What Exactly Happened: Part 11

Perhaps this time they would succeed. They could get away. They could flee. They could run and live the rest of their lives without ever seeing anyone, seeing anything. Without seeing each other again. This time they would be able to go far away from where nobody knew who they were or where they came from. This time they could forget it all, forget every single thing. Forget that the person in front of them was his mother. Forget that his father was a bastard and deserved everything that he got. Everything. And they would disappear, together. And nothing would ever happen to them again. And maybe, just maybe, one day…

One day….maybe one day....one day.....one day…..one day.....

As if on cue, the door to their apartment swung open abruptly, the hinges squeaking loudly, startling them both in the process. Ryan stumbled away from the door, falling to his knees as he stared blankly at the door. The sudden intrusion shocked both of them momentarily, but the moment passed just as quickly as it arrived and the three of them remained utterly silent, staring blankly at the entrance to the living area. Silence followed for several moments as the two men watched the newcomer cautiously. Eventually one of them spoke up, his voice wavering slightly. "Hello….?"

The stranger slowly stepped further into the room. As soon as the intruder was fully within the room he stopped, staring at the floor as though he were ashamed of being seen, unsure what to do or what to say. Then he cleared his throat awkwardly and spoke.

"Um… hello? Who are you…?"

he asked softly.

Neither Ryan nor his mother said a word. They were both rooted to the spot as the stranger continued speaking, not wanting to break the silence which hung in the air. "Um… you don't have to tell me. I guess I'm not important enough to know your names… anyway, um, I'll just… I'll just be going, okay? Bye."

With that, he turned on his heel, walked straight up the hallway, and disappeared from view. Ryan and his mother exchanged glances before they slowly turned their attention back onto the doorway where the man had previously stood.

"I don't understand," Ryan muttered, finally speaking up. "What was that all about? How does he even know our names?"

"I… I suppose we're lucky," his mother replied, shrugging her shoulders lightly. "They found us. We aren't exactly inconspicuous people. If somebody had told me six months ago that my son would come back here and find me again I would have said that someone was crazy. Crazy!"

"I'm still mad at him. But I'm mostly confused," Ryan mumbled, resting his head in his hands as he sank to his knees on the ground. "How are we supposed to explain all of this? Especially if he finds out."

"Let's hope he doesn't," his mother replied. "Let's hope he can stay ignorant."

***

It took some time, but eventually, Ryan convinced Michael, who hadn't spoken for most of the walk home, to let him drive and he drove his car slowly through the streets until he reached Michael's house. There, as promised, he left the car outside the house before walking over towards Michael, who sat silently leaning against his door frame, gazing blankly at the front door.

"Hey," Ryan greeted quietly as he stepped closer, reaching out an arm tentatively to grab his brother's shoulder, causing the man to look up at him quickly. He didn't smile. Ryan nodded in response, taking another step towards him, but still, he said nothing, allowing Ryan to continue. "Are you ready to talk?"

"No, I'm not."

Ryan chuckled slightly, shaking his head in disbelief. "So that's what this is really about?"

"Well, I'm not sure what else there is to say."

They remained silent for a while, neither of them speaking, neither saying a single word. Ryan stared at his brother with pity filled eyes. This was probably one of the first times he saw Michael actually showing any emotions.

To be continued...