//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Torn Apart // Story: Right Beside You // by Godslittleprincess //------------------------------// Flash Sentry slowly exhaled as he eased his car into the parking space, his hands clenched on the steering wheel. Once the car was positioned to his satisfaction, he gently pressed the brakes bringing the car to a stop and cut the ignition. He let out another breath, his hands still clenched on the wheel, and began to talk to himself. “Okay, okay,” he muttered as he struggled to keep his breathing under control. “I can do this. I can do this. This is just the first time that I’ve seen my dad in 12 going on 13 years. I’m just going to get out of the car, walk into his office, say hi, and invite him to my wedding. I can totally do this.” He yelped when he felt a hand touch his shoulder. “Honey,” Twilight said to her fiancé from the passenger seat as she reassuringly rubbed his shoulder, “it’s okay to admit that you’re feeling scared. I probably would be too in your shoes.” “Scared? Who’s scared?” Flash replied, forcing himself to smile at her. “I’m not scared. Sure, every muscle in my body is so tense that I’m practically paralyzed, and I feel like I’m going to throw up everything I ate in the last two days, but I’m definitely not scared.” “I’m actually terrified,” Flash thought to himself as he clenched his teeth. “You know that last thing that you said isn’t biologically possible, right?” Twilight asked teasingly, attempting to lighten the mood. Flash just groaned and slumped forward, letting his forehead hit the steering wheel. Twilight sighed as she put both her hands on his shoulders and tried to massage away as much of the tension as she could. “Hey,” Flash’s younger brother First Base called from the back seat. “Are we going to sit here and listen to you pep talk yourself all day, or are we actually going to step out of this car and invite Dad to your wedding?” “Why did I let you talk me into bringing you along?” Flash deadpanned in annoyance as he slowly sat up. “Because we both haven’t seen Dad in almost 13 years and it’s not fair for you to get to see him while I don’t,” Base replied matter-of-factly. “I mean, I know the guy abandoned us and the last time we tried to contact him, Mom was dying, and he just hung up on you like he didn’t care, but he’s still our dad. I know he doesn’t deserve it, but I kinda want to see if he’s okay, and,” he trailed off, sighing sadly before continuing, “I also want to know if he ever thinks about us, if there’s even a small part of him that cares about us and wants to be part of our lives again.” “You and me both,” Flash thought to himself with a deep frown. “You just have the guts to actually say so out loud.” “Little Bro, aren’t you even just the tiniest bit worried that this could turn out ugly?” Flash turned and asked First Base. “Of course, I am,” Base replied. “It’s just, well, is it stupid of me to hope that a miracle will happen?” Flash pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed before muttering, “If it is, then we’re both stupid.” Twilight slid her left hand into Flash’s right and caressed her beloved’s face with her right hand. Flash turned to her in surprise. She gave him a small smile and said, “It’s going to be okay. Whatever happens, I’ll be with you through it.” Then, she leaned forward and kissed his cheek. Flash couldn’t help but smile back at her. “You know I can see you doing that, right?!” Base cried out with a disgusted grimace. “Okay, okay, come on, everybody out of the car,” Flash said, still smiling, as he undid his seatbelt. Twilight and First Base did the same, and all three of them stepped out of the car. After navigating the congested New York sidewalks, the three of them finally found and entered the building they were looking for. Just as they were about to ride the elevator to the correct floor, a middle-aged woman in a black sheath dress and heels came running as the doors were about to close followed by a young man about Flash and Twilight’s age dressed in khakis and a blazer. The woman had magenta skin and dark brown hair styled into a fancy updo hidden under a large hat absurdly decorated with fake flowers. She also had a string of pearls around her neck. The young man had grayish purple skin and burnt umber-colored hair. “Stop the elevator! Stop the elevator!” the woman cried. Flash quickly stuck his foot in the door while Twilight punched and held the door open button on the control panel. The doors slid open, allowing the woman and her companion to enter. “Oh, thank you so much,” she said to Flash and Twilight before turning to the young man who was with her. “Coin Bank, thank the nice young couple please.” The young man rolled his eyes and muttered something that barely resembled a reluctant “Thank you.” The woman frowned at his response and cried, “Honestly, Coin, I know I taught you your manners growing up.” She turned to Flash and Twilight and apologized, “I’m so sorry about my son. He’s in a bit of a surly mood today.” “Oh, don’t worry about it,” Flash replied. “We weren’t doing it to be thanked. What floor are you headed to?” “Floor 20.” “What a coincidence! That’s where we’re going,” Twilight exclaimed as she pushed the button for the 20th floor. While the five passengers waited for the elevator to reach their floor, Coin Bank turned to