Sam had never been a fan of his grandmother's visits, but this time, it was a more than welcomed distraction. It also came with a bitter sweet feeling of childhood memories as well as new criticism that sort of ruined everything. But given his evil plan to possibly give her a heart attack by springing Ron on her, he was going to be more lenient.

"Why are you all slouching?" she asked from her place on the couch in the living room ."I told you a million times not to slouch? And can't you be more discreet?" She nudged Sam in the chest with her walking stick. "All my friends are discussing your breakup."

"Good to know, Grandma," he mumbled, pulling away as much as the couch allowed him and rubbing her chest.

"Grandmother. You're still mumbling and not finishing your words."

Could Ron show up faster, please? Fortunately, Grandma had four more targets she could focus her attention on, so the subject of Christine was dropped.

"You're still big," she said to Kyle.

He didn't even flinch from his position leaning on the back of the armchair Jimmy occupied. "I think that's how aging works. Fat chance I'll get smaller."

"I heard you're living with your girlfriend now," Grandma continued her attack. "I hope you're not fornicating outside of marriage."

Oh, God. Kyle seemed to feel the same, because he rolled his eyes.

"Do you really want to know that?"

"Off his back, Grandma," Jimmy mumbled, writing something on the clipboard in his lap.

"Not you, too, James. Honestly, you children get more disrespectful with age."

"Please spring Ron on her faster," Tom muttered from next to Sam.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Jerry whispered from Sam's other side. "I really don't want to be responsible for my own grandmother's untimely death."

"Hey, we all know CPR. And we actually have a defibrillator in the house," Sam said. "It will be alright."

"What on Earth are you writing there which is more important than family time?" Grandma continued, unaware they were planning an emergency medical procedure on her.

"I'm trying to figure out rotational pull in zero gravity," Jimmy answered, scribbling something down. "Any suggestions?"

Grandma faltered, obviously not sure how to criticize that. Surprisingly, she smiled. "Such a smart boy. I'm sure you'll figure it out."

"Kindness?" Tom asked, putting his hand on his chest. "Grandmother, I am shocked."

She squinted at him. "Always such a smarty pants." Her probing gaze then took all of them in. "You all look terribly upset though."

"Caught us at a rough time, that's all," Jerry said. "But we're sure your visit will cheer us up."

"I'm hoping it would," she said with renewed confidence, then picked up the remote control. "And nothing is better than family time."

Which meant soaps again. Sam bit back a giant groan, but all sense of boredom disappeared once the TV turned on. Someone had left it on a news channel and Von Crooken's face took up the screen.

"Wait, leave it here." He snatched the remote before his grandmother could make another move.

"Samuel Sirius--" she started, but froze once she focused on the news. "Oh, this is interesting."

"As a former student, it's the least I can do."  The sleaze bag was saying, a smile on his face. He still looked as if he'd come out of a bar fight and Sam was once again beyond impressed by Kyle's ability to punch people.

The camera then cut to an aerial shot of a large building with two wings out of which one looked derelict, blackened from smoke and grime and with the roof caved in.

"The campus has been abandoned for over twenty years, the faculty using the main building as temporary deposit space. Needless to say, after the riots, most of the students chose to continue their studies in a safer environment. For the longest time, it was believed that the ghost of Snitch Gravel himself haunted the building. Of course, in recent years, it was discovered that he hasn't died in the fire that claimed the life of fifteen people and seriously injured twenty eight others."

The camera cut again to a middle aged woman standing in front of the abandoned building.

"I can still remember that day. We were all so scared. People running, pushing each other. One of my friends got trampled. And there there was the fire." The woman's eyes glowed with terror. "No one knew what was going on, who had died, who was responsible. I started searching for a new school the very next day. We all hoped Snitch Gravel died in that awful fire."

Another witness, a man with graying hair this time, appeared on screen. "For a few days, no one knew anything. Then they took credit for it. Of course everyone ran for their lives. I'm still afraid to go anywhere near that building."

The image turned back to the building, the reporter presenting the case in a pleasant voice, as if she wasn't talking about people dying. "Back in its glory days, "Saint Agnes Academy" was the most sought after high school in the city with a popularity only rivaled by its direct competitor "Xavier Race". Both schools produced sound minds and successful people, including the current Illinois representative in Congress and the mayor."

And Von Crooken was back, once again grinning at the screen. "I hope that my donation will be only the first of many and that this historic school will be opened for the next academic year. I have spent the best years of my life in that building."

"Huh, what do you know."

Maxi's voice made Sam jump and he glanced over his shoulder. She'd stopped behind the couch, a hamper propped against her hip, watching Von Crooken with a frown.

"Who knew this clown would grow so successful," she said.

"You know him?" Sam spluttered. Though now that he stopped to think about it, given that his parents knew Snitch Gravel, they might have known some of his men.

