New Found Brother

The rain hit the windows of the greyhound bus with a vengeance as the bus made its way into the city. My bag sat on the seat besides me as I stared out at the city lights. I had never been to a large city before, and I wouldn’t have had this opportunity now if my mother hadn’t died.

She kept a lot of secrets from me, my mother. Like the one where I have a half brother living in the capitol, and that he was five years older then me. I didn’t know about him until he showed up and the funeral asking everyone if they knew where he could find Paton Shelby. That’s when they pointed me out, the boy standing besides the grave with the box in it.

I had had my hands in the pockets of my black suit; head bowed staring at the grave. I wasn’t sad, not really. My mother and I got along, on certain terms. I was just three months from eighteen and I would be free of her, could leave and wouldn’t have to look back at the run down farm she had called home. Couldn’t really call it a farm, it was more along the lines of a broken barn (the roof had caved in before I was born), and a house close to the same fate on a spit of land in the middle of no where on a highway no one used.

Back to me standing besides the grave, my longer then usual naturally-black hair was falling into my face, covering my cold, pale blue eyes. My shoulders were hunched, making me look shorter then I already was. Though I guess you can’t consider five feet eight inches that short. I kicked some dirt into the grave and onto the casket.

At the same time as I did so I head someone approach. I turned to see, expecting another church member to express their sympathy. But instead it was a man who looked too handsome to be real. And that was coming from me, another man who didn’t see men in that light. He was taller then I was and much more built then me as well.

His hair was kept short, almost in the army style. He had pale blue eyes, like mine, and I had gotten my eyes from my mother. He stopped besides me and looked down at the casket. He was definitely taller then me, he was probably a couple inches over six feet. He was wearing khaki Dockers, a black t-shirt, and a black leather jacket. His shoes were plain and simple sneakers.

He stuck his hands in his pockets and stood like me and stared at the casket just like I was, and was silent for the longest time. He was the kind of man that walked into a room and demanded attention, no matter how he was dressed or looked. As he stood there next to me, I couldn’t help but wonder who he was and what his voice sounded like.

“You’re Paxton Shelby, right?” he finally spoke, breaking the silence between us. His voice was deep and sultry, almost sexy, and I was sure most women felt faint when hearing him speak to them.

“Yeah...” I said almost hesitantly. Who was he and why did he want to find me? And why did he have my eyes?

He pulled his left hand out of his pocket and held it out towards me. “Jeffery Princeton,” he said.

Princeton... why did that name sound so familiar? I removed my right hand from my pocket and shook his. His hand was strong, almost powerful and deadly. I continued to stare at the casket below, maybe I was morbid for doing so, even as I shook his hand I was looking at the box that held my dead mother.

“I’m your brother.”

This tore my eyes away from the casket and I stared at him. Brother? I didn’t have a brother, and definitely not one as good looking as him! “You must be mistaken, I don’t have a brother.”

He reached into his back pocket and produced a wallet, of which he pulled out a photo. He handed the picture to me, and I recognized the woman instantly, it was my mother. “That’s you mom and my dad shortly before I was born. Then she disappeared shortly after I was born, leaving me with my dad, last we heard she marred a guy named Mark Shelby when I was four and moved out here.”

It almost sounded like something my mom would do, have a love child with some random guy and disappear on them. She would have left my dad if he hadn’t died in a car crash, leaving her the farm house I grew up in. the state now claimed the house. That reminded me, I didn’t really have a home left anymore, and I wondered if that’s why he was there.

He answered my thoughts, “my dad told me about you just a couple days after he heard she died. He told me to come find you.” He nodded to our mothers casket when he said “she”.

I was still staring at him, or more past him now, trying to suck in everything he was telling me. I looked behind me as another church member gave me her deepest sympathy and asked if I needed anything. I shook my head and said no. she left then, but not before sending my newly found brother a wary look.

“You’re almost eighteen, right?” he asked once she was gone.

