Stepbrothers

Chapter 23

"What's gonna happen to Evan someone tell me what's wrong?"

I urged dad and Linda to tell me. They were both too reluctant and conservative. If anything bad was going to happen to Evan I was gonna flip the ground to the sky.

"Sit down" Dad ordered. He pulled out one of the kitchen chairs for me to take a seat. If it required me to sit then it wasn't going to be good.

"It's Alfred" Linda said.
I didn't know who Alfred was but I had my suspicions.

"Evan's Father" Linda continued. "Here" she sighed and gave me an envelope with a court stamp on it.

I didn't understand much of it, but I read enough to know that it's a custody order. His dad wanted his custody.

I felt my whole world closing on itself.

His dad wanted him back. He wanted to take Evan away from us. Away from me.

"Can he do that?" I asked. Evan's mom was starting to tear up.

"Apparently he can" dad spoke. "Evan is still 16 and according to both our state laws, he technically can gain full custody if the odds were in his favor, knowing that Alfred and Linda didn't settle for custody before, because Alfred never asked for it.

"When's the hearing"

"In two weeks"

Two weeks. I let it sink in. In two weeks, Evan could be no longer with us anymore. He could be living with his dad, and his room would be devoid of his spirit. His laughter will no longer bounce from wall to wall. His seat in front of me would be empty. I felt my chest tighten up at the thought. I pushed myself from the chair and stormed out of the kitchen. I needed to clear my head.

I went out to the backyard. Mistletoe was eating out of her plate that was positioned, along with her litter box, as far away from the pool as possible.

I rolled up my pj pants and sat at the edge of the pool. The water sent a shiver through my body. The weather wasn't as cold as I had thought it would be.

Why was life so cruel to me?

"I thought I told you I'm never gonna let you out of my sight" Evan's crisp voice filled with sleep spoke. Little did he know that he probably won't be able to see me.

I took him in. Messy hair, with messed up clothes. His pj shirt was half unbuttoned and over all he looked like he just came out of the washing machine instead of a bed.

"This is not gonna work out if you leave me in bed and go up and about". He walked slowly to the patio and sat in the same chair as yesterday. That was Evan. He liked to be specific about things. Like he'd always use a specific pen, always sit in the same spot in the cafeteria, wait me in the same places. It was his thing.

He scratched his head and then dropped it on the glass table. He immediately brought it back up an 'ahh'ed. "It's cold"  he said rubbing his cheek.

"Why are you even up it's still early for school"

"I slept really well last night, then I woke up and you weren't there so I decided to get up and look for you. You know to keep my promise of not letting you out of my sight"

I patted my side, "come sit next to me" I told him and he didn't hesitate. He dragged himself and then dipped his legs in water then sat. I face palmed so hard.

"I should've-"

"Yeah you should have" I shook my head. He didn't roll up his pants and now it's soaked.

He leaned his head on my shoulder; his hair went everywhere. I tamed it a little with my hand and kissed the top of his head. It was the best thing ever. I was going to miss it so bad.

"Come on guys, I'm getting breakfast ready" Linda said from the doorway with a clap.

"Morning mom" Evan said after turning to her.

I was hoping she'd stay strong for him and hold it in and not tell him anything just yet.

She started crying.

Evan//

"I didn't know the phrase 'good morning'  had such emotional impact on you" I tried laughing it out. It just made her cry harder and hold her hand to cover her face.

"Mom seriously you're worrying me what's going on?" I turned to Zac in order to get any signal if he knew anything. He just turned away, obviously holding back.

"I can't let him have you, I can't" Mom cried.

Have me? Who? What the fuck is going on, I thought.

"Who wants to have me? What are you talking about?"

"Evan..." Zac started. "Your dad is ordering your custody".

I felt like the world spun twice around me, then it darkened a bit, then it got darker, and after that I was floating in water.

"I caught it! I caught it! Look dad!" I held the small fish out proudly. I have never been more excited about anything ever before.

"That's terrific! Soon enough you'll be catching all the big ones kiddo" dad cheered.

We come here every year on spring break. Lake Nefertiti was the best fishing spot according to dad.

I looked from the edge of the boat and saw fish swimming on the surface. Dad was fixing up the bait. I wanted to catch it with my hand without using the fishing pole. They were too close and they looked easy to catch. I extended my arm into the water and swirled it around. They kept swimming away really quick.

I somehow lost my balance and fell off the boat. Dad heard the splash and instantly threw me a rope. I couldn't catch it quickly enough. I was scared and I was drowning.

I couldn't scream for help because i was scared to open my mouth so water doesn't sneak in.

He jumped off the bought and dragged me up effortlessly. He pushed me up to the boat and then climbed himself. He wiped off his face before yelling at me. He started yelling so hard which got me more scared than when I was drowning. I was crying, tears mixed up with the water.

I looked at my wet shoes and tried not to block out his voice as much as I could.

It got him even madder. He eventually grabbed the small kit knife and whipped it in front of me. I quickly dodged it but he ended up slicing my shirt and cutting above my waist.

After that he stopped yelling and regret was replacing anger. I was too young to know what to do. He ripped my shirt off and tied it up around the wound.

We spent the rest of the day in the hospital and I ended up needing a few stitches.

When mom asked what happened, he told her that I slipped from the bought and cut myself on a sharp piece of wood protruding from the boat. Then he looked at me and gave me a stern look which meant 'Say anything and you're not gonna be happy'

I was too scared to tell anyone anything.

"What's this?" Liam's hand passed over my scar. My shirt was lifted up from the fall and it was visible. I shoved his hand away. I was lying on the floor near the pool and apparently I fainted and dived in.

"It's a scar from when he was younger. He fell off a boat and wounded himself" mom explained. Oh if she knew.

I was going back to the arms of the man who scarred me for life.

I stood up and went directly to my room, leaving all of them there. I wanted to be alone.