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Not many things in the world can stop Barley Lightfoot in his tracks to destiny. Nothing scares the 17 year old; it’s his last year in high school, he has great friends (at least he thinks), and he has a wonderful little family. Of course, it’s an unfortunate thing that his father passed when he was young, but he had a few great memories of him that he held on to. His mother was the strongest woman he knew, and his little brother Ian, who was 14, though a little bit of a recluse, has the biggest heart. And Barley loved him most of all.
Which is why it was so important that he stayed strong for the young boy. It wasn’t because he thought that Ian wasn’t capable of being strong for himself, but Barley had the knowledge that sometimes Ian’s consciousness got the better of him.
Barley had a whole bunch of confidence, but every now and again it was torn down just a bit. There are things about his personality that he thought could serve as good things and bad things all at the same time. Such as the fact that he was loud and demanding. It was a good thing because, well, he could speak his mind and voice his opinions without worrying about what people think! However that can be… a bad thing as well. He also loved hugs! But some people did not. Barley loved to be the hero, and when he accidentally makes someone feel anxious or scared with his loud personality, he feels awful about it for days on end. He would feel even worse when he wasn’t able to help someone he cared about.
And Ian could tell something was up this day in particular.
It was a sunny day in May and despite the weather being so beautiful, Barley was nowhere to be seen outside. That was incredibly strange for the younger Lightfoot brother to realize. Barley was always tugging on Ian’s shirt, begging that they go outside to throw some rocks around or ride bikes. Heck, Barley was more of a kid than Ian ever was, ever could be. He would always end up getting dragged into the outside activities Barley wanted to do, simply because everytime he said no, and he saw Barley outside by himself, he would feel guilty and join him. Everytime without fail, Ian had fun.
He stared out the window and sighed, wondering where his brother was every other day in the week, actually. Ever since Tuesday, when the boys had a run in with some people, Barley seemed to speak very little, or really even live. It was now Sunday, and Barley was still not around much. This had occurred before, but never enough to make Ian question it. But this had been the third time this month, and Ian had the gut feeling that something was wrong. As stupid as he thought Barley saying “trust your gut” was, Ian knew he had to.
“Hey mom? Have you talked to Barley at all today?” Ian asked, remaining at the kitchen table until further information was shared about his brother.
“No sweetie, I haven’t much. I said good morning to him and that’s about all. I’ve been trying to give him some space.” Laurel handed Ian a popsicle from the freezer, and Ian thanked her, took the ice treat, and went off to find his brother.
Sure, maybe Barley wasn’t always outside on nice days, but he sure wasn’t in his room either. His game would be sprawled all over the place, pieces all over the floor for his family to step on. But again, that’s not what he was doing either. He would never pay it in his room, no, because “two realms do not interact with eachother.”
“Barley?” Ian knocked a couple times. He got a small hum from the other side of the door. “Uh, can I come in?”
“Erm, it’s open, brother!” That was the voice of the Barley that Ian knew. So why was he locked inside of his room?
Ian popped through the door and saw that Barley was sitting up in his bed with his game system on his lap. His hair was messy, his beanie was thrown on the floor, and he was still in his nightclothes. Ian’s suspicion rose at that, but he kept his thought to himself. For now.
“So… what are you up to in here?” Ian asked.
“Oh, y’know… just playing the ol’ Wii!” Barley’s crooked smile stretched across his face. While it seemed genuine, Ian saw that the TV wasn’t even on.
“On a blank screen?”
“You know how it goes, Iandore. I picture the images in my mind! That makes me the best gamer in the world!” Barley was quick on his feet. Anyone who didn’t know Barley incredibly well wouldn’t have a second thought; that’s such a Barley thing of Barley to say, but Ian knew him better than that. While he was prone to do things like that, he wouldn’t do them on a perfect day.
“Come on, Barley. Usually you’re up at the crack of dawn on days like this. That’s not even the wiimote in your hand.” Ian pointed to the cardboard in Barley’s hand.
Barley sighed, realizing his plot holes. His story couldn’t hold up.
“Ah… you’re right.” Barley threw the cardboard to the floor, and Ian took a seat at Barley’s desk next to his bed.
“What’s eating at you, Barley?” Ian asked. “Please.”
“I dunno,” Barley looked down, fiddling with his fingers. “I guess it’s just those guys from Tuesday.”
“Oh. But- you know how some people are! They were probably just having an off day. Don’t take their comments seriously.”
“No, Ian. They hurt you. And I…,” Barley squeezed his eyes shut. “ I wasn’t there in time to help you.”
Ian’s eyebrows furrowed.
“That wasn’t your fault. I got a little bruised up and some things were said. All in all, it wasn’t too big of a deal! You did all you could!”
“Yes, but I could’ve done all of that sooner.” Barley frowned. “I feel like… I feel like I’m losing my edge.”
“Your ‘edge’? Barley, you’re friendly. No offense, but I don’t think you had much edge to begin with.” Ian gave a small laugh.
“No no, I mean my big brother edge. The power to scare anyone off who tries to step in your way. And now when I try to do it, you’re called a sissy and a girl. And I can’t have that, either.” Barley shook his head.
“Barley, I know you’re always trying to look out for me, but the older I get, the older my bullies get, too. Soon enough, you’ll be gone and out of the house and all I’ll have is myself. I know you mean well, but I promise, I can do this myself. I’ve gotta learn sometime.” Ian said.
“I know. But I’m here now, and I should be able to do something about this, right?” Barley looked at his little brother. The one he swore to protect long ago.
“It’s… it’s okay if your attempts to keep me safe are ineffective. It’s gonna happen sometimes. But you can’t beat yourself up for it. I mean, look at me.” Ian motioned to himself.
“Hey. You are stronger than you know.” Barley’s voice was serious, even though Ian had meant it as a joke.
“Still, I hate seeing you like this. I’m okay, I promise. And guess what?”
Barley looked up.
“Even though you were a little late, you still helped me. You scared them away, you pulled me off the ground and helped bandage me up. Only the greatest of brothers can do that.” Ian smiled.
Barley’s eyes watered a bit, and Ian thought he had said something wrong, but Barley leaped off the bed and grabbed his baby brother into a hug, squeezing him as tight as he could.
Ian of course hugged back, even if his spine was crushed in three different places.
“Thank you,” Barley mumbled, squeezing Ian even tighter.
“Of course,” Ian wheezed, and Barley dropped him. “Now then, how about we go outside? It’s pretty nice out there. Unless you wanna continue to stare at a blank TV screen.”
Barley laughed wholeheartedly, and Ian took that as a yes, especially when Barley grabbed his brother’s shoulder and yanked him out of the room.
The two brothers had a great time outside, and at the end of the day, one brother does not need one more than the other.