Chapter 3 - Brandon
I pulled up in front of Dale’s house and glanced at Kaleb. I could see a small spark glow in his eyes as he smiled. But I looked past him, spotting a car in the driveway. A car I knew.
“Is your sister here?” I asked. Surely, his sister had a different car from the one she had in high school. It was on its last leg when she was leaving school. Maybe they just had left it here at her father’s, not sure what to do with it.
“Maybe,” he said, pulling the door open. “Why don’t you come in and say hi?”
“Because…” Before I could even finish, the door next door opened, and my mother stepped outside.
Her deep brown hair was pulled back in a side bun, and she smiled eagerly.
I had called her last night, telling her I was coming home.
I didn’t give many details since I wasn’t entirely sure what to tell her.
Kaleb and I left three years ago without a single visit, so we needed a story and a good one.
“Brandon!” my mother screamed, rushing across the yard toward the car.
“Do you kind of regret our folks being neighbors?” Kaleb asked with a smirk.
I punched him before I got out of my car. My mother rounded the vehicle, throwing her arms around me. She smelled like lilac and vanilla, and I couldn’t help but smile, remembering her scent.
“Hi, Mom,” I said softly, hugging her back tightly.
“Oh my god! What are you doing here! I mean, I’m so excited that you’re here, but out of the blue like this? Oh my god, I’ve missed you so much.” She leaned back, taking her hands on my face, and smiled. “You look good. God, you’ve grown. And your hair. Are you doing something different with it?”
“Mom, breathe,” I said with a laugh.
She hugged me again before breaking free. She looked at Kaleb. “And Kaleb, you look wonderful as well. My goodness, you both have grown so much. Muscular.” She squeezed my arms.
“Thanks, Mrs. Paisley.”
My mother waved a hand. “Your father is on an important call, but he should be getting off in just a moment.”
“Well, I’m going to go slip and say hi to my father.”
“Oh, how have you been? Are you living okay? Have you got a girlfriend?” My mother showered me with questions, but I looked at the vehicle in the driveway. I felt a tug toward the house.
“Hey, Mom. I’m going to go say hi to Dale. Do you want to check on Dad?”
My mother nodded. “Of course,” her eyes flicked over toward the car in the driveway, and she froze for a moment. Then she looked at me. “Jade is there.”
So, she was still driving that vehicle. Jesus, how is that even possible?
“Now, Brandon. You best not do anything.”
I made a face. “Mom, nothing is going on between us.”
My mother scowled at me. “I’m not blind and…” She fell silent, looking almost scared for a moment, before she seemed to rethink it. “Just…give me a minute. Let me grab your father, and we can go in together. Just wait.”
My mother turned and walked away in a hurry, and I took the moment to run after Kaleb. He opened the door, and I followed him inside. Dale’s house was exactly as I remembered it. “Dad,” Kaleb yelled as he slipped his shoes off.
I looked up the stairs, and my eyes widened as Jade stopped. Her eyes grew large, and my heart stopped beating. She looked…different.
I suddenly felt an ache deep in my chest. I could see bags under her eyes from exhaustion, and she looked like she was ready to cry behind the shocked expression.
She was wearing a pair of old jeans and a shirt that was clearly too big for her. Her hair was pulled back in a messy pony, and she looked thin and pale. She looked nothing like how she had before.
“Brandon?” My name came out of her mouth, and it sounded so broken. I could see anger flicker across her face, and she crossed her arms.
Kaleb moved up the stairs, pulling her into a hug. He twirled her, but I could see she was stiff. He placed her down and smiled at her. “God, look at you.”
I stuffed my hands into my pockets, not sure what to say. I hadn’t expected her to be here. And I certainly didn’t expect her to look like this.
“Brandon!” I turned to my name as my father and mother came up the sidewalk. My father looked like himself, but aged. He had completely gray hair and age lines on his face. He pulled me into a hug before I could even react.
