Copyright © 2026 by Julien Gregg
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The story, all names, characters, and incidents portrayed in this production are fictitious. No identification with actual persons (living or deceased), places, buildings, and products is intended or should be inferred.
Part Two:
Yesterday's Sons
1985
ELEVEN
Nineteen eighty-five again. I opened my eyes to a familiar scene. My mother looking younger wasn't a shock. Dr. Carlson being alive again wasn't a shock. I'd been struck by lightning just like last time. My siblings were in the hospital waiting to see me. My mother was playing the concerned mother routine, but I wasn't doing this again. She tried to put a hand on my head, but I moved away and glared at her. "Don't touch me," I said.
"Killian," she said. "What's the matter?"
"You only care about money," I said. "You've been letting Hank beat us. You know all about what he does. You pretend that you don't. You lie to Grandma about the bruises and broken bones. You want to keep Hank's money, so you let him beat your children."
"What are you talking about?" she demanded, looking from me to the doctor and back.
"I'm talking about years of abuse," I snapped. "I'm talking about kids who are afraid to come home from school. I'm talking about my broken wrist, April's broken leg, and Richard's broken arm. I'm talking about the welts that are still on my ass from his belt."
I turned over and pulled the gown apart and let the doctor see what I was talking about. Angry welts, a gift from Hank just a day before my birthday. Kevin and I had been talking in our bedroom that night. Hank had wailed on us with his belt. The doctor came over and looked at the welts. He got a salve and put it on them. He gave my mother a dark look. A nurse, a blond haired blue eyed nurse came into the room. He told her to stay there and watch me. Then he left the room.
"Killian," Mom said. "You can't say these things to people. You know the trouble you'll be in."
"I'm not going back to that house," I said. "I'll tell the world if I have to."
"Why are you doing this?" she asked.
"I was struck by lightning!" I screamed. "I survived that but not to back to being Hank's punching bag."
"You two need to stop yelling," the nurse said.
"You stay out of this," my mother snapped at her.
"Ma'am, I'm a medical professional, and he has welts on his bottom that were clearly put there by you or your husband," she said. "If you think any of us are going to stay out of this, you are very wrong. We protect children here, Mrs. Walsh."
"And what are you protecting Killian from now?" Mother asked with a smirk.
"From you, of course," the nurse said. She came over to the bed. "Killian, my name is Noel, and I'm going to stay with you until Doctor Carlson comes back. Okay?"
"Thank you," I said. "After the truths I told I'm not sure what my mother will do."
"She won't do anything with me in the room," she said.
Then a policeman walked into the room. He had short, almost buzzed dark hair and dark eyes. He was physically fit and you could see it through his uniform. He crossed his arms across his chest and watched my mother like a hawk. I was shocked by this. I didn't know what would happen after I told the doctor about Hank, but I didn't expect a police officer. I just lay there and stared at the ceiling. I didn't know what was going to happen now. I'd started the first ripples in time, and I had no idea just what changes those ripples would cause.
"Killian, my name is Darren Taylor, and I'm a police officer," said the officer. "I work for the Janus Police Department. Can you tell me what's been going on in your house?"
I gave him a detailed report of all of the abuse, starting with the very first thing that Hank had done to any of us. I told him how my mother always told him that we'd stepped out of line even when we hadn't and he would deal with us when he came home from work. I told him about my broken wrist which I got from Hank yanking me out of bed by my hand. I told him about April's broken leg which she'd got from Hank stomping on her leg. I told her about Richard's broken arm which he'd got when Hank pushed him out the front door onto the porch. I told him about the welts on my butt and Kevin's and why they were there. I told him that we were all afraid to come home from school. We were afraid of what he would do next. I told him that my mother was no better. She always went to work after she told him what we'd done, but she isn't stupid. She knew what he was doing and allowed it. In some cases she helped him by telling him lies about the slights that we'd committed in his absence. I told him I was terrified to go home now that I'd told the truth. I asked him to please help us.
"You aren't going home," he said. "Your stepfather has already been arrested for striking your older brother in the face in front of officers. Doctor Carlson is gathering medical records to back up your claims and is calling Social Services. You are never going back to that house."
