May 30, 2020
The final piece of furniture was in the house and, thus, they had finally moved in. Edward stopped and looked around the house and let out a sigh of relief. They were finally moved away from their old, crowded home that was constantly littered with the sound of traffic and people chatting on the sidewalks. He would finally have peace from civilization.
"We did Edward. We finally moved in," Sarah Porter, his wife, said with a glimmer in her eyes. "Oh, honey, it's so beautiful."
Edward gave her a small grin. She opened her arms and swung them around his waist, squeezing tightly. He grunted and put one arm around her, patting her back.
"Yes, honey, it's very beautiful," Edward said, nudging her off of him. He turned to his brother, Jordan Porter. "Thanks for your help today, Jordan."87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡovT4Oxjg4o
87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjKEWHQu0RD
"Oh, it was no problem, it's a very lovely house," Jordan replied.
Edward walked away from Sarah and extended his arm out to Jordan. Jordan took his hand and the two men squeezed each other's hand. Edward let out a small chuckle and patted Jordan's back. "Hey, what say I take us to a bar and get us a drink?"
Jordan looked over to Sarah, whose eyes were losing the glimmer they once had. "I don't know, Ed. It's getting rather dark and Dana will probably be expecting me home soon," Jordan said.
Sarah walked up to Edward and Jordan. "We should probably let him go honey, we have a lot of unpacking to do and will need to get Lillian to bed soon."
Edward looked back to her, his smile fading to a grimace. She redirected her eyes to the ground and took a step back. Edward forced a smile and looked back to Jordan. "It won't take us very long. You'll be back to your wife in no time." He turned to Sarah. "And I'll be home quicker than you know to help unpack and get our daughter to bed."
Issac, Edward's sixteen-year-old son, walked out of one of the spare bedrooms and stopped at the other side of the living room. Edward smiled at him. "Isaac, son, I need you to help your mom unpack while me and your uncle go into town really quick."
The kid nodded his head and grabbed a box that was closest to him. "Good lad," Edward said cheerfully. "So... one drink?" He asked, looking back at Jordan.
Jordan smiled faintly and, after a moment of hesitation, nodded his head.
"Lovely," Edward said. He kissed his wife on her cheek and brushed his fingers through her hair. "We'll return soon, love."
She looked up at him, smiled, and walked over to Isaac to help unpack the box.
"I'll drive," Jordan said.
Edward chuckled once more and jingled keys that he had in his hand. "Got you beat, Jordan."
Jordan looked at Edward for a moment before shrugging his shoulders and following Edward to his truck. They hopped in, Edward started the engine, and they were off, with the sun beginning to set behind them.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Edward fell off of his chair and began laughing uncontrollably. He was well into his thirteenth drink and had no intention of stopping. He was a big man with an even bigger beer belly, and he wasn't going to let anything stop him from celebrating.
His blue jeans were soiled from spilling beer on himself, his blue shirt was covered in salsa, and he couldn't be happier than he is when he's drunk. Jordan approached him, still looking respectable and rather sober.
"I think it's time we get going," Jordan said, yelling over the blaring music.
Numerous young women were dancing about, and Edward kept focusing on them, ignoring Jordan. They were all more attractive than his wife, but he was a loyal and married man. He would never dare break his vow for any other woman.
"I'm a loyal man. I'm a godly man. I'm a..." Edward rambled off.
Jordan snapped his fingers in Edward's face, capturing Edward's attention. "I said it's time to go," Jordan said much louder and much more irritated this time.
Confusion was all that Edward could feel. He hardly could hear his brother, nevertheless understand what he was saying. He stared at Jordan's dark brown hair. The medium length hair was messy and pulled back, but Jordan pulled it off, especially with the short beard he was growing. He must have got so many looks from the younger girls. Jordan was only four years younger than Edward, but looked twenty years younger. Edward, meanwhile, was balding and was still having more hair fall out. He was only forty-two but looked like he could be in his fifties.
Edward smiled widely and put his hands on Jordan's shoulders. "Little brother, I'm so happy to have you here in my life. We're thick as thieves, you and I. If only mom and dad could see us now." He continued on and on as Jordan only sneered at him. "And you know something, Jordan, I just want to keep drinking with my little brother."87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd6mwoh0vfx
87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFsM26FOoL9
Whatever smile Jordan had faded away. "I have to go home now," He said softly but loud enough for Edward to hear over the music.
