I'm the Last One That You'll Ever Remember
Chapter 182: Eerily Similar
Frank’s words of inspiration had worked on their daughter Venetia’s uneasiness with Gerard’s Halloween costume. It was a Darth Nihilus costume of Cosplay precision purchased by his future mother-in-law that had nearly startled his daughter to death as much as it did Jovani. It wasn’t too much of a concern with his son because he was to remain at home with his mother while Gerard took the twins out trick or treating. But that would have been a different story if Venetia couldn’t get over the eerie Star Wars character. Luckily for him, she had.
Pressing a kiss to Frank’s cheek before he put on his Boba Fett helmet, Gerard clasped Lorenzo and Venetia’s hand in each of his and headed down the sidewalk with them, hailing farewells to the Ieros that stayed behind. Jovani’s screams of resentment echoed from inside the house because he wasn’t allowed to come along with them.
As they walked along the sidewalk, sidestepping other parents with their children, Gerard’s mind was on his brother, Michael. Masika was right, he had to tell him that he was an uncle. He already had four kids that he didn’t even know existed! It was now or never, especially since Pastel knew about them and had already opened her big mouth to Masika behind his back. The only thing bothering him about confessing his secret to Michael was the fact he had no idea how to go about telling him. Even with the nerves in his stomach making him feel nauseous, Gerard couldn’t put his admission into the right words.
Gerard had never considered the possibility that he would one day have to tell his brother about his kids. It never really came to mind. He was always occupied with his job, Frank and his little ones to really reflect on it. How strange was that?
With each Halloween decorated house Gerard and his twins stopped by, he would let his children go on ahead and knock on the front door under his supervision. While they grabbed handfuls of candy from the extended bowls, he rehearsed how he would tell Michael. All night he performed a different speech in his mind, and each time it didn’t sound right. He wouldn’t accept anything but excellence for his little brother!
Around the fifth neighbor within the grand gated community they lived in, Gerard turned a corner on the sidewalk with each twin ahead of him and their brimming candy bags in both hands into another illuminated Halloween decorated line of houses bustling with creepy characters in costumes and children’s laughter. The sidewalks and roads were mobbed with people ranging from different sizes and genres of characters. Smiling behind his mask, Gerard led the twins to the first house on their right until all the hair on the back of his neck stood up, and a chill ran down his spine all at once. Knowing it wasn’t the loving elderly couple dressed as Woody and Jessie from Toy’s Story passing out candy to a group of Power Rangers, Gerard’s eyes snapped down the sidewalk and locked on two adults wearing costumes that were eerily similar to a Killjoy attire...and yet he never saw these two before.
“Daddy!” Lorenzo called to him, pointing to the very house he was about to lead them up to. “Candee!”
“Get behind me, Renzo.” Gerard ordered him firmly, making him jump at the severity in his voice. His eyes remained on the two possible Killjoys ahead of them. “You too, Netia.”
Gerard felt the two silently obey him and cling to the back of his long black cape like he instructed them to do whenever they passed through vast crowds loitering the sidewalk. It was a way for him to get them through without losing them, only tonight this was for an entirely different reason.
The female had long dark hair that lightened into blonde at the tips, black shredded skinny jeans, a cream color top under her red leather jacket, and knee-high suede wedge boots. Her mask was white with the eye holes outlined in black, and red droplets were splattered all over it.
The male had his raspberry dyed hair slick back, black and white horizontal striped sweater underneath a black leather jacket, blue jeans, black timberland boots, black fingerless gloves, and a bright orange scarf around his neck. According to the beam of the streetlight, his mask was cyan with the left eye hole bordered in red and the right in blue, similar to the old school 3-D glasses.
Now these two adults could simply be about nothing and enjoying Halloween night like they were legally allowed to. Gerard would have believed that wholeheartedly if not for the fact that they were staring directly at him as they leaned against the iron fence of a dark house that had a For Sale sign on the front lawn, publicly swinging their switchblades in their hands like they were looking to cut anyone that came near them. They must have known they had his full attention now, because they walked through that very fence and into that very house, all without breaking their gazes from him.
Oh yes, Gerard sensed trouble.
That old familiar Killjoy trouble.
What bothered Gerard the most was that he had never met these two particular Killjoys before in his life. And to add to that list, he couldn’t exactly go and confront them, not when he had his kids to look out for. Frank would KILL him with his bare hands!
But it’s not like Gerard could allow these troublemakers to go free unchecked! What if he simply walked away, and they jumped him and his children on the way home, or AT home! What if they attacked someone else in his stead for not falling into their obvious trap? Someone would certainly die and it would be his fault for not handling a situation he’d been trained to handle. He was the only one in this gated community that could take them down!
And thus his decision was made. Mentally praying Frank would forgive him if he ever found out, Gerard glanced to his right at the sweet old lady dressed as Jessie. She was dropping handfuls of candy into the outstretched bags of a group of Barbie costumes that Venetia was glaring at with envy. Appearing utterly harmless to him, Gerard took his kids by their wrists and led them up the stairs to her front porch, moving them out of the way of giggling Barbies along the way.
