Chapter 6 - Homecoming

Chapter Six: Homecoming

The summer was finally coming to a close as Chelsie sat on the floor in her room and packed her belongings into her school trunk. Marcus had been standing in her doorway for several minutes as he waited for her to acknowledge him. "What is it Marcus?" she finally asked him, because she was getting tired of him lurking behind her.

"Nothing," he replied as he finally came in and sat down beside her. “I just wanted to help,” he explained as he passed one of her books to her. She stuffed it inside her already stuffed trunk. "So,” he started again casually after a few minutes. “Will you come home for Christmas?"

"Uh-huh. I knew there was something on your mind,” she smiled at him. “Are you missing me already, little brother?" she ruffled his hair with the question. “You do know, you’re starting to look like a girl, right?"

Marcus swatted her hand away in play anger. "No, I don't,” he defended. “For your information people tell me I look just like dad.”

“Yeah,” she cocked an eyebrow as she teased him. “If he were a girl.”

Marcus frowned slightly. “Do you think I should cut it, because if you tell me to, I will,” he told her, not wanting to disappoint her in anyway.

“Mar-Mar, do you like your hair?” she simply asked him.

Chelsie then watched as her little brother played with a curl. “Yeah,” he replied.

“Then keep it,” she told him and sighed. “Listen to me well, Marcus. It’s nice that you are able to listen to other people’s options, but sometimes you take them a little too close to heart, especially when they are about you. You need to be able to listen to yourself and be able to make your own choice, alright?” He nodded at her. “Good, and since we’re on the subject, I know last year was tough for you, but you keep your head up and write me when need be.”

“Okay,” he nodded again. “But are you coming home for Christmas?” He truly wanted to know, for she hadn’t last year and the holiday just didn’t seem right without her.

Chelsie closed her trunk. "It depends on my studies. I have O.W.L.s this year.” She watched as Marcus shook his head in confusion. “A really big, important test,” she explained. “And I hear because of it, fifth year is the hardest," she told him as she set the lock on her trunk. "But if I feel I don't need to stay for Christmas to catch up, then yeah, I'll be home." Marcus beamed at her and he hugged her. Chelsie shook her head as she hugged him back. "You are a strange little troll," she said lovingly.

"Don't call me that," Marcus replied, not really meaning it. He really didn't mind the nickname his sister always called him.

"Humph!" Chelsie cried loudly as she was pushed a little forward. Marcus looked up to see why. Oliver had jumped onto her back and wrapped his arms around her neck. "A sneak attack, huh? Well, it's good to see you’re feeling better anyway." Chelsie grabbed onto his arms and stood up as Marcus followed suit. Oliver laughed as his legs coiled around Chelsie and she gave him a piggyback ride. "Hey, how about a lesson, before it gets too dark?"

"Yeah!" Marcus jumped up excited, as Oliver in turned groaned. "And you think I'm strange?" Marcus looked to his sister doubtfully.

She only shrugged as she patted Oliver's leg as a signal for him to get down. "I'm not strange," Oliver replied. "I'm just tired of kicking your butt." He smiled as he soon discovered that when it came to the Flint children it was Quidditch all day, everyday and so it was either spend a lot of time by himself, or learn to play the game.

"Please, I was letting you win to make you feel better," Marcus crossed his arms as a smirk spread across his face. "But if I had been really trying, you would have seen how badly you play."

"Oh yeah?" Oliver challenged.

"Yeah," Marcus nodded his head.

Oliver stepped to him and poked the other's chest. "Then you're on."

"I'll grab the brooms," Marcus stated. "And I bet I still beat you outside." With that Oliver took off out the door. "Hey! You cheated! I didn’t say, go!" Marcus cried as he took off after Oliver.

"Guys," Chelsie whined. "Wait for me." She grabbed her own broom out of her closet and ran after the pair.



It was late in the afternoon as Alvin arrived home from a long day of work. He entered through the door, he was almost knocked over by two little boys running past. "Hi, dad," Marcus called in passing as he zipped by.

"Hello, Mist- I mean, Alvin," Oliver also greeted him quickly as he followed Marcus into the kitchen. Alvin smiled as the two left his sight. To his relief, Oliver was slowly starting to adjust to life with them. The first two weeks had been the hardest for them all. Oliver was understandably angry, as he had it in his mind that the Mr. and Mrs. Flint were keeping his mother away from him on purpose. But as the days went passing by and he saw no sign of her returning, it really sunk into his mind that maybe she really didn't want him anymore.

After that discovery, he had gone into a slight depression and found it hard to keep down his food. They soon realized that the reason wasn't because he was sad, but because Oliver, Marcus, and Chelsie used to ride their brooms after eating, and all the air didn't agree with him.

Marcus and Oliver were now sitting down at the kitchen table with books in front of them. It had only a few weeks into the new school year, but it had already started to feel like it had been going on for years, or at least that's how it felt for Marcus as he sat staring at his homework. The tip of his pencil touched his paper slightly, rested in his left hand while his right hand's fingers were becoming lost within black curls and were slowly drawing together to form a fist. "Ahhhh!" he yelled in frustration as he started pulling at his hair. "I don't care!" he shouted down at his book and angrily threw it to the floor.

Oliver looked up from his own schoolwork. "Mar-Mar?" he began cautiously. "Is everything alright?"

"Does everything look alright?" he replied after kicking his book across the floor. "I can't do this shoot," he spoke as he shook in anger, lowering his head until his hair fell in curtains around his face. He then said in a small voice, "The kids at school are right. . . I am stupid."

