The Weed in the Rose Garden

Chapter Three

A man standing at least six feet tall, built broadly, sporting a full beard and long brown curly hair, just like mine, stood before me. I stumbled backwards, nearly falling flat on my ass. I was speechless. He seemed familiar, yet strange. Someone I recognized but didn't. He had a bizarre coldness about him. A stoic look painted his face. Muddy hazel eyes, just like my Dad's, stared back at me. A long dark cloak fell down his shoulders, a thick sweater beneath it, followed by jeans and brown cowboy boots. Water dripped off his curls and down his face. His sharp cheekbones and button nose were just like mine. However, he had an angular jaw where mine was more round. I had softer features whereas his were hard like stone. His brows furrowed as he watched me study him.

"Do you.. do you not recognize me?" He mumbled. One hand ran through his hair as he looked me up and down.

I still could not find any words. Panic wanted to seize me and make me run, although my heart said something completely different. I did scoot a few inches backwards and he looked on as I did so.

"I'm sorry it had to be like this, really." A melodic voice stated. Turning to his side, a woman appeared.

"I told him this wasn't the best way." The woman had ginger hair the color of sunset and bright green eyes. She was covered head to toe in leather. Her cloak was leather, the body-tight suit was leather, even her belts were leather. Her high-heels clicked as she pushed past him and extended a hand to me. I gingerly took it, and helped myself up. I dusted down my sweatshirt and jeans and looked at the pair. She was taller than me, but several inches shorter than the man. Her curves pronounced by the suit, her hair pulled into a high ponytail.

"I am Percilla. Call me Percy. You may not recognize him, but that blunder of a man is your brother. Seth." The air left my lungs and I felt like I had been punched.

"WHAT."

"I am Per-"

"I heard you." Panic threatened once again to seize me. My eyes darted between them. Seth... No. "Thats not possible." I felt like I was gasping for breath but had too much already. My head became dizzy.

Seth cleared his throat. "Yeah... Hi Cora." A sheepish smile lifted his cheeks and I instantly knew it was him. That smile was unmistakable. Tears threatened to fill my eyes and spill down my cheeks.

"But.. your...the farm... Mom.. and..." The tears began falling without pause. My face was quickly soaked and I could feel it contorting into an ugly crying look. Did I really grieve someone who never actually died? Our small town stopped in its tracks for months to look for him... For what? My childhood ended because he... he... left? Anger quickly replaced the conflicted feelings of joy and sadness. Mom was never the same. Dad gave up pieces of the farm he put his heart into. "Where the f**k have you been?" Heat filled my cheeks and the tears came faster. My hands balled into fists.

"Now, I get the anger, it's justified at the moment. Trust me, I get it." He put up his hands and continued, "But, Cora, you gotta know there are bigger things at play here. I wanted to come to you when you turned eighteen but.. Percy told me not to."

Anger filled my veins and boiled beneath my skin. "How could you even begin to understand, Seth? How? You've been off doing God knows what, while I pick up the pieces of our parents and try to hold our broken family together. I lost my childhood the day you left. I lost part of the farm when it became too much for Dad. For f***s sake, I lost our Mother and never got her back!" At that, I lunged with a fist c****d ready to meet his nose. He caught my hand and pushed me backwards. "How could you!" I yelled and lunged again. This time he met me with his chest and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me in and keeping my arms tight at my sides.

"Stop, Coralee." He muttered.

"Or what?" I hissed. I began flinging my legs, attempting to catch him in the knees or anywhere I could, really. He tossed me into Marissa's office chair and rolled his eyes.

"This is childish." He glared at me.

"Childish? You want to talk about childish? You left us! You made everyone think you were missing, dead, or worse!" I spat.

Seth growled and looked over at Percilla. "Maybe we should never have intervened. I don't know if she will even care to listen to reason." He threw up his hands then crossed them to his chest.

"f**k you, Seth." I sat back in the chair and crossed my legs. Saying his name to him felt off in my mouth. Like a word that should never be spoken. My face screwed into a sour position and I looked up at Seth with nothing but judgment. I wanted to be happy, elated, joyous that he had come home. That here he was, in the flesh and blood, alive and well. I wanted to hug him. I wanted to tell him I missed him and about life since he had been gone. However, my anger washed all of that away. I had stopped imagining him coming home a long time ago.

"I have to ask you listen to what he has to say." The woman named Percy said. "It's rather important."

"And who are you?" I sneered.

"Dear, for all intents and purposes, I am your sister-in-law."

Okay, well, noted. "OH, that's nice. A wedding none of us knew about or got to celebrate. Kids, too?" I jabbed.

"No." Seth growled again. His face became sour, just like mine. "Cora, I'm just going to lay this all out for you. I need you to listen."

"Why? Aren't you here now? Of course, I'd love to hear about where you've been and what you've been up to. But I think we have more pressing matters like, oh I don't know, letting our parents know you're alive?"

"Absolutely not." I could see anger behind his eyes as his words cut through the air. I suddenly felt very small and insignificant.