Marquis woke up to his phone ringing nonstop. It was Tommy. He answered.
"Hey Marquis, did you see the news today?" Tommy asked.
"No, I haven't. What's up?" Marquis asked, confused.
"Oh, they're looking for the people who ruined our beautiful Evergreen Mountain, the first wonder of the world," he said in a mocking tone.
Marquis's heart skipped a beat, and Tommy continued,
"I know you and your friends were the last people up there, Marquis. So here's the deal, you're gonna buy my silence," Tommy said with a grin on his face.
"What? Dude, I don't know what you're talking about," Marquis said. Then he heard the door open, his parents were home. His heart skipped a beat again, fear evident on his face.
"OK, fine. How much do you want?" Marquis asked, lowering his voice.
"Ha ha ha ha, how about 50k?" Tommy laughed a bit.
Marquis was shocked. He didn't have that kind of money on him.
"Dude, I don't have that kind of money on me," Marquis pleaded.
"Look here, Marquis. I know your parents are loaded. Get me what I want, or else," Tommy demanded.
Marquis was about to try negotiating, but he heard footsteps going upstairs toward his room.
"Fine, I'll get you the money. Just don't tell anyone, OK?" Marquis said, hanging up the phone. He quickly hid his hiking gear, switched off the light in his room, and slid under the bed.
His room door swung open, his adopted father gazing into his room with fury on his face.
"Is he there?" Marquis's adopted mother asked.
"The little shit didn't come back home today either," his father replied. "He probably found the Orb by now."
"Don't worry, honey. We'll find him. I have people out searching for him," his mother said.
Marquis was breathing heavily, hiding under the bed, fear threatening to get his hiding spot exposed. He had no choice but to sleep under his bed for the rest of the night while figuring out how he was going to explain his situation to his father.
The next morning at Dex's house,
BANG!
The door to Dex's room was kicked open. Dex quickly sat up straight, fear etched on his face.
"Where the fuck were you last night?" his brother Bran asked, anger etched on his face. He continued,
"I took a beating because I didn't know where you were last night. Where the fuck did you sleep?" Bran demanded.
"I just went camping with a couple of my friends," Dex answered, his voice shaky with fear.
"Who the fuck said you could go? You little twerp, get your ass out of bed!" Bran yelled, dragging Dex out of bed by the hair.
"Let me go, Bran!" Dex begged.
"Bran!" A lady's voice echoed.
"I'm coming, Mom," Bran responded, letting Dex go. Then he left the room.
"We'll finish our little talk later, twerp," Bran said before leaving.
Dex groaned in anger after his brother had left, punching his pillow. A few minutes later, he heard footsteps heading toward his room and quickly got up, fear on his face, thinking his brother was coming back.
His mom walked into his room.
"Oh, you're already awake. Come on, give me a hug," his mom said.
Dex felt relieved as he walked over to his mom's embrace.
"Sorry I didn't come home yesterday. I went camping with a couple of my friends. It was a last-minute decision."
His mother sat down on his bed and asked him to sit next to her.
"It's OK, honey, but next time try to tell someone before you go. You know how your father gets," she said. Dex apologized, and she continued,
"We should spend more time together. I know I've been busy with work and all, but I miss my lil man," she said, pulling his cheeks.
"Mom, you need to stop doing that. I'm a grown man now. I'm 18," Dex replied, feeling embarrassed. Then he continued,
"I'll stop by your workplace after school. That way, you'll at least get to see me," Dex said.
"You promise?"
"Yeah, Mom, I promise," Dex replied. His mom then said her goodbyes and left, together with his dad, both of them heading to work.
Dex sat on his bed, thinking that maybe he should've told her about Bran. But his mind went back to when he told her about the situation, and she brushed it off as a brother's scuffle.
"She wouldn't understand," Dex thought to himself. Then he went to take a bath.
Ethan woke up happy and quickly said his good mornings to his roommates at the orphanage. He quickly took a shower and put on his best outfit. He ran down the stairs, running into the home mother (the nun who ran the orphanage).
"Ethan, why aren't you dressed for schoo—" Before she could finish, Ethan hugged her.
"Thank you for looking after me, Sister. I mean it. Thank you," he said, then kissed her on the cheek before running outside, smiling from ear to ear.
"That was... new. What got him all happy?" she said, smiling and confused but happy for one of her children.
Ethan stood outside for a few moments, and a black car pulled up. The driver ran outside and opened the door.
"Young Master Ethan, please come in," a man said.
Ethan, still grinning, rubbed his hands together excitedly.
"Yes, sir," he said, jumping into the back of the car with the older man. The Orphanage windows filled with palms, kids pressing against glass as Ethan vanished into the leather seats that smelled like someone else's father.
Back at Dexter's house, he was done getting ready to leave for school when,
"STOP!"
Bran's voice echoed. Dex instantly froze. Bran walked over to Dex and slammed him into the wall.