Doctor Carlson came back in. He was holding medical files. He came right over to me and told me that Social Services was coming to take care of the situation. He told my mother that he had documented proof of what I was saying. He'd seen the welts on my bottom and he'd seen the welts on Kevin's bottom. My siblings had told him virtually the same story. She wasn't to leave this room until she talked to Social Services.
This time it was a man. He was dressed in tan slacks with a tan sport coat. His brown tie was loose around his neck. He introduced himself as Jeff Plank. He told my mother that an investigation had been opened into the family, and the children were being placed in an emergency home. He said that my grandmother was on her way to the hospital and that we'd be temporarily placed in her home pending approval. She wasn't to contact us in any way. That meant she couldn't contact her mother.
My siblings came in then. Kevin came straight to me and took my hand. He stared at the police officer and then turned to me, "Killian, what did you do?"
"I told the truth," I said.
"So did we," he said. "I'm scared."
"It's going to be all right," I said. "Grandma is coming to get us."
"Richard, Officer Taylor is going to take you to the house to get clothing for you and your siblings," Mr. Plank said. "Grab essentials, too. Tooth paste, tooth brushes and the like. You're not going back to that house to live."
"Okay," he said and followed Officer Taylor out of the room.
Grandma showed up. She took one look at me and said a very nasty word. My mother flinched when she looked at her. "Katharine, I can't believe this. You enabled this. I'm so ashamed to be your mother."
"Mom," she said.
"No," she said. "I've had my suspicions over the years, but you lied to my face. I'll take the children home with me."
Things happened fast after that. My mother was arrested for criminal child neglect and accessory to criminal child abuse. She was taken away. Richard was gone, but I was released from the hospital. Grandma took us in her station wagon back to her house. She told us that the front bedroom had been cleared, and Richard would use it. The second bedroom was for April, and the third was for me and Kevin. She said that a king sized bed was in that room and we'd have to share. That wasn't new for us.
Grandpa wasn't in the grips of dementia. He was with it, sitting in his recliner. He started talking about his children and how disappointed he was in both of them. He told us that we were safe here, that they would never hurt us. He hugged each of us. Richard came back with bags of clothes. He handed one to me and one to Kevin. Then he handed one to April. She was crying. I walked over and hugged her. She held on so tight.
"We're not goin back?" she asked.
"Never," I said. "They'll give Ryan his shot, and he'll turn them down. We'll stay with Grandma."
"Okay," she said. "Why would he turn them down?"
"He doesn't want children," I said.
"How do you know that?" she asked.
"Where has he been all of this time?" I asked. "He's never come around. He pays child support because the judge said he had to, but he'd never come to see us or asked for us to come and see him. It's clear to me that he doesn't want us."
"They might not let us keep you," Grandma said. "We're not young."
"They'll leave us here," I said. "It will be all right."
"Killian, how do you know all of this?" she asked.
"I listened to them talk at the hospital," I lied.
"Okay," she said. "It's late, and you all need to be in bed."
We went to the rooms she'd assigned and stripped to our underwear. We crawled into bed and Kevin took my hand. We didn't say anything. I had to figure out how to tell him that I was from the future without telling Richard or April. I didn't want anyone but Kevin to know the truth. I thought about that until I fell asleep. The next morning, Grandma made us pancakes with sausage. We ate and drank juice. Grandpa sat at the head of the table. He ate his breakfast and looked at us.
"That was some birthday," Grandpa said suddenly.
"Yes," I said. "I was struck by lightning. It didn't hurt me. I have a bump on the back of my head from hitting the fountain."
"You're a tough little guy," he said. "All of you are to have survived that house."
"We were afraid to come home from school," Kevin said. "We love school, because it was the safe place."
"You and your brother are very smart," Grandma said. "The school talked about moving you up a grade, but your mother said no. Do you want to be moved up a grade?"
"It would be more challenging," I said. "We're bored where we are now."