his mother and groaned, “Why are you making me do this, Mother?” “Coin, you and I haven’t had lunch together with your father in ages,” the woman replied. “Besides, maybe spending Spring Break with your family will teach you to stay out of trouble, hmm?” Coin rolled his eyes again and retorted, “He’s not my father, and neither was your last ex-husband.” Flash, Base, and Twilight shared a look with each other as they tried to ignore the wholly uncomfortable conversation. Thankfully, the rest of the elevator ride passed in silence. Once the five of them reached their floor and stepped off the elevator, Coin Bank’s mother turned to Flash and his companions and asked them, “So, which offices are the three of you looking for?” “We’re looking for the offices of Hard and Fast Legal Services,” Flash replied. “What another coincidence! That’s where were heading to also. Why don’t we show you the way?” Even though Flash nodded in agreement, he could feel his impending drama alarm going off in the back of his mind. The alarm rang louder when Coin Bank gave him and his brother a long, intent look. Nevertheless, Flash, Twilight, and Base followed the elegant woman and her son to the law firm. The firm wasn’t too far from the elevator, and the group was about three quarters of the way from the entrance when the older lady spoke up again. “I don’t mean to pry, but the three of you look a little young to be in any legal trouble,” she noted. “What do the three of you need to see a lawyer for?” “Oh, we’re not looking for a lawyer,” Twilight replied. “We’re here to find Flash and Base’s father. According to them, their dad works here.” The woman looked at the three of them, Flash and First Base in particular, quizzically as they group kept walking. “Oh?” “Yeah,” Base added. “We haven’t seen him in over a decade, and we figured now would be as good a time as any to try and fix our relationship with him. Besides, Big Bro’s got a big announcement to tell him.” The woman suddenly stopped walking as her eyes widened in realization and shock. If Flash’s internal drama alarm wasn’t ringing before, it was practically blaring now. The group had just reached the door to the entrance. Flash opened it and gestured for the lady to go before him. “After you, ma’am,” he said. The woman’s lips pressed into a tight line, and her eyes narrowed. “Actually,” she replied icily, “why don’t you three kids go first?” Flash, Twilight, and Base shared a confused look with each other but nevertheless, they did as the woman suggested, Flash letting Twilight and Base go in before him. The entrance led to a lobby with a receptionist’s desk that branched off into two main offices and a hallway. Behind the receptionist’s desk sat a young woman just barely older than Flash and Twilight with half-up, half-down, braided platinum hair, icy blue skin, and smoky gray eyes. “Excuse me,” Flash said to the receptionist, who looked up at him in response. “I’m looking for Fast Lane. I have something important to tell him.” “Alright, name please,” she replied. “My name is Flash Sentry. Uh, you know what? Maybe you shouldn’t tell him my name,” he said to the receptionist’s confusion. “Just tell him that a college kid came to see him and that I insist on telling him what I have to tell him in person.” “Okay,” she replied, blinking twice, “just wait a moment, and I’ll give him a call for you.” “Thank you.” The receptionist picked the handset off her desk phone and pressed a series of buttons on the keypad. “Hello, Mr. Lane,” she said into the mouthpiece. “A college kid is here to see you. He said he had something important to tell you.” She paused. “He gave me his name, but he didn’t want me to tell you who he is for some reason. Okay, I’ll let him know.” She hung up and turned to Flash, “He’ll be right out.” “Thank you,” Flash replied. Ten seconds later, a man in a suit and tie stepped out one of the offices. He had slate gray skin, blue eyes, and slicked-back blue hair. Twilight studied the man’s face carefully. His face was thinner than Flash’s, and his chin was more angular. In fact, if the man was indeed Flash and Base’s father, the only thing the boys seemed to have inherited from him were their hair and eye color. The man turned toward the three of them, and when he saw Flash and Base, his eyes widened, and his jaw dropped. He slowly looked over the boys from top to bottom and back again as recognition slammed into him like an NFL quarterback. Flash bit his lip as he forced himself to look the man in the eye. “Uh, hi, Dad.” “Dad?!” the receptionist cried, her mouth hanging open as she looked back and forth between the two men. Before Flash could say anything more, however, the front door slammed open, and the woman from the elevator came marching in. “You son of a [censored]!” she screamed at Fast Lane. “Silk,” Fast Lane greeted the woman, nervously. Before he could say anything more, the woman slapped him across the face. “You told me you were single! Single my [censored]!” Fast Lane growled under his breath and pinched the bridge of his nose, retorting, “I was! Getting a divorce legally changes your status from married to single!” “You never said ANYTHING about being divorced!” Silk argued back. “You also never said anything about having a kid, two kids!” “I’ve never seen these kids before in my life!” Flash clenched his teeth as he felt his