I looked at him again, “yeah, three months off.”

“Got any plans until then?”

I shrugged. I graduated high school a month ago, I didn’t have a job or a car, and now that my mom was dead I didn’t have a place to live either. “No, not really.”

“College?”

“My GPA sucked.”

He smirked, “that must run in the family.”

I returned his smirk. He obviously wasn’t very good in his school days either.

“Here,” he stated simply, pulling an envelope out of his jacket pocket and handed it to me. They were greyhound bus tickets. “The bus leaves in three days. I’ll be waiting at the station if you decide to come.” He turned to leave, “it was nice meeting the little brother I didn’t know I had.” He gave me another smile before walking away towards the parking lot, and climbing into a black Ford Focus that had rental plates.

I stood there, slightly confused with the exchange. But I left as it was four days later and I was on the bus that entered the city with rain still pelting at the windows.

The bus slowly made its way through the city to the station. My butt hurt from sitting for near twenty-four hours, way too long to be sitting in one spot. Sure, the bus stopped periodically for breaks and people could dine at the café’s and what not, but I didn’t have much money on me, or at least not enough to spend at the places the bus had stopped.

I was nervous. Who wouldn’t be? I was going to go move in with a brother I had only met four days ago. I had done bit my nails back so far they hurt within the first two hours of the ride. There was still a subtly from a few, but I had toned them out.

Now I was watching the patterns of light and rain made along the window. I should have brought a book.

The bus driver announced over the intercom that we would be arriving at the station in ten minutes. I was hit with a sudden wave of relief and fear. Ten more minutes and I would be living in a new home with a complete stranger who claimed himself as my brother.

Though I had little doubt anymore that I was in fact my mothers first born son. After the funeral, I returned home and began to go through my mother’s things, and found plenty of love letters between her and a man named Jason Princeton. They confessed of her pregnancy with Jeffery, and then there were the sadder ones, saying she could no longer be with him, and that both he and his sun deserved much better then her.

I had called Jeffery, just to talk to him and find out what he knew about my mom, he said that’s pretty much how it happened. His dad married his step mom, and together they had a girl who was a year older then I was and away at university. His father was the top lawyer a very successful law firm, and that he had followed in his footsteps and became a lawyer as well.

We spent the next three days on the phone getting to know each other. We had a lot in common, and it was decided that I would come to the capitol and live with him, go to college, get a job, and eventually a place of my own. He said he’d help me with everything as much as needed, and I was very thankful for that, as I really didn’t know where to start.

During our last conversation, Jeff told me that the bus would be arriving in the city a little after ten, but he’d be there at the station waiting for me. If I didn’t find him in the station, to look for a green jeep in the parking lot, he probably would have just gotten caught up with a business call.

My stomach gave a small jolt as the bus pulled passed the station parking lot. I spotted a jeep, but there was no one inside. This probably meant Jeffery was inside waiting for me. The bus pulled around, and stopped right outside of the station door. I was sitting in the back row, and the bus was nearly full, so I had to wait for everyone else to get off.

I placed my backpack on my back and slowly moved down the aisle to the bus door. I quickly stepped off the few steps on practically straight into a puddle. I moved just as fast as the other riders had to get into the dry confinements of the bus station to wait for my other bag. I didn’t have many belongings with me. Just the clothes that I could still fit into and some old pictures. Most everything I owned didn’t have much meaning to me. I did bring a few trinkets of my mothers, just because it seemed the right thing to do, to sort of remember her in a way.

My duffle bag was set along side several other people’s bags, and I moved over to it to lift it up. That’s when I spotted Jeff not too far from the door talking on his cell phone. He waved at me, and I made my way over to him, carrying the semi-heavy bag.

“Yeah, we’ll stop by sometime tomorrow. ... All right, night mom.” He snapped his cell phone shut and smiled at me. “Mom and dad want to meet you, but I told them you were too tired tonight.”

I nodded, wondering what his parents were like and why they wanted to meet me.

