Chapter 6: The truth

Jason let me go after my sobs eased down, and had an arm wrapped around my shoulder on the way to class when lunch ended. Both her and Valery were quiet, and somehow it seemed that everyone who passed us was just as quiet.

Our argument may have been heard, it may have been loud but i did not really care. I just wanted to get the day over with and go home, ah yes...home, i want to go home. Thats all i want now, thats all i wish would happen.

But then my mind trailed back to my conversation with Mike. And i remembered that I've been trying to ask him but never even tried to ask Jason, and thats when i made a resolve, it was time i talked to the new boy.

Later that day, after classes while everyone was leaving, i stayed behind in class with Jason and of course a worried Valery stayed as well. All of us were standing, circular, me and Jason leaning against some desks and Valery just standing in the path between the row of desks.

"So Avery, is everything okay? What did you wanna talk about?" he asked, genuinely confused. I sighed and looked at him and said "Jason, i want you to tell me everything about your relationship with Mike and why he doesnt seem to like you".

His eyes widened and he averted his eyes, tension brewing on his face. He then sighed and looked at me, "its....complicated", "Well your complicated past has made me and Val's friendship with him just as complicated. So please say something, anything at all!" i pleaded.

And both mine and Valery's eyes were on him. He folded his arms and looked to the side, a downcast look on his face. "i suppose i owe him that much, wouldnt want him to lose his friends..he already lost so much" he murmered. "wait what? what do you mean and what else did he lose?" asked Valery.

Jason lifted his head and looked from me to Valery, "Mike and i used to be friends...and family", "so you two are related after all" stated Val, who got a nod in response from Jason.

"Mike and i used to be close, the others were cool too at the time but they were different from us, they had their own interests and wer had ours, they cared more about apprearence and we cared about living our lives in joy...but"

he then sighed "things changed when we lost 'him'..."

"who's 'him'?" i asked, "the man we all cared about, the man who kept our family happy, we didnt notice all that until he died...he was the one keeping the pain away....he wad the one making sure we went through a day with smiles on our faces, and because it was his word or the high way, no one dared question him"

"im sorry for your loss, but....what happened after that, why did Mike start disliking you?" i asked, though a little insensitive, i was willing to push through my emphathetic ways to find out the truth.

"The others changed, and along the way so did i....Mike didnt....and because of that...his life was made a living hell..." "but why?" Val asked. "Because he was dubbed the embarrassment of the family, the ugly duck, the black sheep amongst the white. People didnt really care, in fact other people loved him, but our family detested him and his existence, even his own mother" he answered

"What?! thats horrible! " exclaimed Val and i was shocked beyond words. Jason continued

"i avoided making his life unbearable as much as possible, but they forced me to be cruel...they thought that by using the one person who was the most close to him, it would shock him into living his life right, well...right by them anyway" he started

"I did as told, i did something horrible, and Mike ended up hating me more then he hated even them, not because i did the same thing that they did to him but instead it was that it was me who did it...it was the ultimate betrayal and i wish it never happened....after that occurrence...Mike did change, as they wanted...but not how they wanted him to change."

"Mike became darker, quieter, obidient and easily controlled. They didnt care much as long as he did as told, but i knew something was wrong and a few years later i was proven right, when he took his allowance and ran away from home...thats when i knew, he didnt change, he simply had a plan and was waiting" he finished.

"i see..." said Val, "so this was the first place he ran to and why did he-?", "No" said Jason, cutting me off, "Mike went through many towns and cities, where he was recognized he fled, looking for a place where his face was not known, as well as his family name and this town is the most remote place from our family that he could find, people dont know who were are here".

"So what? are you some rich kids or something?" Valery asked. "Something like that i suppose" he answered, "and how did your family react when they found out he was gone?" i asked. "some were happy, some felt shameful but all didnt really care. In fact i hired a P.I to look for him myself and hid that from my family. Told them i wanted to go on vacation so i could come here and look for him, and i finally found him but he hates my guts."

"So when you found him, what exactly was your plan?" i asked "to reconcile with him? to show him i changed? I dont know, anything at all, my main focus was findin him and knowing he's safe made me happy"

"You said you did something to him, what was it and is it so bad that he wont accept an apology?" i asked. "i dont like talking about it and yes it was bad, he wont forgive me, you can believe me there. To him im just another scummy person in a world of judgy people so it cant be helped" he sighed in exasperation and ran a hand through his hair.

"In other words, you and your family are the reason he doesnt trust people and keeps his distance?! And another question for you, whocare you to Mike?! How are you related to-?!", "Valery Calm dow-", "Avery i am calm! I just want to know the truth behind the man who ruined our friendship with a close friend! And i wanna know why this happened!" she then looked at Jason angrily, "Talk pretty boy!".

"Mike is my brother, my fraternal almost identical brother" he said, "As in twins?" asked Val, "in a way, yes" he finished. Valery's anger did not diminish and neither did mine, even though i kept my cool in the situation, "tomorrow your goinh to work your ass off to get Mike to forgive you and trust me, me and Avery wont be talking to either of you until you do, i wont be getting between sibling crap, sort out your issues and leave me and Avery out of the crossfire" she concluded.

Thereafter she grabbed my wrist and walked out of the classroom, pulling me behind her. I honestly did not resist her pull, i agreed with her on that note, if they do not sort out their issues, the two of us will be in limbo between them and it just isnt right.

They needed to solve their problems, because it's their problems that are complicating our friendship with them and because they both refuse to share the deepest main reason so we would just be helping on a blank plate, what if we unwittingly made things worse?. Yes, it was time we give them their own space.

I got on the bus home and Valery took her motorcycle to her house. And even then i knew she was just as deep in thought as i was about everything we just heard, there was no way around that.

Well in the very least, my thoughts were not eating at me the whole time, my brother had waited for me and kept talking to me the entire time.

Going on and on about his day, it made me happy listening and hearing about his good day. He made me miss it though, those days when i was younger with few worries about life, when i was just happy....just as much as he was. When your young the burdens seem none existent, the older you get the more you start to taste the buds or the problems revolving around in the real world, that or its easier to ignore when you are young. My brother has never once asked about my passing out episode at school but recently he is been more talkative to me even when he could be talking with his friends. I cannot tell if he is actually worried or has much more to tell then he did before.

While I cannot tell what he truly feels, I'm just glad to have a brother like him.

To be continued....