Jeff Plank came to the house to talk to Grandma and us. He told us that the director had his issues with us living here, so he'd taken steps. He said that April was getting a scholarship to a school named Worthington Prep. She would start there in the fall. He told Grandma that it was a boarding school. He said that was the only way he'd be allowed to keep the children with her. He said that Killian and I would go to Maxwell Academy in a year. We had to be thirteen to attend the school. They were looking for someone to be our guardian while we stayed here.
"Jason Osgood," Richard said. "He's one of my teachers, but he's always been there for me. Maybe he'd do it."
"Jason Osgood has applied for a foster license," Jeff said. "He was approved. I'll talk to him about this unorthodox arrangement and see what he says. Richard, I'm guessing that you'd like to stay in Janus to finish your schooling. You're sixteen, and it isn't as hard to keep you here as it is the others."
Then Jason Osgood was in our house. He talked with Jeff about taking guardianship of me, Kevin, and April. He said that Richard was sixteen and very soon, he'd be on his own. He didn't need a guardian. Jeff agreed. They left to go before the judge. Jason was made our official guardian. I was happy about this, but I couldn't say anything. Kevin looked at me and I shrugged. We went to the back yard. I told him about me. He listened to all that I had to say and then he said, "Wow."
"You believe me?" I asked.
"It's too detailed to be a lie," he said. "Or you're crazy. But I believe you. What are you going to tell Richard and April?"
"Nothing," I said. "This is our secret."
"Okay," he said.
"If you need proof, watch the news," I said. "It won't happen until August, but Japan Air Lines Flight 123 will crash in the area of Mount Takamagahara."
"That's specific," he said. "I'll remember to watch the news."
I gave Grandma the winning lottery numbers again. This time she told me that if that ticket won it was my money. I just smiled at her. She took it with her other slips and bought tickets. Kevin asked me what that was about. I told him that I had given Grandma Hank's winning numbers for this lottery. His eyes grew large. He didn't ask me anything else about it. We went to the vacant lot and played baseball. Then we went back home to Grandma's famous chili. We each had a bowl with corn bread and cheese.
It took a few days, but the drawing for the lottery was happening that Friday night. I sat in the living room with Grandma and Grandpa as they watched the drawing. All five numbers were drawn. Grandma looked at me for a moment. "That's your ticket," she said. "You won the lottery."
"No, you did," I said. "I'm twelve."
"That money is yours," she said. "I'll go tomorrow and turn the ticket in. We'll open an account for you and put the money in it. It's yours. I don't want it."
"Okay," I said. There wasn't anything else to say about that.
She did what she said she'd do. She helped me open the account and then she placed thirty million dollars in it. I about fainted. Grandma took me for ice cream. She asked how I knew those numbers. I said that I just picked them at random. She laughed. She told me I was very lucky. She said I deserved this after the life I'd lived. I told her that I wanted to share the money with my siblings. She thought that was a great idea. We went to her lawyer and set up trust funds for Richard, Kevin, and April. Four million dollars went into each. The rest stayed in my account. I had a check book and an ATM card of my own. I put them in my backpack.
"What happened?" Richard asked.
"Grandma helped me set up trust funds for you, Kevin, and April," I said. "Four million dollars. All you have to do to open it is graduate from high school. I'm not going to put a bunch of stipulations on it. We're four people who survived child abuse. What are stipulations to a group who survived that?"
"Killian, where did the money come from?" he asked.
"I gave Grandma some numbers for a lottery ticket," I said. "I won. Grandma gave me all of the money, but I wanted to share with the three most important people in my world."
He hugged me. "That's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me," he said. "You're one of the most important people in the world to me, too. I want you to know that I was planning something to get rid of Hank. I didn't know that Mom knew about it. When I found that out I was so hurt."
"Mom knew the whole time," I said. "She even enabled him. She lied to people to save him, and she told him lies about things we were supposed to have done to get into trouble. In a way, she was as responsible for what happened as Hank was. I'm sorry that you had to go through it. I'm sorry that whatever you were planning didn't happen. I got struck by lightning and survived it. I decided there and then that I hadn't survived lightning to go back to letting Hank use me as a punching bag. I told the truth. I did it for myself, but I did it for you, Kevin, and April, too. I love you all. You're my siblings. I never wanted anything to happen to any of you."