Edward bumbled back and looked at Jordan, dumbfounded. "But we only just got here, you can't go home now."
Pulling up his sleeve, Jordan showed Edward the watch on his wrist. It was 1:00 am. They had been there for five hours. Edward started giggling and stumbling around, trying to regain his balance. "The party is just starting, little brother. C'mon, lighten up. Drink with me!"
Jordan shook his head. "Let's go," He said.
Edward laughed once more. "Hicc. I'm not leaving."
Jordan grabbed Edward by the arm and began escorting him out of the bar. Once outside, Edward fell to the ground and began sobbing. "No, Jordan, please. I don't want to go."87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡztRxsmwS4e
87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWKIgvvGkB5
His brother reached into Edward's pockets and took out the key to the truck. He unlocked the doors and lifted Edward up, escorting him to the passenger seat. Then, he buckled him in and closed the door, walking over to the other side to begin driving.
"Please Jordan, just a few more beers, I promise," Edward said as he hiccuped once more.
Jordan didn't look at him though, only to the road.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
They continued on the road for a while more, about twenty minutes away from Edward's new home. Edward continued to mumble, moan, and sob. He could only think about his next drink, he wanted to go back. No, needed to go back.
"Jordan, I want to go back," He said, staring at his brother.
He was met with deaf ears, however. Jordan was clearly ignoring him.
"Did you hear me? I want to go back."
Again, no response.
Edward stared at his brother for a moment. Suddenly, he felt a rage swelling up in his body. He lifted his leg off the ground and began kicking the dashboard like a little kid.
Jordan pulled the truck over off to the side and stopped. "What the hell, Ed? Why are you kicking the dashboard?"
"I said that I want to go back!" Edward yelled.
Jordan unlocked the door and gestured his hand to the passenger door. "You want to go back, there you go."
Edward stared at the door and then back to Jordan and grinned. "I'm not walking... this is my truck."
"Well, I'm not taking you back. You want to go back so soon? You can wait until we get back to your house, and then you can take your drunk ass back to the bar yourself. I'm not going to stay and babysit you."
Edward, again, stared at the door. He felt he'd die if he didn't get at least one more drink. His night hadn't even started. Sometimes he wouldn't be home until the following morning. He just wanted one more drink.
"Well?" Jordan asked.
He continued to stare at the door.
He didn't want to go home. He didn't feel happy when he was home, even if it was a new home. But maybe he'd be happy with one of those younger girls... Edward clenched his fists. I'm a loyal man. I'm a married man. I'm a loyal man. I'm a married man.
"Take me home..." Edward said quietly.
Jordan slowly veered back onto the road, while Edward sulked with his head down. "This is for the best, Ed," Jordan assured him.
Edward said nothing. He didn't want to go home.
They drove for a few more minutes before Edward looked over to his brother.
"I'm sorry Jordan," He began. "When I'm with my family, I, well... I feel..."
Jordan put his hand up, gesturing Edward to stop. Edward looked at his brother, visibly angry. "Excuse me, who the hell..."
"Shhh." Jordan said, putting his finger up to his lip. He slowed down the truck and pointed out in front of the truck.
Edward's vision was blurry, making it hard to make out whatever his brother was looking at. "Jordan, I don't see anything."
His brother kept trying to focus Edward's attention to what he was looking at. Edward rubbed his eyes several times and squinted, seeing a dark figure in the tree line. He couldn't make out any features except for that it had dark clothes on and a pasty white head.
"What is it? A hitchhiker?" Edward asked.
Jordan said nothing.
Again, Edward tried looking for it, but it had disappeared into the tree line. Edward looked over to his brother and could see that his face was much more white, but not nearly as white as whatever he just saw.
"Let's just keep going," His brother said.
Edward kept quiet for the rest of the trip. He was drunk, but felt that he was sober at the same time. He had a thirst for another drink but found himself more interested in whatever he just saw.
They arrived back at his new home to see all the lights turned off. He said his goodbyes to his brother, who sped off as soon as he got in his truck. He walked inside, still reflecting on what he might of saw in the tree line. Was what he saw real? Is he too drunk? He needed rest and would reflect on it more tomorrow.
Upstairs was where his bedroom and his wife was. He slept on the couch.
87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBwV8be6Dyl
87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzsh6a0r2v2
