Chapter Text
“John!”
Arthur raised his hand high up in the air and waved as he flagged down his little brother. This wasn’t the first time he picked John up from school, and it wouldn’t be the last, but he was always relieved whenever he saw his black-haired brother parting from the swarm of middle school kids also searching for their rides home. He came running over to him with a piece of paper flapping in his hand. Arthur figured that he didn’t smile much but the sight of John happy was contagious. John skidded to a halt in front of his brother and immediately held the paper out to him. Arthur read it, feeling a bit self-conscious about his reading skills while he did so.
“Detention again, John?”
“I had to go to the bathroom and Miss Grimshaw said no, so I left!”
Arthur sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He looked around at the other students who were matched up to their families. Something in his heart twinged when he saw the smiling parents eager to pick up their children. He looked back at John, who had his head down and his arms crossed.
“When is it?” Arthur found himself asking this question too many times to count and at this point it felt more like reciting a line from a script.
“Tomorrow at three. I don’t get out till three-thirty though.”
Arthur put both his hands on his hips and looked down at the unruly eleven-year-old, trying to think of something else to say but sparing John the embarrassment of being scolded in front of the rest of his school. It also wasn’t like Arthur was much older than him anyway. He was eighteen, to the other parents it would look like a kid yelling at another kid. Besides, John doesn’t listen or respond well to lectures and he’ll just do it again anyway. It wasn’t the first time and it certainly won’t be the last, if John had his way. Arthur just sniffed and ruffled John’s hair. John looked up at him and Arthur gave him a small smile.
“Now get in the car.”
And like the gremlin he is, he launched himself in the car as soon as Arthur opened the door for him. He went in through the backseat but he would definitely end up in the passenger by the time the ride was over. Arthur pulled off and the first three minutes of the ride was spent in silence, with just the sound of the radio lowly playing some country music.
“Are you mad at me?”
Arthur’s eyes flicked up into John’s through the rearview mirror for a brief second before they were back on the road. He wanted to give off that he was angry but Arthur already knew and John’s question confirmed that he was nervous more than anything. He shook his head.
“No, I ain’t.”
“Really?”
“Nah. The way I figure it, there was worst things you could have done.”
“Like piss on her floor!”
“Watch your mouth, boy!”
John huffed and rolled his eyes. Arthur made a turn and chuckled.
“But yes. Now come up from back there and talk to me!”
John perked up at that and there went that tired smile across Arthur’s face again. In a flash John was scrambling into the passenger seat, his book-bag thrown on the floor in the back in his haste. Arthur’s chuckle turned into a full laugh at the sight. The radio was promptly drowned out by John’s enthusiastic retelling of his day. Apparently he was a rock star to his friends after that incident. Listening to John’s day always helped calm Arthur’s nerves a bit while he drove back to their house. He never knew what state their father was in when he came back from picking John up. But so long as John was smiling, he guessed he could find a reason to as well. He made another turn, hands gripping the wheel a bit tighter realizing that he was very close to home. He felt even worse when he saw a police car parked in front of their house. It was the least nicest one on the block. It looked almost like a house where a family could live decently, but all of their neighbors, and the ones that lived in it knew that was far from the truth. He was surprised that they were still able to live in the area. It wasn’t fancy like the suburbs, and it was a step below a cul-de-sac, but it was a ring of homes and Arthur could pretend sometimes that he really did live in a nice suburban home. But he was in a knock-off one because his family was poor, his dad paid the bills just fine but the rest of his money went to drinking, women, and drugs. Arthur worked at a McDonald’s drive-thru and whatever money he earned went solely to John and himself, and the upkeep of the house.
John stopped talking and Arthur knew that their quiet before the storm was over. He got out the car first and John followed after him. The cop was knocking hard on his door, seemingly waiting there for a while.
“Is there something you need, officer?”
The officer looked him up and down before giving him that usual stare like Arthur was beneath him. He was sure by now that his house was the talk of the police station with how many times their dad got busted for belligerence.
“Are you Lyle Morgan’s boy?”
“I’m the oldest one, sure. John’s the youngest.”
The other cop muttered something like, “That you know of” under his breath and chuckled to himself. Arthur’s fist coiled but he was able to steady his hand. The cop banging on the door just walked over to his car and opened the door. His father lolled out of the backseat, passed out from another night of heavy drinking. Arthur looked around and saw that some of the neighbors were watching the scene unfold and even though he knew that this was nothing new and they were as used to it as he was, it was still mortifying and painful to have to go through it. The boys watched as the cop swung Lyle’s arm around his neck and dragged him to the front of the house. Arthur quickly moved to unlock it and the cop threw Lyle to the floor like he was a ragdoll before stepping back out of the house.
“Son, I’m sure you know what to do from here.” The cop said. Arthur, embarrassed into muteness nodded and watched the two lawmen go back to their car and drive away. When they were gone and the prying eyes of nosy neighbors went away, Arthur looked over at John and mustering the best smile he could, motioned for his little brother to go in first. He hated at how silent John would get when things like this happened. He kicked his dad’s limp feet the rest of the way into the house and moved to close the door when he caught eyes with Charles.
Charles and Arthur are the same age, and they were in the same classes each time, on account of the town being small. They never really talked much, not even after he learned that Charles lived across the street from him since first grade. And it’s not like they would have had time to chat in high school, Arthur dropped out sophomore year to take care of John. He was playing with his dog, Copper in the yard and no doubt saw Lyle’s arrival. He was in the middle of wrestling the Frisbee from the dog when they clapped eyes on the each other. Arthur was glad that he couldn’t see the brimming tears in his eyes. Charles smiled and it made Arthur feel warm. He waved at him, Arthur waved back shyly and ducked into the house.
John was standing in front of their blacked out father, holding one strap of his bag. When Arthur finished locking the door, he looked at his dad and exhaled.
“Come on, John. Help me get him to the tub.”
Arthur quickly wiped away a tear when he heard John’s soft, “Okay, Arthur.” and shed his book-bag to hold his dad’s arms.