“It’s my fault,” Danny sobbed, unable to hold himself together any longer.
“I’m not particularly interested in whose fault it is,” Steve returned, taking hold of his arm.
“No!” Ryan protested as Steve escorted their younger brother towards the door that had caused Sean and Jesse so much apprehension three weeks earlier. “We would have been here, Steve! We were here in fact. It’s just that Kevin . . . .”
“I don’t want to hear it!” Steve snapped. Opening the door, and propelling his distraught younger brother inside, he then turned to address Ryan. “I don’t care who is at fault, or what the excuse is!” he ranted as his two little brothers locked eyes in silent commiseration. “When you are summoned for a punishment, you report on time, and that’s final! You two of all people should know that! Time after time, this semester, the two of
you and Kevin have put me in bad situations. Kevin, of course, didn’t know any better until a few weeks ago. The same cannot be said for the two of you!” He turned to the younger of his two brothers, then. “Over the table, Dan!” he commanded. “Pants down!” Then he turned back to Ryan. “You’ll be next!” he admonished, and with that he followed Danny inside and pulled the door shut hard behind him.
Ryan stood stunned, looking after his brothers for a long minute before he finally sank to Steve’s bed and clutched the pillows, hiding his face and attempting to smother long repressed sobs as the first sounds of Danny’s punishment carried through the door.
Matt remained silent. Taking a seat in the somewhat ratty armchair on the far side of the bed, he folded his hands and pursed his lips. His feelings in this moment were conflicted. He felt bad for his little brothers; no one with a heart could resist them in this state. He knew they were well meaning and had not intended to cause trouble for Steve, but that is what they had done, all the same, and this was not the first time. They had to learn that their actions had consequences. “What did you think he was going to say, Ry?“ he probed gently, at last.
Ryan, however, chose not to answer the question. “You told him to do it, didn’t you?” came the garbled accusation from the bed.
“When you were late, we discussed the appropriate way to handle it, yes,” Matt conceded, “but the ultimate decision was Steve’s. You guys have to start respecting his authority, and following the rules!”
Ryan was silent, just gripping the pillows tighter as the sounds of wood smacking skin, followed by Danny’s cries, continued to creep under the doorway. Another minute or two of cool silence passed before the door finally opened. Then, with little ceremony, and without saying anything, Steve exchanged one brother for the other. Neither one protested. Ryan was still too disconcerted, and Danny was now too embarrassed and sore. He and Ryan avoided one another’s eyes as Steve hauled Ryan out of the bed, and Danny crawled into his place. Matt said nothing more; he didn’t
feel there was anything more to be said. Danny clutched the bedspread and hid his face as guilty sobs shook his shoulders. It had been his fault they were late, and he felt entirely responsible for the trouble between his two big brothers. As sore as he now was, his own punishment was all but forgotten as the sounds of Ryan’s pushed every other concern from his mind.
It seemed an eternity to Danny before Ryan and Steve emerged, and the disgruntled protests coming from inside the room countered by Steve’s biting rebukes did nothing to ease his mind. When he heard the door open, he peeked up from the pillows, seeking some sort of reprieve. Steve’s hand was on Ryan’s shoulder as they came out, but Ryan’s petulant scowl told the world he felt an injustice had been done. He turned his head as he sensed Danny’s eyes on him, and his glower deepened. He bit his lip hard, and then, jerking away from Steve, he made for the only vacant space in the room where he could possibly hide his face, the overstuffed armchair in the corner of the room that was the partner to the one Matt still occupied. Gratefully, Ryan sank into the pillowy softness, buried his face, and let all his frustration go. Unlike Danny, who was wearing jeans, Ryan was wearing the flimsy mesh running shorts he habitually wore to work out in, and the backs of his legs vividly displayed the severity of the reprimand he’d just endured. The sight, overall, affected his big brother deeply.
