CHAPTER III

♧THE ONLY SON♧

Baxter stayed quiet and peaceful while playing scrabble on his phone when a knock on his door broke it. He glance outside from the open window, not bothering the disturbing sound from the door.

Green color of the leaves connected at the brown color of the thin and thick branches of the trees. It's roots grasped at the ground full of dead leaves that fell from the trees.

No one to sweep it out. No one bother to for it makes the place more... province like. It makes the peacefulness of everything break when the crisp sound it makes once you step on them.

He closed his eyes and hear the hushed sound of the whistling music of the air, making the trees dance with them as the silent whoosh of air brings music to his ears.

This is peace. This is what he's been looking for, silence.

A knock again broke the silence. "Baxter?" The one who knocked called his name in hushed voice. "Can I come in?" She asked again.

He sighed. Thinking that his grouchy sister inside his room will give him another stressful lessons and a massive headache.

Baxter turn his phone off before speaking. "In." He curtly replied and glance at the closed door but instantly turn his gaze back at the window.

The door creaked, a sign that it opens and again to close. "Hey." She greeted and that made him turn his head to her, it's Dolora.

It's a miracle that she doesn't use her usual nettlesome voice. Although he knows that it won't last long. He's certain of it.

"What do you want?" He asked in low voice but it sounded a little rude.

He watches her walk around his room before settling down at the empty seat in front of his study desk which is full of his mini lego puzzles collection and built it on his own as his pass time.

He actually brought those with him so boredom will not eat him. Another thing to occupy his mind when he feels the need of fitting in-- more or less, being out of place.

"I uhm-- I just want to... thank you for... what you did back there." She began and it's obvious that she's not comfortable thanking him according to the tone of her voice and by how she looks away from his eyes.

The uncomfortable atmosphere between them gives enough pain amid him and the tranquillity he's losing the moment Dolora stepped inside his room.

"It's-- I... uhm-- I didn't expect that to happen. I was just too busy on my phone and then-- I heard my Dad calling for my name but I ignored him... you warned me but I didn't listen." She played the lego puzzle displayed at the desk.

Baxter's a bit shock to admit that she's the one at fault. She doesn't usually take the blame even if somebody throttle her neck tightly. He's surprised but not as impressed as he could actually be.

"I never thought that you'll be there and you helped me to get rescued. I thank you for that." She added and wipe her hands at the rugged shorts she wore.

He didn't utter any word and just kept on looking outside from the window.

"Hey, did you hear what I just said?" She asked him when she noticed that Baxter's obviously not listening to her.

Hee just shrugged his shoulder as his answer.

"Weren't you listening to me? Baxter, I'm doing my speech here for you and I even practiced it in front of the mirror to only receive a shrug from you?" She bragged.

"I rather hear silence than your 'thank you' speech which you don't really mean to say. It's not even sincere. It sounded like it came from your nose." He replied in his monotone voice.

It might actually be the longest thing he said since "that" night.

Dolora scoffed and throw her hands in the air. "You're so unbelievable! I'm being a goody-two-shoes here, Baxter. I swallowed all my pride just to say how thankful I am 'cause you saved me." She blustered in anger as she stood up from the chair that shaken the desk and messed the puzzles above it.

"I warned you and you didn't listen." He repeated her words. "Have you ever heard of karma?"

"So your saying that it's my fault? Yes, I never listen but I know what I'm doing, Baxter." She defended herself.

And so he's right, she never admitted anything ever since. It's no surprise to him.

"You don't, you just took yourself in the brink of death, Dolora." He coldly told her. "Won't you just accept that you're nothing but a headache?"

"No, I'm not accepting anything of that because it's not true, 'you' are the headache of this family, Baxter." She chuckled in sarcastic way. "And so much for thanking you. I wish I just slept inside my room and feel the soft mattress under me." She bawled out.

"I wish that too." He whispered but enough for Dolora to hear it.

"You're hopeless. You're the most laconic person I've ever met in my whole life and a worthless piece of trash, Baxter. I don't like you as my brother, you're so boring like hell!" She even yelled at him before open the door harshly and slam it close as if she wants to break it by force.

"Who says I also want to have a family like this with you in it." He muttered to himself.

He sighed and decided to take a shower.

He wore a faded khaki shorts and a brown shirt with a printed face of Michael Jackson. He wore his black rubber shoes that comforts his feet as he walks.

He crunches his nose and rub it like he used to do before locking the door of his room and open the window. He wanted to breathe some air and so that's what he's going to do.

He stepped outside and use the ladder that is inserted at the wall just as he passes the half roof and walk towards the woods.

Every steps he made makes crunching sounds of the dried leaves scattered all over the ground.

The woods can lost you so he made a brilliant idea of leaving trails from the house to wherever he's going.

