Chapter Text
I shouldn't have done that.
Nathan pulled the empty suitcase out from under his bed, tossing clothes and important things from his room inside. Maybe a more self-respecting 30-year old wouldn't still be living with his parents, especially since he was making a decent amount of money, but distancing himself from them wasn't going to protect them from what he'd gotten into with the mob.
Well, except for this. Unlike most everything else he tried to do, his plan to pit two mob families together had backfired spectacularly, and now everyone wanted his head on a plate. He had to get out before he was out for good. Hopefully his family wouldn't be targeted, considering he never mentioned them otherwise. If he ran without any hesitation, he doubted they'd use them against him.
Nathan slammed the suitcase shut, carrying it down the stairs to the front door. He was halfway through putting on a heavy coat when he heard a voice from upstairs.
"Nate? The hell're you doing up this early?"
He froze as a lanky kid came down the stairs, rubbing his eyes tiredly. After a moment, Nathan shrugged the coat on fully, picking up the suitcase. Of all of the people he didn't want to see him leaving, it was his kid brother, Matthew.
Nathan never asked for a little brother - for all intents and purposes, he was meant to be an only child, until his parents had gotten a little too frisky and they'd presented him with a new sibling when he was thirteen. It was weird. Suddenly his mother was spoiling a toddler again, and he couldn't even count the number of times he'd had to babysit. His parents had started lecturing him about "setting a good example" and "being responsible for your brother." He found it almost funnily ironic considering the current situation. This damn kid was always trying to get into whatever he was doing, naive as he was. He was seventeen, dammit, he didn't know much about the mob or organized crime, or any other illegal things Nathan was doing, aside from the fact that his older brother had some suspicious "friends" that his parents didn't know about. Nathan would've told him when he was an adult, when he could understand. ...Except now he couldn't.
"I'm going on a trip with some friends, Matt. I won't be back for a while."
Matthew looked confused. "Where?"
"It's a road trip. Lots of places."
"Nate." He said, sounding unimpressed.
"I dunno, they said it was a surprise trip. They're probably gonna be pulling it outta their asses as we go." Nathan forced a chuckle, hoping it was convincing.
"Fine. When're you coming back?"
"Dunno. Depends on the traffic."
Matthew looked at least somewhat satisfied with his answers. Nathan patted him on the head, opening the door to leave.
"Look after Mom and Dad, okay, little brother?"
"Yeah, okay." His brother said begrudgingly, slapping his hand away from his head.
Nathan walked out the door, tossing his suitcase into the passenger's seat before rounding the car and climbing into the driver's side. He glanced towards his house, seeing Matthew leaning against the doorway watching him. He gave a little wave as he started the car and drove away, heading towards the freeway.
"Where's a good place to lie low? Somewhere far, but not obvious..." He muttered, gaze resting upon a road map of Texas lying below his suitcase. "...That could work."