"Mr Sullivan, thanks for coming."
A young lady in her late thirties ushered Maximilian into her office, gesturing for him to have a seat as she walked behind the table to hers.
"I came as soon as I heard, Mrs Abbot." Maximilian replied as he took his seat.
Already seated beside Maximilian was a teenage boy with chestnut brown hair and cognac pupils.
Maximilian took a look at him, taking in the bruises on his face and the bandage on his arm.
His jaw clenched.
"Uh-uhm" Mrs Abbot cleared her throat to get the brothers attention,
"Mr Sullivan, this is the third time this week alone you've been called, this time… things aren't looking like before. We told you before that—"
"I'm sorry, Mrs Abbot." Maximilian interrupted, his head lowered. "I'll have a long talk with him once we return, and I'm willing to cover the hospital expenses for the others. Just… be lenient with your punishment."
"You shouldn't apologise. It's their fault. LOOK WHAT THEY DID TO ME!" The teenage boy yelled at Maximilian.
Maximilian raised his head, giving the boy a sharp look.
"Look, Mr Sullivan, I know it's hard on you to take care of a wild one such as your brother, Nicholas, with no parents, I truly understand the burden. When I was young, I use to have to look after my siblings alone—"
"Just long enough for your parents to get back home I assume. How can you understand us then?" Nicholas interrupted.
"Nicholas!" Maximilian rebuked but the teenage boy continued, his voice rising with each sentence.
"Our parents are dead! My brother works his ass off to pay my tuition fees and I make sure to mind my business!" Nicholas paused, his chest rising and falling as he tried and failed to contain his anger.
"Why are we the one being punished?"
Silence descended upon the room, accompanied by a deep somberness. Mrs Abbot not her lips, her hand twitching as she struggled internally. Finally, she sighed in resignation.
"I'm sorry, but the decision has been made. Nicholas is to be expelled immediately."
Maximilian pressed his lips together, his hand briefly clenched under the cover of the table before letting loose.
"It's okay, Mrs Abbot, I know your hands are tied."
Beside him, Nicholas sat, his eyes murky as he stared into space. Maximilian placed a hand on his shoulder, rising to his feet,
"Come on, Nico, let's go home."
Mrs Abbot watched the two boys walk out of her office, her eyes a bit wet.
The journey back home was silent. Three bus rides didn't bring out a single word from Maximilian and his brother, the duo walking in silence from the bus stop until they arrived at their apartment. Maximilian dug into his pocket to find his keys, a few feet behind him, Nicholas's footsteps ground to a halt.
"Is that it? You are just going to remain silent?" The teenager demanded, his head still lowered, his fists clenched.
Maximilian sighed, "what do you want me to say? You already know what you did, no?"
"What 'I' did?" Nicholas raised his head, tear filled eyes glaring at his elder brother,
"I did nothing wrong! I didn't ask to be born with this face! Or this body! I didn't ask to be the way I am! Why can't anyone understand that?"
"Are we really having this conversation again? I get that you didn't ask to take after mom, but that doesn't mean you can't hide your features. It's called blending in."
Maximilian pulled out his key, fiddling with the lock to get it open.
"It's called lying to myself. Can't you even hear yourself? You sound—"
"Let me guess, ridiculous? Ignorant? Foolish? Yeah, you've used all those the last four times we had these arguments."
Nicholas lowered his head, silent.
Maximilian finally managed to open the door to the house. He pushed it open, about to walk in when Nicholas spoke again,
"Mom would be disappointed in you."
"Don't you dare bring up mom's name." Maximilian's voice was deep and cold, his anger chilling.
"The Maximilian she knew, that I knew, won't stand for his brother being bullied for being different. Imagine how she would feel seeing you support them?"
Maximilian turned around, walking towards Nicholas. "So what? What exactly do you want me to do? I work my ass off to pay for your school, feed you, clothe you, and all I ask for is one simple thing; Lie, and you have a problem with that!!"
Maximilian stopped just inches away from Nicholas, glaring at his younger brother.
"Tell me, who's the disappointment? Me, the loving son who has been keeping his shit together so his younger brother doesn't know he's falling apart? Or you, the bratty younger brother who's fault it is that we are in the situation anyway?!"
Nicholas's lips quivered as he glared at his elder brother, tears pouring out of his eyes.
"Don't worry, I'll ease you of the burden." he sniffed as he turned around and walked away.
Maximilian reached out, but his hand ultimately fell to his side. He sighed in frustration.
Maximilian walked into the house, placed his bag down and began undressing. He changed into something comfortable and headed for the kitchen. The apartment was modest, but the kitchen was spacious, almost as wide as the living room.
Maximilian smiled as he entered the familiar space, memories of himself, Nicholas and their mother carouseling at the back of his mind.
He stared at the clock, it was a bit past six in the evening. He'll be back… I should prepare dinner.
A few hours later, the dining table was filled with an assortment of dishes.
Maximilian stared at the table, his lips twitching.
I overdid it.
He looked at the clock, "It's been three hours. Where the hell is he?"
Maximilian picked up his phone and dialed Nicholas's number, it went to voicemail. He sighed as he walked to his room, grabbed a coat and his keys and headed for the door. As he grabbed the door handle, he paused, turning his head to look at the television. It was on a NEWS channel, but the television was on mute.
Maximilian walked to the center table, he picked up the remote and removed the television from mute. Immediately, the voice of the panicked newscaster filled the room.
[Coming in live, it's been confirmed that this phenomenon has been happening everywhere around the world. America, Asia, Europe, even researchers in the Arctic have all been calling in….]
The newscaster stood in the street, panicked people staring into the sky which was… cracking. The webs spread out in small circular patterns, rippling like something was hitting it.
Before Maximilian could process what he was seeing, the screams of citizens poured out from the Television, the cracking sky finally gave way. Streaking flames poured out, numbering in thousands. People were screaming and running helter-skelter, the cracking sky might have been a strange phenomenon, but the streaking flames weren't.
"Those are meteors…" Maximilian's heart skipped a beat as he murmured. Suddenly, his eyes widened,
Nicholas!
The boy bolted out of the house, leaving the door wide open behind him and dashing into the street. He looked up, seeing the sky breaking apart, the meteors racing down; a chill ran down his spine as it dawned on him that it was true.
Maximilian ran through street after street, all the familiar places he and his brother took, places he knew Nicholas wouldn't stray far from. As he ran, his eyes darted around frantically looking for any sign of his brother.
"Nicholas!!" he yelled as he ran.
"Max!!"
Maximilian halted in his steps, his head whipping about to find the voice that called his name. He locked eyes with his brother, the younger boy was running, weaving through the frantic crowds of mothers trying to get to their families and teenagers running. Through the chaos, the two of them saw each other, relief washing over them.
Maximilian began running again, hands outstretched as he reached for his brother. The younger boy did the same, running as fast as his fragile body would take him, and just as they were about to touch, Nicholas's eyes widened in horror.
Boom!
The shockwave came before the sound, a deafening recoil spreading out, clearing away everything in sight.
All faded to black.