I Just Had to Lick the Cookie, Didn't I?

On the fence,
The consequence,
What do they know
About that?
I'm quite depressed,
I'm quite a mess
Beat me up,
Beat me down,
Mess me up
Beyond all recognition

"Take a seat, we'll be here for a while," Whitmore advised, seating himself in a chair. I followed his advice and slowly lowered myself into a seat, never taking my eyes from him.

"You call him Milo, correct?" he asked, looking out at the wilderness beyond.

"Yes."

"That's good, he trusts you. He likes you." Huh?

"But I thought---" I started, only to be interrupted by Whitmore.

"No, that's just something he likes to tell people. It wouldn't have sounded too great if he had said 'Call me Milo because you seem nice and I like you. Oh, and don't be confused by the fact that everyone calls me Logan, they're just people I don't care about', now would it have been?" he inquired. I shook my head.

"No, it wouldn't have." But still...

"Alright, he likes you. If he's brought you out into public and brought you here, he might actually love you, but I'm not him. I wouldn't be able to tell you." He doesn't know about our whole little arranged marriage, obviously. This is going to be one vicious Thanksgiving. "I'm going to start from the beginning, because you need to know that before you can understand everything else."

I nodded.

"Maelogan is the third child of my brother, William. William is an arrogant, greedy man. He likes fame, he likes money, and he likes power. Always has.

Originally, he wanted only one son, which he got. However, Caroline, whom he actually does love, wanted a family. So, they had Cadan. That was good enough, but eventually Maelogan came around. No one was against it. He was treated just like Cadan. Wayland was the golden child though. He was where a majority of the attention went. After all, he was supposed to be the next 'Boone Leader'.

The three boys went to school at their appropriate ages. Wayland was the popular kid in school. Every student knew his name, which was not a result of his wealth or fame. He was an athletic kid, very involved in sports. His grades were average, mostly 'B's, occasional 'A's. Even despite his average attitude and athletic ability, he was still the golden child.

Cadan was very fond of his older brother. The two were very close. He was used to the lack of attention he received, and idolized his brother. His grades were just the same as Wayland's, average. Instead of being involved in as many sports as Wayland, he chose two. Cadan was an average athlete, and, as all average athletes must, he practiced. That was where a lot of bonding occurred for the two, Wayland and Cadan would often practice together. They were like best friends.

And then, there's Maelogan. The one that deserves more than what he has. If my brother and his wife hadn't been so blind, they'd have realized some time ago that all of those years they put into Wayland were a waste. Not to say that any child should be ignored, but they ignored the wrong one.

At the age of five, Maelogan started kindergarten. I'm not sure what grades the other two were in, but that doesn't matter. It was that first teacher---Mr. Yao---that discovered something about my nephew that had previously been overlooked.

He tried calling my brother, but the messages he left were erased. If the teacher wasn't calling for Wayland, no one cared. They'd listen halfheartedly, letting the words bounce off the wall and go away.

For years, each and every one of Maelogan's teachers attempted to contact his parents, but none succeeded. By the second grade, the two previous teachers of Maelogan, as well as his current one, banded together and visited the Dean. Dean Michaels made a point to meet with Maelogan, and that's when it started.

Even the Dean's calls were ignored by William and Caroline. They honestly didn't care. After months of failed attempts, Michaels took matters into his own hands.

My nephew was placed into as many classes as he could handle, which added up to be more than fifteen. At eight years old Maelogan began learning to play instruments, to sing, to draw, to act. Michaels allowed Maelogan to attend beginner classes of all the electives.

He wasn't surprised that even with more to do, Maelogan was being held back. Legally, he couldn't move Maelogan up a grade or two without consent from my brother. So, teachers tutored my nephew and gave him extra work. The poor child was so ridiculously bored, even the extra work proved pathetic.

His mind is a beautiful place.

By the time Maelogan reached seventh grade, the Dean had made a decision. Even if it cost him his job, he was going to place Maelogan where he needed to be. Over the years, the boy had developed a bank of knowledge. You could have asked him college-level math questions and he could tell you the answer in five seconds. With help from all of the teachers, he honed his abilities, he was intelligent beyond means. He could graduate, but of course, the Dean didn't want to make any drastic moves.

Maelogan was fine with it, he liked school. William and Caroline had forced him to play a sport---soccer I believe---, but other than that everything was fun to him. More time at school gave him more opportunities than ever. Although he had nearly taken every course imaginable, he held out and kept himself together for a few more years.

Actually, no one besides his teachers and the Dean knew of Maelogan's extra classes and work. No one had any knowledge of the fact that, eventually, a fifteen-year-old boy was in the eleventh grade. However, somehow Cadan found out. Needless to say, the kid was pissed. He told William and Caroline, who were equally upset. Wayland was to graduate that year and here Maelogan was, stealing the spotlight.

They had been too blind to see my nephew for who he really was. Maelogan may have been happy at school, with the few friends he had, but at home he was a different person. He still is. The school nurse prescribed his medications, she needed to. They saved his life, which threw me over the edge. When I found out about what my brother had done to his son, I nearly killed him.

I always knew William was stupid, but it never occurred to me that he could be that dense. His own son had the most beautiful mind; his own son was a beautiful young man; his own sonwas everything William had ever wanted. Apparently he was too blind to see it.