“Happy Halloween!” Old Lady Jessie greeted them happily, her smile beaming with delight at the two little children from her chair. “Oh, what do we have here? Is that Snow White I see!”
Venetia nodded, staring at her in her custom-made designer Snow White costume.
“How beautiful! My, you are the most loveliest Princess that I’ve ever seen in our whole neighborhood!” Old Lady Jessie exclaimed, her husband Old Man Woody nodding in accord. She turned her attention to Lorenzo who was dressed as Jason from Friday the 13th. “And just what you might be, honey?”
“Dasun.” Lorenxo answered, looking up to his father with pride through his weathered Hockey Mask.
“Dasun?” Old Lady Jessie repeated inquisitively, her eyes rising to Gerard. “I’m afraid I’m not familiar with that Disney Character.”
“It just came out, I hear.” Gerard rushed to answer, not willing to explain though it appeared her husband knew exactly who his son was dressed up as according to his snickering. “Miss, I don’t mean to trouble you tonight, but I accidentally left my phone in the car and well, my wife will worry herself sick if I don’t answer any of her calls. She’s a worry-wart, that lady. Would you look after my kids for only a second while I go get it? I promise I’ll be as fast as lightning and these two won’t cause you any trouble.”
“Of course, my dear! We’d love to watch these two little darlings for you.” Old Lady Jessie happily accepted. “Don’t you worry bout a thing, they’ll be well looked after over here.”
“Thank you very much, Miss!” Gerard graciously thanked her before leading the twins to a hay bale right in front of the porch decorated with painted pumpkins of smaller sizes. They would be in clear view of the elderly couple sitting on the front porch, vigilantly monitored as more groups of kids raced up their steps for candy. Gerard sat both of his twins down and crouched down to remove his mask to look them dead in their eyes. “Now you two listen to me. Daddy has to go somewhere for a minute, and I want you two to stay here until I get back. If I find out you’re not here when I return or you gave these two nice people any trouble, you will be punished BADLY. You will not get to keep any of your candy, do you understand me?”
Lorenzo and Venetia both gasped at his threat and clung to their candy bags like it was their lifeline being threatened here. “But dadd-”
“DON’T but me! I will eat ALL of your candy if you don’t STAY here and be QUIET.” Gerard swore to them, letting them know that he was not playing any games with them. He was dead serious about this. He was about to leave them alone for the first time since his return as their father, and he needed them to be strong and look after each other. He needed to know he could trust his kids when he wasn’t around to look after their wellbeing. “You stay and be quiet, then you can have all of your candy. It’s that easy. Keep your finger over your mouths, DON’T move, and DON’T talk to anyone. Have I made myself clear?”
Pressing a kiss to Frank’s cheek before he put on his Boba Fett helmet, Gerard clasped Lorenzo and Venetia’s hand in each of his and headed down the sidewalk with them, hailing farewells to the Ieros that stayed behind. Jovani’s screams of resentment echoed from inside the house because he wasn’t allowed to come along with them.
As they walked along the sidewalk, sidestepping other parents with their children, Gerard’s mind was on his brother, Michael. Masika was right, he had to tell him that he was an uncle. He already had four kids that he didn’t even know existed! It was now or never, especially since Pastel knew about them and had already opened her big mouth to Masika behind his back. The only thing bothering him about confessing his secret to Michael was the fact he had no idea how to go about telling him. Even with the nerves in his stomach making him feel nauseous, Gerard couldn’t put his admission into the right words.
Gerard had never considered the possibility that he would one day have to tell his brother about his kids. It never really came to mind. He was always occupied with his job, Frank and his little ones to really reflect on it. How strange was that?
With each Halloween decorated house Gerard and his twins stopped by, he would let his children go on ahead and knock on the front door under his supervision. While they grabbed handfuls of candy from the extended bowls, he rehearsed how he would tell Michael. All night he performed a different speech in his mind, and each time it didn’t sound right. He wouldn’t accept anything but excellence for his little brother!
Around the fifth neighbor within the grand gated community they lived in, Gerard turned a corner on the sidewalk with each twin ahead of him and their brimming candy bags in both hands into another illuminated Halloween decorated line of houses bustling with creepy characters in costumes and children’s laughter. The sidewalks and roads were mobbed with people ranging from different sizes and genres of characters. Smiling behind his mask, Gerard led the twins to the first house on their right until all the hair on the back of his neck stood up, and a chill ran down his spine all at once. Knowing it wasn’t the loving elderly couple dressed as Woody and Jessie from Toy’s Story passing out candy to a group of Power Rangers, Gerard’s eyes snapped down the sidewalk and locked on two adults wearing costumes that were eerily similar to a Killjoy attire...and yet he never saw these two before.
“Daddy!” Lorenzo called to him, pointing to the very house he was about to lead them up to. “Candee!”