He hugged me again. "You are astounding," he said. "First there's this intelligence. You and Kevin are so smart. Then you got Hank and Mom out of our lives. I'm in awe."
"I'm just a kid who didn't want to be hurt anymore," I said.
"Oh, Killian," he said, tears in his eyes. "I'm so sorry that I couldn't save you."
"You were abused, too," I said. "You were just a victim, Richard. We all know that. We're going to be fine. We have grandparents who love us. We have Jason Osgood, though I don't really know him. Please understand that I'm going to be a bit hesitant to trust another adult male in charge of me. I have no reference that isn't filled with violence, pain, and fear."
"Jason knows that," he said. "I've had a long talk with him about you guys and what you might feel and say."
"I would never be disrespectful," I said. "That was beat out of me a long time ago. I don't know what you think about Maxwell Academy in a year, but Kevin and I are going, because Social Services says we have to. April is leaving in the fall. I don't want you to think that we're abandoning you, Richard."
"I don't feel like that," he said. "I know why it's happening, and it wasn't your choice. It wasn't Kevin's and it wasn't April's. I'm going to stay here with Grandma and Grandpa. I'll be fine. Go live your life, Killian. Please find what I want for you."
"What is that?" I asked.
"Love and peace," he said.
"I'll find it," I said with a smile. "I don't now when or how, but I'll find it."
"Good," he said. "That's all I want for all of my siblings."
"It's what we want for you, too," I said.
Our conversation was interrupted by Jason arriving. He said he'd heard about the lottery win. I just looked at him. Richard told him that I had given each of my siblings four million dollars in trust funds that we just had to graduate from high school to open. He nodded. He told me that was a very nice thing I'd done. I didn't respond to that. He asked me what I panned to do with my money. I looked at him and told him that I was going to use it to go to college and to live my life.
"Killian, I get the impression that you don't like me very much," he said. Richard started to say something, but I cut him off.
"Jason, you are another man in charge of me," I said. "I have to have time to decide if you're a good man or a bad man. Please understand, I mean you no disrespect. I just haven't had much luck with the adult men in my life."
"That's a very mature thing to say," he said. "I'll give you the time you need, but Killian, if I ever do or say something that upsets you I want you to tell me. This will be a learning experience for all of us."
"Okay," I said. "The first thing I want to do is buy a dog."
"You want a dog?" Jason asked. "What kind of dog?"
"A Cocker Spaniel," I said. "I've already talked to my grandma. It would be Richard's dog when I got away to school."
"Okay," he said. "Would you like me to take you to get the dog?"
"Sure," I said.
We left and I gave him the address of the man who was selling the dogs. We went there, and I found Jinx. I paid the man. Then we left with Jinx. He was house broken and trained. We went and got him dog food and treats. I bought him a bunch of toys and we went back to the house. Grandma loved him on sight. I told her his name was Jinx and I bought him for the family. She smiled at this. Kevin went nuts over him. April liked it when he licked her face.
I took him outside and let him do his business. I picked it up with a bag and put it in the trash. Then I took him inside and got him food and water. I gave him a treat and rubbed his belly. He followed me around for the rest of the day. Grandma said he was our responsibility. I said that until I left for school, I'd take care of him. Then it was Richard's job. He smiled and said he'd take care of him for me. I nodded. Jason smiled. I smiled back at him.
Then I was in the basement with my siblings and the dog. We watched movies that Grandma had bought for us. One of them was "Back to the Future". I didn't know how she got the tape. The movie had just left theaters. I'd seen it a dozen times, but I loved it just the same. The others were movies that I hadn't seen. We had a good day. The next day we went to play baseball in the vacant lot. We had a good time. Then we went home and met Mary. Grandma had hired her to help out around the house and to cook. She was dazzled by me and Kevin.