“Is that all you got?”

I looked down at the bag in my hand, then looked back up at him and shrugged. “I’ve never owned much. Or at least not anything that means much of anything to me.”

This time Jeff nodded as if he understood. “Well, come on. Let’s go get wet.”

----

I found myself in the parking deck of a rather elegant looking apartment building, Jeff and me making our way to the elevator. We didn’t talk much on the way to the apartment, as he seemed to always be on the phone with someone, one person sounding more like a girlfriend then a client. After he had hung up with her, he turned the phone off, mumbling something about wanting peace. But even after that, there wasn’t much conversation. I had never been one for talking on car rides, and it would seem he was much the same way. Instead, I was busy staring out at all the lights of the city, wondering what it looked like in the middle of the day.

In the elevator I found that he lived on the tenth floor of the building, and when the doors to the elevator opened I froze at the sight. It was a hallway, lined with several doors on each side. But it was the fact that the hall was lined with thick plush carpeting, and patterned wall paper, and pretty lights hanging on the wall.

“How much does this place cost a month?” the question left my lips without much thought to them.

Jeff looked at me and shrugged slightly. “Couple grand for a one bedroom. I live in a two bedroom so about...” he calculated in his head, “around three grand.”

“Three grand?!”

I followed him down the hall, and he stopped just outside the last door on the right. He inserted the key and opened the apartment. He flicked on the light and I looked around, once again in awe.

“It must be nice to be a successful lawyer,” I muttered more to myself then to him.

He had heard me though, as he laughed and moved more into the foyer. “Actually, I’m far from a successful lawyer. I’m still in school. One year left, I’m just an intern at the firm. Dad pays for my rent, everything else I pay for.”

I nodded, looking around, taking in the room. The foyer had two steps leading down into a lowered living room, with a nice and big entertainment system. Then it led into the kitchen, which looked very metallic and up to date. And a hall, with four doors.

“Come on, you’re rooms this way.”

Jeff led me down the hall and pointed out which doors were what. The first door on the left was a closet, and the one on the right was the bathroom. My room was the one next to the bathroom, and his room was right across the hall from mine. He opened the door and let me walk through before him.

“It’s normally been used as a guest room... meaning its where my friends pass out when they’re too drunk to get home. It’s got everything you’ll need though. A bed, dresser, closet,” he was pointing things out. “If you need anything else, let me know and I’ll try to get it for you.”

I nodded, setting my duffel bag down next to the bed, looking around. The bed frame was made of metal bars painted black, the dresser looked like the same thing. The bed spread was grey sheets with a black and grey striped comfortable. It all actually looked really comfortable, and I doubted I’d need anything else, or at least right off.

“You hungry?” he asked me.

“Yeah.”

“Chinese or pizza?”

“Chinese.”

“Preferences?”

“Sesame chicken and egg rolls?”

“Got it. You start unpacking, I’ll go order.”

Jeff left the door way of my new room, leaving me alone in my new room. I looked around before sitting down on the bed. This was going to take a while to get used to, but hopefully not too long. It was definitely better then the old farm house I had grown up in. It was nicer and more up to date. It probably even had a microwave, which the farm house had been lacking, but it had also made me a fairly decent cook.

I stood up and kicked my duffle bag across the white carpet to the dresser. I dropped my book bag down besides the duffel bag, and dropped to my knees and began to unpack my clothes, re-folding them and placing them inside the wooden dresser drawers.

I heard Jeff out in the other room talking on the phone, I assume ordering our food. I kept putting the clothes into my dresser until my bags were empty. I placed the couple picture frames I had brought with the nightstand besides the bed. One of them was a picture of me and my father when I was about two, and the other was of me and my life long girl friend, Brenda.

I looked at the picture of me and Brenda and smiled. She had moved at the end of school to be closer to the college she was attending. I missed her, but we wrote and talked on the phone often. She couldn’t make it to my moms funeral though, too busy with work and attempting to for going to school.