He picks branches and chopping it to every pieces it can make and throw it on the ground.

He kept on walking while leaving trails on the ground. Birds are singing and it echoes through the ground to his ears, it's soothing and relaxing.

He can hear the loud streams of the water from the distance.

He took some more steps to reach where that relaxing sound of water and there he found it. A small spring, the stream comes from somewhere that makes the sound of flowing he heard from earlier.

A small smile formed his lips, appreciating the little view he just discovered.

The sun shows that it's 3 o'clock in the afternoon. He could spend some more there for an hour or a couple.

His parents knows that he doesn't like to be disturbed in this time of afternoon, so they wouldn't suspect that he's not inside his room. Unless they saw him climb down from the window.

He sat at one of the big rocks sitting at the ground, looking at the streams of water and sometimes at the clear sky.

"Where else am I gonna get a view like this?" He mumbled underneath his breath.

A few minutes of relaxing himself, he heard a group of footsteps heading towards where he is. He can hear the laughter coming from whoever those are. He open his eyes wide and look around. There he found a group of 4 male, up about like his age.

One of them noticed him and calls the attention of the others while mentioning his head to his way.

The others also looked at him and stopped laughing. Baxter just shrug it off and continue looking at the stream, ignoring the presence of the group walking towards him.

He escaped the mess inside their house and he doesn't want to have another mess outside that house.

"Hey, punk! What are yah doin' here? Yah shouldn't be 'ere." The boy with a brown hair wearing his disdainful face he gives to Baxter.

Baxter lift his eyes to the group and squint it a little to decrease the blinding of the sky to his eyes.

"Sorry, I just wandered around." He silently apologized to the boy who's now standing above him looking down to him, same as the other three.

"Wandering alone in the woods is not safe for a li'l boy like you." Said the other boy who have an Asian look at his face.

"I'm not a little boy anymore. I'm fifteen, it's called teenager and I'm one of them." Baxter explained his side and that made one of the boys give him an amused look.

"Why are you here? If you don't mind answering." Said the amused one.

He sighed and stood up from sitting down on the ground. He brush his hand at his short that he used to seat with and face this group of teenagers.

"I need an escape from my family. I hate the noise and stuffs." He shared to them unknowingly. He suddenly felt comfortable with them even though they're strangers. It's too unlike him.

The amused one nod his head while the other guys who talked to him earlier are still eyeing on him also the other guy who stayed silent is just looking at them.

"What's your name?" The amused one asked him.

Baxter looked at them each by each. They don't seem to be harmless. They looked like the usual country teenager and he's from the city except the one who have a brown hair. As of what he's thinking of.

He might as well get along with them. "I'm-- I'm Baxter." He introduced himself and extends his hand to them.

The amused one is the first one to reach for it. "The name is Klyde, Klyde McMarrow." Klyde shook their hands and motion the others. "This is Nick." It's the brown haired guy who talked to him first. Nick waved his hands at him and cryptically smile. "Lukan's my brother." The guy who never talks. "And of course, our asian guy here is Mahiriko. You can just call him Riko. It's his nickname because his name is as long as the great wall of China." Klyde humoured.

Baxter chuckled. "It's uhm-- nice to meet you guys." He uttered to the guys he just met.

"So, looks like the nature makes you feel hang loose." Klyde began and put both of his hands at his back pocket of his pants.

"Yeah, less stress. I need some time to unwind. I just got yelled by my abrasive sister." He shared again to them and look at the stream.

"D'you... do you want to come with us? You know, my house is just a few blocks away from here. We can walk while getting to know each other right?" Said by Klyde while pointing his thumb at the direction opposite to where Baxter came from.

Baxter curled his lips up and hesitates to answer but Nick dodge his shoulder with his fist. "Come on now, don't be a pussy. Let's 'ave some boys time at 'is place. Besides, Klyde's place is not actually a house... it's a big big dog 'ouse." Nick chuckled and pat Baxter's shoulder.

Baxter just shrugged his shoulder. "Okay." He agreed.

While they are walking through the woods, Baxter learned how these guys he just met are very different to each other.

Klyde is a son of a business woman and a seaman. In short he's rich but he's always alone in their big big dog house. He's always bored so he loves going around the woods for almost his entire life and get used to the maze of this woods.

Nick is working in some farm and a son of a farmer from just a kilometer away from Klyde's mansion. He let off some of his emotions around here at the woods and that's where Klyde and Lukan found him sulking alone somewhere at this forest. That's also how their friendship started.

Mahiriko is a Japanese and the only asian of the group but his parents migrated here in states. His parents shooed him away from home because they think he's a blacksheep. He have this failed grades and he's lazy as hell. They disowned him. He walked away from their home and live in the street wander around and everywhere until he found Nick collecting twigs from the woods and befriend him.