Mary was a plump woman who was about five feet tall. She had dark hair and eyes. She cleaned the house and cooked our meals. She left each day after putting dinner on the table. We spent a lot of time playing baseball. We were good at it. The boys at the lot said so. They wanted us on their teams. We had a good time. Jake Addon was one of them. So was Cole. I was friendly to everyone. Kevin was, too. Sometimes Richard and April came to watch the game. Sometimes they didn't.
We hung out in the basement in the evening, staying out of grandma's hair. We played games and watched movies on cable. I bought a bunch of movies that I knew that they'd like. Then we watched those. Richard was just as happy to hang out with his siblings as we were. We had a good summer. But the accident was coming. I had to think of a way to keep us out of it. I found it. The Family Fun Center was having a lock in that same night. I told Richard that the ball players were going to that and I wanted to go. He said we'd go. I bought the tickets and he drove Grandma's station wagon to the Family Fun Center on the night of the accident. We were locked in and playing games when the accident happened. I watched the clock and when the accident had already happened, I had fun. In the morning we were tired. We went to bed.
Grandma woke us up for lunch. We stayed up. She got a call and had to sit down. She looked at us with tears in her eyes. She told us that there was an accident by the mall last night. Mom and Hank were involved. They hadn't made it. Mom had broken her neck, and died later last night. Hank was dead on impact. They were hit by a drunk driver who also hit a teenage girl and broke her pelvis and nearly shattered her hip. We looked at each other. This wasn't something that I was upset about. I felt sorry for the teenaged girl, but Mom and Hank were dead? That didn't mean much to me. Grandma watched us for our reaction. We looked at each other for a moment. Then one by one we went back to eating. She watched us but said nothing. She cried for a while, and I understood it. Mom was her daughter. She'd lost her daughter.
Grandpa cried about it. They went to the funeral. We stayed with Jason. He asked why we weren't going to the funeral. Richard told him we didn't want to go. He said he couldn't take the sympathy in everyone's eyes when he wasn't upset. I nodded. Kevin did as well. April said that Mom and Hank were bad people. He left us alone about it after that. He had a cookout and let us eat dinner with him. When we got home it was quiet in the house. We'd already eaten so we went to the basement.
School started right after that. Kevin and I were in seventh grade. A week after school started, they tested us. Then they talked to Social Services about moving us to ninth grade. They told them that we were bored with what they were trying to teach us, because we knew all of that already. Social Services approved the move. We were freshman now, receiving high school credits. Richard didn't know what to think about it. April was already gone to Worthington. She didn't know what was happening. Grandma was of two minds about it. She said we needed to be challenged. In truth, ninth grade work wouldn't challenge me. I stayed with my twin though. He'd seen the news report about the plain crash. He believed me totally now.
The other kids at school didn't know what to think about two twelve year olds in ninth grade. Of course Jake talked to us and so did Cole. They were both in ninth grade. We sat with them at lunch. We didn't bother with most of the other kids. We had Jake and Cole. School was all right. We had Jason for History, and he was shocked to see us in his class. He taught the class with excitement. He made it fun for everyone. We had to get through this year and then we'd be at Maxwell. Kevin was worried about that, but I wasn't. I told him we'd be fine. We'd stick together.
We came home each day and did our homework at the kitchen table. Then we'd either go to the vacant lot or downstairs. As it was getting colder, we didn't go to the vacant lot. We went downstairs and watched movies or played games. Richard hung out with us most nights. We hung out with him and played games and watched movies. He asked if we were bored, and I told him I wasn't. I was spending time with my brothers. I missed April, but I'd see her at Christmas.
Our days went on like that. We went to school, came home and did homework, and hung out in the basement. The only thing that broke that cycle was Grandpa being taken to the hospital with a suspected heart attack. We went to the hospital. Jason came, too. Grandpa didn't have a heart attack, he had a bad case of heart burn. They gave him an antacid and sent him home. He told us that was a scare. We agreed. After that we started to play cards with Grandpa. He'd set up the card table and he taught us to play Hearts. Of course, I already knew how to play, but I let him teach me anyway. Then we played the game for a while. We stopped at dinner time and went to the kitchen to eat. Then we were back at the table playing the game. I was good at it. Kevin was okay, but Richard was very good. He ran the table and gave Grandpa thirteen points. Grandpa smiled.
