Counterpoint

Chapter 60

Thomas

My flight lands back in Charlottesville Virginia. My family's estate isn't far from here, merely a half hour's drive. A small sense of giddiness overcomes me as the memories begin to swarm my mind. Memories of my childhood, and all the fun my siblings and I had together underneath the golden sun. It has been far too long since I have last been back on my home soil. The beautiful glow of Virgininan sunlight filters through the small windows on the plane making me smile from ear to ear as my body grows a bit warmer than it had been before. I can't bring myself to care about the slow progression of passengers off of the plane, all I can bring myself to think about is how eager I am to walk through the warmth without worrying about needing a jacket.

"Thomas!" I blink in surprise as I step out of the tunnel and see the twins waving at me with rather obnoxiously large arm arcs. My lips curl into a grin at the sight of them. "Yo! Friendly Giant!" I chuckle as I walk out into the terminal. For a moment I consider how they would react if I pretended to not know them and simply walk past them. They would probably hunt me down to the ends of the Earth until I apologize to them. Anna and Randolph always were an almost aggravatingly persistent bunch, but I love them for it.

"What are you two doing here?" I question, affectionately patting the top of Anna's head. She glares playfully up at me, shaking my hand off of her head as her braids snap through the air like whips.

"Some hello." Randolph mutters. "We come to get him from the airport and he doesn't even say hello to his two favorite siblings." He covers his heart with a hand, mocking a pained expression as he stares at me with wide eyes.

"It's mighty rude. Not very fitting of a big brother." Anna rolls her eyes as she crosses her arms across her chest. I grin from ear to ear as I flick them both on their foreheads. They both groan in unison as they rub their foreheads.

   "Hi there." I look them both in the eyes. "Now I will repeat, what are you two doing here?"

   "Martha asked us to come get you." Randolph replies. "She thought it might be good for you to be greeted by familiar faces, considering the last time you were here-" Anna elbows her twin harshly as my smile drops slightly. Memories I would rather not like to focus on beginning to bubble back up to the surface.

   "Anyways, Martha wanted to make sure you came home safe." Anna interjects, shooting her brother a nasty glare which he makes every effort to avoid looking into.

   "I'll have to thank her personally." I murmur. Randolph stares down at his shoes shamefully. "Randolph, it's fine. That was three years ago, don't feel bad."

   "You're... taking it surprisingly well." He replies skeptically. "What changed when you were away in New York?"

   "Remember what Martha said," Anna murmurs with a grin. "Our Thomas met someone." Her eyes shine with a teasing light as she looks up at me, her lips curling up in the corners.

   "Well, now it's time for me to go." I say quickly, brushing past the two of them and heading towards the baggage claim. "Martha and her big mouth." I mutter under my breath. The one time she shows up at my house unexpectedly is when she gets all the fuel she needs to start gossiping to the entire family.

   "So who is she?" Randolph pesters as he catches up with me. I say nothing as I snatch my black suitcase off of the conveyor belt. "Knowing you she's probably as beautiful as a model."

   "I don't know what you're talking about." I reply aloofly.

   "Oh come on," he argues with a small groan. "Martha was a total knockout as was every other girl you dated. There's a pattern bro." He laughs. "Gorgeous girls always seem to fall at your feet, I'm jealous."

   "I don't remember you being so shallow Randolph." I grumble, walking towards the exit without a backwards glance. My chest is tight as I think about Alexander sitting at home all alone. I told him that I would call him as soon as I landed, but now that these two are here they make it a bit difficult to have an actual phone conversation without the pair of them listening in on every word. Honestly, I just want to get to wherever I am staying tonight and call Alexander, it's making me anxious thinking about him watching the clock and wondering if I had landed yet.

   "Thomas wait up, don't listen to him! He's an idiot!" Anna pleads as she runs after me. She grabs onto my arm in an attempt to stop me. "We both know that he doesn't think before he speaks."

   "I couldn't care less what he says."

   "He's sorry." She continues. "Just ignore him. You haven't been home in so long, please don't be angry with him." 

   "Anna, relax." I sigh. "I just want to get to my hotel room." 

   "Oh," She frowns. "I thought you would come and stay with us at Monticello." 

   "I can't." I murmur. "You know that I can't go back there, not right now." 

   "I'm sorry." She mutters, her hand slipping away from my arm. "I should have known better than to assume." 

   "Don't give me that look Anna." I sigh, shifting my weight from one foot to the other. "I'll visit, but I can't stay in that house. Martha died there, please don't force me to stay there." 

   "I understand, but at least let us drive you to your hotel." 

   "Fine." I groan. I'm going to have to rent a car at some point, but now is not the time to argue with my baby brother and sister. They both look so downtrodden and they came all this way to get me and surprise me. The least I can do is allow them to treat me to a free ride to the hotel. "I would really appreciate that." 

   Randolph comes to stand beside me, but doesn't say a word as we make our way out to the parking lot. Neither one of them says a word, but both silently take my hands as they lead me towards Anna's fire red convertible. 

   Apology accepted.