tempestuously | Marked Chp. 2 RETRY

"Five hours off the plane and you're already asking me about school," a young man griped, dropping a box to the floor. He started taking things out of it and looking for places to shove them.

"Arye, you are not going to trash this room like the old one," an older man chided as he walked into the room, balancing a computer monitor.

Arye averted his eyes in jealousy. His brother was carrying that thing as if it were a cat. He never had any trouble when it came to brute strength. That was probably one of the reasons why their father had preferred him.

"Look, Elkin, it's my room and I can do whatever I want with it," Arye retorted, pulling a chair from the computer desk over to the closet. He climbed up and casually tossed a box of books onto the shelf. It required him to stand on his toes to reach. Being short was a pain.

"Get down before you...."

"Break something?" Arye finished. He hopped down and grabbed a box of clothes. "You're worse than Father."

Elkin frowned and hid behind the monitor as he pushed it onto the desk. He wallked back out and returned a moment later with the CPU tower. Placing into under the desk, he rummaged through one of the smaller packages until he found a flashlight.

Leaning on all fours on his bed, Arye taunted him. "I thought you were supposed to have such amazing eyesight."

"Sod off."

That earned a giggle from Arye. He loved to tease his brother about his vision. Elkin had the most astonishing night vision and his far-sight was equally impressive. It was his near-sight that tripped him up and forced him to wear those thin-rimmed glasses that made him look like a smarmy executive. Though, being a lawyer wasn't that much better. A wolf of law. Arye promised himself that he would never make his living off the misery of others. He was going to be a vetrinarian. Elkin thought the idea was insulting.

Reaching for the plastic bag next to his bag, Arye shook out the three postcards he'd bought at the airport. Most of his friends had never been outside England. He figured they'd get a kick out of seeing the Midwest.

"Elkin, do you think we can go for a drive later? You know, check the place out."

"You have school tomorrow," Elkin answered around the flashlight clenched in his teeth. He was on his stomach, playing mix-and-match with the wires.

Elkin had a laptop so he usually never dealt with so many. Arye didn't care enough to save up for one. He only used his computer for the Internet or school assignments. At home, he had been too busy with his friends to have more than two hours a night for the computer. Most of this time was spent making arrangements for the next day or locating the best attractions of the evening. Elkin said he was an overly social person. Arye guessed he had a point. He never did feel comfortable by himself. There was always a sense of detachment, a loss of self.

Throwing himself down on his bare mattress, Arye flipped the edges of the postcards with his thumb. Little noises like these were murder on Elkin's sensitive ears.

"We don't have to be long. We can just take fifteen minutes to familiarize ourselves with the place. I mean, we are going to be spending a long time here," he rationalized.

"It's getting dark."

"So what."

"We...we won't be able to see much tonight," Elkin answered half-truthfully. "And we've still got to finish unpacking. I have tons of work scheduled for me this week. I want to get this done now."

Arye growled under his breath. Elkin was always away with some sort of work. He spent maybe a total of six hours at home everyday. Even his nights were booked. It strained their relationship, especially since Elkin was the only family Arye had left. He didn't bother his brother about it. That would make him seem childish or even needy. He tried to stay as tough around Elkin as possible. Elkin could get harsh whenever he viewed Arye as acting unmanly. Image and presentation was a big thing with Elkin. He had picked it up from their Father.

Honestly, just how much Elkin took after their father amazed Arye. Elkin's feeling toward the man were no secret. He had denounced him after their mother died. Their father had refused to take Arye in. Arye still couldn't understand why his father resented him so much. Elkin had always felt pressured by their father. When Elkin was younger, much of his time was spent being lectured and tutored by the man or some of his friends. He was very demanding of Elkin. Even as he excelled at all that he was taught, Elkin grew bitter.

For the longest time, Arye had been shocked at the way Elkin treated their father. The man showed his eldest son nothing but attention and sometimes even praise. But Elkin continued to throw it in his face. He would take Arye places, never mentioning that he was also skipping his lessons. Whenever an arguement involved his father, Elkin would jump to the other side's aide, fiercely fighting the man for every inch. His love of debating had begun there. Law suited him well.

Their father reacted cooly to his son's attitude. Sometimes, he looked like he had expected it. It was his indifference to Elkin that made his brother more indignant. Just after his eighteenth birthday, Elkin had disappeared. Arye and his mother both received letters from him and each one urged them not to tell Father about their correspondence. A year later, Mother had died of heart complications and Elkin had reappeared to fight for Arye. The state granted him guardian rights and Arye saw his father for the last time.

He had stopped them outside the courthouse; he had not appeared for the actual hearing. Elkin had glanced at him and spent an hour in the car while Arye talked to the man. His father had tried to explain too many things. Arye hadn't caught it all. What he did catch amounted to the fact that his father never knew how to relate to him, that he really did love him, and that someday he might prove them all wrong. The last part was the most confusing. Every once in a while, Arye thought about it again. He had thought about asking Elkin, but figured that Elkin would cut off the conversation once he knew that it had to do with their father.

Since then, Arye had sent his father a letter every month, telling him how things were going, about important things he had done recently, and always wishing him the best of health. He had never got a response. Elkin had screamed at him when he learned but he didn't try to stop him.

"All set," Elkin called from under the desk, reaching around to hit the button in front of the tower. "I'm going to go set up the kitchen. When you're done in here, we'll get started on the bathroom."