Christmas Eve and popeye
Ethan's POV
Twas the day before Christmas, and I was happy as I can be. Kat had just woken up a day ago and as worried as I was about her recovery process, last night and a few times this morning she showed me how much she'd recovered with surprising acts of physical prowress.
I teleport downstairs in my sweatpants and a t-shirt to get some peanut butter for Kat and I.
Trust me you don't want to know what it's for.
I open the fridge while whistling, looking around for the peanut butter which I eventually find. Just as I'm about to leave I see the jelly just sitting there so I turn around and grab it.
What? the more the merrier.
As I kick the fridge closed with a well-aimed kick, I catch some movement out of the corner of my eye. Hoping to finally kick this killer's butt so I can go back to New York, I draw a Ruger SR40C out of my pocket (a/n: writing pocket dimension is just something I'm too lazy to do, so pocket) switching the safety off as I teleport up to the balcony. My steps are lighter as I enter battle mode. My ears were primed for the slightest movement.
As I move further down the hall, I hear the swish of silk sliding across the polished wood of the staircase railing. I turn around and plant my hand on the guard rail overlooking the main foyer before the door, and launch myself over it, teleporting at the last second before I hit the floor and reappearing at the door, my gun already trained on the assailant, making me feel like James Bond or something.
Also, if I didn't teleport I would have ended up smashing into my great aunt Hilda's urn, gods rest her soul, and that would have been very bad. Picture my mom going all hulk-like just like Popeye.
I return my focus to the target to see my dad's face staring up at me from his crouched position on the floor.
"dad?" I ask in confusion at his behaviour.
"hello son, didn't see you there. Sorry I really can't talk right now about what I was doing on the floor. Because I was just on my way to milk the cows outside" he says unsurely as he twiddles his thumbs behind his back, his ruse thrown by the slight imperceptible tremors running down his arm and also...
"right, you're definitely going to milk cows with a thousand-dollar suit on" I retort with a look of suspicion on my face.
"yes, studies have proven that cows respond better to people in suits. I read it on the twitter" he says with a smile while adjusting his pocket square
"I'd really like to see these "studies" dad" I say while making air quotes with my fingers "and also it's Twitter, not "the Twitter". So, explain to me why you're avoiding me old man"
"I'm not avoiding you," he says with a forced laugh while his eyes dart around looking for an escape route
"what are you hiding, old man?" I ask with narrowed eyes
"nothing you need to worry about son. He says while patting my back" an exposed area of flesh on his arm immediately catching my attention. The pieces falling together quickly in my head.
"you're having an affair. You're cheating on mom" I say shocked at the words I seem to be spewing as much as my father is
"hell no, I'd never do that to your mother!!!" my father answers quickly and quite truthfully might I add.
But sometimes you need to push a few wrong buttons to get the right one
"then why are you not wearing your ring? that I haven't seen you without as long as I've been alive" I answer with a blank stare, hoping to rile the old man up enough to get him to slip up and tell the truth.
"easy, that's because I... wait a minute I can't tell you that" he answers with a laugh, feeling smart for catching on to the false trap I laid. I smirk internally as I move in for the kill.
"MOM!!!" I shout at the top of my lungs causing the old man's eyes to widen as he lunges for me to cover my mouth but I teleport to the top of the railing and sit down there with my legs crossed.
"you ready to spill the beans old man"
"no"
"ok old man, have it your way," I say with a smirk. Then drawing in a large breath, I scream at the top of my lungs "MOM!!!"
The sound of her room door opening causes my smirk to grow wider
"fine, you win, son. Please don't do anything rash" he pleads on his knees
"what can I do for you Ethan?" my mom asks with a small smile, something clearly on her mind.
"I just wanted to tell you how much I love you," I say with a big smile and puppy dog eyes
"That's so sweet Ethan," my mom says with a wider smile gracing her features and a much brighter countenance.
"why don't you use some of that love to help me look for my wedding ring, I can't find it anywhere" my mom jokingly asks with a bit of hope in her eyes that I say "yes"
"I don't love you that much mom" I reply jokingly too, to which she just shakes her head and goes back to what she was doing.
