Chapter Ten: Stoll Finnegan

If Stoll was told that his older brother, Sam, would do nothing to risk their lives, he would have believed you five years ago. His faith in Sam vanished on his tenth birthday and that day changed Stoll's perspective forever. He remembered that day very well, it was stuck with him.

It started in the early morning at the Finnegan House. There had always been a Finnegan as the groundskeeper since the days of the Silverleaf Academy was founded, the house was behind the school for easy access.

Stoll rolled out of bed, overjoyed it had been his birthday. However, he couldn't find Sam, but figured he was out early for his groundskeeping job. Their parents were gone, Mom died during childbirth and Dad was a scumbag as Sam said. Dad left when things got tough.

"Dad got weak and couldn't be strong enough for both of us, he was a coward." That's what Sam always would say. Stoll wondered if Sam took Dad's betrayal harder than he had.

Stoll made himself breakfast and went to the Silverleaf campus. He wasn't a student, too young for that matter, but a janitor-in-training. He was cleaning Professor Yarwood's and Professor Green's classrooms at night, but cleaned washrooms during the day. Stoll arrived at the Cleaners' Quarters.

"Stoll!" Mr. O'Donnell exclaimed. He was a chubby and round Italian man, but had great school spirit. "Happy birthday, my boy. You're ten, eh? Double digits, that means you're getting old like Mrs. Black," the man chuckled.

"Goodness, O'Donnell," Mrs. Black snarled before softened upon seeing Stoll. The rest of the Silverleaf students were afraid of her, but she had a soft spot for him. "Trust me, my boy, you have many years ahead of you. Happy birthday, you get the day off, Mr. O'Donnell will handle Yarwood's and Green's classrooms for you."

"What?" Mr. O'Donnell blinked. "No fair."

"Oh, stop it, you big baby," Mrs. Black sneered, but a smile developed. During Stoll's childhood, he wondered if Mr. O'Donnell and Mrs. Black were dating, but they were just good friends. Besides, Mrs. Black didn't have any romantic interest in men or women, so Stoll was confused about where the 'Mrs' came from.

"I can still clean the washrooms," Stoll said.

Mr. O'Donnell grinned. "Thanks for offering, bud."

Stoll didn't remember how the rest of the day went, but he remembered vividly that he was piping with joy with the small party that Sam would throw every year for Stoll's birthday back in the Finnegan House just before midnight because that's when he was born.

Stoll was rolling his cleaning trolley in the late evening when he saw something move in Professor Yarwood's classroom. Weird, he thought. I thought Mr. O'Donnell was going to clean this room.

Stoll Finnegan should have never gone into Yarwood's classroom that night.

┉┈◈◉◈┈┉

He was gutted. Destroyed. And everything in between. He was back in the Finnegan House, Mr. O'Donnell and Mrs. Black were also there, clapping their hands. Don't clap, he wanted to scream. Why should you celebrate me? "Happy birthday to Stoll, happy birthday to Stoll..."

Shut up, shut up...

Then Sam came out from the kitchen, carrying a big, fancy cake. It was red velvet, Stoll's favourite cake flavour, and had messy red frosting saying, 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MY BOY!' Courtesy of O'Donnell and Black. God, Sam Finnegan walked towards the table, acting like a hero. And Stoll adored heroes, they were honest, hard-working, amazing, and Stoll's role model.

"Happy birthday, my boy," his older brother whispered, grinning broadly. He pinched Stoll's cheeks and messed around with his curly hair. When Dad left, Stoll thought of his brother like his father, he looked up to Sam. "Blow out the candles and make a wish."

Stoll blew out the candles, pretending to smile. The brothers' eyes bore into each other's and Stoll turned away first. Why did he get involved? He should have left Sam alone and pretended he hadn't seen anything.

The most gutting secrets were the burdens of others.

┉┈◈◉◈┈┉

Stoll blinked, back in the present. Things had changed in the present, Mr. O'Donnell died from a heart attack two years ago on his vacation to Italy and Mrs. Black retired shortly after his death.

"Finnegan?" Saira asked.

"Uhm..." Stoll shook his head repeatedly. This wasn't the time to think like how his ten-year-old self was thinking. That was five years ago. "I don't know, I just kind of freaked, sorry."

Orchid looked worried. "I think it was a panic attack."

"Definitely not," he added quickly. You can't get distracted again. "You know what, Gray? Just leave it alone. Like I was going to say, I wiped the footage clean. Sam had some concerns and I wanted to help my brother out..."

"So you also happened to delete evidence of Scarlett's murder?" Saira looked irritated. Stoll couldn't blame her, well, maybe a little. "Looky here, Gray, your boyfriend with those hacking skills erased a crime scene clean."

Stoll scowled. "Shut up, Levine."

"How did you even do it?" Orchid asked, slipping off her wet jacket, and carrying it in her arms. For a brief second, Stoll didn't want to answer, he wanted to protect Sam. The payment treaty, his mind whispered. Sam will be safe.