Play reset. I ran the table and gave Richard and Kevin thirteen points. It went back and forth for a while with no one running the table. Then I did it again. Grandpa laughed. When the game was over he told us he was tired. We put the cards away and hugged him. Then we went into the kitchen for a snack. Grandma had made vanilla pudding with bananas and vanilla wafer cookies. She'd coved it with whipped cream. She dished up a serving of it to all three of us. She took one to Grandpa and sat with us to eat her own.
"How is school going?" Grandma asked me and Kevin.
"It's fine," I said. "We don't have a lot of friends there. Just Jake and Cole. But we're doing all right."
"It's a little boring," Kevin said. "Most of that stuff we could do in our sleep."
"Well, next year you'll be at Maxwell Academy no matter what I think about it," she said.
"We don't need scholarships, though," I said. "We can pay the tuition."
"Yes, I've told them that," she said. "Social Services wasn't thrilled that I set you free with all of that money. But they won't take it away from you or I'll sue them like crazy."
"Okay," I said. "It's not time to pay the tuition yet anyway. Are they going to monitor what I spend it on?"
"For a while they are," she said. "So far you've only bought clothes."
"Yeah," I said. I didn't like them watching what I was spending money on.
Winter break arrived and April came home with tales of Worthington Prep. She talked about new friends and classes that were fun. She said she didn't like the dorm at first but her roommate is nice. Kevin and I looked at each other. This would be us next fall. We were happy to see her. We told her so. She asked us how things had been here. We said same old same old. She laughed. She looked like a completely different girl. It was as if being away from Janus for a semester had done her good.
She sat in the basement with us and talked about what it was going to be like when we were at school next year. She talked about the Phoenix Club and how she'd met some of our classmates already. She had pictures for Grandma from the Back to School Dance and the Halloween Dance. Grandma was thrilled. She put them in frames and put them on the wall. She told Grandma that the boy in the pictures would be Jesse in a year or so. Grandma laughed.
For Christmas that year I bought thoughtful gifts. I got April a new backpack and some makeup. I got Kevin some movies and video games that he was confused about. Richard got his varsity jacket and a watch. Grandma and Grandpa got things that they'd both enjoy. Grandpa got a new pocket watch, and Grandma got new dish towels and coffee mugs. She hugged me when she opened them. Everyone was happy with their gifts.
It was hard to say goodbye to April when she went back to school. It was even harder to go back to school ourselves. Richard didn't know anything about time travel, so Kevin waited until we were alone somewhere to ask me questions. I told him that I didn't recognize this timeline much. It was different than the one I'd come back from. He said he understood. I told him about the ripple effect and how it worked. This time he wasn't causing ripples, at least I didn't think he was. I was though. Changes were happening, just not so much on the grand scale.
We went to classes, had lunch with Jake and Cole, and did our best to just put our heads down and do the work. Cole complained that all three of his friends would be gone next year. He knew that Jake, Kevin, and I were going to be at Maxwell Academy. I told him I was sorry, but Social Services had said that was what was happening. Jake said the same thing. He said that in another year Jesse, his younger brother would be at Maxwell.
Cole said he wished he was going to Maxwell Academy just so he'd have friends. I laughed at that. Kevin remained silent. He wasn't so sure about Maxwell. I told him we'd been there in the last timeline and it had worked out. He would just nod at this and go back to doing what he was doing. School went on. Grandpa had another scare. This time it was his liver. He had a mass on it. They did a biopsy and found that it was a cyst. They operated to remove it before it burst. Then we were visiting him in the hospital. He was happy enough. Grandma was all smiles, so I wasn't worried.
Finally the weather got warmer and we played baseball in the park. Everyone was happy to see us again. We had a great time hanging out with all of the baseball players. They said that we'd be thirteen in a few months. I nodded at that. A teenager again. Here we go. Kevin asked when puberty would hit. I told him we'd been in puberty since we were nine. I told him that it would ramp up any time now. He'd start to grow hair on and under his arms, on his legs, his pubic bone, and maybe his chest. His voice would crack as it deepened to what it would be later. He asked me how to stop that from happening. I told him to drink hot lemon tea and speak in lower octaves to counter it. He nodded.
