Siblings' Quest |Phineas and Ferb Story|

Part Thirteen: The Shoebox's Secrets

Phineas stormed into the house. After his talk with Isabella, he decided to go straight home and fix things with his family once and for all. If he failed at doing so, then so be it. It was about time someone in the damn house heard him. He was going to speak his mind and for once, they were going to listen.

He saw his mother standing in the kitchen, wiping down the counter for the fifth time of the day. He walked straight over to her and spoke bluntly, "Mom, I know you're busy, but I need to say something, and you need to hear it."

Linda looked up at him, taken aback by the firmness in his tone. And the slight anger on his face. She remained quiet, allowing him to go on.

"I don't know what happened between you and my dad. I don't know what he did to make you kick him out. I don't know why you never told me or Candace. I don't know why you told Ferb. I don't even care about any of it anymore! Whatever happened 18 years ago cannot be worth all of this intensity!" He exclaimed, "You shouldn't have kept this a secret from us, you should've just told Candace sooner, maybe then she wouldn't have been so upset now! But whatever happened, if you didn't want to talk about it, then fine. I'm just so tired, Mom! No one in this house will speak to me, and I haven't heard from Candace in so long, I'm not even sure if she's alive!"

Linda frowned, tearing up at the sight of her son. He seemed so damaged. So broken inside. It was clear that he wasn't sure how to handle any of this. And it was all her fault.

Phineas calmed down after a moment, then sighed defeatedly. "You know what, if you don't want to talk, I understand. I just, I want my family back! I don't care about my biological dad, he hasn't come back once to see me so he must not care. I want you and Dad, Ferb, Candace! I just want you guys."

There was yet another moment of silence between them. Nothing but a solemn stare from his mother. Phineas frowned, knowing that was probably all he was ever gonna get from her. He shook his head and began to walk away. He knew it was pointless to try to get her to open up. But it was worth a shot.

Linda set the cloth down and walked around the counter, "Phineas, wait."

The boy stopped in his tracks immediately, shocked to hear her actually say his name. He wasn't sure anyone in his family had said his name in weeks.

"I— you're right." She said sadly, bowing her head, "What I did was wrong. It wasn't fair to keep you and your sister in the dark all these years. It's not that I wanted to, it's just..."

Phineas turned around to face her, "It's just what?"

Linda looked up and held up her finger, indicating for him to wait. She walked over to the stairs while Phineas watched her leave, curiosity flooding his thoughts. He walked into the living room to wait for her to return, listening to the soft silence of the house. He assumed his stepdad was out at work again, or maybe running late night errands. And Ferb was most likely in their room doing nothing.

A moment or so later, Linda returned back downstairs with a familiar shoebox in her hands. She and Phineas sat down on the couch and opened it up, revealing all the same letters, photos, etc. Linda searched through the pile and eventually pulled out one particular letter, dated back to 2001.

"I didn't want to keep this a secret from you two," She said as she handed him the letter, "He wanted me to."

Phineas slowly took the letter and began to read the slightly lopsided handwriting. He read through it carefully, his lips mouthing the words subconsciously,

"Dear Linda,

I hope all is well with you and the kids. Still not too happy that I'm not allowed to see them, not even to meet my son. But it's your wish that I don't, so I will respect it. I'll stop asking from now on, and I'll only send letters to give you money and discuss child support. My one wish is that you don't ever tell our son what happened. I don't want my boy growing up thinking what you think of me. Honestly, I'd rather he not even know I exist. I prefer that than him thinking I'm a sick man who hurt his family.