Episode 4 ^3/4: Everyone has their reasons.

Ang was tearing into Crys! Head down, it was clear that Crys wasn’t fighting back. Visible tears in her eyes weren’t deterring her sister any. Ang was understandably upset. And unlike his family, Ang clearly wasn’t used to having her little sister put in danger. Let alone, putting herself in that danger.

From the front seat that Ang wouldn’t let her sister have, she let him have it, “I told you I’m protective of my little sister. What were you thinking asking her to do something so incredibly stupid?”

“He didn’t ask,” Crys’ soft voice spoke for him.

“It’s okay,” he smiled reassuringly. “Ang is right.”

There was a pause.

So, he took advantage and spoke, “I underestimated Kurt. I was blindsided by Todd. I shouldn’t have taken help.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Ang’s anger was gone. Then she shook her head to clear it. A finger pointed at him again, “don’t! This is my sister and I’m not going to go easy on you.”

But her fire was gone, despite her words. He offered his hand in apology, “I’m sorry.”

He’d meant that. And Ang must have heard that. She took his hand and spoke softly, “I’m sorry Todd is behind what happened.”

“He hurt others,” he brushed off the concern she had for him because he felt responsible.

But Ang held his hand and sternly spoke, “he hurt you. And that’s not okay.”

“Can I ask you something?”

She sat back in the passenger seat. Her nod came easily.

“Is it okay if I pursue your sister?”

Stunned silence came from the back and front seats.

“You have to go through our mom first. And good luck with that. She’s a seasoned interviewer,” Ang warned.

“Ang,” Crys softly chided.

But Ang wasn’t apologizing, “you know she’s gonna wanna meet him.”

“I can handle it. She can even grill me about that danger I let Crys close to.”

“We are not telling mom,” Crys denied instantly! It was the first time he’d ever heard her like that.

It must be rare for even Ang was surprised, “Crys, you can’t lie to her.”

But Crys was firm, “what’s done is done, and we’re not talking about it.”

He looked into the review mirror. The fear shining behind Crys’ eyes right now was reminiscent of Sam. Perhaps that’s why Sam’s advice came to mind. Even if she tells you, you don’t know unless you’ve been through it.

“First things first; without your approval, I don’t stand a chance with your mom. I promise that I will always put Crys first. That I will never stop watching out for her, even if she rejects me. That I will tell her everything that I am thinking and feeling, and that I will always ask her to do the same. She’s the only girl I’ve ever wanted to be serious with. And the only girl I would ever ask her older sister for permission to date.”

“Oh you are a smooth talker,” Ang’s eyes were narrowed as she considered him. A finger poked his shoulder, “you’d better mean every word. You slip up even once and I’m taking her away from you. Am I clear?”

“Crystal clear,” he smiled at Crys through the review mirror. She was breathing a laugh at his silly pun.

Ang rolled her eyes, “ugh, I’m giving you two ten minutes and then I start telling mom.”

“Wait, now?” Crys was blindsided!

They pulled into the driveway. He’d expected to drop them off and head back home where the others were meeting. They kind of needed him for that. But he’d taken a chance in asking Ang for her permission.

“Ang, Court has to go home. They need to talk about what to do with Todd now that they know the truth.”

“It’s okay,” he turned around to face her. “I wanted to talk to you first anyway.”

“Don’t you dare ever hurt her,” was Ang’s warning before she stepped out of the car.

“I promise,” he gave his word.

Ang left the car door open. The moment it was possible, she had Crys in a tight hug. Words only they heard were spoken. And when they parted, Crys discretely wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes.

“That was kinda amazing. Most people can’t handle my sister that well,” Crys said as she claimed the passenger seat.

With a grin, “I learned a few things, being the youngest.”

She toyed with her fingers, “you meant those words.”

“I did,” he admitted softly. “She did too. She’s nice to have as family, isn’t she?”

Crys nodded proudly, “definitely!”

Crys looked at the house. There was worry darkening her gaze.

“If I’m moving too fast,” he worried.

“No, no,” she quickly reached out to touch his hand. “That’s not it. I want to date you too.”

Then she heard herself and blushed. It was adorable!

He picked up her hands, “you’re worried about them, but it’s you that almost got hurt.”

“I don’t want them to worry about me,” that concern she had shone bright in worried eyes.

“Why not?” He approached the question head on. “They’re going to no matter what. Just like Geo and mom worry about me.”

“But you tried to hide what we were doing from Geo.” She quickly added on, “until we knew for sure.”

