It was late when my brother returned home from his prom. So late that I didn't even hear him come in. He must have come home past his curfew since I went to bed very late, as did our parents. My brother can be very quiet when he wants to be.
A few hours later I heard my father get up. He goes to bed early due to his work schedule, so getting up before the rest of the family is a regular occurrence in our house, and his early morning schedule has triggered an internal alarm in me. I always heard my father get up, not because he was loud doing stuff around the house, but because I was just used to it.
I heard him talking, and then realized he was talking to my brother. Actually, they were arguing.
I had never heard my brother and father argue before, at least not like this. I was too scared to get up and go try to hear more clearly what the fight was about. They argued for a long time. I heard my mother get up shortly after. She did not sound happy with my brother either, but seemed to try to be the voice of reason. She was stern sounding, but not angry. Then it got quiet. I heard footsteps coming toward our bedroom door, so I closed my eyes and my brother went back into his bed.
The next morning, though, he wasn't in his bed.
I fgured he had just gotten up before me, but he was nowhere to be found in the house. I asked my mother where Landon was, and all she told me was that he was going to be away for a while. I later found out he had gone to a boarding school for the remainder of his high school years.
Landon finished up his boarding school just before Christmas 1 year later. He was different. Not at all like the anguished teen I knew the prior year. He had kept in touch by phone with our parents, but I never really talked to him.
Seeing him for the first time since he left was strange to me. He didn't look the same. His hair was neat and you could see just how much he resembled our father.
And what was this thing with his face? A smile? This could not possibly be the same person I once shared a bedroom with, and it wasn't. Landon left our family as a boy, and returned a man.
That was the first surprised for me. The second surprised was just as shocking, for me, at least.
He was still with his high school girlfriend, Star.
We were in no way prepared for what was about to happen next.
No comments:
Post a Comment