Twice a year, the Goddard team arranges to take a week off and visit their families. Agency work leaves little time to rest and relax with those you love. As much as they all love working with one another, they have to spend some time apart in order to keep it that way. The tradition was Adya’s decision-- for the longest time, it’d been years since she made the trip back home. Nate’s been the same, but he finally decides it’s time for him to jump out of that boat, too.
It’s been many months since Nate last experienced the humidity of the East Coast. Even if North Carolina is where many of his demons are, he carries a nostalgia for the greenery and the clear skies. Within the bad, he holds onto the good and reminds himself he can never let go of it. As they put the car in park and stand in the driveway of their childhood home, Leon and Nate finally begin to understand what it feels like to have a brother. To be one.
“What do you think the rest of your team is doing right now?” Leon asks.
“It’s about 3 in the morning in Kolkata, so Adya’s asleep right now,” Nate answers. “Zion’s folks probably threw him a big party, since he’s sort of the family celebrity. Colby’s in San Jose with her dad and her little sister, who she visits every other month, anyway.”
“And Reese?”
“She’s holding down the fort at Goddard. Grew up in foster care and never had a place to call home until she became an agent. Each of us insisted that she come with us, but she wanted to stay.”
Leon nods, turning the key and opening the front door. “She’s lucky to have you guys.”
Charles locks the front door behind him. He sees his son sitting at the kitchen table. “Leon,” he says. “You’re home. Why didn’t you text me, so I could pick you up from the airport?” His gaze is diverted to the figure standing up in the living room. As he nearly drops his keys onto the floor, Charles’s eyes widen. “Hey, Nate.”
“Hey, Dad.”
A brief silence ensues. Their father takes a drink from the half empty glass on the counter. “Last time you spoke to me was after your accident. Half a ton of concrete straight onto your shoulder-- most men don’t just walk away from that. You’re strong.”
“That’s a first.”
Charles brushes off the comment, maintaining his composure. “I tried to text you. What made you finally visit?”
“Just… tying up my loose ends,” Nate answers. He’s waited more than a long time to do this. “I can’t forgive or forget how things were. You shaped me into a person I wasn’t proud of. You taught me a kick in the back was the same as an “I love you”. It took me a long time to stop thinking like that, Dad. Twenty-one years of believing I was never good enough, believing you “just wanted what was best for me”-- that you don’t just walk away from.” He approaches his father. “Again, I can’t forgive that. But when I had nothing, Goddard had faith in me. They held faith that I could be better than my circumstances, that I could right my wrongs and actually make a difference in people’s lives. And that’s really all I can do for you-- have hope.
“When you first started texting me when I left, you always said I’d come crawling back. In two weeks, six months, a year— I’d be begging for your help.” He looks him dead in the eyes. “I hope six years is proof enough that that isn’t going to happen.”
“You traveled 3,000 miles, just to make a point?”
“Maybe I did,” Nate says. “And to see you one more time, so I can finally move on.”
Their father furrows his brow and looks at Leon. “Is this where you’ve been? Meeting with your brother in LA behind my back? I can’t fucking believe you.”
Leon does his best to stay confident. “You always said I was more likely to get through to him than you were.”
“Clearly, he doesn’t need us, Leon.” Charles comes face to face with his youngest son. “Do you understand how hard I tried to keep it all together? I quit my job. I read up on tournament fighting, watched the news, learned the sport front to back. I worked my ass off to give you the career I failed to give your brother.” He softens his tone. “Leonard, tell me who you trust: the brother who walked out on us the moment he had a chance, or the person who fought for you when no one else did. The one who made sure you had a future.”
Leon knows he’s trying to get his pity. It won’t work this time. “My future is out of your hands now.” He pulls a manilla folder from his backpack and slaps it on the coffee table. “These are the terms of your resignation as my manager. I’m not the one who commissioned an illegal bionicist to build an arm for their son. When were you gonna tell me, Dad? Or were you just going to compartmentalize it forever, like you do with everything?”
Charles boils over with fear over his son finding out the truth, but knows no better than to channel it into anger. “Oh, so now you’re gonna take the fucking moral high ground?” he yells. “Nate doesn’t care about you, Leon. Remember when you guys were kids? Nate would visit for the weekends and you guys would play in the backyard while I worked? This whole ACA agent thing he does is a distraction from the fact that he left all of that behind without a goodbye. No apologies, no communication, nothing. That’s all that tournament fighting is going to become for you-- a distraction! To help you forget that you left me with nothing! Do you really want that?” Charles paces across the living room in order to keep some of his cool. His voice wavers when he says, “I’m tough on you because I love you, Leon. All I ever wanted was a happy family.”
Leon swallows his fear and grits his teeth. “You wanted a legacy. I hope you sleep well at night, believing all of that. Believing you know a thing about loving someone.”
Charles goes silent. He searches for the words, but can’t find any. Nate’s rebellion against their father was silent, simple. There were no screaming matches, no kicking and scratching; but in Leon’s case, their father has the full capability to throw him against the wall and demand whatever he wants. As Nate and Leon begin to carry his boxed belongings out to the car, Charles does everything in his power to stop them. His words range from you’ll never be anyone without my guidance to you’re a fucking disgrace, do you know that? to you’ll all I have left, I can’t have both my sons leave me like this. As much as he’s used to this behavior from his father, Leon’s heart swells with guilt. The words he spews pierce him like daggers through the chest, but Nate’s presence heals the wounds. He knows that whatever war his father declares, his sons have already won. He has to be the bigger man his brother sees in him. Before they leave, Leon takes a deep breath and looks his father directly in the eyes. “I hope I can forgive you one day.”
Charles practically begs for both of his sons to stay. His pleas fall on empty air as the truck shifts into gear and drives away.
Leon always expected that a win against Nate would give him the catharsis he longed for; but now, he realizes that the last 22 years of his life have been a fight of its own. Just like his brother, he’s been fighting to be his own person. Even when there was still tension between them at the beginning of the week, Leon noticed one thing about Nate as he stood in front of the trainees: he was happy. He won his battle with their father, and with himself. He was a man worth looking up to.
The tears Leon sheds are both of relief and of fear-- but not one ounce of regret. The catharsis is here. This is the first day of the rest of his life.
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