X by Acenth Bowmen
"You will go to Middletin! It's final!" My father's voice bounces off the walls of the vacant study. Why does my daily routine accommodate arguments, fights, tears in my morning coffee, and broken plates? All I want is to be an ordinary teenager with an ordinary family. Not some freak genius, manipulative sixteen-year-old with a dysfunctional family.
"No!" I reply defiantly. "It's not mandatory for me to follow every one of your instructions."
"It is for I'm your father," he roars. It's an inevitable fact. I must've messed up bad in my previous life since I have such a manipulative, blackmailing, and unfaithful jerk as a father. I hate him with every cell in my body.
"I've forced laughter, plastered pretentious grins, worked day and night, and sacrificed my dreams. I even became a puppet. But not anymore. I refuse to be toyed with any longer!" I've had enough, my father. The man who helped make me treats me like trash, like a worthless piece of flesh and bones. "Ever since Mace disappeared -which was your doing- you molded my life into something...into something to your liking."
"I can hold you liable for such slanderous accusations, besides I've only molded you into perfection."
I click my tongue. "You have a twisted idea of perfection."
"How about we make a deal?" He suggests, pouring himself a glass of wine. "I'll tell you everything you wish to know about Mace. In return, you go to Middletin -where he resides as we speak." I have to find Mace, no matter what. Mom needs him more than Max needs his revenge. I know the basic information; he's alive, sailed on a ship, and went somewhere. But is he well? Is he okay? Where is he staying? Is he achieving his dreams? How does it feel to be free?
"What's the catch?" Making deals with my dad is like making deals with the devil. There's always a catch, he can twist your words and use them against you.
He takes a sip of the blood-red liquid. "How about I answer all your questions first. Some of them probably are: what do you know about Mace? How do you know if he's alive? What did you do to him?"
"Why are you telling me all this?" Mace and I might be miles apart, in different timezones, and maybe even in two different continents but that won't ever weaken the bond we created.
"Because I want you to kill two birds with one stone. Get Max's revenge and find your brother. Evangeline and Mace are in the same place: Middletin." I bite the inside of my cheek, something I do when I'm shocked. Only Max, Felix, Melissa, and I know about the plan. How did he find out? Even if someone did eavesdrop on our conversation, it wasn't the least bit interesting, just some random break-up garbage gossip."You got rid of Mace yet you know his current whereabouts. How suspicious?"
"He turned out to be a lot cleverer. Mace knew that I was onto him, so he disappeared from that military school. I looked for him for months, that boy knows too much. He's dangerous. You always dispose of toxic things. The quicker, the better." I gulp. He's indirectly telling me not to poke my nose where it doesn't belong or he'll kill me. I wonder which father kills his children when they know too much.
"Since the boy is keeping his mouth shut, I'll spare him." I grip the edge of my seat. An indirect warning. He wants me to keep my mouth shut. I shudder as his glare intensifies. "What do I have to do?"
"If you can convince your brother to come home, I'll tell your mother the truth."
I snort. "You want him under your supervision, so he doesn't spill his guts, or is it because you want him dead?"
"Bring your brother back home or Felix leaves!" He threatens.
"What if you're lying? What if Mace isn't in Middletin and this is just a ploy to get Felix to leave?"
I snap my finger. "Maybe you have an ulterior motive." He isn't lying that I know for sure, but there's something else he's hiding behind that poker-faced mask.
"Let's make a simple deal. You can stay in Middletin for as long as you like. Even if your brother doesn't come back, Felix will be safe. On one condition, though. I need you to bring back some paperwork from the X-Wood Lighthouse."
So this is what he was playing at all along. He has no intention of sending Felix anywhere, he wants to get rid of me! I'm the one who knows every minute detail. And who keeps important paperwork in an abandoned Lighthouse?
"Can you guarantee that Mace will be in Middletin? I don't want to be coaxed into a trap to do your dirty work."
"I can guarantee you that Mace will be attending the Bowmen Ball."
Some paperwork, huh? That sounds easy enough, but why are they of importance? "Why are they important?" My father has never taken a keen interest in anything before and if something ever catches his eye; he'll make sure to personally get it through any means possible. So why now? Why is he sending me? What is the ulterior motive?
"I need someone else to be X. I'm turning grey. Richard suspects me, and hiding takes too much effort."
"So, you're going to use me to throw the scent off you?" I summarize. "Putting your son's life on the line to save yours. I don't think you need me to tell you that you're a pathetic father."
He humorlessly chuckles. "You'll need these, son." And with that, he slides me a train ticket and a folder. "You'll be traveling incognito."
My brother, revenge, and possible death; Middletin sounds fun.