The poor boy was ready to kill himself, and yet he decided against it because of the affect it would have on his family. What does that tell you? That tells me that despite everything his family had done to him---the ignorance, the degrading---he still kept himself alive for their own good.

Of course I was alarmed that such a kind young man wanted to die, but I understood. He was ignored beyond reason, and treated like a second-rate child. It was as if he was just in the background.

Well, when Wayland found out about Maelogan's jump in grade levels, he was shocked. He came to me once and told me some things. Things I'll never forget...

All in all, he had made a choice. He chose to join the Marines. For obvious reasons, he failed to tell his parents of his plans. They didn't find out until he was shipped to Paris Island. That angered them. Wayland was supposed to go to college and become a lawyer. It's tradition that the 'Boone Leader' is a lawyer.

In a desperate attempt to keep the plan in action, they asked Maelogan to step in and take Wayland's place. He declined. 'It's not my rightful place' he had said. My brother continued to pressure the boy, and eventually Maelogan snapped. He screamed at his parents that he wanted to be an artist, and that he had been accepted at some college. They retorted that no son of theirs was going to become an artist, as if it was some sort of disgusting dirty-job. After that, his hopes and dreams crushed, Maelogan decided to become a doctor. That was his second choice.

Cadan never found out about Maelogan being offered the position that was technically his. To this day, Cadan resents his brother. Every so often they get along, but since Wayland died... Cadan will never forgive Maelogan, even though he knows it wasn't his brother's fault. It doesn't even occur to him that his younger brother is suicidal and has been for some time. No one knows. I mean, I know, but no one else does, other than you. They all think he's normal. You and I know better; which is why I need to you to help me.

Right now, Maelogan is extremely unstable. Since Wayland died, he's been even more depressed. He hides it well, but I still fear for him. With all of the people that will be here, he's going to go through hell. Not everyone is as hatful toward him as his own family, but some are fairly judgmental of him. Know now that the Boone and Vairenn families will pretend like nothing is wrong. They'll act like a perfect family until they split their separate ways. Just watch out for the backfire, because these people have connections to everyone.

I especially want you to cover your ass around one Miss Allison Richards. That little brat will do anything to sink her claws in Maelogan. And I have a bad feeling that there's something up William's sleeve for her and his son."

My heart stopped. The whole story was quite overwhelming, but that last part, about this Allison girl...about William and such. If Whitmore just thinks Milo and I are dating, it wouldn't occur to him that William and Caroline were using me.

What if they just wanted to toy with Milo, get him into some state of mind and then...you know, kick me out? That's a really bad thought, but...how could I have honestly thought that wealthy, famous people like themwould marry their son off to me? Maybe they just saw a chance to trick Milo when my family was being torn apart... Maybe---

"Are you alright there? You look a little pale," Whitmore declared, feeling my forehead with the back of his hand. "You feel fine..."

"I'm alright, it's just..." I looked over to him, scared. "Do you really think that they would do that to us? Do you really think William and Caroline would break Milo and me up?" My voice shook the entire time. I was terrified. If they broke Milo and me up, I'd have nowhere to go. They couldn't honestly expect me to go back to my parents, not after everything I've been through.

"Just watch your back. You never know what these people will do."

I nodded and looked out at the mountains. It really was beautiful here in Idaho, even if it is the most random state...

"And Adriaan," Whitmore said, placing a hand on my shoulder. "If you ever need anything, or want to know anything, I'll be here for a few days. After that, feel free to ask Maelogan for my number." I smiled weakly.

"Thanks, I appreciate it."

"No problem. Well, I need to go have a talk with my son. He's been getting into some trouble lately," he told me with a wink. I laughed and he left me to myself.

I could only stand the loneliness for so long before I decided to go back to 'our' room. On the way there, I ended up seeing Elise walking down the hall. As rude as it may sound, I didn't plan on saying anything to her, but go figure.

"Hey," she greeted glumly when she saw me. We both stopped, and I looked at her. She was fairly pretty, blonde hair, blue eyes, twig figure. Hey, the last two still technically apply to me, but she might have a few pounds on me.

"Hi," I replied. She shuffled her feet and twitched her lips into a quick smile.

"I really want to apologize for the way Cadan acted the other day. I've been trying to help patch this all up, but nothing I do seems to work. He always makes me feel like I've done something wrong when he snaps like that. It's even worse because you were there too. Just...I don't have any hard feelings against you, or Maelogan for that matter. Will you tell him that? That I'm sorry?" she asked. I nodded.

"Of course." She took a deep breath.

"Thanks. Well, I had better go." Again, I nodded. She waved and left. Next stop: bed. I'm tired.

When I got back to the room, it was dark---as always---and quiet. I could hear breathing, and noticed that Milo was asleep, curled under the duvet. At least he was finally resting.

I went into the bathroom and put my pajamas on; brushed my teeth; washed my face; etc. Once I was finished, I took a deep breath and tried not to think about everything I had learned about Milo today. It was actually quite heartbreaking. He's a really, really nice guy, and his family treats him like shit. It's almost hard to believe, but I have evidence collected first-hand.

This was going to be one long Thanksgiving.