Post by Cause and Effect on May 3, 2017 14:04:59 GMT
A flight of concrete stairs connected to an apartment building. About midway up those stairs, Xavier sat silently, his features tightened up. A pair of tattered blue jeans secured to his waist, his bared torso revealing the steady rise and fall of his chest.
Tempers flared highly within the motionless figure of Laroux. He had visited his twin, his..other half, Atticus. It was as bad as was feared, the untrained, newspaper worker’s hands were broken. The arms of Laroux that rested upon his knees trembled, fists balled at the end of each trembled just as much, if not noticeably more.
What’s gonna come first?
His hands healing?
Or the baby?
Despite receiving the words textually, he could hear, almost feel, the impact of each one of them, in her voice, dominating his thoughts, throwing his mind into a maelstrom of negativity. His lower lip quivered as he wrapped his hand around the cold glass neck of the bottle seated next to him.
The lid previously twisted off and discarded, Laroux brought the bottle up to his lips, taking a rather long drink from it, hoping to quell his rampaging thoughts. His gaze fixed forward at nothing, he took another, just as long, drink, trying to speed up the process.
”Is this what we’re doing now? For everything?”
Gabriel walked up to the bottom of those steps, glaring down at his seated younger brother. Xavier remained silent, not even so much as a glance towards Gabriel. Instead, he brought that bottle up for another drink only for the eldest Laroux to knock it out of his hand, the bottle shattering against the wrought iron railing.
”Did you even consider her going after Atticus like that? Warn him? Or were you too interested in keeping the girl safe?”
The eyes of Xavier closed for just a moment before slowly opening back up. Continued silence showed Xavier basically ignoring what was being said to him. This clearly angered Gabriel enough to make things physical. A single step forward as he reached forward, grabbing Xavier by his shoulders, nearly jerking him up to a standing position.
”Fucking look at me!”
He moved his hand up under the chin of his younger brother, grabbing his jaw, and forcing him to lock eyes. Gabriel looked down at Xavier, shaking his head slowly.
”Do you seriously have nothing to say?”
”What do you want me to say, Gabe?”
And just like that, Xavier’s full attention was on Gabriel before swinging his hand around, knocking his hand back. Stepping forward, Xavier got in the face of Gabriel, anger coating each word that rolled free.
”I shoulda been there? I shoulda been able to look out for him? Yeah, I shoulda, but where the fuck were you, huh? I mean, you're the oldest, right? Supposed to look out for us, right?”
”Atticus didn't get jumped, his hands broken because someone wanted to send a message to me.”
”You two sound stupid, y’know?”
Walking up into the fray, Alaina began to try and squeeze between Xavier and Gabriel in an attempt to build distance between the two hotheads.
”S’cuse me, s’cuse me, tryina get in here. Back up, shit.”
The youngest of the three finally managed to get between her two older brothers, looking back and forth between the two of them.
”Fighting each other isn't going to help Atti. Fighting each other isn't what we should be doing.”
But alas, her words fell on deaf ears, Xavier and Gabriel locking eyes, staring each other down as Alaina sighed out in frustration, shaking her head.
”Tell me you'll handle it.”
”I'll handle it.”
”Or you two stupid asses could, oh Iunno, listen to me. Atti may be Xavier’s twin, but he's our brother too, Gabe. This affects all of us.”
That voice of reason temporarily calmed the tempers of her brothers, the duo perhaps even considering her words. Gabriel was the first to speak up.
”..okay.”
”Yeah.”
Alaina had expected more but it was something that could become more.
”I'm just gonna pretend you two said go team. X, this isn't a you problem anymore. This isn't the time to ball up and drink yourself stupid. We..the three of us..will make sure she gets hers.”
”At least one of us will.”
Without another word, Gabriel turned away from his two younger siblings, walking off in the opposite direction leaving Alaina shaking her head, a sigh of frustration rolling free.
Rather than giving it a response, Xavier turned away from Alaina, walking off as well, leaving her standing there, once more shaking her head.
