After the Thorns Chapter 06
I was taken to the nearest hospital for treatment.
Fortunately, most of my injuries were bruises, cuts, and a mild concussion.
That same evening, the parents who had thrown me out somehow learned where I was and came to my room.
The military police assigned to protect me stopped them at the door.
Mom held an insulated container and called my name softly.
It sounded like all the evenings in childhood when she called me to dinner.
Back then, Mason had not been born yet.
Perhaps the loss in my eyes was too obvious.
The guards finally stepped aside and allowed my parents in.
Mom opened the container and eagerly ladled out a bowl of chicken and wild-rice soup.
“Winters in Riverton call for something warm.
“Especially when you’re hurt. You need to build your strength.”
She looked at me with such tenderness that it was as if the previous week had never happened.
When I refused the bowl, she carefully raised the spoon as though she meant to feed me.
I struck it from her hand, spilling the soup across the floor.
Dad’s anger flared immediately.
“Julian, what kind of attitude is that?
“Your mother stayed up all night making this. If you won’t drink it, you still have no right to waste it.
“Getting back into West Point doesn’t give you permission to disrespect your parents!”
I met his righteous accusation with a cold smile.
“Are you actually my parents?
“Five days ago, you threw me out and announced that I was no longer part of your family.
“You came here now because you want me to protect Mason.
“That will never happen.”
Dad’s face darkened to a furious red.
He pointed at me, his hand shaking.
“You ungrateful son! We gave you life. Do you want God to punish you for speaking to us that way?”
Mom abandoned the gentle act too.
She dropped onto the floor, slapped her thighs, and began wailing.
“What did I do to deserve a heartless child like you?
“Whatever Mason did, he’s still your younger brother!
“Now that you’re important and powerful people are protecting you, you’re going to destroy your own brother?”
Her cries drew doctors and nurses from the hall.
But instead of sympathizing with my parents, they looked at me with pity.
After all, very few people were forced by their own parents to serve a prison sentence for a sibling.
I watched their performance without emotion.
“If you truly care about him, tell him to confess immediately. A guilty plea might reduce his sentence.”
Dad seemed to seize on a final possibility and stepped closer, softening his voice.
“Julian, I know your mother and I have wronged you.
“But Mason is still young, and he’s about to become a father.
“If he goes to prison, what will happen to Vanessa and the baby?
“Besides, you’ve already served the three years.
“Can’t we simply let the matter end there?”
His shamelessness made me laugh, and the motion pulled painfully at my injuries.
Yet the ache in my body was nothing beside the one in my chest.
“Dad, I really don’t understand either of you.
“Mason and I are both your sons. Why have you always demanded that I surrender everything to him?
“I gave him eighteen years: my childhood, my awards, and even my future. Now I only want justice, and you still refuse to stop.”