Matt had, so far, observed his brother’s actions with silent approval, but he could see now that Steve was becoming emotional. He got up from his chair, and made his way across the room, moving in beside his little brother, and placing a hand on his shoulder. “You all right?” he asked in a tone his sobbing brothers were unlikely to hear. Steve nodded, but his throat tightened and he was afraid to try and speak. “You’re doing great,” Matt whispered. “I know that was hard, but it needed to be done.” Steve swallowed as tears started to streak his cheeks. “Come on, Man,” Matt squeezed his shoulder, “you can’t let them see you like this.”
Steve knew his brother was right, and he tried hard to force down the lump in his throat, but his stomach was churning now, and the sounds from downstairs weren’t helping. For some time now, Steve had been dimly aware of them as they drifted up the stairs and snuck under his doorway, but they were not very loud, nor were they distinct, and he had been focused on
his brothers. Now, however, as the room became quieter, the noises were becoming louder, and he couldn’t help wondering what was going on. Matt too, got a bewildered look on his face. “What the hell is that?” he questioned rhetorically. He hadn’t heard it before, but there was definitely a commotion of some sort going on, and it was becoming harder and harder to miss. Even Danny and Ryan began to grow calmer, distracted from their own misery by the raucous disturbance outside.
“No! Let me go, Sean! Let me go!” The blood drained from Steve’s face as for the first time distinct tones reached the ears of the four brothers.
“Oh, Jesus!” Danny sobbed, and Ryan began to cry harder again too. Matt was the only one who did not recognize the sounds for what they were and he looked at Steve inquiringly.
“It’s Kevin!” Steve exclaimed in a tone of incredulous frustration, but by that time no explanation was necessary as Matt too identified the voice.
“Steve!” they heard their youngest brother calling. “Steve!” A moment later he was pounding on the door. “Steve, don’t!” Steve put a hand to his eyes, and Matt tightened his grip on his shoulder. Not long after, they heard Andy’s low tones and Kevin’s infuriated screams filled the air. There was no more pounding after that, but Kevin’s furious caterwauling intensified, and they heard Pat’s voice now too as Danny and Ryan’s friends tried to soothe their youngest brother.
“God damn it! Who told him?” Steve’s temper flared as the onslaught of emotion became too much for him, and his brotherly instincts kicked in. Danny and Ryan were both unable to speak for a moment, and Steve had not really expected them to answer. He didn’t think they would know.
Finally, however, Ryan responded. “I th . . .ink Jess . . . and . . . and Sean probably did,” he managed brokenly. His words were so mangled that both Matt and Steve had a hard time understanding. They got the gist though.
“What?!” Steve demanded. “Why? Why would they do that?”
“I didn’t leave them much choice,” Ryan sobbed.
“Ryan,” Steve started gently, “slow down, and back up. You’re not making any sense. What are you talking about?”
“It’s what I was trying to tell you before!” Ryan choked into the chair. Danny’s agitation had reached fever pitch as he clutched the pillow to his face, and without a word, Matt went and sat on the bed next to him, placing a hand on his younger brother’s back and whispering softly to him.
“Come on, Dan, it’s all right, we’ll get through this.” It was hard to even hear what Ryan was saying now, but Matt looked up in an effort to get what his other little brother was trying to convey.
“When we came in, the first person we saw was Kevin. He was just standing there in the hallway and he was clearly upset. I was afraid someone might alread
y have told him, but then he certainly wasn’t acting like he knew! Danny and I looked to see what he was looking at and . . . everybody knows, Steve! Everybody knows!” Ryan too was becoming hysterical again, and Steve went to him, squatting down beside him, and placing his hand on his back.
“Come on now, Bro,” he started patiently. “I know it was upsetting to come in and find Mcarthy here, and I’m sorry that your friends found out, but that is hardly everyone . . . .”
“No, Steve! Everyone knows! The whole fucking house is down there! It’s standing room only, and believe me, they all know!”
“What?!” Steve paled and looked at Matt. “They’re all supposed to be at dinner!”
