Chapter Text
Even when I was 15 people were surprised by how mature I was. Despite how young I was I found high school easy. I even finished before my big brother who's two years my elder. John wasn't stupid, we both inherited our father's brains and when it came to hands-on tasks he excelled.
However he spent all his free time on lacrosse and friends and when I wasn't attending a game or playing a heated round of Mario kart with Cameos and Sully, I was reading every book I could get my hands on. I wanted to know everything I could about as many topics I could. Whenever I found books I knew john would love I'd give it to him and despite his complaints I caught him reading them when he thought I wasn't around.
I just started university when John left.
He didn't say anything. One morning I woke up and headed into his room to get him ready for school. I found a note in his place.
“I‘ve left to find my way in the world.
Don’t come looking for me”
After that all my free time was spent studying.
I went on to do several degrees, I found I thrived in the university environment. I also was able to gain access to large libraries full of information previously unavailable to me. I made strong ties with professors and students that I still have now and was also able to gain the attention of high-level research facilities.
I was six months away from completing my first degree when dad left. I suppose by then I should have been used to it right? Imagine it, 18 and having all your family run out on you. My time was spent writing various thesis on a range of topics. For the first time, the house I grew up in felt empty. Learning new things became the only way to keep my mind busy.
Once I had completed my first degree I had several universities and research facilities offering me obscenely large grants to work for them. I accepted all of them. I spent every hour of my time discovering more and more about the world and publishing my findings to each of the commissioners.
I quickly grew sick of the limited equipment at the laboratories I worked in. With the money I received, I bought my first house, one next to my childhood home. I spent time and money on converting it to a library. But it wasn't big enough, so I bought the one next to that and expanded. I slowly did that till I had the whole block of houses each converted to my needs. A large infirmary, two laboratories, an armoury and a panic room with still more space to expand.
Sully once asked me if I missed my dad and my brother…
I did. Of course I did! The house is too big with the additions and it’s too damn quiet without john practising his passes in the front yard! Without dad marking papers, singing along word for word to the radio's latest hit.
I told her I didn't miss them at all.
When I heard the knock on my door that day I assumed it was Sully coming to discuss her sons health again. I didn't think I would be John. Why would it be John? John left.
I was taken aback by how much he had changed. How his eyes has changed.
I wanted to cry, I wanted to hug him and just have him ruffle my hair and play mario kart with me like we did when we were kids.
But we aren't kids anymore. I’m 25 and he’s 27 and things had changed. We had changed. Before he could say a word I slammed the door in his face, because no matter how much I missed him it changed nothing of what he and my father did!
They left me.
Despite my best efforts to keep him out he was right that the house was legally split between both of us. Eventually I let him in and reclaimed his childhood bedroom as if he had never left. It was a week before he got me to talk to him. I told him dad was gone. He didn't seemed surprised.
Having him back in the house made things louder. The still air the house once held was broken by footsteps, TV chatter, cereal being poured. I hated it. The nerve he has stumbling in and picking up where he left off as if he hadn't been away for ten years!
It was a month of John being home when he offered me a controller. It was late in the afternoon when I found him setting up the old system. With a buzz the screen flashed and I saw the title screen for Mario Kart flicker into life. He held out the second controller and everything seemed the same as it was. We sat together in the golden light pouring through as the sun set and it was then I finally felt I could begin to move on.