Oliver's eyes went wide for a moment as he heard the dirty word leave Marcus' mouth, but he soon recovered as he heard what the other kids thought of Marcus. Oliver than hopped out of seat and went to pick up the book off the floor. He held it to himself as he walked over to Marcus and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You're not stupid," he reassured Marcus. "It just takes you a bit longer than most, that's all. But there's nothing wrong with that." He then went and placed the book on the table. "Come on, I'll help you. We'll figure it out together."

Marcus tilted his head in Oliver's direction before bring his hand up to his face and pushing his hair behind his ear. His bright blue eyes came back into Oliver's view as he gave him a lopsided smile before he spoke, "You'll help me?"

"Of course I will," Oliver replied as he returned his smile. He then sat down and patted the seat next to him. Marcus took his seat and Oliver pushed the book in front of him. "Just show me what page."

Marcus took a deep breath before taking the book in his hands and flipping through the pages to the section he had been working on. "Alright, but I'm telling you, long division is tricky."

"I'm sure it's tough," Oliver agreed with him as he read the instructions on the page. "But I'm sure that together, we can do anything."

Marcus felt a bit a shame having to seek help and disclosing so freely his low self-esteem when it came to his schoolwork. He lowered his head, trying to hide his face, which was gradually becoming red with embarrassment, behind his hair again. "Thank you," he spoke softly.

Marcus recoiled a bit as he suddenly felt Oliver's hand in his hair as he pushed it back to reveal his face. "Don't mention it. It's what brothers do, right?" he asked and Marcus nodded his head; his face still red, but not for the same reason as before.



Dear Oliver,

I don't know if you're receiving my letters or not, but I do hope they are finding you well. Please know that this is not how I wished for things to be. I had no choice but to give you up, I had no hand in the matter, but I am not giving up. It is not the end of our world. I am doing everything in my power to make sure that you ended up where you belong, which is back with me.

This means doing something I told myself I would never do, but you are more important than my stubborn, prideful nature. So until the time that we are able to be back together, please take care of yourself and try not to worry. If you can, please write me back and tell me how the Flints are treating you, but if you can't, I understand.

And this goes without saying, but I love you so very much and I miss you everyday.

Your loving mother,
Siliva Wood

Alvin read over the letter as he shook his head from side to side. "This letter is in complete violation of the restraining order," he told Gale as he made to rip it up.

" Alvin, stop," Gale reached for his hand and lowered it. "Maybe- maybe we should let him look at it. I mean she is his mother." Gale didn't know exactly what Siliva was feeling, but she knew if she had to be separated from her children that it would simply tear her up inside. "He needs to know that she still cares."

"Gale, if she cared, she wouldn't have left him like she did. If she cared she would have shown up at the hearing and explained herself," with his words he ripped up the letter and threw it out. "He will never accept us as his parents if he thinks she is coming back. For crying out loud, I only just got him to stop calling me 'Mr. Flint' the other day."

"But darling, what if she does find a why to get him back? He's going to hate us when he finds out she used to write him and we just threw them out," she tried to explain.

Alvin took his wife's arms and kissed her forehead. "It won't happen." He then pulled her close. "I'm filing the adoption papers tomorrow and once he has our name it's as good as set in stone."

"I don't know."

"Don't know what?" he asked pulling away from her slight. "Are you having second thoughts about the adoption?"

"No, of course not. I want nothing more than that child in this home. It's just-" she sighed. "It' s just this feeling I have. As if something isn't right."

"What ever it is, I'm sure it will pass. I'm sure it's nothing more than having to adjust to all these changes," Alvin tried to ease his wife’s uncertainties.

"Maybe you're right," she agreed as she pulled him back to her.



It was raining outside and Siliva was soaked to the bone as she stood on the porch of a large estate. Her hand reached out for the doorbell, but before her fingers even touched it she stopped herself. I don’t want to do this, was all she could think as she leaned her head up against the door. But as she did, she realized she had done a lot of things she didn't want to do for the sake of her son, so what was one more?

So finally she rang the doorbell and waited for someone to arrive. She was expecting one of the House Elves to open the door for her, so she was surprised when she saw the face of her youngest sister. "Siliva?" she asked slowly. "Siliva, is that you?"

"Yes, Enatina, it's me," Siliva responded as her voice broke and tears ran down her already wet cheeks. "Where's papa? I- I want to come home."

"Oh, Siliva," Enatina reached for her and Siliva was taken back as her little sister threw her arms around her. "We've all missed you so much." She then pulled away. "Hurry, come inside, before you catch a death of a cold."

Siliva walked down the hall with her sisters' arms around her. "You're not mad at me?" she asked.

"For what?" Enatina didn't understand.

"For leaving the way I did," she explained.

"You stood up to papa, in a way you had never done before. You did what you needed to do to be happy. I can't be mad at you for that," she told her.

"I was wrong, Enatina, and I have been punished for it."

"How?"

"My first love was taken from me before his time, so that I could fall in love with another who's already a married man. Worse than that, I have a son, who was stolen from me, and I am no longer allowed to see him," she explained. "That's why I've come home, for my Oliver."

Enatina didn't know what to say at first as she led her eldest sister to their father, she couldn't imagine the kind of pain her sister had gone through. But eventually she found her voice and gave words of comfort to her sister. "Don't worry, Siliva. You're home now, and we can make it all right."

To Be Continued. .

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