“Are you sure you want to do this?” My dad asked me for the fifteenth time already. I can’t blame him, though. I wasn’t very sure of my decision, but I had to do this. I have had enough of Dicky and Peter. My asshole, older half-brothers, they hate my guts. I don’t even know what I have ever done to them. And yes, we’re half-brothers.
You see, my dad, Harry, had been married before marrying my mom, Lilian. He had my three older brothers from the lady he married before she died. Johnny, my eldest brother and the only nice one of them. He’s 18 and is a very great brother. He loves and cares about me. Then there’s Dicky and Peter, 16-year-old twins. They all look like Dad with jet-black hair and grey eyes.
Finally, there’s me, Carl, 12 years old, and I look more like my mom with her dirty blonde hair and emerald-green eyes. My mom and dad got divorced when I was 5 years old. I was left with my dad and moved here from California to New York. Our neighborhood is just on the outskirts of New York City; it’s far quieter than the city itself. Our house is actually more of a mansion, two stories with a garden, a swimming pool and a basketball yard.
I, however, never liked it. Just because my dad is rich doesn’t mean I like that place. My dad owns a chain of fancy restaurants all over the world and two big hotels in Vegas. He never liked Casinos, nor did he want to be involved in that business. He also owns other hotels all around the country. The people there only care about money. Having friends is difficult, knowing that many people are probably after your money.
Still, it was home. What made me hate this place were my brothers. I am pretty sure if it wasn’t for Johnny continuing to save me, I would be dead by now. Peter was about to throw me off the balcony yesterday, and although it wasn't that high, it could have caused some serious injuries like broken bones or worse.
Lucky for me, Peter ended up with a pair of black eyes and a bleeding nose as Johnny came to rescue me just in time. While I am forever grateful for Johnny, I don’t think I can stay in the same house with both Peter and Dicky. That’s why I made a decision; seeing that I am not planning to get killed anytime soon, I decided to go live with Mom back in California again.
Now, I am sitting in the back of an SUV with my dad, going directly to the airport. I am not sure if Mom will be happy to have me or not. She left me, and to be honest, I missed her. I learned to deal with it eventually. Still, every time I visit her, there’s this awkward atmosphere that I don’t know how to describe.
“Dad, we talked about this. I can’t stay with these two anymore, and I can’t expect Johnny to watch over me all the time,” I replied. Dad let out a sigh. He didn’t want me to move away. I knew that for sure. Me and Dad were very close, probably more than the rest of my brothers.
Unlike me and Johnny, Dicky and Peter don’t want to spend time with dad. Whenever he’s home, they are either away with friends or in their room. With Johnny going to university soon and me going to stay with my mom, I think he would feel lonely.
“I can hire someone to watch over you, or we can get you your own house with a driver and a housekeeper,” Dad suggested. I know he desperately wants me to stay, but I have my own reasons to go live with my mom. It’s not like Dicky and Peter were the only reason for me to move away. There’s another reason that I couldn’t tell anyone about it, and there’s also that I miss my mom.
“You don’t have to do that. Besides, I think it’s only fair for Mom to spend the coming years with me; I will come to visit you. I just can’t stay here.” Seeing that I was determined and wouldn’t change my mind, Dad just dropped the topic. We reached the airport and sat down, waiting for the plane to arrive.
“If you could have waited for just one week, I would have taken you in the jet instead.” A week? I am not sure I could have lasted that long. The more Peter and Dicky try to kill me, the more they get in fights with Johnny and Dad. The more they get in trouble, the more they hate me. In this one week, they will probably kill me.
We talked for a bit until my plane arrived. Dad had to sign a form for me to get on the plane. “I will transfer money to your card and send Lilian child support. If you need anything or if you ever need more money, just give me a call, all right?” he told me as I stood in front of the gate.
I nodded at him, and he smiled while ruffling my hair. Dad is generous when it comes to money; he ensures my bank account never has less than a thousand dollars. No matter what we ask of him, he always gives it to us.