"I deleted the footage of Sam and decided to set up a mock-up for the next few days, which is now, though the mock-up should be finished by midnight. Basically, I looped previous footage and switched off the actual recording security cameras, replacing it with the looped footage."

Saira wrinkled her nose. "Um, I'll pretend I knew that."

Orchid looked at Stoll, frowning. Did I say something wrong? Stoll hoped he hadn't since Orchid could be scary when angry. "Speaking of Sam, I take it that Headmaster Roux spoke to you about him."

Stoll tensed. "Uh, yeah, sort of. I'm kind of relieved I swiped the footage clean before he could have concrete evidence. I also lied to Roux about the cleaning roster."

"Have you ever considered that Roux might be, well, correct?" Orchid's voice was nearly silent. Stoll's jaw dropped and he quickly closed his mouth back up. He looked at Saira for backup but felt like he was stabbed in the back when she didn't respond. Sam isn't a saint, but he's not a killer. "What day did Sam ask you to erase the footage and make a mock-up?"

Stoll blinked. "Shortly after Professor Green's death, around midnight..." He gulped and pushed away the creeping feelings. No, not Sam. "He's my brother, not a psycho—"

"On the day of Green's death, I ran into Sam. Stoll, you need to realize that Sam was the one who was coming back from Professor Green's classroom. And I checked the cleaning roster, it was Sam's job to clean the class even as groundskeeper of Silverleaf."

Stoll rolled up his fists. I can't believe she's suggesting that it was Sam. "You checked the damn roster? God, that really shows how much you trust me, Gray. Seriously?" Stoll snapped defensively.

"Finnegan, get a grip!" Saira retorted. "If it was one of us, you would have checked, wouldn't you?"

Yes, I would, but Stoll obviously didn't say it. "Oh, so, you're ganging up on me? You're siding with Gray, Levine? Or should I even call you Levine when it's really Le Vil, huh?"

Saira paled before going red. "Watch it, Finnegan!" She threatened, jabbing her finger in his bony rib cage. "Or do you want another matching black eye? Because today, I'm so done with the 'Saira Levine' or 'Sarah Le Vil' bullshit—"

Orchid stood between them, concerned. "Guys, cut it out! Look, Stoll, we're just looking out for you. You have to admit, it's not a coincidence. And what's weirder is that Scarlett threatened to tell Saira's real identity. It's risking all of us."

"Oh? So this is about your secrets? You don't care about mine or Sam's, but you're so desperate to hide your own. Typical of Silverleaf students. Remember this—I can ruin both of you." Stoll got so angry, he didn't like it. Orchid and Saira looked shocked and he finally withered in guilt mixed with pure wrath.

He pushed past them, desperate to get out of this situation. "Finnegan, come back!" Saira's voice called out. Get out of here, he mentally screamed. He raced down the halls and to the back doors of Silverleaf, swinging the doors wide open.

Rain and wind rushed into the building, but Stoll hardly found that concerning. He ran into the rain, the harsh water unable to cool off this burning sensation of anger.

The Finnegan House came into view, looking shabby as ever in the rain. Over the years, the house got worse and worse. It was a three-story house with a wooden porch, but the porch had a few floorboards missing.

"Stupid Gray and Levine," Stoll muttered under his breath, fumbling with the house keys. He slipped inside to the foyer and tugged off his boots, abandoning them on the mat by the door. He threw off his soaked hoodie on the floor, leaving on a half-wet T-shirt, and he was boiling with rage.

How dare they accuse Sam like that? Sure, Stoll may hate his older brother, but he still loved him. He was willing to go to any length to protect him. Stoll hated Orchid Gray and Saira Levine now. He also hated how he overreacted.

He sank to the floor, growling in frustration. The sensation of anger died away and was replaced with dread and regret. Stoll couldn't fathom why he was so rude to them. Coward, Sam's voice popped into his mind. You're a coward, my boy.

"Shut up!" Stoll screamed at the wall. He blinked, panting. I'm going insane, he thought, standing up. He flicked on the light switch, but it was still pitch black. Great, Roux forgot to pay for the lighting bill. Typical.

He went over to his drenched hoodie and picked it up. He went upstairs on the creaking, rickety staircase to the second-story. He went to the bathroom and tossed the wet hoodie into the hamper.

"Let it dry first, brother. Then throw it into the hamper." Sam's voice said behind him. Stoll spun around, stunned. He was similar to him in appearance, dark-skinned, those brooding eyes, and a lean figure. Except, Sam's hair was lighter in colour.

"I didn't know you were home," Stoll said, plucking the hoodie back up. He hung it on a hook and squinted at himself in the mirror. It was so dark in there, he could barely see himself. Nothing, you're just nothing.

"Groundskeeping duty ended early."

Stoll laughed, grinning. "Heh, duty." He would always stay childish.

"Grow up, you're far too old for silly games." Sam went off into the corridor and disappeared. The grin was wiped off his face as Stoll was forced to realize Orchid's words.

You have to admit, it's not a coincidence. However, Stoll, no matter what, did not want to admit anything. Not even if he was wrong.

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