With a sigh, I shake his shoulder.
“Wake up Kaiden.”
He groans, shifting a little.
I glance behind me at Eric, who has an amused grin on his face. “Kaiden. We’ve landed.”
His eyes open slowly, gaze glazed over with exhaustion. “Hmm?”
I chuckle. “Yea, wake up. We need to go home.”
“Oh.” He stands up slowly while I extract my duffel bag from the overhead bin. I hand him his and we make our way down the aisle, offering thanks to the flight attendant next to the door, who returns a tired smile. We carefully make our way down the narrow metal stairs attached to the aircraft. The cold air nips at my exposed arms as we walk across the tarmac to the terminal building, yet the wind blowing across the airport is a nice relief from the stuffy interior of the aircraft. We quickly hurry though the terminal and drop by baggage claim, picking up our remaining luggage - in my case, another duffel bag. My phone rings and I hurry to answer it while we walk towards an exit.
“Hello?”
“I’m outside Matt.” Theo’s voice brings a small smile to my face. We step into the cold night once more. I look up at the sign above us.
“We’re at exit four.”
The voice on the phone grunts. “Alright.” The call ends and a moment later, a familiar car pulls up. The three of us head over to the car and pop the trunk, throwing our bags into the hold before climbing into the car.
“Hi Dad.” The seventeen year old in the driver’s seat gives me a cheeky grin. His hair is messy, as if he had just rolled out of bed. I roll my eyes while the other two chuckle.
“How have you been Theo?” Kaiden asks from the back.
Theo shrugs as he navigates the car through the one-way roads. “I’ve been alright. School is a bit- Fuck!” He slams on the breaks as a car cuts across in front of us, speeding down the on-ramp recklessly. Theo lets out a few more curse words much to our amusement as he resumes driving.
“Calme-toi un peu.” Eric laughs. (Relax a little)
“Tais-toi,” Theo mutters, much to the man’s amusement. (Shut up)
I reach over and fiddle with the radio. After a few minutes of it, Kaiden groans with annoyance.
“Just hand me the aux cord.” He complains. I cock an eyebrow at him, but comply. He plugs it into his phone and scrolls for a moment before settling down on a song. The familiar beat of an old classic rock song fills the car as everyone settles down for the ride home.
* * * *
A gentle shaking awakens me from my slumber. “Dad, wake up.”
“Go away.” I mutter, turning away from Theo.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
“We’re home.”
That gets me to open my eyes slowly and look around. Eric and Kaiden are already moving their luggage inside the small two story house. The exterior is a mix of brick and white wood, clearly inspired by detached houses in the United Kingdom and contemporary suburban homes in the United States. It did make some sense though, considering the North Island was initially colonized by the British. Only after the Second World War had the South Island fallen under Kasmar’s control.
“Give me a moment.” I motion to the door. “I’ll be right there.”
Theo nods and heads inside. I rub my eyes before collecting my stuff and making sure the car is locked. Walking up the steps of the house, I stop at the front door and turn around, looking around. The street we live on hasn’t changed much since the last time I was home six months ago. It’s a nice change of pace from the hustle and bustle of military bases. Serene and peaceful. Picturesque. Some of the houses are small one stories built in the 60s, stylized after the American mid-century suburban houses of the time. Others are similar to ours. But each house has a neat, well-groomed lawn with various amounts of work. A rose garden, simple hedges, a few trees - the street has plenty of variety. I take a deep breath before entering the entry way and closing the door, locking it behind me. Half the entryway is taken up by wooden stairs heading up to the second floor where all the bedrooms are located. Straight ahead is the living room, containing a large TV, a well-used game console, and two white couches. To the left is the kitchen, fitted with granite counter tops and fairly new stainless steel appliances. In the corner of the house between the living room and kitchen is the dining room. The right side of the house is dominated by the garage and a bathroom.
I head up the stairs and walk down to my room at the end of the hall. I open the door and flip the light switch, bathing the bedroom in a soft yellow light. I frown. I need to change that bulb. The room looks the same as I when I had left. A clean room with a black-framed queen bed in the back corner of the room, accompanied by a matching end table. There’s a dresser and a small shelving unit filled with boxes of small items and souvenirs. On the opposite side of the room, a desk piled with books and a computer fill the space with a bookshelf right next to it.