“Make sure to call when Lilian picks you up. Don’t forget I am not leaving for England until I get that call,” Dad said, trying to sound firm, but it just never works. He always fails to sound strict in front of me.
“I will, Dad. Don’t worry,” I assured Dad, who smiled and gave me one last hug before I went through the gate. My ticket was first-class, as Dad would never allow anything less. I took my seat beside the window. As passengers came into the plane, a lady wearing a fancy suit took the seat beside me. She looked to be in her early thirties or something.
“Hello, sweetheart,” she said with a smile, and I replied with a similar smile. Are you alone?” She looked at me with confusion. I am sure she wondered why I was flying alone.
“Yes, ma'am.” I tried to be as polite as possible as her eyes studied me intensely. Her eyes made me uncomfortable, but I couldn’t say anything.
“You look familiar. What’s your name, sweetie?” the lady asked, keeping her gaze fixed on me.
“C-Carl, M-ma'am,” I said, stammering. I gulped as her eyes didn’t leave mine for a second. Honestly, she was scaring me.
Suddenly her eyes got bigger as if she had realized something. “Carl Davis?” She asked, and I nodded in confusion. How did she know my last name? “You’re Lilian's son?”
“You know my mom?” I asked very surprisedly. I didn’t expect to meet someone who knew my mom.
“Yes, honey, I know your mom. Sorry for being rude. You just look almost the same way your mom looks. Anyway, I am Linda. I am a very close friend of your mom,” she said, sticking her hand to me.
“Nice to meet you,” I said, shaking her hand. So that’s the whole story. Honestly, she scared me. It’s not every day that the passenger next to you keeps glaring at you. It’s normal to be scared, right?
“You know Lillian had been talking about you the whole week? She didn’t stop talking about you for a moment; your mom really loves you, you know that?”
Hearing this from one of Mom’s friends really pains me. I know that Mom loves me, but when she left, I was only five and could barely understand things. I thought she abandoned me and was really hurt. I only visited her a couple of weeks every summer, and I always made it clear that I was mad at her for leaving me.
When I was 8, I had a fight with my mom that almost broke her heart. I don’t remember exactly what happened or what I said, but I remember Mom crying and calling Dad to pick me up earlier. After that fight, I didn’t visit her for two years. In these two years, I started to think about it, and that’s when I knew she must have had a reason to leave me with Dad.
She called Dad every day, asking about me. She had not called me directly since the fight, but not a day passed without her calling. I felt evil, guilty, and genuinely bad. What made the feeling worse was when I decided to visit her the year I turned 10.
I was welcomed with a crushing hug from Mom. The whole time I spent with her, I felt like she was trying to make things up for me. I felt more like a jerk. She was trying her best, but things were just awkward. Right now, the reason she left me with Dad doesn’t matter anymore. I am sure she has her own reasons, and I won’t even ask her; I don’t need to know. I will make it up to her no matter what.
Linda started talking to me, telling me about herself. She told me that she’s 33 and runs a modeling agency. My mom owns a clothes store for men and women. Her store is big enough to have more than one branch, and she also owns more than one factory. Both my parents were always ambitious.
Linda hires models to model for clothes that will end up in my mom’s store. It seems she has known Mom for a long time. “You know, you got me confused for a bit. I mean, Lillian talked about her son, but I thought you were a girl when I saw you at first,” Linda admitted, which is something I totally expected. I do look like my mom, after all, and with my hair this long, I can’t blame anyone for mistaking me for a girl.
I was about to talk when the sound of the captain came from the speakers. “Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. This is the captain. Our flight will take approximately five hours.”
The captain finished speaking, and the sign to put on our seat belts lit up. After a couple of minutes, we were in the air. After a couple more minutes, a flight attendant came to us. “Good morning, ladies. Can I get you something?”
Linda looked confused, seeing that I had not corrected the flight attendant. I simply didn’t care anymore; besides, it was tiring. “Can I have orange juice, please?” I asked politely.