“Yeah, well, they’re not!” Ryan returned bitterly. He turned his head to look miserably at his brother. “That’s why we were late! The only one who didn’t know when we came in was very clearly Kevin, and we could barely get up the fucking stairs! He was looking for Danny. Wanted help with his History project. We kept trying to get away, but he wouldn’t let us go. Then, when I told him we had to come see you, he wanted to come with us, and the only way I could get him to back off was by telling him it wasn’t a social call. He didn’t get it though, and I’m sure he asked Jesse and Sean about it. They’ve just been trying to help. We should have told them to begin with, I guess, like you said, and then this wouldn’t have happened like this,” he sobbed.
Steve and Matt were silent as they looked at one another in dismay. How could their beautifully orchestrated plan have gotten so far off course? Absently, Steve continued to rub Ryan’s back. ‘How the hell did this information get out?’ he pondered to himself. He didn’t understand. The only people who had known anything were his brothers and his two best friends. Not even Danny and Ryan’s closest friends had been aware of the impending punishment. Steve did not know how it had happened, but he was furious, and he was going to find out.
“I’m going to fix this, Ry!” he assured quietly, and with one last comforting squeeze of his little brother’s shoulder, he got to his feet and headed for the door.
“What are you going to do, Steve?” Matt asked softly. He still had a hand on Danny’s back, but Danny’s anguished cries had not decreased by much.
“I don’t know,” Steve replied honestly. “First, I want someone to tell me how the fuck the whole house came to be in possession of information that we have guarded very carefully for weeks now.”
“Somebody must have slipped,” Matt continued in the same undertone.
“Like who?! Kurt and Mike? It will be their asses, if they did!” Steve snapped, his hand on the doorknob.
“Steve, before anything else, and especially if you’re determined to go out there, you have got to calm down! I know you’re pissed, but if you open that door, you have to be prepared first and foremost to deal with Kevin. The last thing you want to do is inadvertently make things worse.” Steve looked at his sobbing brothers and paused. Matt was right. The last thing he wanted to do was make things worse.
“What do you think I should do?” he asked as Hurricane Kevin continued to rage on the other side of the door.
“I don’t know,” Matt replied softly. “It’s a tough call. Someone’s got to get that kid calmed down, and the best way to do that might be to let him in.”
“No! No! Jesus, No!” Danny interjected even before his opinion was called for.
“Well, there you have the thoughts on that idea,” Matt replied wryly. “The only other choices are to forget about it and get this over with and try to deal with Kevin and everything else in the aftermath, or open the door with a very specific plan, knowing the kid’s going to try and push his way in here.”
Steve looked again at Ryan and Danny, and another wave of fury washed over him. It burned him to think people were out there reveling in their misery. “If I can just get Andy’s attention for a moment, or Pat’s, maybe they can tell me something,” he intimated to Matt in hushed tones.
“NO!” his younger brothers pleaded, horrified. Steve had not intended for them to hear, and he met Matt’s eyes uncomfortably, looking away as his older brother raised his eyebrows at him. “Please just leave it, Steve! Please!” Ryan implored. “There’s nothing you can do about it, now!”
‘I can find the sons of bitches responsible!’ Steve thought darkly to himself. He was trying very hard to think rationally, but at the moment his more practical side had been overridden by his protective feelings for his brothers. He would find out who had done this to them! He would find out right now, and if Mcarthy had one single thing to do with it, he would eat his liver for lunch.
With that thought in mind, Steve turned again towards the door. All his brothers were against him, but he was the president, and in this case, anyway, he would do as he pleased.
File Seven
Damage Control
"Empathy during agony is a portion of divinity."
-Neal A Maxwell
Kevin was not calming down at all. In fact he seemed to become more, instead of less, worked up as he fought to get at Steve’s door. It took the efforts of both Andrew and Patrick to restrain him, and they were losing ground. They were stronger than Kevin, but not as resilient and he was wearing them down. Privately, each wondered how much more he could take.
Mike had, to this point, not involved himself. He knew Steve would at some point find out that the summons had become public information, and he and Kurt, as the only two uninvolved people he had confided in, were in the immediate line of fire. The last thing he wanted was to be part of the drama exacerbating the situation. He had assumed that Pat and Andy would be able to get things under control, but he had not counted on the kid’s persistence.