“Look at you!”
Suddenly, everyone seemed to be talking all at once. Dale came down the stairs, pulling me into a hug. Kaleb followed as my folks hugged him. I quickly looked through the space, finding that Jade was gone.
“God, it’s great to see you two again,” Dale said, patting his arm on Kaleb’s shoulder. “Why didn’t you let us know you were coming?”
“We wanted to surprise you,” I said, simply.
Dale nodded, taking that in. “So, how has work been for you two?”
“Great,” Kaleb said. “We just got back from Europe. It was great.”
It was a lie. We often told our folks we traveled a lot, that there was a change in our schedules, and we couldn’t come home. Our folks thought we were agents for a company, but they weren’t aware just how high up we were.
“Well, it’s great to see you anyway,” my father said, squeezing my shoulder. “How long are you guys in Belrose for?”
Kaleb and I glanced at each other. But I had an answered prepared. “Not sure yet. We figured we deserved some time off.”
“How about we make some dinner?” My mother asked. “We could invite people to join. Have a nice cookout? I bet I could get a hold of mostly everyone and put something together.”
“But before you do that, you should do a drive around.” Dale offered. “Your dad’s done some amazing work with the town while you’ve been doing.”
We did a little looking when Kaleb and I first arrived, and I hadn’t been impressed.
There were changes, but not enough to have a significant impact.
There were a lot of run-down buildings, and the town itself seemed to be holding on by a thread.
I knew the parts he was talking about were the parts of Belrose that had money to throw around.
I looked around for Jade, and then looked outside the door, seeing that her car was gone. She moved fast.
“Oh yeah, go with your dad. Honey, show him everything you’ve been telling me about,” my mother said softly, her hands reaching out to take mine. She squeezed my hand. “Your dad is pretty proud of everything. Besides, it will be nice to see everything since you’ve been gone for a while.”
I couldn’t refuse my mother. She had been nothing but a soft, guiding person in my life. I honestly would do anything to please her.
“Fine,” I said, glancing at my dad. “After you.”
“When you guys are finished, we can have dinner,” my mother said, beaming with happiness. “Dale, Kaleb, you are welcome to join.”
“Thank you,” Kaleb said, looking at his dad. “So, Dad. What did I miss?”
I followed my father, crossing the yard toward their garage. We were both quiet as we got into his truck, and my dad turned it on. I looked around the lavish style and frowned. “Nice vehicle.”
“It’s new. Just got it a few months ago.”
I simply nodded as he pulled out. He took me around the nicer part of town, showing me where he put money and why.
There was an update on a park, a new apartment complex, and numerous houses being built.
He went on about how everyone had been giving him compliments about the changes and how hard he’d been working.
“And what about the south side of town?” I asked, giving my father a look.
“We don’t need to go to the south side.”
I scowled at him. “And why is that? It’s part of the pack.”
My father was quiet for a moment before he sighed. “You know that money only goes so far.”
“And I’m aware that the money was put into a part of town that was already thriving,” I growled out. “You’ve neglected an entire part of Belrose.”
“It’s not worth putting money into,” he snapped back. “They don’t work hard to have nice things. Why put money into something that is crumbling, and there is no saving it.”
“Is that because it’s the poor side of town?” I asked, knowing fully well it was. I’d done my research before coming. I had been away for a while, and I wanted to know what I needed when I came back.
“You’ve neglected a part of your population.”
“You are not Alpha, and you have no idea how hard it is,” he snapped back, pulling the truck to a stop.
I wanted to snap at him that I ran my own team, that I worked tooth and nail to ensure my team was taken care of, that I worked in a huge organization, and that I had climbed the ladder to get where I was.
I looked across the street, taking in the part of town that needed the help the most. There were a couple of apartment complexes that appeared to be on the verge of collapse.
There were run-down homes and small businesses that you could tell were on their last leg.
It was completely different from the parts my father was gushing over.