I sigh as I drop off my bags next to my bed. I’ll unpack everything later… I change into a large t-shirt and comfortable shorts and walk over to Theo’s room. Kaiden’s door is closed while Eric is busy unpacking - as expected. I peak into Theo’s room. He’s lying on his bed, scrolling through his phone. I gently knock on the door, drawing his attention. “Can I come in?”
He nods and sits up. I sit down on his bed, looking around. A few more posters have been added since. Evidently, I’m taking too long because he impatiently grumbles, “What do you want?”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” he whines, drawing out the end of ‘fine.’ I offer a sad smile. I remember as if it had happened yesterday - waking up to Theo screaming in the midst of a night terror. It always took a while to calm him down, but over the years, it seems to have calmed down for the most part.
“Marie taking good care of you?”
He nods. “She checked on me weekly.”
“That’s good.” I look up at the ceiling. “Any cool house parties while we were gone?”
“Just with friends.” He admits.
“Any alcohol?” My gaze returns to the teen, who awkwardly avoids it.
“Yes.”
I laugh at him. “Just as long as it was responsible drinking and no one went home while drunk.” I lift a questioning eyebrow. “Did anyone drive home drunk?”
He shakes his head. “Nah, I didn’t let them. Besides, it’s usually nothing hard - just a few beers or something.”
I nod in approval. “At least you’re sensible.” I tease.
He rolls his eyes, an amused smile on his face. “You expect me not to be? After having to deal with your drunk ass?”
It’s my turn to roll my eyes. “That was once.”
“One time too many.”
I chuckle and check my watch. 01:33. I pat his leg. “You should get some sleep. You still have school tomorrow.”
“Ugh, it hasn’t even been an hour since we got home and you’re already nagging.” He complains.
“As a guardian should.” I joke. The brown-haired boy just rolls over with an exaggerated huff. I can’t help but smile. “Alright, good night.”
“Good night.”
I get up and turn off the light on my way out, gently closing his door.
“Est-ce qu’il va bien?” (Is he alright?)
I look at Eric, who is in his doorway and staring at me with curiosity. I nod. “Oui.” (Yes.)
“C’est bon.” He rubs his eyes, obviously tired from the flight as well. “Je vais dormir maintenant. Bonne nuit.” (That’s good. I’m going to sleep now. Good night)
I nod and bid good night before retiring to my own room, climbing into bed, drifting off to sleep, the traveling-induced exhaustion rearing it’s head once more.
* * * *
Waking up to cold sweats was definitely not part of the plan, considering it’s the first night home. Yet, it’s the situation I am in. My heart is still pounding as I try to reign in my breathing. The door opens and I flinch.
“Matthew? Tout va bien?” Eric’s slow, concerned voice calms me down. (Are you okay?)
“I’m…” I take a deep breath, exhaling slowly. “I’m good.”
“Doesn’t seem like it.” His thick French accent makes it slightly difficult to understand. He enters the room. “T’es s?r?” His eyes roam over my form. “Tu es trempé.” (Are you sure? You’re soaked.)
I nod, but don’t say anything. My heart rate has returned to normal by now. “Je vais bien. Promis.” (I’m okay. Promise).
A frown etches itself onto his face. With a sigh and a shake of a head, he enters my room and closes the door behind him. He rolls the office chair from my desk to the side of my bed, settling down into it. He leans forward a little. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“What are you? My therapist?” I laugh a little too forcibly.
He answers with an unamused gaze.
I shake my head. “I don’t want to talk about it.” About the bullying. My hand clenches into a fist. Pack means family. Ha, as if. Those assholes.
“Hey.” I look up at Eric''s words. “Go back to sleep. I’ll be here.” He settles back in the chair, propping his feet on my bed.
“You don’t have to stay.” I mumble, shifting so I’m lying on my side. I stare at him and he shakes his head.
“Bonne nuit.” (Good night.)
After a minute or two of staring at each other, I give up and down look at the bed. “You don’t have to sleep in the chair you know.”
He grins. “Oui, I know. Tu bouges beaucoup, donc je passe.” (You move around a lot, so I’ll pass.)
I roll over. “Je ne bouge pas beaucoup.” (I don’t move around that much.)
He laughs and silence falls between us. As much as I refused, his presence offers me comfort and I find myself falling back into the embrace of sleep fairly quickly.
“Thanks.” I mumble, falling asleep before he even replies.