บท 950: Ch 950 - Golden
Justin had been expecting Alex to open the door. He had not been expecting to feel such an intense wave of hatred when he saw his brother's face. Alex had always been the Golden Child, and Justin was just the back-up. Always in the background, always the lovable disappointment of the Ambrose family.
"What?" Justin said, spreading his hands in a broad gesture. "No 'Hey, Justin! It's so good to see you!' for your little brother?" He inclined his head toward Alex expectantly.
"Hey Justin," Alex said almost robotically, "It's good to see you."
"That's more like it," Justin said. He paused. "It's been a while since we last saw each other. I trust that everything has been going well."
Alex gave Justin a flat stare, then looked around the hallway to make sure the coast was clear.
"The last time you and I saw each other," Alex said, lowering his voice, "you and Grandpa weren't exactly the most loving family members a guy could ask for."
"Well I'm glad to hear we made an impact!" Justin said.
"Justin," Alex said, his eyes widening with surprise. "What are you- I mean, it's good to see you!" He forced a smile, straining a little too much at the corners, and there was fear in his eyes.
"Alex," Justin said, taking off his sunglasses. "Great to see you, too. I think we're overdue for a little family reunion." He pushed past Alex into the house and stopped to check out the hallway.
For a moment, he wondered if this was the same house their parents had bought and decorated years ago.
"It got destroyed," Alex explained. "Mom and Dad wondered, too. A good friend helped us out by renovating the place."
"Good to know," Justin said, tapping his sunglasses against his chin. He noticed a collection of porcelain cats, arranged in a line from smallest to biggest, on the dresser. "You and your friends certainly have some interesting design choices."
"Debbie liked them," Alex said, then he grimaced.
Trouble in paradise? Justin wondered. I can use that.
"Where are they?" Justin asked. "Mom and Dad. They're somewhere close by if you're the one answering the door."
"Living room," Alex said, leading the way.
Flora and Gideon were just as surprised by Justin's appearance as Alex had been. They had abandoned him in Venice with no word or warning of where they were going. Justin had spent the better part of a day trying to figure out what happened, asking the locals, and the staff, for any clue of their whereabouts. He had begun to fear that they were at the bottom of a river after a gondola ride, or that they had been kidnapped and were being held at gunpoint. It was only when he had given up that the butler had brought the news: they had jumped on a plane and were on their way to see Alex.
Gideon stood up, his arms outstretched as if for a hug. Justin jabbed his sunglasses at them.
"No hugs until you explain yourselves!" He snapped.
Gideon stood stock still, blinking in confusion.
"Explain what?" he asked, looking between Justin and Flora. "We left a message with the butler. He said he would see that you got it!"
"Yeah," Justin said, laughing, "after almost an entire day of me thinking you were dead! It's not a family vacation if you abandon your family halfway through the vacation!"
Flora stood up, her face a mask of hurt. "We didn't abandon you, Justin," she said. "We would never do such a thing!"
"You left me in the middle of nowhere!" Justin said, throwing his sunglasses behind him. They smacked against the wall and fell to the floor in two halves. "I don't know Venice! I don't speak fluent Italian like either of you! I could barely contain my fear when I couldn't find you!"
Justin was barely able to contain himself. The trip to Italy had been wonderful bonding time. He had actually felt like he was part of the family while they saw the sights in Venice. Had they remained in Italy, their plan for today would have been to visit a private art gallery. Justin had been looking forward to that!
While having the villa to himself seemed like a nice idea on paper, in reality it wasn't the best surprise to wake up to. He had been terrified that something had happened to Flora and Gideon. He had searched the house from top to bottom, turning it inside out while on the hunt for a ransom note.
I even had all the magazines in the bathroom spread out on the kitchen table, Justin thought with bitterness. Just checking to see if all of them were intact!
"Darling, you were sick," Flora said. "We didn't want to put any extra strain on you. thought it would be nice to give you some space to recover."
"That's true," Gideon said, nodding. "Flying while sick is not advisable!"
Justin's face fell.
They're really pulling out the 'You were sick' card? Justin thought. Why won't they just admit they forgot about me, like they usually do?
Sure, he had come down with a stomach bug the day before, but he was doing so much better now. He hadn't thrown up in almost two days, and he could hold down food. But that wasn't the point. The point was that
"I got sick last week!" he protested. "I've never felt healthier!"
