Page 96 of Irons

The kid shook his head. “You’re…so young now.”

I sighed. “Okay, I don’t know what kind of shit you’re on, but we need to get you out of here and somewhere warm. Don’t you have any parents or somewhere to go?”

He pulled his legs up like he was scared. “I’m never drinking again. This is so fucked up, you can’t be real. Please leave me alone if you’re his ghost.”

I tilted my head a little more in confusion. “Kid, seriously, you need help. Don’t you have a home to go to or somewhere safe?”

He rubbed his eyes again. “Please make it leave. It’s not my dad, just a figment of my imagination. Jesus, how much did I drink?”

I put my hands on my hips. “What the hell are you talking about?”

He whispered something to himself and slowly opened his eyes again. “Shit!” He jumped. “It’s still here. Did someone roofie my drink last night or what?” He shut his eyes for a second then whispered something. “No, you’re too young to be my dad. Are you Uncle Tony? He was young when he died.” The kid slowly opened his eyes and suddenly I knew exactly who the kid was.

“Oh shit.” I ran my hand down my face. What the fuck do I do now? It was the kid my dad abandoned me for all those years ago.

“That’s it, isn’t it? Dad sent you, he’s pissed isn’t he?”

It took all I had not to laugh. “No kid, you’ve got it all wrong. I’m not Tony and I’m definitely not Robert. Didn’t really know our dad all that well, but you did.”

His eyes grew even larger, and he swallowed hard. “Travis?”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “I’d say that guess is a hell of a lot more logical of a guess than a dead dad or uncle. What the hell are you doing passed out in a cemetery?” The kid looked nothing like me, dad or Tony. I never would have guessed him to be a half-brother. He had dark hair and dark brown eyes, whereas the rest of us have light hair and blue eyes. He’s not built either, though it looks as if he might have the Irons height, that was about all.

“Holy shit.” He muttered as he looked me up and down. “You look…like…”

“Tony.” I answered for him.

He shook his head then nodded but then shook his head again. “I didn’t know Tony, I mean I was really little when he died. You look like dad but that’s not what I was going to say. You look much bigger than your photo.”

I tilted my head in confusion. “My photo?”

He nodded. “Well, you were in your fatigues and had a helmet on. Your face looks the same, but you’re big. Like huge.”

“What picture did dad have?” That sparked my curiosity.

“The one from the website. I mean, the Facebook page. You know, your basic training thing from a long time ago. Dad printed a few copies and well...he was buried with one copy.” He said.

“He followed my basic training?” I was surprised.

“Yeah, it was some Facebook group for families to follow their soldiers and see pictures…and he had another picture too. It was you with a bunch of other guys in fatigues, but I could always pick you out. You were over there, I think. In the war or maybe on a mission.”

I was totally confused. “Dad knew where I was?”

He looked around again, then at the empty bottle, at his clothes then back up at me. “You’re home? Wait…yeah obviously you’re home but why now? Wait, that didn’t sound right. Umm…dad said you’d come home someday but not to call you, he was ashamed of himself at the end. Um…he fucked up and had regrets. That he was the last person you needed in your life, but um…yeah he tried keeping up with you…but don’t worry he didn’t tell Paula. Um…dammit my brain isn’t working yet.” He scratched his head then lifted his arm to sniff himself, then made a grimacing face. “Holy shit what happened to me?” He looked around the cemetery again. “This is totally fucked up, and not the way I ever dreamed I would meet you.”

“Yeah, how the hell did you end up passed out in a cemetery?” I asked for a final time.

“I don’t remember. I was out with my girl, and it was my birthday. I dropped her off then went to a buddy’s place and had a few beers. My other friends came, and they were already shit faced.” He picked up the bottle and studied it. “I was upset and that’s why I drank in the first place, I was pissed off.” He paused as he thought about it. “Yeah, everyone was drunk, I was thinking about dad and…hell my mom…shit I remember walking out of the apartment and…” His eyes lifted to mine. “I didn’t want to go home and see mom. Not that way, so I umm…just walked.” He looked down at the bottle. “It wasn’t even half full but shit that’s a lot of liquor.”

I squatted down so he didn’t have to look into the rising sun to see me. “Do you live far away?”

He shook his head. “No, we moved in to my…I mean our grandparents place when dad got sick. Mom and I still live there…well at least for now.” He looked over at me. “Why are you home? They all said you were gone forever.”

“How about I walk you home and I’ll answer your questions? How the hell you kept from freezing last night is beyond me.” He barely had an ounce of fat on him. Maybe a little muscle but nothing like most men in the Irons family. Even my grandpa was a big man. I remember being skinny as a kid, Tony helped me bulk up, but by my late teens there was some natural muscle, like dad and especially Tony.

He looked a bit nervous. “I um…well I don’t think it’s a good idea to meet my mom.”

Yeah, well she was the fucking bitch dad cheated with and threw me away for, so I had no desire to meet her either. “I won’t walk you in, just walk you home and that’s it.” I’d rather be back with Wrenly than take the walk anyway.

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