Shelley screamed.
Dan leapt up from his keyboard and dashed up the stairs. He skidded to a halt on the landing in a solid fighting stance. Seconds later, Scott and Clay flanked him, ready to fend off an intruder.
“Uh...hey. Sorry. Didn’t mean to startle you.” Bob knelt down and began to pick up the laundry that had fallen when Shelley dropped her laundry basket.
“Bob, what did you do?” Shelley cried.
“Shelley, are you all right?” Dan stepped around Shelley to help Bob, and then he recoiled. “Whoa.”
“Whoa what?” Clay peered around Shelley, and then he went still.
“Guys, you’re freaking me out.” Scott joined the huddle around Bob, and his jaw went slack. “Bobby. You - your hair. Why did you cut your hair?”
It was a fairly neat job, buzzed short, shorter than even Clay had worn it during his Wild At Heart days.
Bob straightened up and handed Shelley the refilled laundry basket. “It’s been six weeks of the medicine. I start chemo this week. I figured if I cut it short and I started to lose hair, well...it wouldn’t be so weird.”
Dan blinked. “Oh. You - you’re gonna go forward with the chemo?”
“Yeah.” Bob shoved his hands into his pockets. “I, uh, I know I’ve been...kind of a monster these past few weeks, and - I’m sorry. You all have been really, really great, and I’m sorry I’ve been so self-absorbed.”
“Bob, you’re seventeen years old. All seventeen-year-olds are self-absorbed.” Shelley’s smile was watery.
Bob reached out and pulled her into a hug. “Thanks, Shelley.”
“Dude,” Scott said, “she just insulted you.”
Clay reached out, put a hand on Bob’s shoulder. “So, you’re finally taking me up on my offer?”
“Yeah.” Bob stepped back from Shelley. He ran a hand over his buzzed hair absently. “I am lucky, and not just because we’re twins. I’m lucky because I have all of you. I can make it through this because you’re here with me.”
Clay dragged Bob into a hug. “We are going to make it through this together.”
Dan threw his arms around Bob from the other side.
He laughed. “Hey, guys, I can’t breathe.”
Shelley was openly crying now, and she threw herself into the hug.
Scott said, “I’m not hugging you all.”
Dan caught Scott’s shirt and dragged him forward. “Get in here.”
2 comments:
This was a cute piece. Nothing is stronger than family. The bit about Shelly freaking out was funny.
Indeed. I know more about the boys' actual mother than about the stepmother, but I figured I'd have fun.
And I really couldn't understand why Bob cut his hair, other than that it broke my little fangirl heart. I figured, well, the Bob in my universe cut his hair for a good reason.
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