Forgive Us Our Sins (Moral Orel Fanfic)

Chapter 9 (SMALL NOTE)

UPDATE FROM THE AUTHOR:
Hey everyone! I'm so sorry for slow chapter output (I'm writing them I prommy), but often these days my physical and mental health have been put first. With two chronic conditions, I focus on them the most. I hope you all can understand! That being said, let's see what the idiot squad is up to. /J

..........

The birds chirped their song into the morning air, and as the town woke alongside the bright star in the sky, two men were already up and preparing for the day before the dawn. Hot coffee, water the plants, and a shower to complete the ritual they had gotten down since moving out. "You ready to hit the town?" The red-headed man asked, looking at his blond counterpart. "Can I pack my lunch first?" The blond replied, sticking his tongue out at him. He went into the pantry and grabbed two bags, each labeled with their names.

Shapey Puppington, written in purple ink.
Block P. , Written in messy sharpie with a :) at the end.

"Oh, you're on mom duty this week." Block explained to the blond, causing him to groan. "I'd rather be with dad. He's always sleeping, plus I get to eat cafeteria food." Shapey shrugged, packing some more food for his mother Bloberta. "Any news on dad's condition?" Block asked his brother, replying with a quick shrug "Considering his liver failure is caused by cirrhosis, he's at the bottom of the donor list."

About five years ago, Clay started getting sick. Really sick. The doctors didn't really know what to do in moralton, mostly because their equipment was from 1990.  It took an expensive trip to a nearby towns hospital to even be diagnosed. Cirrhosis of the liver. Doctors told him to rest, avoiding alcohol and fatty foods. And in his old age Clay responded "With the life I'm living? I'll take my chances." So needless to say, he wouldn't be getting much better.

Not only did this begin to take a toll on Shapey and Block, but Bloberta took it pretty hard. Was it because she would miss her husband? No, that couldn't be it.. The man who started this entire life was slowing down, possibly dying? Please, Bloberta could care less about that. Shapey tried to talk to his mother, but nothing he could say would convince her to open up to him. Shapey's entire childhood wasn't the most heartwarming, half the time he was acting out because of his parents fighting and ignoring him.

"Shapey, you ready to.." Block stopped in his tracks, staring at the blond in front of him. There Shapey was, sitting in a soft armchair and staring blankly at the wall. A trait he inherited from his mother. Whether he was deep in thought or simply deep in dissociation was up to whoever looked at him. During these moments, Block wasn't really sure how to get him out of the traumatic trace. All he really could do was try his best. Some days it took hours, while others a few seconds.

What Block did know he could do were the methods he read up on the website So
You Think You Can Dissociate? The red-headed man took a step in front of his adopted brother and just stared at him. Shapey looked Block in his eyes and raised an eyebrow.

"You did it again." Block explained.
"Yeah, I know." Shapey sighed, getting up and grabbing his things.

The duo left their small apartment and drove their respective ways. Shapey had taken off work in order to care for his mother and father, but I doubt anyone noticed when he wasn't at his occupation. He was a youth minister, and most of his clients were the teens and tweens of moralton anyway. Making church interesting to them was an uphill battle, then again church was never really interesting.

Shapey parked in front of his childhood home, staring at the door as he finally got the courage to leave his car. With a large bag on his back filled with prepped meals for his mother and the bottles of vitamins shaking as he walked, he couldn't help but groan out his displeasure with his current situation. Orel was so lucky he got to leave, some people don't HAVE that choice. Shapey was definitely jealous of his older brother, but what would that say about him? That he hated his current life? What? No.. definitely not. Shapey loved the long hours of sitting next to his dying father at the hospital, and having to take care of an unresponsive mother. It's not like he wanted to travel the world, or meet someone who cared.

As Shapey went to grab the house keys in his pocket, his phone rang. An unknown number was calling him, startling him as he dropped the keys. Thinking for a second, he answered the phone "Hello?" Shapey said with a curious tone.

"Oh good, it's you! I had to dig through the call logs to find your number, you know." Speak of the devil. Shapey sat down on the cement, did God throw this at him so he would stop being so angry? "Orel, hey. Good to hear from you again." Shapey replied, a small smile forming on his face. Despite all the negative emotions he stored from his brother's cut contact, it's not like Shapey didn't miss him.

"Soo... Any clue where me and my family could stay for a week?" Orel asked nervously, hoping he could just find a hotel and be as far away from them as possible. "Wait, you're coming? Holy sh.. that's great!" Shapey felt better now, knowing he'd finally get to see his brother after so long. "Yeah, bringing everyone else t-"

"Why don't you stay with me and Block?! We wouldn't mind!" Shapey yelled, jumping up like a kid hopped up on sugar. "Wait, what? That feels a bit much.. are you sure?" Orel was puzzled why his brother would want him to stay at his place. It's not like they were close after all.

"Of course we won't mind. Listen, I gotta call Block about this and get you some things. Got an ETA?" Shapey asked, picking up the house keys and twirling them on his finger. "Oh! Uh.. two weeks sound good?" Orel answered, fully knowing he didn't discuss an arrival date with his wife. "Sounds good. It's nice to hear from you." Shapey replied, smiling wide from excitement.

"You too." Shapey could tell Orel was smiling through the phone. As soon as he hung up, Shapey walked into the living room and placed the cooked meals in the kitchen for his mother.

"Fuck, this is happening."