We went to the last day of school and collected our year books. Jake and Cole signed them and then we closed them and put them in our backpacks. We had no other friends in Janus. When we got home, April was there. We were happy to see her. She was happy to be home. She said she missed Jesse. I laughed at that. She was only about to be twelve. It was puppy love at this point. Grandma said it was nice to have us all under one roof again. She commented that it would just be Richard when we went to school.
We sat in the basement that evening with her and Richard. Jinx was in the recliner with me again. He was getting a bit big for that, but I didn't care. I rubbed his belly as I talked to my siblings. They talked about what we'd do this summer. I told them I was just glad to be done with Janus Junior High School. Richard asked me why that was. I told him that it was boring most of the time. We knew all the stuff they tried to teach us. We had only two friends and one of them would be at Maxwell Academy with us in the fall. He said Jake, and I nodded.
Then it was our birthday and we were at the Family Fun Center. Our cake was chocolate with blue and green icing. My favorite color was green and Kevin's was blue. We got many presents from Grandma and Grandpa. Jake and Cole gave us presents, too. We got a lot of handheld games. Grandma let us unwrap the game system that I'd bought. Kevin didn't need to know that though. It was a from Japan, and it had cost me a pretty penny. We were happy with it though. They were already selling games for it in the US. I bought a bunch.
Then we played video games in the basement. April was rather good at them. She had a ball. We all did. Richard said that we had this summer and then we'd be gone like April. I told him we'd miss him. He said he'd miss us like crazy. Our days were spent at the vacant lot and our evenings were in the basement with the Nintendo. We went to bed each night out of sheer exhaustion. The summer went on. I paid our tuition to Maxwell Academy and we took the entrance test and passed it with flying colors. They told us to buy uniforms and then told us where to get them. I bought us both foot lockers to carry our clothes in. We got three uniforms apiece.
When Jason took us to Chicago to report to Maxwell Academy, he told us that he was sorry that we hadn't bonded. I told him that we'd figure that out in the future. He smiled at that. Then we were in Chicago and we crossed through the gates to Maxwell Academy. The black brick buildings were so familiar to me that I knew what was in each one. I was shocked to find Athens House completed along with the massive gymnasium and locker rooms.
We went to Professor Pritchard's office. He ushered us inside and as about out trip. Jason said it was fine. He talked about the fact that we were the youngest students at the school. Our schedules had been prepared, and I was dismayed to find French on mine. I thought about saying something about it. He handed us handbooks and talked about the fact that Jason had signed the permission slips for us to play baseball and taken us for our sports physicals. We were moving into Athens House as we were baseball players. I had thought we'd have to try out, but they were doing things a bit different this time.
We had lunch and then moved into our room. Kevin asked me about it. I told him we'd ended up in this very room after joining the baseball team, but we'd been in Durant House under Professor Grant. Now we were in Athens House under Coach Eric Duesler. He was the head baseball coach and Athletic Director of Maxwell Academy. We unpacked, and I put my brand new computer on the desk. Kevin said he didn't even know what to do with it. I told him I was going to write with it. He just looked at me.
We joined the Phoenix Club and were reunited with April. She hugged us and introduced us to Thalia Dwyer and Lisa Davis. They were roommates, and very happy to meet the famous Flynn twins. We smiled at her. I asked her if she'd go to the back to school dance with me. She smiled at me and told me she wasn't looking for a boyfriend. I smiled and told her that I wasn't looking for a girlfriend. She asked if I could dance. There was music playing. I extended my hand. She took it and I spun her around and danced with her for a second.
"Okay," she said. "You can dance. I'll go with you, but if you get handsy I'll smack you."
"I'll be the perfect gentleman," I promised. "You can trust me."
"I'm going to have to," she said. "My dress is aqua and black."
"Thank you," I said. Then she returned to her seat. Lisa looked at me and then at Kevin.
"Can you dance, too?" she asked.