“Of course, sweetie,” she said with a smile. Then she turned to Linda and asked her if she would like anything.
“Yes, a cup of coffee will do, thank you very much,” Linda said to the flight attendant, who smiled and walked away. Once she was gone, Linda turned to me with a smirk on her face.
“Do I look that much like a girl?” Even with my short hair, everyone would mistake me for a girl. Even if I am wearing my all-boys school uniform, they will completely ignore it and think that I am a girl.
“I will be honest with you, Carl. You’re too pretty to be a boy. As someone who runs a modeling agency, I have seen many pretty girls of all ages, none of them as pretty as you.” Linda’s confident statement made my face turn red. I am kind of on the shy side; standing out is not my thing.
“Great, I am prettier than a female model,” I said with a sigh, which made Linda laugh a bit. I used to always cut my hair to try to look more like a boy, but that never worked, so in the end, I just gave up and let it grow. I never had one of those buzz cuts, and I never liked them anyway; neither did my dad nor my brothers.
“It's not that bad,” Linda tried to comfort me but failed miserably as she started to laugh instead. “Well, you’re Lilian's son. I am not surprised anymore.”
The flight attendant brought orange juice and coffee for Linda. I took out my tablet and started reading Featherless Wings, a novel about a shy boy who can fly but is too shy to show his wings, afraid of people judging him. I just love the author of this novel. While I don’t know her name, I know the meaning behind her work.
Apparently, she has a son who is very smart and talented but very shy. She decided to write a novel because her son was being bullied. This novel is a message to him to spread his wings and not care about people—at least, that’s what she said in an interview. I hope he won’t be like me and will see how much his mom loves him.
•••••••••••••
“Carl, wake up,” Linda said, shaking me awake. Slowly, I opened my eyes and looked around me. “There are those pretty eyes. Now, I want you to put on your seatbelt. We’re about to land.”
I looked around and could see that everyone had their seatbelts on, so I buckled mine. “How many hours have I been sleeping?” I only remember starting to read the novel on my tablet, then nothing else. At least I didn’t need to stay awake for the whole flight.
“I am not sure, but at least three hours. By the way, I put your tablet back in the backpack,” Linda told me. I smiled at her and thanked her.
If my tablet broke, I could just get another one, but then I would have to deal with all the novels I have on my tablet. I would need to download them again, that’s more than 60 novels there.
The landing was smooth, which worried me, seeing that I hadn’t been on a commercial flight for a couple of years now, only using Dad’s private jet to travel. Even coming here will always be with Dad’s private jet; he also comes with me just to say hi to Mom. I wish I knew why they got divorced, but it’s clear that they still love each other. I mean, Dad will take every chance he can to see my mom.
Dragging my suitcase behind me, I walked towards the exit with Linda beside me. As I walked, I spotted Mom, and she also spotted me. She walked towards me at the same time I did and hugged me tightly. “I missed you so much,” Mom said somewhat excitedly. Seeing her excited about me coming makes me happy.
“I really envy you, Lil. You have such a pretty son,” Linda said, making me blush and earning a glare from Mom.
“Don’t tease my son, Linda, " Mom said firmly, squeezing me into yet another crushing hug—not that I mind; I actually like that.
“All right, sorry about that. I hope you two have a nice day,” Linda said, walking away before turning back. I enjoyed talking to you, Carl. I will see you around,” Linda said, kissing my cheek before walking away.
“What was that just now?” I asked, somewhat amused. I like Linda; she’s kind and somewhat funny.
“That’s Linda being Linda, sweetheart,” Mom said before grabbing my suitcase from me and leading us out of the airport. “She’s friendly and likes kids your age the most,” Mom said as we walked out to the parking lot.
I put my suitcase in the car trunk and moved to get in the passenger seat. The moment I entered the car Mom pulled me into another hug. “I have been looking forward to this, you know? I still can’t believe you will be living with me,” Mom admitted excitedly.