"Yeah. We went to high school together. He was held back for two years at least." She shrugged. "I guess it's easy to be successful when someone keeps pumping money up your... um, butt."

"You went to this Saint Agnes?" Jerry asked, sounding just as surprised. 

As a matter of fact, everyone had dropped everything and was now staring at Maxi, their grandmother included, though she didn't look surprised at all. Because of course she knew.

"Yes." Maxi lifted the hamper to better position it on her hip. "It was a very good school until the dorms burned down."

"Were you there?" Jerry pressed on.

She hesitated for the fraction of a second, but Sam caught it. "Not in the midst of it, but I was around. It was a horrible day started with peaceful protests against the difficulty of the admission exams which degenerated into looting and then the fire."

Maybe Freider hadn't been exaggerating either and Snitch Gravel was ever the cold blooded murderer he'd claimed.  Sam wasn't exactly sure why he found it so hard to believe, so he prodded on, "So it was really Snitch Gravel?"

His mother's wince was so discreet, he would have missed it if he weren't expecting it. "This is difficult to answer. For a few days, no one knew what was going on. Then Snitch Gravel did take credit for it."

"Wait, if you know Von... Harkin," Kyle started, "this means you know Snitch Gravel as well."

"Yeah, he was there, one year older than me." Maxi's face grew pale after her affirmation, as if she regretted letting that out.

What the hell? Sam's mind starting doing some very obvious math he'd never even considered before. Snitch Gravel was forty-three. Freider was fifty. There was no way those two had been in high school together, like Freider claimed. How did they even know each other?

Kyle apparently had other, more pertinent questions. "What's his real name?"

Maxi really did go pale at this. "There is something you need to understand about Snitch Gravel. He was never out in the open. He was this menacing shadow and everyone knew his gang, but not him. There were rumors, but very few people knew who he really was."

"But you've seen him," Jimmy insisted. "You know what he looks like."

For a moment, Sam was sure they'd have to use the defibrillator on their mother, but she swallowed and straightened. "Yes. But I was never able to identify him in school. And when the campus burned down, so did a lot of the school records, so we were never able to check."

"A lot of people believed this Snitch Gravel didn't even exist," Grandma piped up surprisingly. "Freider dug a lot into the issue because he didn't like what was going on in that school."

"Why did Dad even care?" Sam asked, narrowing his eyes. "If Snitch Gravel is one year older than Mom, Dad was never there with him." But at least this explained how his parents had actually met.

There was silence at this. Sam's phone started buzzing, but he couldn't be bothered to even check who it was. A vague suspicion formed in the back of his mind as he did his age math again.

"Was Saint Agnes like X Race?" he asked. "With kids starting off at eleven?"

"Yes," Maxi said warily. "But I was only there for high school, not middle school as well."

"What about Ron?"

The name felt like an ax drop. Maxi grimaced as their grandmother took a shaky breath.

"What about me? Talking behind my back and not answering your phones? Rude!"

They all turned. Ron was in the doorway, leaning his shoulder against the frame, wearing his usual uniform of dirty jeans and t-shirt. His grin disappeared once Kyle and Jimmy moved out of the way to reveal his shocked mother. 

"Ro-Ronnie?" she whispered, her voice hoarse, her eyes bulging out of her head.

"Oh, shit," Ron whispered under his breath, his own eyes wide and fixed on his mother.

Grandma started waving her hand in midair, apparently out of breath.

"Crap, where's the defibrillator?" Sam said.

The old woman shook her head, her eyes still on Ron, her hand still clawing at the air around her. "Davyn, get me a glass of water," she finally said.

Great, now she'd gone insane and it was all Sam's fault for springing this on her without a warning. He opened his mouth to point out that there was no Davyn there, but was shocked into silence.

"Sure, Grandma," Kyle said and headed for the kitchen.

Sam started at Jerry who stared back at him with the shame shock on his face.

"No freaking way," Tom said under his breath.

Kyle came back with the glass of water at the same time Ron finally decided to move his ass and kneel next to the couch in front of her. She only took one sip of water before she passed the glass to Maxi and hugged Ron, bawling her eyes out.

Maxi dropped the hamper and scurried out of the way, looking more than glad to flee the scene. They pulled away from the reunited mother and son as well, giving them some much needed privacy.

"Why do you answer to Davyn?" Jimmy asked the moment they were next to the library door and away from prying ears.

"It's my middle name," Kyle said with a shrug.

"No, that's impossible," Tom said. "Your middle name is dorky and it starts with a K. I'm pretty sure it's Kevin."

Kyle shook his head with a laugh. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but my middle name doesn't start with a K. I can't believe this never came up before."

"I don't believe you," Sam said. And out of all the names in the world, his parents had gone with Davyn?