”We’ll work it out.”
A firm nod, done to reassure herself, was given off by Alaina as she too made her exit.
Tempers flared highly within the motionless figure of Laroux. He had visited his twin, his..other half, Atticus. It was as bad as was feared, the untrained, newspaper worker’s hands were broken. The arms of Laroux that rested upon his knees trembled, fists balled at the end of each trembled just as much, if not noticeably more.
What’s gonna come first?
His hands healing?
Or the baby?
Despite receiving the words textually, he could hear, almost feel, the impact of each one of them, in her voice, dominating his thoughts, throwing his mind into a maelstrom of negativity. His lower lip quivered as he wrapped his hand around the cold glass neck of the bottle seated next to him.
The lid previously twisted off and discarded, Laroux brought the bottle up to his lips, taking a rather long drink from it, hoping to quell his rampaging thoughts. His gaze fixed forward at nothing, he took another, just as long, drink, trying to speed up the process.
”Is this what we’re doing now? For everything?”
Gabriel walked up to the bottom of those steps, glaring down at his seated younger brother. Xavier remained silent, not even so much as a glance towards Gabriel. Instead, he brought that bottle up for another drink only for the eldest Laroux to knock it out of his hand, the bottle shattering against the wrought iron railing.
”Did you even consider her going after Atticus like that? Warn him? Or were you too interested in keeping the girl safe?”
The eyes of Xavier closed for just a moment before slowly opening back up. Continued silence showed Xavier basically ignoring what was being said to him. This clearly angered Gabriel enough to make things physical. A single step forward as he reached forward, grabbing Xavier by his shoulders, nearly jerking him up to a standing position.
”Fucking look at me!”
He moved his hand up under the chin of his younger brother, grabbing his jaw, and forcing him to lock eyes. Gabriel looked down at Xavier, shaking his head slowly.
”Do you seriously have nothing to say?”
”What do you want me to say, Gabe?”
And just like that, Xavier’s full attention was on Gabriel before swinging his hand around, knocking his hand back. Stepping forward, Xavier got in the face of Gabriel, anger coating each word that rolled free.
”I shoulda been there? I shoulda been able to look out for him? Yeah, I shoulda, but where the fuck were you, huh? I mean, you're the oldest, right? Supposed to look out for us, right?”
”Atticus didn't get jumped, his hands broken because someone wanted to send a message to me.”
”You two sound stupid, y’know?”
Walking up into the fray, Alaina began to try and squeeze between Xavier and Gabriel in an attempt to build distance between the two hotheads.
”S’cuse me, s’cuse me, tryina get in here. Back up, shit.”
The youngest of the three finally managed to get between her two older brothers, looking back and forth between the two of them.
”Fighting each other isn't going to help Atti. Fighting each other isn't what we should be doing.”
But alas, her words fell on deaf ears, Xavier and Gabriel locking eyes, staring each other down as Alaina sighed out in frustration, shaking her head.
”Tell me you'll handle it.”
”I'll handle it.”
”Or you two stupid asses could, oh Iunno, listen to me. Atti may be Xavier’s twin, but he's our brother too, Gabe. This affects all of us.”
That voice of reason temporarily calmed the tempers of her brothers, the duo perhaps even considering her words. Gabriel was the first to speak up.
”..okay.”
”Yeah.”
Alaina had expected more but it was something that could become more.
”I'm just gonna pretend you two said go team. X, this isn't a you problem anymore. This isn't the time to ball up and drink yourself stupid. We..the three of us..will make sure she gets hers.”
”At least one of us will.”
Without another word, Gabriel turned away from his two younger siblings, walking off in the opposite direction leaving Alaina shaking her head, a sigh of frustration rolling free.
Rather than giving it a response, Xavier turned away from Alaina, walking off as well, leaving her standing there, once more shaking her head.
”We’ll work it out.”
A firm nod, done to reassure herself, was given off by Alaina as she too made her exit.