He ran his thumbs over her knuckles, “what are you trying to protect them from knowing?”

“How?” She was surprised!

Court grinned to help put her at ease, “you’re not so subtle. Besides, I’m the youngest in my family too. I know how you think.”

“You’re a twin. It’s not the same,” she refuted his claim.

He nodded, “true, but it doesn’t mean I don’t understand all the same.”

She was looking at him with mistrust.

Sam’s words rang in his mind. He adjusted his approach, “well, I don’t have a sister, so maybe it’s not quite the same. But I love my mom so much. And I’ll do whatever I need to, to protect my brother.”

She smiled with a small laugh, “maybe it is the same.”

Court leaned into his seat, his gaze staring out at the house, “people often assume that being the youngest makes you selfish and weak. But that just isn’t always the case.”

He again looked at her. She was listening.

“Protecting our family can be our most important goal no matter where we fall within the family tree. I know they shield me a lot, but I’ll always put them before myself. I think you’re the same as me in that.”

She was watching him so intently. On the verge of tears she was trying so hard to hold back.

Gently, he prodded, “what are you trying to protect her from?”

The tears fell when she blinked. Courage built up slowly, “I was nine. My sister was out playing with friends. Mom and dad thought I was too young to be alone. So, I went with them to the neighbors. I know I was a burden, and they sent me downstairs to play. They had two boys; teenagers. And they had video games so I guess they thought it would keep me distracted while they visited. I knew something didn’t feel right but…”

Her hands clenched so tightly they were turning white. Court sat silent next to her, just holding her hands.

She trembled as she stared at the past, “the oldest came back. He wanted to play a game. He took off my clothes. I just…I stared out the basement window. It was a really windy day. The sunshine was so bright. Aren’t bad memories supposed to be dark?”

Court hated the console between them. He held her face in his hands, “you’ve never told them, have you?”

She shook her head, “they’ll blame themselves.”

“You mean like you do,” was the gentle accusation.

Closing her eyes, she nodded.

His thumbs dried the tears under her eyes, “try to hear this; you didn’t do anything wrong. And you don’t ever have to tell them.”

“I don’t?” A sob choked the words.

A tear rolled down his cheek, “you don’t. But you do have to forgive yourself. Thank you, for having the courage to tell me.”

She cried. Tears rolled over his hands and down his arms. It didn’t feel like enough, but he just held her as those tears fell. Her hands held tight to his wrists. If he could go back in time, he would stop what had happened before it could happen. Holding her years after the fact, felt like he had failed her.

She sniffled, “will you forgive yourself, for not seeing what Todd was doing?”

“I don’t know,” he was honest with her. “Nothing’s more important than the people I love.”

“The people you love also love you, and they don’t want you to hurt,” she pointed out softly.

“You included?”

“Of course I don’t want to see you sad or hurt,” her instant reply came from a sweet, and honest place. When she sat up, he was running fingers through her hair to straighten it.

He smiled, “I mean, do I get to call you a loved one? Like a girlfriend?”

Her eyes were round with surprise, “you still have to ask my mom.”

“I’ll face anyone,” he again held her hands, “if it gets you to be my girl.”

Blushing so adorably that the tops of her ears were red, Crys nodded, “I’d like that a lot.”

Even if he wasn’t smooth, he was still managing! With a smile, he settled for kissing the hands he held, “you ever decide to give me his name, I’ll hunt him down.”

“He was just a kid too, really. And…”

“Yah, I’m not the kind of guy to be reasonable and care if he had an excuse. He hurt you, so I hate him. It’s that simple.”

She pressed fingers to her lips to try and keep the emotions back.

He continued to hold one hand, “is he still in your life?”

The negative shake of her head was the answer.

“Do you know where he is now?”

Softly, “not really, no.”

“Then,” he ran a hand through her soft hair, “when you’re ready, give me his name. I’ll find out for you.”

The look in her worried eyes said it all.

“Let me take care of this for you as your boyfriend.”

“You don’t hate me?” Her broken voice pulled tears to his eyes.

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” he heard the unspoken fear which would always be a part of her.

She blinked away more tears, “you don’t really have to ask my mom for permission.”

“But I’d still like to meet her,” was the simple reply, “as your boyfriend.”

“Actually, Ang just texted that she’s not there,” she held up her phone as proof he didn’t need.

“A little bit relieved,” he admitted to get her to laugh.

She gave that soft laughter with a wet sniffle, “you want to go in and tell Ang?”

He shrugged, “or we just text Jaz later to tell Ang our news.”

