Double Trouble

Eli walked out of the school building with a triumphant glow on his face. Thanks to Mr. Richards, Eli Meadowbrook now knew exactly what it was that his aunt had concealed from him for all those years, what she didn’t want him to know. And, Eli could see why. It was much too dangerous for a fourteen year-old boy to know anything about. Despite the fact that Aunt Savannah performed far more dangerous stunts at that age than what Eli would be forced to face with, she had a vampire to back her up should things get out of hand. That would not be the case with Eli; Uncle Toby could no longer provide much support now that he was mortal. Aunt Savannah saw to that; not that she knew what was to come. Since no one knew about that, the Meadowbrook family would have to take it all in stride.

Just as he normally did, Eli went to pick up his younger cousins. When Reuben first entered school, it was Eli who was asked to watch over the boy coming home from school; the same held true for Keith and Dawn. Now, Eli knew why. For years, Eli was asked to protect the young Evermore/Meadowbrook children. Given the fate that might befall them and the nature of the culprit, it was quite understandable. Everything made more sense now that Eli knew the truth. And, Eli would see to it that nothing happened to his cousins. Though he never took it to the extreme that Aunt Savannah took it, Eli definitely cared for his cousins; family was important, especially for Aunt Savannah. And, Eli would see to it that his aunt didn’t have to worry about losing anymore family, not after Grandma and Grandpa Meadowbrook were disposed of for not apparent reason other than fun.

Dawn was the first to come bounding out. “Eli!” the five year-old girl exclaimed happily, jumping into her cousins arms, her curly brown hair bouncy up and down like a pogo stick.

Eli chuckled. His youngest cousin was definitely a bundle of joy. The girl had energy coming out her ears, which was more than Eli could ever say for his male cousins. But then, Dawn was younger. Eli recalled his own years at that age when he would be bouncing off the walls and Aunt Savannah always had to calm him down. “Hey, Dawn! How was school?”

“Good. We’re learning how to write the alphabet,” she explained. “We’re a little over halfway through. All I need to do is learn how to write a W and I’ll be about to write my name.”

Seeing the joyous look on his cousin’s face, Eli smiled. “Good for you. How about if I teach you how? Then you’ll be ahead of the pack and can show off to your classmates.”

Dawn’s bright blue eyes—eyes that Eli could tell she had inherited from her father—shimmered with excitement at the prospect of learning something ahead of her classmates. “Okay,” she said brightly. “Can we do it as soon as we get home? I want to write my name.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Eli explained as Keith, Aunt Savannah and Uncle Toby’s middle child—youngest boy—arrived next, a melancholy look on his face. Keith Meadowbrook, who had his mother’s emerald green eyes and father’s face, looked up at his cousin and sister, grunting as he did. Eli set Dawn down and looked at Keith. “Hey. What’s up, buddy?”

“Nothing,” the seven year-old grumbled.

“I highly doubt that,” Eli accused. Having done much the same thing when he was that age, Eli racked his brain trying to come up with a possible reason for his cousin’s unusual behavior. A plethora of possibilities existed as to why Keith might sudden start behaving in this fashion. At the moment, nothing came to him. Finally, after a few minutes of silent thinking, something came to Eli. It makes perfect sense, he realized. Now, to confront him about this and maybe fix the problem. “Okay, who’s the bully?”

Keith’s jaw dropped, his eyes growing huge. “How’d you know?”

“You act like I’ve never been a kid before, Keith,” Eli said with a chuckle. “I mean, really? I’ve dealt with some of the same issues you guys have. It’s just a part of growing up. And, better you come to me about it than Aunt Savannah or Uncle Toby; I’m far easier to talk to.” Eli then began muttering under his breath. “Then, there’s also the fact that Uncle Toby isn’t exactly the best person to talk about something like that with. He went through childhood a century and a half ago. Things were much different back then and, even though I highly doubt that things have differed all that much, I still wouldn’t want to take any chances.”

With Reuben and Dawn, they were far close to Eli’s father and Eli’s mother respectively. Keith, however, was always closer to his father. A running joke was that when combining the names of her husband and youngest son, it became the name of country music star. Given Uncle Toby’s penchant for music, it really was quite hilarious. But, because of the level of closeness Keith had with his father, Eli felt he had to step in and deal with this. It would probably be for the best. “Keith, how about if I step in and deal with this? I’m sure Aunt Savannah and Uncle Toby are a little busy, so I can help you with this.”

Keith shrugged. “I guess.”

“Good,” Eli nodded. “I’ll deal with it tomorrow morning, first thing; you won’t have to worry about this for very much longer, not if I have anything to say about it. For now though, we need to wait for your brother. I have something I must discuss with Aunt Savannah when I get home, something that must be dealt with imminently. As much as I’m sure you want to get this bully off your back, there are a few things that take precedence over that.”

“I guess,” Keith shrugged.

“You guess what?” a green-eyed boy that looked like an older version of Keith inquired. His gaze shifted between Keith, Eli, and Dawn, chuckling. “What happened to Keith?”

Being the precocious—and blunt—five year-old that she was, it was Dawn’s soft voice that told her oldest brother what was wrong. “Keith’s getting picked on by a bully,” she explained.

“Dawn!” Keith exclaimed.

“Well, you are!” she retorted.

Reuben, being the responsible nine year-old, quickly shifted into big brother mode. “For how long? And who? Who would dare bully my younger brother?” he asked Keith.

The younger boy huffed. “Don’t worry about it, Reuben. Eli promised he’d help me. I don’t need you to know about what’s been going on in my life!” Keith retorted. “So, back off.”

“He’s just upset,” Eli explained.

“Yeah, I noticed,” Reuben said.

“And how was your day?” Eli inquired of his eldest cousin. Given that he was the eldest of the trio, Eli doubted that Reuben would have anything to deal with. There was no way that Reuben would have anything to deal with. Eli then noticed that the boy’s emerald green eyes were constantly shifting back and forth, as if there was something wrong.

“Eli, I think I’m being watched,” Reuben explained.

“Watched?” Eli inquired.

Reuben nodded as they began walking home to the coffee shop. “I noticed it around lunch when this guy in a black jacket watching me. There was him and what I can only assume to be his twin since I saw standing on the office side of the room. I spent the entire day avoiding those two; there’s something not right about them. Red hair, blue eyes that can match Dawn’s and Dad’s in brightness; there’s something very wrong there.”

Eli’s eyes widened. Based on what he had heard—both from Elmo and his aunt—only two people in the world could ever match that particular description, and they were supposed to be dead. “No!” Eli yelled. “Home! Now! Reuben, warn me immediately the next time you see them.”

“How come?” Reuben wondered.

“You don’t want to know; and it’s not something your mother would ever want you to know about,” Eli warned. Of course, knowing that he could hide this from his cousins forever, else they might start asking question, Eli gave them something. “All I can tell you is that those two are not anyone you should ever want to meet. Long ago, they nearly ruined your mother’s life, and she cast them out of her life.” Eli left out the part about them being the vicious vampire relatives of their father; the Evermore/Meadowbrook kids didn’t need to know that these were their uncles. Besides, they weren’t even supposed to be alive; Aunt Savannah destroyed them, never to return again. How were they though? If they were supposed to be dead, what were they doing walked around in New York?

Once Eli was sure that his cousins were inside, he called out to his aunt; she needed to know what happened. “Aunt Savannah!” he yelled. “We have a slight problem.”