Jackson

Our father was a million light years away from us and in his odd way, he sent us a message.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

As I entered the hallway toward the living room, my jaw dropped!

On the brown leather sofa, a dirty blonde male sat next to my sister, twirling her long strands of black hair.

I knew who he was, but wondered how Thomas Hudson managed to get inside this house.

My sister or brother must have opened the door without my knowledge, since Kara, our maid, had left for the day.

After our father died, I was left in charge of the household, since Mother had to work at a shop downtown to support us.

I wanted to find a job since it was summer vacation, but mom forbid me to do so. She told me that I was too young to work and that I already had a big responsibility to take care of-my siblings. Hmph!

I didn't have much of a choice. I had to take care of Jillian and baby Jimmy no matter what ... even if that meant that I had to protect my sister from my best bud, who somehow had an 'eye' for her.

I wish they would simply vanish, but that would be selfish of me. Life is hard!

~~

Tommy didn't notice me at first, but knew he whispered some words into Jillian's ear, that caused her to laugh.

And I certainly was not pleased with it!

Thus, I slowly approached the sofa since I thought I could surprise them. But I suppose Tommy heard my footsteps coming toward them since he stood up and winked at me, making me feel awkward.

And too much of my annoyance, Jill still had a smile on her face telling me that she loved the attention she received from Thomas. She giggled as he took her hand into his, which was a little too much for me to see.

I couldn't bear seeing this happening in front of me, so I covered my eyes and sighed to show them my embarrassment.

The fact of the matter was that my sister was off limits! Jill can't date my best friend! I've warned them once of the 'bro code', but have they listened? NO!

Besides, if Mom ever heard about this situation, she'll be mad at all of us! It's my responsibility to take care of my sister, Jill can't keep her damn hormones off the table, and little Jimmy - if that little guy was the one who let Tommy in, he'd get a lecture from me!

It's kind of like a 'pyramid scheme' that Mom believes when one of us misbehaves!

Thus, I had to say something to end the dramatic show playing before my very eyes. This was something I had to handle right away!

"Hey, Karate Boy! Take your hands off my sister!" As I shouted this statement the pair, Tommy raised his chin and looked directly at me.

The color of his eyes suddenly changed from baby blue to a darker shade of gray and wondered what happened to him. That quick change baffled me since I found that quite odd. It appeared to me, that something odd happened to my friend. It was as if his round face was no longer his.

There was a rumor about a dark place called the ABYSS, and certain people who have been there acted differently when they came back.

Was my friend chosen to be a part of this "ABYSS" situation I heard about? I thought it was some prank that the townspeople made up just to scare children away, but chances are maybe I might be wrong. Or am I?

"Jackson, my bro ... how are you doing?" Tommy said this with a wide smirk. I bet he wanted to play sweetly with me. Instead, it made me want to gag.

"Don't you 'Jackson my bro' me! Your sweet talk won't work! Since you called me by first name - Thomas - you know the rules, get your hands off my sister!

"And if I don't, then what's going to happen to me ... Jack - in the box?" He asked with pleasure with a 'Cheshire cat' grin.

"Tommy, stop with the name calling will you, we're now teenagers!" I shouted as I started to clench my knuckles!

"Well, you started it," was his blunt reply.

Sigh! It was no use.

I didn't want to start another fight with the dude. The only reason why I called him "Karate Boy" in the first place was to annoy him.

Tommy was irritated with that pet name because of an episode he had when he was younger concerning his freckles.

My buddy told me that when he was young, his parents enrolled him in a karate class, but his peers teased him due to his numerous pores on his face. Thus, they nicknamed him "Freckle Face."

And due to that constant mockery, he never received a belt of achievement in that program. Mr. and Mrs. Hudson became furious when the instructor told them that Tommy never participated in any session, but would rather sit on the bench.

Knowing that their son didn't learn anything productive from that class, they pulled him out of that program. Tommy also told me that he was given a long lecture about using time wisely and standing up for himself by his father.

Therefore, after that fiasco, he never returned to a karate class again. For Tommy, just thinking about it embarrassed him. Especially, when I didn't mean to laugh when I first heard about it. So, that is how he told me to never call him 'Karate Boy' ever again!

However, that 'bro code' rule would be broken, since both of us continued to call each other pet names whenever we got mad at each other.