“Get behind me, Renzo.” Gerard ordered him firmly, making him jump at the severity in his voice. His eyes remained on the two possible Killjoys ahead of them. “You too, Netia.”
Gerard felt the two silently obey him and cling to the back of his long black cape like he instructed them to do whenever they passed through vast crowds loitering the sidewalk. It was a way for him to get them through without losing them, only tonight this was for an entirely different reason.
The female had long dark hair that lightened into blonde at the tips, black shredded skinny jeans, a cream color top under her red leather jacket, and knee-high suede wedge boots. Her mask was white with the eye holes outlined in black, and red droplets were splattered all over it.
The male had his raspberry dyed hair slick back, black and white horizontal striped sweater underneath a black leather jacket, blue jeans, black timberland boots, black fingerless gloves, and a bright orange scarf around his neck. According to the beam of the streetlight, his mask was cyan with the left eye hole bordered in red and the right in blue, similar to the old school 3-D glasses.
Now these two adults could simply be about nothing and enjoying Halloween night like they were legally allowed to. Gerard would have believed that wholeheartedly if not for the fact that they were staring directly at him as they leaned against the iron fence of a dark house that had a For Sale sign on the front lawn, publicly swinging their switchblades in their hands like they were looking to cut anyone that came near them. They must have known they had his full attention now, because they walked through that very fence and into that very house, all without breaking their gazes from him.
Oh yes, Gerard sensed trouble.
That old familiar Killjoy trouble.
What bothered Gerard the most was that he had never met these two particular Killjoys before in his life. And to add to that list, he couldn’t exactly go and confront them, not when he had his kids to look out for. Frank would KILL him with his bare hands!
But it’s not like Gerard could allow these troublemakers to go free unchecked! What if he simply walked away, and they jumped him and his children on the way home, or AT home! What if they attacked someone else in his stead for not falling into their obvious trap? Someone would certainly die and it would be his fault for not handling a situation he’d been trained to handle. He was the only one in this gated community that could take them down!
And thus his decision was made. Mentally praying Frank would forgive him if he ever found out, Gerard glanced to his right at the sweet old lady dressed as Jessie. She was dropping handfuls of candy into the outstretched bags of a group of Barbie costumes that Venetia was glaring at with envy. Appearing utterly harmless to him, Gerard took his kids by their wrists and led them up the stairs to her front porch, moving them out of the way of giggling Barbies along the way.
“Happy Halloween!” Old Lady Jessie greeted them happily, her smile beaming with delight at the two little children from her chair. “Oh, what do we have here? Is that Snow White I see!”
Venetia nodded, staring at her in her custom-made designer Snow White costume.
“How beautiful! My, you are the most loveliest Princess that I’ve ever seen in our whole neighborhood!” Old Lady Jessie exclaimed, her husband Old Man Woody nodding in accord. She turned her attention to Lorenzo who was dressed as Jason from Friday the 13th. “And just what you might be, honey?”
“Dasun.” Lorenxo answered, looking up to his father with pride through his weathered Hockey Mask.
“Dasun?” Old Lady Jessie repeated inquisitively, her eyes rising to Gerard. “I’m afraid I’m not familiar with that Disney Character.”
“It just came out, I hear.” Gerard rushed to answer, not willing to explain though it appeared her husband knew exactly who his son was dressed up as according to his snickering. “Miss, I don’t mean to trouble you tonight, but I accidentally left my phone in the car and well, my wife will worry herself sick if I don’t answer any of her calls. She’s a worry-wart, that lady. Would you look after my kids for only a second while I go get it? I promise I’ll be as fast as lightning and these two won’t cause you any trouble.”
“Of course, my dear! We’d love to watch these two little darlings for you.” Old Lady Jessie happily accepted. “Don’t you worry bout a thing, they’ll be well looked after over here.”
“Thank you very much, Miss!” Gerard graciously thanked her before leading the twins to a hay bale right in front of the porch decorated with painted pumpkins of smaller sizes. They would be in clear view of the elderly couple sitting on the front porch, vigilantly monitored as more groups of kids raced up their steps for candy. Gerard sat both of his twins down and crouched down to remove his mask to look them dead in their eyes. “Now you two listen to me. Daddy has to go somewhere for a minute, and I want you two to stay here until I get back. If I find out you’re not here when I return or you gave these two nice people any trouble, you will be punished BADLY. You will not get to keep any of your candy, do you understand me?”
Lorenzo and Venetia both gasped at his threat and clung to their candy bags like it was their lifeline being threatened here. “But dadd-”
“DON’T but me! I will eat ALL of your candy if you don’t STAY here and be QUIET.” Gerard swore to them, letting them know that he was not playing any games with them. He was dead serious about this. He was about to leave them alone for the first time since his return as their father, and he needed them to be strong and look after each other. He needed to know he could trust his kids when he wasn’t around to look after their wellbeing. “You stay and be quiet, then you can have all of your candy. It’s that easy. Keep your finger over your mouths, DON’T move, and DON’T talk to anyone. Have I made myself clear?”