He passed Kurt who was still trying to calm his own little brothers in the hallway downstairs, and his friend smirked at him. “Good luck,” he commented drolly.
“Yeah, thanks,” Mike returned as he started up the stairs. ‘What would Pat and Andy do if that was me in there, getting my ass beat?’ he wondered wryly. Somehow, he couldn’t picture them throwing themselves against the president’s bedroom door. Then again, he couldn’t picture much of anybody taking that chance, ‘except maybe James, if Jess was in trouble,’ he thought, facetiously. ‘Thank God the kid was gone already for the holidays. That was one less potential drama to worry about, anyway.’ Steve had summoned the poor kid for what was probably the ass blistering of his life the day after the meeting, and James was still brimming with resentment.
Steve had a soft spot, though, where his brothers were concerned, and they all knew it. They definitely took chances no one else would take, and
sometimes broke rules no one else would even think of breaking. Most of the time, they got away with it. The funny thing was, no one seemed to mind. Mike knew it was a natural fascination with anything sadistic that had brought the majority of the fraternity together today, not a particular wish to see Danny and Ryan suffer. Most of them, when asked where their sympathies lay, would undoubtedly side with the two brothers. As spoiled as they most certainly were, they were also loveable. Ryan, as the prankster, and Danny as the intense and passionate driving force behind their football team, were almost as well loved by the rest of the fraternity as they were by their brother, and Kevin too was making friends just as quickly as they had. Their little brother’s willingness to speak his mind, his guts on the field, his eagerness (especially the last few weeks) to do the right thing, and his devotion to his brothers had quickly made him a house favorite. There weren’t many in the fraternity who would not have eagerly seen Gregg Mcarthy in Danny and Ryan’s place tonight. ‘But it didn’t stop them from coming here and making it worse,’ Mike pondered bitterly. ‘We just can’t help involving ourselves in the pain and misery of others.’ The last thought hit him hard as he came around the corner and saw for himself the state that Danny and Ryan’s little brother was in. ‘Poor kid,’ he sighed heavily.
Pat and Andy had him cornered like a trapped animal between
the railing overlooking the common room, and Steve’s door. His eyes were red and swollen, his face was flushed, and tears continued to streak his face. He was quiet at the moment as he contemplated his next move, not willing to admit yet that he had nowhere to go. ‘At least he’s getting some good drill time in,’ Mike thought ironically. As a running back it was important for Kevin to be able to get out of tight spots. Steve’s friend paused, contemplating what to do, and at that moment his brothers looked his way and saw him. Kevin followed their gaze.
“Mike!” Steve’s youngest brother cried. “Mike! Please!” The next moment Kevin was rushing towards him, and Mike instinctively put out his hands to intercept him, taking a firm grip on Kevin’s arms. “Mike, please!” Kevin pleaded desperately. “You can talk to him! You can stop this! Please!”
“I can’t, Kev’bo.” Mike looked sorrowfully down into Kevin’s panicked face. “It’s not my call,” he asserted gently.
“But can’t you talk to him?” Kevin entreated, and Mike shook his head.
“I can’t go in there now, Kev,” he said softly, “and if I did, it wouldn’t make a difference. We just have to let them get it over with.”
“But they didn’t mean to do it!” Kevin’s frustration resurfaced. “I know they didn’t! And, anyway, whatever they did, I’m sure Mcarthy deserved it!”
“That is neither here nor there, Kevin,” Mike replied, bending lower to peer in his face. “In this fraternity, we do not fight, and when you are the president’s brothers, fair or unfair, the ability to control your temper
becomes vital. Under no circumstances is it acceptable for underclassmen to attack a senior. Danny and Ryan know that!”
“But Mike . . . ,” Kevin started, and then he just dissolved into tears.
“Come on now, it’s all right.” Mike pulled him close and Kevin clung to him, pressing his face into his chest. Mike pushed his hair away from his hot, feverish forehead, and tightened his arms, looking up to meet the grateful expressions of his own younger brothers.
The Fraternity Files Page 23