"Let's pick up where we left off, shall we?" Bran said with a smile on his face.
He slowly took Dex's backpack and opened it.
"Nothing much in here. Oh, you got Mom's famous muffins in here," Bran said while taking the pack filled with at least five muffins. He threw Dex's backpack on the floor and ripped open the pack with the muffins while staring at Dex.
He took out a muffin and took a huge bite, biting off half of it.
"I can't believe Mom has time to make these and sneak them into your backpack," he said, chewing the muffin, his face inches away from Dex's. He shoved the rest of the muffin into his mouth.
"Ohhhhh, fuck, I miss these things. Mom's special muffins. You know she doesn't make these for me these days. I missed them so much," he said, looking up, savoring the taste of the muffins while taking another one. Dex was frozen in fear, his anger rising, but he was scared to do anything.
Dex closed his eyes and made a bet, he was going to run for it. He couldn't take it anymore.
He bolted for the door, but Bran pulled him back, slamming him into the wall again.
"Bad idea, twerp," Bran said, using his tongue to remove some muffin leftovers stuck in his gums.
"Now I'll have to hurt you," he said, pulling his hand back, about to punch Dex in the stomach. Dex closed his eyes, his face ugly with fear.
When Bran's punch was mere inches from Dex's stomach, he was slammed, from the stomach to his face. He was sent flying, crash-landing into a small shelf filled with books, breaking it, instantly passing out.
Dex slowly opened his eyes when he heard the crash. He was surprised to see his forcefield had activated on its own. He had forgotten he had it. He quickly took the remaining special muffins and ran out.
At school, the group met up at the gate and waited until almost everyone had gone in. Then they made their entrance.
"Yo! Dex, where's Ethan?" Kareem asked.
"He went to claim his riches," Dex said, proud of his best friend.
That Monday, it was just the four of them. They walked into the hallway, and the rest of the students quickly made way. Whispers could be heard.
"The Untouchables are coming!" a student yelled.
"That's Dex, the leader of the Untouchables. Don't look at him the wrong way, dude. Dex doesn't play around," another said.
The students were staring, and The Untouchables loved the attention.
"That's Chloe, the first beauty of the school," a male student yelled, drooling while watching Chloe. Another male student quickly jumped into the conversation.
"There's Nia, our second queen. So beautiful. I'm telling you guys, she should be number one," they started having a debate, comparing Chloe and Nia.
Kareem was busy feeling himself, winking at the girls, basically enjoying the moment. Some were whispering about the last member, Ethan, not being there.
The Untouchables had cemented their reputation as the bullies, the kings of fashion, and the rulers of the school the moment they became seniors.
In the middle of the city, in a beautiful building on the top floor, Ethan sat on the most comfortable couch he'd ever sat on. In front of him was Freddy. Ethan already knew why he was called there. He was all smiles, waiting for the news about his inheritance.
"Young Master Reed, it's very hard for me to tell you this, but—" He took a deep breath and continued,
"Your father was a great man." Ethan's heart skipped a beat hearing the word, father.
Freddy continued,
"He didn't know he had a son until recently. He'd been watching you for a while now. He just didn't know how to approach and talk to you. Saturday night, me and your father were waiting for you at the orphanage when his heart suddenly started hurting."
Freddy removed his glasses and wiped the tears away. He put them back on and continued,
"He left everything to you before his heart gave out and he passed away. He wanted you to have an amazing life, but he lost his life before he could meet you."
Freddy couldn't help but cry. Ethan was frozen in shock. His hand was shaking, and his breathing quickened.
"Did my father have heart problems before?" he asked, looking down, curious but afraid of the answer.
"No, young master. The doctors didn't know what happened or how it happened. He just died." Ethan closed his eyes, looking to the side.
"How do you know my father?" Ethan asked.
Freddy quickly answered,
"I was your father's personal assistant. I served him for many years, and I will be the one serving you, as per your father's request."
"Send someone to get me a house," Ethan declared. Then he continued,
"I want to see him," he said, his hand squeezing into a fist. Angry at himself.
After chatting for a while, Ethan and Freddy left for the hospital. They went inside the morgue, and there he was, Ethan's father. The doctors showed him the way in and uncovered his father's face. Ethan held back his tears, but everyone could see the sadness on his face.
"I'm sorry, Dad," he said in a low voice. Then he ran out.
At the end of the day, Marquis got a car and a house. He went inside his new house and explored with a smile on his face. His footsteps echoed in the marble foyer, the only sound in the house.
"This is it. I'm on top of the world," he said, admiring the view. After a while, he couldn't help but feel lonely. He pulled out his phone and texted Dex,
"Wanna check out my new crib, bro?"
A text popped up on his phone screen:
"Can't, dawg. I'm hanging out with my mom at her workplace. I'll be there tomorrow, though," Dex replied.
Ethan sighed and sat down on the floor. Tears started running down his cheeks.
"I killed him," he said, his father's death hitting him hard.