birds flying high

chapter four

↳  november 24, 1970, 3:34 pm

declan woke with a stiff neck and a sharp pain in his back. his head was pounding, and though he had somewhat learned to live with it he was in need of some pain meds.

the house was silent as declan pushed himself up off of the couch and onto the cold floor. he had been sleeping in the living room since the first night he was brought in, but he didn't complain. it had only been about four or so days and the other men's company was more than enough for him to be grateful. they fed him and housed him and didn't pay him too much attention.

of course everyone spoke and interacted in conversation, but it was never forced. plus, a lot of the group was out all day and only came back in the late hours of the night. richard and thomas had attended an overnight protest for two of the four days, and they spent the other couple sleeping. antonio had a strange sleep schedule that consisted of working during the day, grabbing a couple hours of sleep in the late afternoon, and continuing to work during the dark hours. lenny worked a normal job and usually stayed overtime, and douglas came and went. he went far more than he visited though, and if declan were to be honest he was itching to see him again. or anyone, really.

declan knew he was lucky in the fact that no one really brought up why he was at the house, however he could feel tensions rising. it may be his own uncertainty clouding his brain, but regardless he felt a shift. he felt as if he didn't belong among the others, and though he wasn't completely sure if it was true he sure as hell felt it. he wasn't a lawyer and he wasn't an avid protester - he wasn't an avid protester anymore, at least. he wasn't a pot head and didn't accompany anyone to their jobs seeing as that would be strange. he just kept around the house and urged himself to leave, but every time he came close to doing so someone appeared and he lost his chance. but even so, as much as he wanted to go he wasn't sure if he could. each day that passed became an even bigger lie towards his brother and his friend. where had he been? why hadn't he called? was he back on his old habits again? the last thing he needed was people believing he had fallen into his old ways, but declan had come to the conclusion that that was most likely already being assumed. it had been five days, after all.

a sudden sound pulled declan from his thoughts. he searched as to where it was coming from before landing on the front entrance. someone was knocking on the door.

"hey guys," he began, calling to the rest of the house. "someone's at the door."

there was no response.

"it may be for one of you?"

again, there was no response, and declan realized that he had no idea what time it was. for all he knew he had slept into the late afternoon and people were busy doing their own things. there was a faint sound of music from one of the farther rooms, but other than that it was dead silent.

the knocking erupted from the other side of the door for a second time and he winced at the sound. it vibrated through his head and shook his brain.

"okay, i'm gonna get it." he continued speaking in a mumble as he put his hand to the door handle. "it's not like this is your house and i could be ruining a major thing. maybe it'll be some ceo looking for your support and i'll give off the wrong impression, sending him screaming. maybe it's those men from the other night back for their revenge, and i'm all alone and-"

declan's sentence fell short when he saw who stood before him. it was his brother.

"oh my god, rian...."

he watched as his brothers eyebrows furrowed at the healing-but-bruised sight and completely ruin the romantic image he had had in his mind.

declan had been toying around with how his first interaction with his brother would go. he knew it wouldn't be anything special, but he hoped for a hug or a pat on the shoulder or a 'what happened?' or 'you're alive, thank the gods!' but instead he received a normal comment. it felt as if he had been in a little rough up and was being reprimanded for it.