~~

My thoughts wandered all over the place. As the man of the house, I was being taken advantage of. Next year, I'll be out of here and head for college. Mom was planning to hire Kara full time once I leave, thus, my friends will have to deal with her. 

I found myself beaming with delight, thinking how Tommy would get a taste of Kara's strict ways. We called our maid 'Nana' for short, for she acted like the grandmother we never had.

But those thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a knock on the door.

I decided that I would be the one to open it since the notion of more uninvited people entering this house was confusing me. I walked towards the front door that was a little shabby now since the shade of brown paint on has deteriorated.

I wasn't really expecting anyone, but I'm sure Thomas invited someone to join our little group.

I looked through the peephole that mother asked the town's handyman to attach. A boy with dark spiked hair came to view. He was wearing his favorite band's t-shirt and some beach board shorts.

What was that punk doing here?

His name was George London. Kingston's Middle School's laziest student. He was more of a friend to Tommy than to me, but I got along with him just as well.

We'd tease him with that nursery rhyme of "Georgie Porgy, Pudding and Pie," due to his appearance and lateness. And it certainly got his attention. He really did make girls cry after he dumped them for another one!

I guess he'd keep me company tonight, since the flirting scheme that my sister and Tommy had was driving me crazy.

But as I opened the door for George, my brother came running from his bedroom with his Superman pajamas on.

 "There's a monster in my closet Jack and he's going to get me!"

There's my baby brother again with his vivid imagination. Everybody knows there's no such thing as monsters, although I know that when I was his age, I was afraid of the dark.

But before I could intervene, Tommy spoke up.

"Come here little man and sit on Uncle Tom's lap." As he spoke these words, Tommy patted the extra space on the sofa next to where he was seated.

Jimmy followed his orders as if Tommy was his big brother instead of me! And that "Uncle" remark, where did that come from?

That angered me that my knuckles began to clench!

Oh, for heaven's sake! Why must I deal with him, when Kara or my mother aren't around to help?

Being the eldest sure has its perks! Satirically Speaking.

I decided to speak up to tell them who's boss! 

"Jimmy, there's nothing really to fear about. Mom just placed a pile of clothes in your closet. It's nothing to get scared of."

Going towards him as I aimed for a hug, he looked at me with a frown on his face.

To my astonishment, Jimmy remarked, "That's if you don't turn off the lights, Jack! It's not funny and I'm not a little kid anymore so stop ridiculing me.

That's a wise-cracking remark coming from a ten-year-old! And he was shivering in Tommy's lap now.

Well, at least Jimmy recognizes me as his sibling. That's a relief!

"Look, why don't we all go into Jimmy's room, discuss the scenario there and show him that there's really nothing to be scared about," announced George, as he tapped the walls of our entrance hall.

That sounded like a great idea, so for once, I could give that punk a pat on the back!

"By George, I think that's a great idea! What do you guys say?"

Jimmy quickly nodded, followed by Jillian, who I believed was getting tired of listening to this conversation. We were just waiting for Tommy's reply and soon little Jimmy would leave us alone.

All eyes were now on Tommy, and for the first time tonight, he was cornered without a defense.

"Fine, I'll go in with you guys, but if only Jackson goes into the closet, to prove to Jimmy that there isn't a 'monster' living in there."

I knew he was going to say something back to irritate me since I interrupted his little rendezvous earlier with my sister.

I just nodded my head and agreed to do it. I'm not supposed to be afraid of the dark anymore! Well, secretly, I still have a night light so I can sleep tight in my room.

When we approached my brother's bedroom, which was small for four teenagers and a kid to fit into; we all managed to sit on Jimmy's twin size bed.

I knew what I had to do since a dare was a dare! And if I backed out of it now, both Tommy and Jimmy would think I would be too chicken to proceed. The lights were still on, so I wasn't worried at all. Or was I?

I could feel my heart pounding, and some sort of eerie feeling started to pop in my head. But I considered my brother's dark brown eyes and knew he needed a hero to look up to. And that hero ... well, it had to be me!

So, with all my might, I stood up and walked towards my brother. I grabbed a pair of his shorts from the rack and showed it to him.

"So, you see Jimmy there's nothing to be afraid of. I'll be back in a second!

I slowly opened the door knob and prayed I would be back in one piece.

That is - until Tommy turned off the lights.