"Yes," he said.
Of course he could dance. I'd taught him in the basement at Grandma's praying that Richard didn't come downstairs while I was teaching him. Kevin had been a quick study. He was a good dancer. She smiled at him again and told him she'd go to the dance with him. He smiled back. We sat down and talked with them for a while. April joined us.
"April tells me you were struck by lightning on your twelfth birthday," Thalia said.
"I was," I said. "The lightning did no damage that anyone could find. I had a bump on the back of my head from hitting the fountain when I fell."
It was so odd to see Thalia so young again. The last time I'd seen her she was a vibrant young woman with the love of her life at her side, coding the next big thing for Flynn Enterprises. That was in the past or future depending on how you looked at it. I wasn't going down that path this time. Thalia was just as beautiful as a fourteen year old girl. She had the same long dark hair and cornflower blue eyes. When she smiled it still lit up her face. Oh how I wanted to tell her what friends we were, but I couldn't do that. I had to let this progress naturally.
"That's amazing," she said. "I've never met anyone who was struck by lightning before."
"Well, some of us weren't so lucky I'm sure," I said with a smile.
"April has told me what you all went through," she said, touching my hand. "It says something about you that you survived it all. She tells me that you're the one who put an end to it."
"After being struck by lightning and surviving, I knew I couldn't just go back to that house and let him continue to hurt me," I said. "I told the doctor what he'd been doing. He had medical scans to back up what I said. He called Social Services and the rest is history. We live with my grandmother and grandfather. A man named Jason Osgood, who I'm struggling to get to know became our legal guardian."
"That's just the most amazing story," Lisa said. "I'm so sorry that you guys went through that. April had a lot of pent up anger about it. We helped her."
"Thank you," I said. "April is very special to us. She's our baby sister. It hurt that we couldn't protect her when she needed us."
"Kills," April said, looking at me. But she stopped.
"We're your big brothers," I said to her. "We're supposed to protect you."
"You couldn't protect me when it was happening to you, too," she said. "He treated you and Kevin the worst because you two had each other and he couldn't break you apart. He wanted us alone and terrified."
"Well, we were terrified," I said. "He got that much. But Kevin and I are a force. We're twins, and we were never going to be broken apart."
"You were always there for me when he hurt me," she said. "You and Kevin both. Richard was just angry."
"Richard was the oldest," I told her. "He felt so bad because he was powerless in the situation."
"He's so proud of you for telling the doctor," she said. "He told me so."
"He's told me the same thing," I said. "Richard is our big brother. His pride means a lot to me."
"It just sucks that we can't be with him," she said. "This is his last year of high school."
"I know," I said. "His trust will open and he'll have money."
"Yeah," she said. "I haven't told anyone about that."
"Well, I gave my grandma numbers for the lottery," I told Thalia and Lisa. "The numbers I gave her were the winning ticket. She wouldn't touch any of the money. She gave it all to me. I put some away in trust funds for my siblings. I didn't want all of that money."
"That's really awesome," Thalia said. "You're all set when you graduate?"
"Yes," I said. "But I want to earn my money. I want to be a writer."
"That's exciting," she said. "Can you write?"
"We're about to find out," I said. "I bought a computer with a word processor in it. I have a printer. I'm going to attempt to write soon."
"Well, you'll have to let me know how it works out for you," she said. "You and I are going to be really good friends. I can tell."
"Well, if you're friends with me, you have to be friends with Kevin, too," I said. "We're a packaged deal."
"So you are," she said, smiling. "Kevin, I look forward to getting to know you, too."
"Thank you," he said. "We have one friend here. It's good to make new friends."
"Isn't it?" Lisa said, beaming at him.
When we got back to our room, Kevin asked me why I told Thalia and Lisa so much. I told him I just had a feeling about Thalia. He shook his head. He asked if I liked her. I told him I was gay. He said he remembered me saying that, but he thought that could have changed. I told him it hasn't changed in two life times, so it wasn't going to change. He said that was cool. He told me that I was the other half of him. He didn't care if I was gay, straight, or liked purple people with yellow dots. I hugged him.
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