“Girlfriend?”

I jumped and turned around and found Jeff standing a few feet behind me.

“No, best friend. We’ve known each other since we were five. Barely separable.”

Jeff nodded, “I have a friend like that. Don’t know what I’d do without her. Come on. We’ll watch a movie while we wait for the food.”

----

We were sitting on the couch watching 28 Days Later. I was really getting into it, and even jumped when the doorbell rang. Jeff chuckled at me then stood to get the door. I paused the movie and turned so that I was resting of the back of the couch. Jeff paid the delivery guy, and then came back into the living room, carrying two bags. He set the bags on the coffee table, and I moved off to sit on the floor by the table. Together we both started pulling out the carton boxes.

“Aww, no chop sticks,” I said, looking into the empty bag.

“I got some. What do you want to drink?” Jeff asked, standing and heading into the kitchen.

“What do you have?”

I heard a drawer open, and metal silverware being moved around before it was closed again. Then I heard the sound of the fridge opening. “Milk, water, beer, and root beer.”

“Root Beer,” I said, pulling one of the cartons towards me looking for my sesame chicken. When I found it, I smiled, and resisted the urge not to grab a piece of chicken and eat it. Instead I reached for one of the egg rolls, and took a big bite from it.

Jeff sat down besides me on the floor, placing a can of root beer before me. I opened the can up and took a drink to wash down the egg roll. He handed me the chopsticks he was holding, and pulled a carton of his own to him. I un-paused the movie and we began to watch it was we ate.

“Leave a girlfriend behind?”

The question caught me off guard. I shook my head and swallowed what was in my mouth. “No, I haven’t had a girlfriend since a couple months before I graduated. We broke up because I found out she was cheating on me.” I gave a casual shrug, lifting more chicken with my chop sticks. “You got a girlfriend?”

He gave a smile, “no. School keeps me busy. I’ll probably get back into the dating scene for a while now that it’s summer again.”

“You said something about your friends pass out from being too drunk to drive home?”

“Mmm,” he slurped some sort of noodle through his lips. “My place is always being elected for the rest place after we go out clubbing.”

“Oh... do you go clubbing often?”

“Every other weekend or so. I’d say you could come with me, but you’re unfortunately under age.”

I shook my head. I didn’t really want to go clubbing anyway. “It’s fine. I’ve been drunk once and I don’t plan on doing it ever again.”

He laughed at me. “Drinking moderately, so that you just get the high/tipsy feeling, and its fine. But getting flat-on-your-face-vomiting-your-guts-up every time isn’t the fun.”

“I’ll just stick with not drinking at all.”

“That could work,” he gave me a smile and we stopped talking and kept eating. By the time the movie was over, I was slightly freaked out and all the food was gone. And yes, I’ll admit that I scare easily and normally only watch horror during the day.

“Well, I’m off to bed. If you want to watch more TV, go ahead. There are about two hundred channels, you might find something.”

I nodded a little, “yeah, I think I’m going to go to bed too. Didn’t sleep much on the bus ride here.”

Jeff nodded this time, and together we threw our trash away. He took over the bathroom first, while I changed into some clean clothes to sleep in. I cam out of my room, just in time to catch him walking out of the bathroom with only a towel around his waist.

It was slightly awkward. Practically smacking right into you half-naked, newly found brother. I stuttered an apology, before sliding past him into the bathroom, not completely missing the smirk he had on his lips. In the bathroom, I brushed my teeth and contemplated what the heck Jeff had been smiling about. Oh well, probably nothing anyway.

I finished up in the bathroom then went into my room. It was dark, except for the lights coming in through the window. I approached the window and looked out. The rain had stopped, and from the tenth floor, I could see quite a bit of the city. It was an amazing view, one that I wasn’t sure if I could ever get used to it. Shaking my head, I closed the curtains, and padded towards the bed. I climbed under the sheets, snuggled up and quickly fell asleep.