“Well, I thought it’s fair for us to spend time together, besides there’s no Peter or Dicky here,” I claimed, telling Mom the incomplete truth. I know I can tell Mom about this problem; I just don’t know how, so until then, I have time to think.
“I know your brothers can be too much to handle,” Mom said, pulling me closer and kissing my forehead. “I am sorry I left you. I am sorry you had to get through this,” Mom said regretfully.
I looked up at her and saw that she was about to cry. “Mom, it’s okay. I am fine, and I am here with you. That’s what matters, right?”
“I love you, Carl,” Mom said, pulling away and starting the car.
“I love you too, Mom,” I said, smiling and buckling my seatbelt.
“Should we go home? Or do you want to have lunch somewhere?” Mom asked. She knows that Dad owns more than three restaurants around here. When we go there, we always eat for free, and Mom is not excluded.
“I would like to go home. I think lunch inside the house would be better. Maybe we can have dinner outside today?” I said. Honestly, I just want to spend some time with Mom alone, not in public. We will have every chance to get out, but for now, I just want to go home and unload my things.
“Home, it is then.” Mom smiled, pulling out of the parking lot and heading home. For some reason, calling it home feels right. I imagined things may be awkward between us, but so far, it’s great.
I sat beside my mom as silence filled the car. I really didn’t know what to talk about, I can tell that like always mom was trying her best.
“So, what’s bothering you? I can tell there’s something in your mind,” mom said her eyes on the road and catching me by surprise. Does she know? I mean my mom is very smart and it’s impossible to trick her.
“Relax honey, I don’t know wha,t's going on, but I am sure it bothers you more th,an Dicky and Peter, I will not, push. As log as you’re not in danger when . Also,when you feel like telling me I am ready to listen,” mom told me patting my lap.
I feel like crying right now, the fact that mom noticed told me that I didn’t make the wrong decision. Mom was always very supportive and understanding, I just don’t know how to tell her and it hurts me.
As mom drove, I started to see many familiar sights and some unfamiliar sights as, well. LA hasn’t changed that much since I came last time, which was last year. At some point, we drove by our neighborhood which didn’t seem to change either. Mom pulled past our house and didn’t even slow which got m,e confused.
“I know you’re confused but we will not be living here anymore,” mom said adding to my confusion. “You see the Jaegers, had moved away five months ago, also our old house was getting old and needed extensive renovations. I thought we needed a fresh start away from the old house. So, I bought the house next to the Jaegers. I was thinking if you already have a friend when you come here it would be good.”
Now that’s a surprise, the Jaegers were always our neighbors. They have a daughter my age, her name is Angela and we had been friends since we were little. Another reason that brought me here is that I know I could make friends here. I already have one who’s Angela. I am a bit surprised that Angela didn’t tell me, we talk a lot but she didn’t tell me. At least thanks to mom we will still be neighbors.
Mom drove away from our now old house; I couldn’t help but think that mom made the right decision. Everything she did was only because she cared about me, and I had to act like a jerk back then.
“Look, that’s the school you will be attending,” mom said. I looked out of the window to see a big school, much bigger than my old all-boys school. The school seems to be somewhat fancy, with a one building, it looked very modern with a glass front. I couldn’t help but notice the school logo as we passed by the main gate. It was TYA letters with flowers planted around it.
“TYA?” I asked quizzically. Neither I nor dad knew what school I will be attending and we decided to leave that matter to mom. From the look of it, mom made the right choice again. I still wonder what TYA stands for.
“Talented Youth Academy, it’s a school for smart kids like you sweetheart, they also have a good basketball team. Once you pass their intelligence test, which I know you will we can see if we can get you on the team,” mom said putting her hands on my shoulder. She was always confident in me, not once in my life did mom debut me before. “I am sure they would love to have a great point guard like you,” mom stated confidently.
I am not sure she’s saying this because I am her son or because she’s very knowledgeable when it comes to basketball. Maybe both. She was the one who pushed me to join the basketball team last year when I was hastening. Mom says that basketball is in my blood, she used to be a WNBA player for a year. Dad also used to be an NBA player but retired early due to injury. He also wanted to start his business and he had enough money to do it.