"Is it spelled with an i or a y?" Jerry asked, already googling it.

"With a y. And why is this so important?"

"Huh," Jerry said. "Apparently it means intelligent in old Norse."

"It's kinda cool," Jimmy said with a grin.

"Why is this so fascinating to everyone?" Kyle asked, amused.

"Still don't believe you," Sam insisted. That was a middle name, not Sirius. It sounded dangerous and made up and something a demon would be called, if he were completely honest.

Kyle rolled his eyes. "Look, if it's that important, I'll prove it." He started searching his back pockets then headed out into the hall. He came back empty handed. "Where the hell is my jacket?"

"Kyle, a word?" They all jumped as Freider's voice came from the entrance to the home office.

He stood in the doorway, wearing what was obviously's Kyle's leather jacket, his eyes fixed on his mother and brother who were still hugging. Of course he looked disapproving, because somehow Ron was in his house and his lie had been unraveled. He however chose to focus on his firstborn instead.

Kyle complied and walked over. They all followed him because there was no way in hell they were missing the show. The moment Jerry closed the door behind them, Freider stopped behind his desk. For a moment he just watched them blankly and Sam really hoped he wouldn't kick them out because he didn't feel like sticking his ear to the door.

"Care to explain this?" Freider asked, throwing what looked like Kyle's drivers' licence on the desk.

He walked over and picked it up, his eyes on his father. "Care to explain just what the hell you're doing with my jacket and my wallet?"

"Kyle Davyn Grant," Freider said, completely ignoring him. "Interesting choice of a name."

"You should know," Kyle said between his teeth, "you named me."

"Did I know?" their father asked, and at that moment, Sam was convinced he'd gone insane.

Kyle seemed to grow in size and the chill surrounding him made everyone take an involuntary step back. "If you're going to come and rage at me about a name I had no say over, or even claim that you didn't know my middle name until this very moment, it's just further proof that you're the worst fucking father in the world."

Freider regained his confidence and squinted at him. "You make a valid point."

"Thank you," Kyle retorted. "Your approval means the world to me. Now will you stop taking my clothes and go out there and explain why you told your mother and brother that the other was dead?"

"Get out of this house!"

"With pleasure." Kyle reached out his hand.

With his teeth bared, Freider shrugged the jacket off and tossed it at him. "You're lucky you make a very good point."

"What's the problem anyway?" Sam asked. "What's wrong with his name?"

"Wrong?" Freider replied and gave a short, twisted laugh. "There's nothing wrong with it. Isn't it pretty? A very good, original choice from a very original mother. One I'm going to have a lovely chat with right now." He headed for the door, but paused in front of Kyle. The bravery with which he stared his son in the face was bordering on insanity. "I meant it. I want you out of this house. Now."

Kyle squinted at him. "Trust me, there's nothing I want more."

Freider nodded and brushed past everyone, out of the office.

"Did he look angry?" Jerry asked the moment the door closed. "Should we be worried?"

Sam had no idea how to answer that because he really couldn't tell. A lot of things had blown up in a very short time and he wasn't sure if he should butt in or not. The door opened and he jumped a mile, but it was just Ron.

"I'm gonna take my mother home and stay with her for a while," he said. His eyes were red a puffy and his general amused air had vanished. "She's not feeling too well and there are a few things we need to sort out. Freider's here and I don't think we should be too."

"Sorry about that," Sam whispered. "None of us knew he was home."

Ron just shrugged. "It doesn't matter. Not yet." And just like that, he was out.

Sam wished he could get out of the house, too, but it wasn't like he could. But he felt so trapped. "Maybe I should rent out a new apartment."

"Good idea," Tom said, his voice strangely lively. "I'm not a big fan of staying here all the time. Let's go house hunting!"

"You can stay at my place," Jimmy pointed out. "I'll be leaving in a little over a week anyway."

Sam shook his head. "No, that's your place. I'll think about it and figure something out."

"Good," Kyle said, his eyes fixed on the door as if he could see through it. "I'm really going home. Just keep your ears pealed because I didn't like the sound of Dad's voice at all. If things get nasty, call."

They all nodded, and Sam prayed to God he wouldn't have to call. Because he could read between the lines. It felt like his parents were going to have one big ugly fight over a middle name.

♠️♠️♠️

Yay, I managed to produce text. I'm so hoping this worked and was interesting.

How do you feel about the information? Was it interesting? What do you think happened? And when will Freider finally face the consequences of his lies? Hopefully soon enough.

Meanwhile, you learn ancient history about Maxi and Snitch Gravel. You also finally learn Kyle's middle name. Surprised?

What do you think will happen now with Maxi and Freider? Was Kyle right to worry? And you get to see Ron again. More on that later. He and his mother have a lot of catching up to do.

Any and all thoughts on all this delicious information is more than welcomed.