“Oh, I like that,” she encouraged! “Will you keep me in the loop with the plan for Todd?”

“I promise,” he touched her cheek, fingers lightly coaxing her face up. Lips just a breath apart, “may I kiss you?”

Eyes dancing, and breath still, she nodded.

~~~

He, Tanner, Geo, and Crys walked towards the classroom where Todd was waiting for him before class. The eager text he received said that Todd was there already.

Crys took a hold of his hand, “you okay?”

He smiled, but he knew that he couldn’t hide the worry in his eyes, “can I just punch him? I’d like that a lot better than talking.”

Geo looked over his shoulder, “he’s not going to fight back, and you hate that.”

That was true. But it sucked. He’d never confronted someone like this before. It had been Tanner’s suggestion. Guess that was why Tanner had come along today. That and no one seemed willing to let him face Todd alone. He appreciated their support.

“Guys,” he stopped them from going into the class, “let me go in alone.”

They all looked at him.

So, he defended, “just give me a moment to talk to him alone. I need this.”

He was a little surprised that it was Geo that caved first. “Fine, but only for a few minutes.”

Crys touched his arm, “have one clear question in mind before you go in there. What is it that you need to know from him?”

He thought that over for a moment. What did he want to know? One question came to mind; is it my fault?

Todd was sitting alone in the room. It was well before class, so it was by design. There was an eager wave when Todd spotted him. He took in a slow breath. Then he nodded back and made his way over. Todd had the center of the classroom. Sam said he hadn’t really chosen the spot. It was more that he had been directed there first day and Todd had stayed.

Excited hope filled Todd’s voice, “what is it you need me for?”

“I have questions for you,” he took the seat next to Todd.

“Oh,” Todd seemed a little uneasy. But his hopeful expression came back quickly, “what is it? I can help you with anything.”

“Do you remember when we first met?”

“I sure do,” Todd was excited! “Cooper and Kyle were beating me up, but then you came by. I bet they didn’t know what to do when you knocked Kyle off his feet. He was always beating people up, but that was the first time he’d ever been!”

“You were a lot smaller than them, and I don’t like seeing people getting bullied,” he remembered that day a little differently.

“I know you don’t,” Todd sounded like he was willing to put in a pitch for him.

That kind of gushing always made him uncomfortable, “they weren’t bullying you, were they?”

“But they were,” he was quick to shake his head. It caught his eye.

“I gotta confess something to you,” his right fist punched his left palm. “I’d transferred schools because my mom got sick. Hospital sick, and it freaked me out. My brother and my mom were all I had. So I ran away, at least during school. I needed somewhere where I could freak out.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I needed someplace that didn’t matter where I could be selfish. I didn’t stick up for you that day. I was just looking for a fight. And I didn’t stop to think about what that would do to someone else. I’m sorry about that.”

Todd struggled to process, “but you helped me. You stepped in to stop them. You could have bullied me too, but you didn’t because you’re a real good person, Court. The best!”

He breathed slowly with a nod, “I need you to tell me the truth. I played rugby with those guys that year. Cooper and Kyle saw it differently. But I was so caught up in my selfish spiral that I didn’t listen to what they or others said about you. They said that drama followed you around. I would just brush it off and say you were a good kid that just had a lot of enthusiasm.”

“You always had my back,” Todd was trying to beam.

“Was I wrong to?”

Todd’s face fell. For a brief moment, Court held doubt, despite what he knew. Todd grabbed his arm, his head was nodding, “you’re a good person, Court. The best person! You never believed any of them. And that’s why I’ll always watch out for you, just like you watched out for me in high school.”

That didn’t answer the question. But the way Todd would move his head just before answering was a telling response. It was something he hadn’t ever noticed until Crys had pointed it out. A tip from her mother when interviewing people.

He pulled Todd’s hand off his arm. Todd watched the movement, looking hurt.

“How far would you take that?”

“I would do anything for you, Court. You know that!”

He nodded, hating himself in this moment because he knew everything was his fault. He looked at the kid, “what about hurting someone I call family?”

Todd’s mind was racing as he tried to make sense of the corner he was in.

Geo opened the door with Tanner and Crys following him in. Tanner and Crys followed his path up the aisle, while Geo came up the far one. They did this to block Todd in. Geo at one side, Court and Crys on the other, and Tanner right in front in case Todd decided to try to run for it. Todd’s eyes danced about. He was sensing the shift that had occurred.