I spent most of the last season on the bench, I stepped in when Fred, the point guard broke his leg.
When I started to play, we started to win, not because of me of course. It’s because I didn’t keep the ball to myself, we won because we played like a team. It was funny that the coach didn’t want me to play at first, yet he became frustrated because I won’t be playing the next season with the team.
After passing the school we kept driving for about 20 minutes until we stopped in front of a two-story house. It was a modern-style house and looked gorgeous. Mom parked the car in the garage and we left the car. “What do you think?” She asked me as I left the car. She didn’t even have to ask me because I am sure she knows what I think.
“The house is great mom,” I said genuinely. It’s not the house that mattered much, it’s how much attention and love I am getting. That definitely mattered more than the house itself.
“Well, it’s not as big as the one you have in New York, but I am glad you like it,” mom said. I took out my back bag and my suitcase out of the car and headed inside the house. The house looked very cozy and nice from the inside. That wasn’t what caught my attention, however, something smelled amazingly delicious that made my stomach growl.
It reminds me of my grandma’s lasagne. I haven’t smelled it since I was 6 yet, it’s impossible to forget this smell. “What is that smell?” I asked mom as she entered the house behind me.
She had a smirk on her face which told me she planned this. “Why don’t you go and see?” Mom asked. I left my thing in front of the door and walked to the kitchen. That’s where I saw my grandma making lasagne.
“Nonna!” I said in a surprised tone. I didn’t expect to see my grandma today. Every time I would come, she would come and see me. That would only last for two weeks so I always end missing her. Grandma turned and smiled at me and I went to hug her. “I missed you nonna.”
“Oh, Nipote, mi sei manc,” she replied in Italian hugging me back. “You have grown taller sweetie, you’re too skinny, however, didn’t Harry feed you a thing?”
Grandma will always think I am skinny she may not be wrong but I do eat good meals under dad’s or Johnny’s watching eyes. On the last visit to the doctor, they were not happy to hear that I am underweight for someone my height or age. I had always been taller than kids my age, with a couple of inches that is. I think it helped keep the bullies away, this and the fact that they know about my brothers.
“It’s not Harry, madre,” mom said coming into the kitchen. “Someone here, didn’t finish his food probably,” mom told grandma, making me blush. I was worried that dad would tell her about that, mom would freak out if I have simple flu. I had my suspicions that dad told her but didn’t want to think about it. Right now, my suspicions had been confirmed.
“We can’t have that now Nipote, you must eat well or you will get sick,” grandma said a little bit sternly.
“I knew you will be coming today so I made your favorite lasagne.” I always love grandma’s lasagne’s something like a secret recipe that was only passed down to mom and aunt Bella.
“I think you better call your dad before doing anything else, I bet you that’s he’s sitting beside the phone waiting for your call,” mom said somewhat amused. She was right after all if I don’t call dad, he will get extremely worried.
“I will be right back,” I said kissing grandma before going to get my phone from my backpack. I could just put it in the pocket of my shorts, but that’s was a lesson I learned after spending hours on a field trip using a train it’s not good. It won’t be comfortable after the first two hours, that’s why I put it in my backpack.
Retrieving my phone from my backpack, I called dad, and without a second delay, he answered. It was like he was holding the phone in his hand. “Carl, are you ok? Did anything happen to you? I can always come and pick you up you know? If you need me just say it, I will come to you immediately.”
Yup, mom was right he’s already freaking out.
“Dad, I am ok, I just arrived at the house, and I am completely fine,” I said trying to calm him down. If I fail, he will probably come here personally to make sure I am ok. That’s who dad really is, with us, he’s completely different and he’s not the man with the best poker face that no one can tell what he’s thinking. And definitely not the cold-hearted billionaire the media tries to make him sound like.
