Chapter Text
I should’ve been here. That was what Brandon thought as he sat in the back of his dad’s car gazing at his shoes. He wished that he could’ve been home when the fire happened, that he could’ve saved his family from their horrible fates. As soon as Dad had called him he’d rushed home from tour and driven straight to the charred remains of his former house. For days he’d done nothing but cried and mourned, feeling like maybe if he cried enough the pain would go away. The funeral had been yesterday and it seemed that he had no more tears left to shed. It didn’t stop him from missing every one of them.
Mariana. They’d fought a few times but he knew in his heart that she was truly his sister and they looked out for each other when it counted. Mat had come back from tour as well, heartbroken at the loss of the girl he loved. He’d been at the funeral, helping with the caskets and laying a flower down on her gravestone. Even the dance team had come to pay their respects.
Jesus. He remembered giving his younger brother relationship advice, and the way the two would keep each other’s secrets. Sometimes Jesus could be a little self-absorbed, especially when it came to relationships. It didn’t change the fact that he would help out the family as often as he could, especially when it came to Mariana.
Lena. Blood didn’t matter; she’d been just as much his mother as if she’d given birth to him. She was always the one that he could go to, like when she’d helped him tell his parents about Dani. As a mother she sacrificed so much to do what was right and she always knew how to make someone smile. Her mother had come to him at the funeral and wrapped her arms around him, wishing him all the best with tears rolling down her cheeks. A parent losing their child was the worst kind of loss there could be. There was nothing he could say because he just felt too much guilt that it was her lying in that casket.
Callie. Their relationship had been complicated. He honestly wasn’t sure if he loved her, but she was very special to him. They were so much alike in that they wanted to be who they were without being judged. She was creative and smart and they would always help each other. But she could never catch a break. There was so much suffering thrown her way and he’d thought that she could finally get the happy ending that she deserved. He’d been wrong.
And Mom. Throughout everything she had always had his best interest at heart. She’d been the one constant in his life. When Dad had his alcohol problems, when the twins first moved into the house. Even with all the trouble that he got into she would be there telling him that he was such a good person. Grandma had been in town for the last week, helping him and the family with whatever they needed. Of course she’d bawled her eyes out when they got to the funeral. She left just this morning after ensuring that they would be alright.
At the moment Dad was meeting with a lawyer to discuss what his moms had left behind. Most of it likely didn’t matter, considering a lot of their things had been destroyed when the house collapsed. Part of him was bothered by how Dad was handling the whole situation. He hadn’t cried even once, not during the funeral or the wake. It was strange and Brandon wanted to see him care.
“You can move into my room if you want,” he said quietly, glancing over at Jude sitting in the other backseat. “If you want your own room, Dad might help you move into the spare room.” There was no response from Jude. He hadn’t spoken a word since the fire and it was concerning everyone around him, much like that week months ago when he didn’t talk. No one else had seen what happened during the fire so no one else could really understand what was going through his mind.
Dad got into the car and his eyes drifted sideways toward the box sitting on the passenger side. So little had been recovered that they’d been able to fit it into a single box. He took some time to take a deep breath before starting the engine and driving away.
“What happened?” inquired Brandon.
“Pretty much what I expected. Everything they had is going to you two. We have to open an account in your name so they can transfer your moms’ money over to you.” It didn’t feel good to be getting money that his moms had worked hard their entire lives for, but it wasn’t like they had a choice.
Back at the house, the two boys were sat down on the couch while Dad made some phone calls in the other room. Brandon wished Jude would say something, but it was like he was a husk. He wouldn’t move unless someone guided him and the expression on his face never changed. Several times Brandon had carried on a conversation with him, not sure if he was even processing what was being said around him. The courts had wanted to take him away and put him back into the system but his dad had convinced them to release him into his custody.
“Okay boys, we need to have a talk.” The older Foster took a seat across from them and put his hands in his lap.
“What is it?”
“Do you want to stay in Anchor Beach?” The question was blunt and it took Brandon by surprise.
“Dad, I’ve lived here like my entire life,” he answered. “Why would we leave?”
“Look, I’m just saying that sometimes it can be hard to go back to life as normal when you stay in one place. It might be good for everyone to start over someplace new.”
“Where would we even go?”
“I made some calls B. They got a job for me in Pacific Heights. Still in California, a few hours away, but we could start over. I even found a nice place that could fit all three of us.” Brandon considered everything that was going through his head. There was so much for him here, school, his friends, and the band. But the idea of going back to all the places he’d been with his family sounded like torture. His dad would still be with him, and maybe things would be better out there.
“Jude, what do you think?” he asked the younger boy. Jude shrugged, his expression unchanging. They could probably ask him to move to the Middle East and he wouldn’t object.
“I talked to your grandmother, she knows where the place is and she’d still come and see you. Said you two should be the ones making the decision. If you want to stay we’ll stay, but it’s up to you.” He thought of the smoking remains of his house, the pitiful glances that would come his way upon his return to school, and all the bad history that lied with Anchor Beach.
“Okay. We’ll leave Anchor Beach.”