“What’s going on?”

“I want you to admit what you did,” Geo took a seat.

“I want him to explain why,” Tanner shifted in the chair he claimed to look at Todd.

Court asked them, “you all heard?”

“We did,” Crys held his hand. “And it makes me wonder how many others he’s hurt.”

This revelation brought eyes to her. Todd was desperately trying to understand.

Lightly she shrugged, “you don’t manipulate someone that well without practice. Not even someone as oblivious as Kurt.”

“I didn’t manipulate him,” Todd almost squeaked!

Court slowly turned his head, “you suck at this part.”

Pey’s voice announced that he was here, “sucks worse at covering his tracks.”

Pey and Jaz were at the front of the room where the professor would stand. They stood side by side. Jaz had her arms folded. Even from this distance, they could feel the chill radiating off her. As Todd looked about uncomfortably, Pey clicked a button on the remote he held.

The screen came alive showing them an image of Todd talking with Kurt and his friends.

“How..?” Todd had nearly asked the question but had stopped himself.

Pey had the answer anyway, “Crys did the leg work of finding people that recalled seeing you talking with Kurt. Once I knew where, finding the when and the evidence was easy.”

Court’s question would have frightened eyes flickering towards him, “what were you talking about?”

“Nothing,” the small voice shook.

Pey switched the image to text messages between Kurt and Todd; ‘the tip bout loud sounds worked gr8! Attitudes gonna look diff now what else you got’

“I know this isn’t the point, but punctuation doesn’t take long to put in,” Jaz had her hands curled in annoyance. Geo and Tanner tried to hide their smirks.

The text messages were moving slowly, allowing them to read. Of course, they all had. Todd was staring with wide eyes, but his brain was working furiously to try to come up with an excuse.

“So,” Court put his hand on Todd’s shoulder, “did you know how bad they would hurt Sam?”

Todd shook his head, “I…I didn’t d-do anything.”

Crys pointed out, “you were the one who took the video of Sam that night. You watched as Kurt and his friends beat him up. How did it feel to watch your handiwork?”

Geo mouthed the word, ouch, behind Todd’s back. The appreciation for her attack was felt all around the room.

He squeezed a little more, “you played Kurt. You played all of us.”

“Well,” Tanner noted, “almost all of us. Sam saw through you.”

“And Kurt gave you up fast,” Crys let him know with a smile.

“I thought Ty would be the one to be afraid of. I didn’t expect that out of Sam,” Geo’s comment had Todd turning his direction.

“Family is the line you don’t cross with Sam,” his reply had Todd looking back at him. “But Ty’s still pissed.”

“I didn’t know what Kurt would do! It wasn’t supposed to be like that, I swear! He was just going to scare Sam, that’s all. Sam didn’t want you guys in his life anyway. I thought he’d just go away.”

“And what? Leave an opening for you? This isn’t a team Todd, it’s a family.”

“One you’ve crossed,” Geo’s assurance wasn’t reassuring.

“I…I wasn’t…” The words were tumbling out as Todd tried to come up with something to say.

“I have more,” Pey offered helpfully from the podium. The image shifted to a still taken from the mall security. Kurt was handing money to Todd.

Geo’s voice was tight, “whatch’ya doing there?”

“Well…I…but…”

“I can help,” Pey was almost perky about it. “See these text messages here. Through grammar I almost had a hard time deciphering, Kurt is making sure that Jaz and Ang are at the mall like Todd told him they would be. So, Todd’s at the mall. What he didn’t realize is that Crys and Sam were dragged along.”

“For the record,” Crys raised a delicate finger, “I was there of my own free will. Sam was dragged though.”

Pey continued, “Kurt paid Todd. I can follow Todd all the way to his favourite coffee shop. Kurt goes on after Jaz and Ang. We know how that one played out.”

With every new line, Todd was growing paler. It was confirmation that would eventually help to ease Court’s heart when he would play this scenario back to himself later on.

“What Kurt had planned that day was probably something like what he planned to do to Crys,” Pey brought up the next screen.

Kurt’s plan was simple but crude; find out what Crys knew about his deal with Todd, and then make sure her journalism career ended on a traumatic note that would involve his friends after they were done dealing with Ty and Geo. Seeing the text messages a second time didn’t lessen the anger he felt. Kurt had been let off too easily! He felt Crys’ fingers digging into his arm. But to look at her, she seemed unaffected.

“But I deleted…”

“Yah, text messages aren’t ever truly gone,” Pey laughed at him.

“There’s more,” Court’s voice had gone hard and cold, “but I think that’s all I can stand right now.”

“Court I didn’t…I never meant…”

