One Tuesday evening, six months later, as the two walked from school to home, in the wake of the next school calendar, they came past a large house in the estate of Lower Queen Anne. There was a short fence around it and a well-mowed lawn. There were four little kindergarten girls outside playing with a little girl being the one in focus. Her hair was dark brown and long, curling beautifully at its end. The other latter of girls were skipping around her, jumping up and down singing some nursery rhymes in a harmonious lovely tune. They stopped walking and in fact stood, listened, and watched them.
"Itsy bitsy spider climbed up the water's pout
Down came the rain and washed the spider out
Out came the sun and dried up all the rain
So its bitsy spider climbed up the spout again"
"Ingrid… play time's over." A teenage male voice cut across the little hullabaloo of girls. The cute little princesses turned to the door and looked at the owner of the sweet voice. And so did Elena as did Lance. And he couldn't believe who was standing by the door.
"Ethan I don't want to stop playing with my friends," the targeted girl mumbled, "we're having so much fun."
"Come on Ingrid." The boy said as he came down the porch and over to the lawn to pick up the little girl. "You know mom will be mad if you don't show up now." The two listened and watched.
"Fine…" The girl squeaked. She turned to her friends. "Goodbye, see you tomorrow." They all embraced each other in a hug before they turned and started walking back to their homes which were the two houses across the road. When the three little girls passed the two who were watching by the pedestrian walk, Ethan and the little girl, now in his arms recognized their presence.
"Can I help you guys?" Ethan asked as he neared them, and suddenly he was shocked. Were his eyes seeing what they were actually seeing or were they playing mind games on him? He wasn't expecting to see him ever again in life as he did. Karl Stine was standing before him alive and well!
The two were so focused on each other that they didn't notice the girl beside them back away slowly. Something was up between these two, and she knew it.
"You," Ethan muttered, in a croaky voice.
"Ethan?" The boy asked. "So this is Ingrid?"
"What are you doing here!" He growled. "I thought you were dead."
"Aah… I'm pretty sure that you were all hoping that would happen." His eyes scoured the lovely little girl in Ethan's arms.
"What are you doing here?" Ethan grumbled.
"Now, now… don't be modest. I wasn't stalking you. I was just from picking my girlfriend from school."
Ethan turned to the girl behind Lance. He didn't even take a long look at her. His eyes went back to Lance.
"Go away, Karl. Go away and never come back here!"
"Uh-uh. My name's Lance Harper," the boy mumbled, "not Karl."
Their conversation was interrupted by the opening of the door and outside came his mother dressed in an apron.
"ETHAN. How long does it take to pick up a child from the law… oh my god!" Her words were stuck in her mouth when she saw him as he'd come back from the dead. No reactions followed, just her bubbling mouth.
"Come in… all of you!" The woman said from the porch, her face full of shock.
"Actually, I think I'm gonna go home now." The girl mumbled, petrified.
"No." Lance turned to her. "It won't take a minute. I promise. I have to take you home as we agreed remember? Please… I just want to talk to them a little."
"Fine." She shrugged. "But I'm staying out here."
"Really Elena?" Lance asked her.
"That or I go home alone."
"Fine… I'll be out in a minute."
Lance walked ahead of Ethan as he headed for the house. He was in haste and his heart was beating tremendously fast. Once in, Ethan closed the door and met his once brother looking at the family portraits that hung on the walls of the living room. In them, there they were: Paul, Layla, Ethan, Ingrid… and that was it. Then he looked at another portrait. Same four faces. Then another. Same as the earlier ones. All of the portraits had one thing in common. No old photos of him or his cousin Dylan were there. He understood why he had to be omitted, but Dylan? DYLAN?
"What are you doing here?" Layla asked as she took Ingrid into her arms and put on a shower cap on her head.
"Nothing," Lance mumbled.
"How did you find us?" Ethan asked.
"I wasn't looking for you guys. Like I told you before I just found this place… today."
"Where do you live?" Layla inquired, staring at him like she'd seen a ghost.
"I was adopted by some nice man… he rescued me after you people threw me away like a piece of trash."
"You killed my brother! How could we not."
"I did not kill Dylan. You mean to say that after all these years, you still believe that crap?
"Mommy, mommy… I wanna go pee." The little girl cried out. Layla put the child down.
"Fine… I'm coming to give you a bath… so just take your time sweetie, okay?"
The girl nodded and skipped away.
"There's my little girl." She muttered as Ingrid ran away into a corridor. Layla turned to Lance. "Karl… where have you been all this time?"
"Do you really even care?" Lance asked.
"My mom asked you a question," Ethan mumbled. "Answer her."
Lance gritted his teeth. "Fine, you want to know?" He asked. "I've been in many places. Streets. Dumpsters. Building alleys and car yards. Police cells… oh, and child labor camps. I had to survive on garbage and leftovers from hotels and motels. Slept and snored in the freezing rain. I've run marathons from the police, and had to steal like I was born a thief." Layla cleared her throat and snuffed. "You two have no idea what you put me through." He shook his head, eyes closed. "What I've gone through… it was unfair and unjust… and all of that was because of you." He pointed at Ethan.
"You did that to me," Lance growled.
"Look around, Karl. LOOK!" Ethan growled back. "Do you see Dylan around? DO YOU? You did this to us. Not me. To us. As far as it goes, you deserve whatever shithole you've come from!"
"Ethan… language." Layla seamed in. "Karl we're sorry…"
"My name is Lance. Lance Harper!" He yelled. "I know you're not sorry. So don't say you are. What kind of a mother does that to her child?"
"She's not you mother!" Ethan said. "And she may be sorry… but I'm not. Never been. Never will!"
"You can be whatever you want Ethan I don't care." Lance sighed. "But her…? Aunt Layla, I looked up to you. I had no one in the world and I turned to you. Because I had nowhere else to look for help. For family. For love." Was that tear forming on the edge of his eyelid? "You were my mother… to me you were. And you loved and treated me like Ethan and Dylan. Until you filled her mind with your dirty little lies Ethan!" The boy hissed. "What did I ever do to you to deserve the punishment?"
"You killed my brother, that's why!"
"I SWEAR if you repeat that sentence again I'm going to hit you, Ethan." He warned him, gritting his teeth in a pool of rage and anger.
"I'd like to see you try!" Ethan stepped closer to him, hands clenched into fists.
In that motherly voice that shook the courage out of the children, Layla's voice rose up. "NO ONE IS HITTING NO ONE IN MY HOUSE!"