ears heating up in anger. Beside him, he felt Twilight slip her delicate, chilly hand into his rough yet warm hand and rub comforting circles on his dorsum with her thumb. “Oh, bull!” Coin Bank cut in on the argument. “They have your hair and eye color.” “You stay out of this,” Fast Lane ordered. “Lots of people have my hair and eye color. It doesn’t make them related to me.” Silk let out an indignant huff and turned to receptionist, “Winter, tell my brother that we’re inviting him and the rest of our family over for dinner tonight.” “Of course, Ms. Purse,” Winter replied cordially. “I will let Mr. Case know as soon as he gets back from his lunch break.” “You can’t seriously be thinking about telling your family about this,” Fast Lane cried. “Do you have any idea how much work I put into earning their respect and my partnership in the firm?” “Oh, don’t worry,” Coin Bank remarked with smirk. “Considering how long you and Uncle Hard Case have been working in this firm together, I’m sure your partnership is safe. His and Grandfather’s respect on the other hand…” “Coin, that’s enough,” his mother scolded as she turned to leave. “We’ll discuss this further at home.” The mother and son walked out of the law firm, slamming the door behind them. Throughout the whole exchange, Flash, Base, and Twilight were just standing there watching dumbfoundedly. Flash had one hand holding Twilight’s and the other balled into a trembling fist. Base could feel his whole body shaking with shock and anger and had subconsciously grabbed his brother’s arm to steady himself. Fast Lane turned and met Flash’s eyes, blue fire meeting blue fire to create lightning, and his ears were as red as his son’s. “Leave. Now,” he demanded far too calmly. “Okay. Fine,” Flash agreed. “I’ll just, uh…” He turned to Twilight and asked, “Honey, do you have the—?” Before Flash could finish his sentence, Twilight pulled an envelope out of her bag and handed it to Flash. “Thank you,” Flash replied before facing his father again. “I’ll just leave this with your secretary, and then, we’ll go.” “Good!” Fast Lane shouted as he stormed back into his office slamming the door behind him. Flash turned to the receptionist and asked, “So, Winter was it?” “That is my name, yes,” she replied, maintaining her utterly professional demeanor. “Could you make sure that my father gets this” he asked, leaving the envelope on her desk, “and reads it?” “I will see what I can do.” “Thank you.” Still holding Twilight’s hand, Flash turned and began walking towards the door. First Base, however, lingered for a bit. His eyes darted from his brother to the door to Fast Lane’s office and back. From the corner of his eye, he saw a round paperweight sitting on Winter’s desk. In one fast and furious motion, Base snatched up the paperweight and pitched it at Fast Lane’s door. The sound of shattering glass caused Flash to suddenly stop walking and cringe. Flash slowly turned around. The first thing he saw was the door, air filling the space where glass used to be. Glass shards littered the floor beneath. Winter sat behind her desk, staring at the door with her eyes and mouth wide open. In front of Winter’s desk, stood his brother, his breath coming out in hot puffs as tears ran down his face. Base turned and ran out the front door, pushing Flash and Twilight out of the way. Flash let go of Twilight’s hand, gesturing with his head for her to go after his younger brother. Twilight nodded and went out the door after First Base while Flash made his way to the receptionist’s desk. “I will pay for however much it costs to replace that,” Flash said to the receptionist. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of it,” Winter replied. “Oh, no, I couldn’t ask you to—” “You’re not, and I insist on taking care of it,” Winter emphasized. “Now, get out of here. Amscray.” They both turned to the sound of Fast Lane’s office door opening. Winter worriedly motioned for Flash to leave. Flash gave her a nod in gratitude and ran out the front door. “THIS IS SO UNFAIR!” First Base screamed. He along with Flash and Twilight had returned to Flash’s car which had yet to move from the parking lot. “We drive two whole hours to get here, and he barely says two words to us. He doesn’t even congratulate you on your engagement or tell you that he’s happy for you or proud of you. Heck! He doesn’t even give us a chance to tell him why we came to see him in the first place!” Flash didn’t say anything in reply. He just breathed deeply with his eyes shut, rubbing his temples with his left thumb and index finger. When he finally opened his eyes and stopped rubbing his temples, he bluntly pointed out, “Yeah, the whole thing sucks, but you didn’t have to break his door, you know?” “How are you not flipping out about this?!” Base continued to shout. “I’m flipping out about it, and it’s not even my wedding day that he apparently doesn’t care about!” “Because,” Flash snapped, raising his voice ever so slightly, “I have a terrible habit of burying my emotions, especially the ones I really don’t want to deal with, and I really, really don’t want to deal with this right now.” Flash closed his eyes again as he slammed his face on the steering wheel. He could hear his brother struggling not to cry. “Why couldn’t we have gotten a dad that cares about us?” Base whimpered out before breaking down into sobs.