And Lukan is an orphan and is adopted by Klyde's parents so he's not alone. He never knew who are his parents but he grew up with a lot of brothers and sisters at the orphanage yet Klyde's parents adopts him and so that's why they made the cool group.

They hate their parents guts. They get along. And do some of their undefinable things they do. They're doing something they said, but they haven't told Baxter about it. They said they will, once he's ready.

■■■

"So you're the only son? And you have 3 sisters?" Riko asked and repeating what Baxter had just told them. "Man, I think that's a total heaven." He added and cocked his head to the side.

The 4 of them are gawking at him like a prep students listening to his fairytale story while sitting at the couch while eating.

He nodded to show how truth he is about what he's saying to them, about his family and life. He's sharing his life about and they do too.

"Man, that's-- well, that's... awesome." Nick chuckled and shove the homemade burger he's holding in his mouth.

"No, it's not." He shook his head slowly while playing the burger Klyde's male maids made for them at his plate. "I have the most annoying older sister and an 11 year old sister who doesn't care about anything." He explained to them.

"And what about that youngest?" Klyde asked and drink his water.

"She's-- she's my favorite one. She's so sweet and the only one who listen to me like I'm telling her the most beautiful and amazing princess stories." He answered and chuckled.

"Ay-nas-eriwan-as-a-ayorit?" Nick asked while his mouth is full of food he's eating.

They all frowned to him.

"What?" Klyde asked him before laughing. "You should swallow that first before talking. Don't speak while eating, Nick, it's disrespectful." Klyde added while still chuckling to his friend.

Baxter abruptly hark back his Mother that they always receive that chiding words from her when she notice that they're talking while eating. Hey! Don't talk while eating, please. You're disrespecting the food. He just rub his nose and shrug it off.

Nick swallowed all the food he chewed in his mouth and said. "I'm askin' why does everyone 'as a favorite." He cleared his throat and pick up the glass with apple juice.

"I don't know why." Riko shrugs his shoulder and look at Baxter. "Why do you have a favorite sister, Baxter?" He asked him and he click his tongue.

"It's because she doesn't yells at me and she cares for me." He answered confidently before finally biting the burger he's playing since earlier.

"I always wished to have a little sister." Klyde uttered and smile at him. "How old is she?" He asked while scratching his elbow with the edge of the table.

"She's 7 years old." He shortly replied as he bite again the burger.

He remembers how Finley listening to him in all ears whenever he talks about something. She always asks how he is whenever he doesn't look alright. She would always hugs him and tall about rapunzel believing that that story and lift his spirits up. How he loves that little sister of his.

"She must be cute as a kitten. Purrin' and meowin' maybe." Nick guessed while a little smirk creating at his lips.

Baxter furrowed his brows when he sense some hidden lines to his words but he just chuckled it and nod his head as a reply.

They spend some more time sharing each others stories and Baxter feel that he belongs to be with them. Even though Lukan, he doesn't seem to like him because he kept silent and shooting him daggers by the ganders he gives to him secretly.

"I should head back home. They're probably readying dinner for tonight. Do you guys want to come with me?" Baxter offered but Klyde just shook his head.

"We're good. Besides, this two gentlemen are heading back home too but thanks for the offer, we really appreciate it." Klyde thanked and click his tongue.

"Okay, I'll get going. It's nice knowing you all." He wave his hand to them and Nick gave him a pat on his shoulder.

"I'll take him to the stream." Lukan curtly blurted out and walk by him.

"Oh no, Lukan. I'm sure our friend, Baxter here knows his way back home, right Baxty?" Riko objected and gave Lukan some warning look.

Baxter's eyebrows furrowed. "Uh, I revere how Lukan offer me a walk back. I don't want to get lost in the woods though." Baxter replied.

"Sure, sure." Klyde let out a quivering laugh. "Of course, we don't want our new friend to lost his parents earlier than expected. Take him to the stream, bro." He even gave Lukan a knowing look that Baxter can't comprehend, so he just shrug it off.

"And oh, Baxter. You know that we, us, here are a group it's like a brotherhood, a fraternity, and you're a newbie here." Klyde stated and Baxter just nod his head. "Okay, so, we need to give your our blessings to be one of our brotherhood. We want to welcome you with a beautiful show."

Baxter chuckled and scratch his head. "Really? There's no paddling, right?" He asked.

Nick laughed because of his question. "No! No, of course there's no paddlin'. It's cliché style, we're doin' it in a unique way. So... do yah want to be one of us?" Klyde mused while his arms are tightly crossed above his chest.

Hesitation eats him but Baxter nod his head, it's nice to have a friend with your age and they understand you the way your parents can't.