“You should have called me 30 minutes ago, I thought something happened to you.” I should have called him but I was just happy to see mom again that I forgot to call him.
“Sorry, dad,” I apologized hoping he would see that I am ok and won’t come all the way from New York to make sure of it himself.
“Alright, I am just glad that you’re ok,” dad said letting out a sigh of relief. From all, my brothers, he worries about me more than anyone else. If he’s traveling, he will make me call him every morning and every evening. If I don’t, he would freak out. I just hope that won’t be the case here. “By the way, Charlene is mad at me, talk to her, or I won’t hear the end of it till we reach London,” dad said making me laugh.
Charlene is like dad’s little sister, she’s 26 years old and works with my dad. If she’s not working, she would be spending a lot of time with me, we are like friends only she’s 14 years older than me. But she’s fun. “Alright dad, I will call her.” I can imagine Charlene fighting with dad and he’s trying to do anything to her, she’s like a family to dad after all.
“By the way, the Los Angeles Sparks will have a match next month, so I bought two VIP tickets for you and Lilian. I am sure she still likes to watch WNBA matches.” Is it weird that I like to watch WNBA? I don’t have a special reason but I am a big fan of the women who play in the tournament. From what I know it’s not easy being a player, after all, mom gave up playing because she wanted to have me.
I had to lie to the couple of people I called friends back in New York. I told them that I like a player in Los Angeles Sparks, it’s not really a lie but the way I like her is not what came to their mind. Her name is Cori Bender she’s the point guard, while it’s weird I kinda admire her, she’s strong beautiful, and amazing in many ways. It may be stupid, but I look up to her.
Hold on a minute, did he say next month? How did he know that? How did he even get the tickets? “How did you know they will play a match next month?” Dad chuckled a bit making me a bit confused. He can be mysterious sometimes.
“Let's just say the team will have a new corporate sponsor, beginning this season, so you can always have a VIP seat whenever they have a match. Besides, it would be a good way for you to bond with Lilian,” he explained surprising me. So far, he’s sponsoring two basketball teams New York Knicks, which is the team we never missed a match for. And now he will sponsor Los Angeles Sparks, I don’t even know, what to say.
“Thanks, Dad,” was all I could say. We spoke for about 10 other minutes before we said goodbye. I can’t believe he's actually sponsoring this team.
“Nipote, the food is getting cold,” grandma called from the kitchen. Remembering the food made my stomach rumble again. God, I am really hungry.
“Coming nonna,” I replied before walking back to the kitchen. As I sat down mom put a plate of amazingly looking lasagne in front of me. Just looking at it made my mouth water.
“Nipote,” grandma called as I was putting a piece of lasagne in my mouth. I turned to her and she gave me a soft smile. “Before you go back, why don’t stay with your Nonna for a couple of days?” Her tone felt sad as she said it. Grandma had three children aunt Bella is the eldest then my mom and the youngest is Uncle Ben. Aunt Bella has twins, Jimmy and Janet who are my age and uncle Ben is not married yet. All in all, grandma has three grandkids including me. Uncle Ben and Aunt Bella live in Georgia so it’s rare when they visit. Since she barely sees the three of us, she must be sad.
I swallowed my food then looked at my grandma. “But Nonna, I am not leaving this time, I will be staying here from now on,” I said looking at mom quizzically. Didn’t she tell grandma already? Or was she expecting me to change my mind? I hope not, because I am not planning on going anywhere else anytime soon.
“Well, Madre, I wanted to keep it as a surprise, but,” Mom said, walking behind me putting her hands on my shoulders and kissing my temple. “Carl had decided to live with me from now on.”
Mom then turned to me with a smirk. “Your Nona always gets mad at me demanding to see her grandbaby,” she explained making me blush a bit.
Hello everyone, I know you can see similarities. Yes there is. The story is not stolen. The scenario was inspired by bears know best. There will smilarties, like love for music, transformation, and bike ride. But I made sure even these are different. I am not stealing and I am not trying to steal anyone's story. Thank you all.