My dad comes out from behind the grandfather clock at the end of the stairs and lets out a sigh of relief. I jump down and teleport right beside him almost giving the old man a heart attack.
"Okay old man we had a deal, pay up," I say after he'd calmed down
"fine," the old man says dejectedly "although that was a really nice touch calling your mother, where'd you learn that from?" he says with a smile. His hand resting on my shoulder. Recognizing his attempt to change the subject, I unwrap his arm from around my shoulder and say
"nice try old man, spit it out"
with a sigh and a 30-second wait he finally speaks up "I'm avoiding you because I feel guilty about what happened to Kat" he says with his eyes trained on his feet
"why would you feel guilty about that?" I ask with a laugh at his excessively caring nature
"because I'm the one who lured you back here without thinking about your mental health and your night terrors" he says sheepishly
"why did you just use the word lured dad?" I ask nervously, to which he just remains silent causing my anger to grow
"why did you use the word lured dad?" I ask again with gritted teeth. And once again silence.
"You need to understand something first son..." He finally says
"son you broke this family when you left us. The day you left, I told you to take a few years to find yourself and come back home when you were done but you built yourself a life in New York, you didn't call or text and your mom cried every time she passed your room. The family was a mess but you didn't care. You just didn't want to come home.So I may have lied about Kris being in danger but we needed you and this was the only way to get you back" he says as my father's giant back seems so small for the first time ever.His eyes welling up with emotion as he seats down on the lowest step.
"you know very well why I couldn't return dad" I reply in a small tone
"that didn't stop you from calling, did it? that's only what you tell yourself to justify abandoning our family," he says angrily
"I've held back for the sake of your mother but this is shit. You abandoned us and now you get angry just cause I tried to get you back home" he says in a desperate tone
"Ethan the business was meant to be yours but you left and now your sister is going after your birthright and you don't even care. You just want to escape back to New York and abandon your family again"he says
"you and I both know why I can't take over the business" I retort sharply
just at that moment, the door opens and Kris walks in.
"hey dad, did you drop my present on the front door while you were hiding the Santa costume in the closet?" she says while holding a compact box in her hand
"How did you know where I hid the presents" he says as he tries to hide his vulnerable state from Kris but the sniffllinf and puffy eyes don't help matters much.
Kris gives me a look as if to say "Should I ask?" but I subtely shake my head and thankfully she get's the message
"dad I'm 21, I think I can find some measly presents and besides we've known since we were 7" she replies
"but the alarm clock was a nice touch. Commenting on my lack of punctuality to board meetings without hurting my feelings, message received. Although it was just one time" she continues
"but I didn't get you an alarm clock, I got you that fancy bag you wanted" he replies confused
"That's awesome dad" she replies with glee "But if you didn't get this for me, then who did?" she asks puzzled as I hear the ticking from inside the box speed up.
My instincts kick in and I lunge towards Kris to knock the package from her hand but it rings too early and the bag explodes, spraying a clear liquid all over Kris who screams in agony, clutching her burning face as I and my dad rush towards her.
Kat and my mom descend the stairs obviously alarmed by the bomb.
I pick Kris up and drop her on the foyer table as I step aside so Kat can attend to her.
"Wolfsbane" Kat says curiously before ordering my mom and a now present magda to get some supplies.
. Looking out the door I see a hooded figure running for the woods at the same time my dad sees the figure too "Mom take care of Kris. Dad and I are going to go put the person who did this six feet under" I tell her as my dad and I walk out the door. His jacket and tie pulled off and dumped unceremoniously on the floor as his eyes turn red and he releases a bit of the energy that only alpha's can possess causing most of the horses within a 100 feet of him to go out of control in fear
"be careful boys," my mom says with concern in her tone
"you should be more worried about her attacker cause I'm going to tear that person limb from limb," my dad says angrily "let's go Ethan"
"race you there old man, " I say as my wings sprout out my back
"you know I'm not going to lose son," my dad says with a smirk. as we cross the tree line and enter the forest his nose grows into a snout, his back arching out as a tail sprouts out along with a whole lot of midnight black hair and in a few seconds an 8-foot tall alpha wolf stands in his place. he lifts his snout up and immediately picks up the scent of the attacker.
game on you son of a bitch