“I think you need to step down.”
“Excuse me?” My father glared at me. “And hand it to who exactly?”
The words slipped out before I could even think. “Me.”
He laughed. “You disappeared and decided to just arrive back one day? That doesn’t mean you get the title. I’m not just handing it over. You have to earn it.”
I watched his knuckles turn white on the steering wheel.
I remained calm as I looked around. I knew the idea was stupid.
I didn’t have the time or the energy to take it over.
But I also couldn’t just ignore the biggest issue here.
My father. If he had cared, the pack wouldn’t be in the situation it was in.
I knew my father’s views. I’d seen the way he glared at single women or the way he ignored women in general.
My father thought they were meant to be seen and not heard.
He had been lucky my mother was as soft and gentle as she was because I knew fully well no other woman would have put up with half of the shit he did.
She always said he was stressed from being Alpha and that he was doing his best.
I respected my father, and as I grew up, I wanted to be like him. But as I got older, I didn’t agree with everything he did.
“Dad, you’re getting older, and you know it. You know that you can’t lead this pack like you used to.
“You’re going to bring my health into this? Seems like low fruit you’re biting at, Brandon.”
“I’m going to point out that you are not qualified for the position anymore. You should step down before you get pushed out.”
He glared. ”Are you threatening to push me out of my position? Do you really want to go through fighting me for this?”
I didn’t. The last thing I wanted to do was have to fight my father, but as I looked around, I knew I would if it came down to it. I just hoped his ego was too big. “If it’s what the pack needs, then yes.”
He snorted. “You disappear for three years and show up thinking you can do better? You have no idea. Being Alpha requires so much time and commitment.”
“I know that what you’ve shown me is nothing to be proud of. So, what’s it going to be dad?”
My father ground his teeth together, looking ready to start yelling, but then smirked.
I watched him give me a smug look before looking away.
“Fine, you want the role. Have at it, boy. However, you’ll soon learn that it’s not as easy as you think.
In a few weeks, you’re going to be begging me to take it back.
You’re going to realize you are not fit for it, and everyone is going to know. ”
I hated how he said it, considering I grew up being raised to take his position. But leaving put a bump in that plan. “And I think you’ll find I’ll do it better than you ever did.”
I knew better than to poke at my father, but I was angry with how terrible the pack looked. There was so much he could have done, but didn’t simply because he didn’t feel like it.
I knew I couldn’t take over the role and keep it, but I couldn’t let my father remain in the position if I was going to save everyone. Once everything was over, I could find someone appropriate to fully take over as Alpha. But that would be a problem for the future.
The rest of the drive back home was quiet. Neither of us spoke, and as we pulled up, I needed to get away. My father was the same person he was all those years ago, and I couldn’t stand it.
“I’m going to grab Kaleb and his dad.”
I hopped out and headed back toward their house. I skirted around the garage toward the front door. It was propped open, so I stepped inside.
I was about to call for Kaleb when I heard Dale speaking in a serious tone.
“I told her she was going to marry him, and that was the end of it.” I paused before fully going through the doorway. I peeked and noticed he was on the phone, nodding his head as he paced back and forth by the stairs.
“When is the wedding?” the person on the other end spoke up, sounding around Dale’s age.
“I haven’t picked a date, but sooner rather than later. I don’t need Jade getting any ideas.”
Jade! He was marrying Jade off?
Dale nodded his head. “Yeah, everything is going according to plan. Once the money is transferred and the papers are signed, we will get the marriage set. She’s young and obedient. She at least has that going for her. She will be a picture-perfect wife.”
I felt pure anger as his words soaked in. Jade looked like a shell of a person, and he was proud of that? Proud of the person she’d become?
She looked nothing like the woman I left behind. She had dreams and hopes. She was going to go to college and do something big with her life? It didn’t look like she had. It looked like everything seemed to fall apart for her, and I didn’t know why.