"Yeah, I want to be part of your team." He agreed and the three of them yee-hawed and gave him wide smiles.

"You're going to enjoy being with us, Baxty." Riko assured him and nod at him once.

"Be at the stream at Sunday next week, maybe around 8 o'clock in the evening, you free?" Klyde bargained.

"Yeah, I can sneak out without them knowing it." Baxter replied and that made them happier.

"Well, it's a deal! See you on Sunday then, Baxter." Klyde offered his first and Baxter bumped his before strolling out of the mansion.

Lukan guided him and as soon as they reach the stream without speaking any word. Lukan gave him shocking words.

"You shouldn't come back here." Lukan babbled.

Baxter frowned and snorted. "Why not? I don't have any friends here and my family is an eyesore." Baxter protested and kick some of the dead leaves on the ground.

"You don't know you are with and you are just a cub living here in this forest. You're a prey that can easily fall into a trap. Just go back to your mama and be a good boy." Lukan hissed at him.

Baxter just shook his head while his forehead is creasing like you could tie a knot with it. "I know you don't like me, Lukan. But don't push me away because I wanted to be part of the team." He argued but Lukan just shook his head in disappointment.

"You don't know what you're going into, cub. Is that how you really are? You respect and trust strangers more than your family? Don't you mama teach you not to talk to strangers?"

Baxter just shook his head and grunted. "What do you want to say? Can you just go straight to the point and stop blabbering some nonsense things?" He complained.

"Someday you'll realize why I don't want you in the team. I know that there's more than good on you, Baxter. So don't waste it." He gritted his teeth.

"I'm still getting in the team." He stubbornly told Lukan.

Lukan just exasperated and look at him in dismay. "If you come and see what's their catch is, you don't have the right to feel any regret and expect me to say, I told you so." Lukan mumbled but enough for him to hear it before he started walking back to where the mansion it.

Baxter frowned but exhaled all his deep thought and just walk through the woods step by step while following the trail he left earlier.

The sun is now shining orange light and that only means he really need to go back before his parents discover that he's not in his room.

■■■

"Baxter, honey, why are you not answering to me earlier? I was knocking at your door to ask if you're feeling okay but..." Amy asked in worry to his son but she noticed how Baxter isn't saying attention to what she's blabbering about.

There he goes. He chose to be like this and so he should stand by it. For as long as he wanted to hug his Mother, he chose not to.

"Bax." Amy shake his shoulder that made him startle and raise his head to her.

"What?" He asked a little rude.

Amy sighed and sit beside him at his bed. Baxter is facing his back at Amy's while eyeing outside from the window of his room. "Are you okay?" Amy asked with full of sweetness.

"I'm fine." He answered shortly before rubbing his nose with his index finger and sniffs though he's not crying, it's his mannerism.

"Are you really fine?" Amy asked once again to clarify if her son is feeling blue or just not in the mood. "You know that you can tell Mommy anything, right?" She added.

"I said, I'm fine." He repeated his answer and slouch as he plays the sheet of his bed beside him.

"I notice how you make a very big space between you and us, Bax. I don't like it." Amy starts caressing Baxter's back. "I miss my sweet son." She added using her lonely voice.

It's hard for a mother to feel how distant your child is but of course, a child will never do that if there's something happening. There's always a reason why it is happening.

"You won't understand me." Baxter whispered.

"Why don't you try? Honey, you know how Mommy listens to everything you want to say." She convinced him but he doesn't seem to bring his walls down.

It took him seconds before he utter his word. "Someday." He replied with his low voice.

Amy doesn't want to push to his limits and so he let him be. "Okay, I think I will wait for your someday then, mm?" Amy chuckled and kiss her son's head. "Dinner's almost ready, we'll wait for you downstairs." She announced and left his room.

Baxter can't understand himself why he's doing this, maybe because of himself? Or maybe because to what he feels?

His parents before argues for almost every day and in every minute not because of their misunderstanding but because of him.

He would always get into a fight on his school, collecting flunking grades and him being the troublemaker and an embarrassment to his family.

Dolora would always orders him what to do and say mean things and words about him. She would always put him at blame when their parents are fighting, hating him because he's a fool for being ill mannered while Ezra doesn't talk to him because Dolora told her to. It's like he have a family with a world war III.

His Mother would always let it pass even if she's a teacher because she lives him while his Father never tolerates his bad manners.

He would shout at him and say things that he shouldn't been saying and in the end his mother will side him and pick a fight with his father.

There's this time that they almost file a divorce but it immediately trashed when Finley cried and pleaded not to. They are soft when it comes to their youngest.

His Father let a final word to him that if ever he did things that he doesn't like, he'll get what he wants and so he just zip his mouth and let the world rotate without his say even just a word.