Just then, his stomach cramped, as if threatening to prove him wrong. He let it pass, not allowing the discomfort to show on his face.
It must have been the shrimp in that linguine dish, he thought, frustrated. Always the damn shrimp. You can never trust shellfish that's cooked in a white wine reduction.
"You still left me in the middle of nowhere!" Justin snapped, crossing his arms tightly over his chest.
"Our villa in Venice is not the middle of nowhere," Gideon said firmly. "It's on the outskirts of a major tourist destination, our neighbors are from all over the world and are our friends. You would have been fine." He placed emphasis on the word "fine" and offered a warm smile to Justin.
Justin glared at Gideon, then begrudgingly took a seat next to his mother on the sofa. Gideon remained standing.
"Then why didn't you tell me you were going?" Justin asked, heat in his voice. "No note, just a message to the butler to pass on. Where was the personal touch?"
Gideon sat on the edge of the coffee table, looking Justin in the eyes.
"You're right," said Gideon, clasping his hands in front of him. "We should have at least left you a note, or a voicemail once we got to the airport."
That all made sense, and it was clear that Gideon was hoping Justin would accept it. Justin wasn't sure if he could make it any clearer to his parents how alone and scared he had been. He looked over his shoulder at Alex, who was hanging back by the hallway and watching. He was a little hunched over, and looking awkward, as if he wasn't sure if he should say something. He turned back to his parents. He took a deep breath to calm himself down.
"Will you at least tell me why?" he asked.
Gideon and Flora exchanged a look.
"Alex was having some personal trouble," Flora said. "When we hung up, we were really worried about him, so we came to make sure everything was okay."
Justin felt a stab of betrayal in his chest. Of course that would be where their priorities lay. Golden Boy Alex.
"Right," he said weakly.
"That doesn't mean we love you any less," Flora said quickly. "We knew you would be fine on your own. You've been so independent lately, and we wanted to respect that. It was our fault. We should have told you where we were going."
Justin snorted. "Yeah, you should have." He stood up and walked over to Alex.
Alex stood a little straighter, his hands on his hips as he looked down at his younger brother.
"I've had a long trip," Justin said, looking at the ground. "Can I please use your bathroom?" He looked up at Alex with poorly concealed hatred. "If it wasn't also destroyed."
Alex stepped out of the way and pointed up the stairs. "Up the stairs," he said, "First on the left."
Justin glared at Alex as he trudged up the stairs. Once he was in the bathroom, he slammed the door shut and bolted it. He slumped back against the door and slid to the ground, hugging his knees, and fighting the tears. He pulled out his phone and dialed the number of the only person who really understood him.
"Hello Justin," said Lincoln. "Is everything alright? Did you manage to find them?"
"Hi Grandpa," Justin said in a teary voice. "I found them. They're with Alex."
"Oh no," Lincoln said. "I'm so sorry. You must be feeling so abandoned right now."
Justin sniffed. "Yeah, I am."
"I would never abandon you," Lincoln said. Through the phone, Justin could hear people moving and talking in the background. "You're a good boy, Justin. You're always welcome at my home, your room is just as you let it from last time you stayed. I want you to remember that. It sounds like you need a moment alone. I'll call you again later this evening to check in. Does that sound okay?"
"Yeah," said Justin, wiping away a tear. "Thank you."
"It's no trouble," Lincoln said, the hint of a smile in his voice. "Get some rest, we'll talk later, okay?"
"Okay," said Justin. He hung up and put the phone back in his pocket. He leaned back against the door, letting his head tilt backwards. Grandpa Lincoln always knew the right things to say, and how to calm a person down. Justin admired that about his grandfather.
[SFX: knocking]
Justin looked up and Alex's voice came through the door.
"Hey, Justin?" he said, sounding uncertain. "Mom and Dad want to know if you're okay."
"Tell them I'm fine," Justin said harshly. "I'll be out in a few minutes."
"They're not going to believe that, Alex said. "You get really dramatic when you're upset."
"I have every right to be!" Justin scowled.
"Sure," Alex replied. "Listen, I'm not about to play this game with you. I want us to be closer, start again and all that. This rift between us absolutely sucks, and I want to fix it somehow. So, here's my solution: stay for a couple days. We spend some time as a family. I just want us to be closer."
Justin took a deep breath, taking a long moment to pause and think. However, he had already made up his mind.
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