“What?” Was it a morbid curiosity that had him waiting for the answer?

“Sam doesn’t want any of you. Crys is just using you for her career goals.”

Jaz had a question of her own, “what about Ang and I?”

Todd couldn’t bring himself to look at her. He shook his head slowly and murmured, “Kurt said he had a score to settle with you. That was part of his deal…”

He gripped Todd’s shoulder, “I’m gonna recommend you find a new school and a new group of friends.”

Pey’s tone was almost flippant, “already done. Well, the new school part is. Whether or not you make any friends is up to what you do.”

Tanner looked over, “what did you do?”

“School transfers are easy to arrange. They just take a lot of paperwork. Normally I charge, but Ty’s face sorta encouraged me to do it for free. Hope you like really cold winters.”

“You can’t…”

He squeezed Todd’s shoulder, “I recommend you take this chance. It’s the only one you’re going to get. And it’s more than you deserve.”

Other than Todd, they all stood up. Geo’s hand encouraged Todd to move. They walked down to the podium to meet up with Pey and Jaz. Staring coldly, there was a moment of hesitation where Pey almost didn’t hand over the envelope. Jaz took it from him and held it out to Todd. Shaking hands accepted it.

“All your papers for the transfer are in there. Try one more act like this, and it’ll be the last,” she told him.

Todd believed her. Holding the envelope tightly, he stepped back. He turned to Court, looking as though he wanted to say something in defense. The look given to him didn’t encourage this. Falling back, Todd stumbled away.

Todd fell out of the classroom. Staring over his shoulder, he took what would likely be his last look at Court. The door fell shut with a heavy thud. The confrontation was over, but he was left wondering if he’d really have to leave.

He’d only done what he’d done for Court. Sam…Sam didn’t even want that gift! Everything that guy had done was to push Court away. Ty was a huge risk. Because of him, Court was constantly in danger. Kurt was going to hurt Court bad one day and that would be on Ty. Clearly, he had to go! And Crys was just using Court. Anyone could see that.

Anyone other than Court. He was just too good a person. In high school, when Todd was being bullied, Court had come to his rescue. Just like in a story! He rarely even had to use his fists. Court could charm anyone. And that’s what he’d done. Court had ended up joining the rugby team with those guys then, but that wasn’t his fault. What mattered was that they never bothered Todd again. And that was because of Court. In fact, they hadn’t even remembered him that night they came to play.

Maybe if he gave Court a little time? He could try to talk to him when Court wasn’t around the negative influence of those people. Back in high school, Court hadn’t questioned why Todd was being bullied. He hadn’t hesitated then to take Todd’s side. It was these people. They made Court think the way that he did now.

Turning around froze him to the spot! They stood with Ty’s arm possessively holding Sam’s lower back. Though it was an intimate hold, he couldn’t help but feel that they had been waiting for him. The chill in the classroom had nothing on the cold front he now faced.

Sam addressed him, “I know Pey would have given you a way out that I disagree with. But since he put in the effort, you should probably take it.”

“Sam, I swear I didn’t do anything,” Todd’s folded hands were held desperately before him.

If Court wanted Sam around so much, then maybe he had to convince Sam first.

“Lie again, and I won’t stop him.”

Todd looked at Ty. A murderous look hadn’t wavered once.

Ty had a warning for him, “nothing is more important to me than my family. And I know how to keep mine safe.”

Though the words weren’t threatening, the inflection was.

There was a smile softening Sam’s features as he looked at Ty. He toyed with the collar of Ty’s jacket. But his words were for Todd, “leave before I let him show me just how protective he is.”

Todd backed away. He didn’t understand this baffling symbiosis these two had. But Ty would hurt him, just like those bullies in high school just because he’d chosen to do what had to be done for the person he liked.

No one ever thanked him. No one ever understood him.

Ty looked over. Darkness was in that gaze. He stumbled back, tripping over his numb feet and dropping the envelope. It broke the spell of fear he had when he broke eye contact. Scrambling to pick up the envelope, he wouldn’t look over at them again. His shoes made a hollow sound on the tiled floor as he ran away.

Sam and Ty watched Todd run away.

“You can be more terrifying than me,” Sam seemed to tease. He was back to playing with the collar of Ty’s jacket.

“My mob boss is scared of me?”

Sam shifted so that his arms rested upon Ty’s shoulders, “never said I was scared. I’m just…powerless with you.”

Liking what he was hearing, Ty pulled their bodies close. His brows danced just before his lips laid claim.