Chapter 10: Chapter Nine

The summer holidays seemed to pass too quickly. Alexander had changed my training routine and I now trained like a pro athlete. It was grueling and he had no mercy on me, but I welcomed it. I was working toward a goal now, the first one in my life and I wanted desperately to make the school team and know what success felt like.

The training program strengthened my core, built up my arms and legs and I grew a few inches over that summer holiday and gained twenty pounds. I was the tallest and biggest Hawthorne boy and while the others worked on their games and music, I watched old hockey games and memorized plays.

Most days I went to the ice rink with Alexander. He’d make me sprint and shoot goals. He taught me how to slam someone into the partitions without getting benched for two minutes and the first time I slammed him into it, his gloves came off and instinct made me throw mine down on the ice as well.

“Stay on your feet, Kage. Never give your opponent the advantage to get you on the ice,” Alexander said.

“You always preach that violence isn’t the answer,” I said as we stood staring at each other.

“It’s not but there are situations where you must be willing to show them that you’re not scared to fight. Fighting on the ice is completely different to fighting anywhere else. Hockey players are like a pack of dogs. Dominance rules and you must own your piece of ice,” Alexander said.

I’d grown close to Alexander as well and we spent many nights in the library discussing his philosophy books and the way he viewed life. He told me about his own adoption, the mistakes he’d made and how Nicholas Hawthorne had changed his life.

It was during breakfast that I broached the subject of transport to Alexander. We’d all spoken about it and for some reason they’d all decided that I should be the one to speak up. It was a natural transition for me to take on the role as eldest brother, even though I wasn’t.

Most days I would tell them what to do, who’d prepare what meal and how we’d do something. I had more aggression than the others and they seemed to recognize the natural way I’d just taken up the leadership role.

There were two weeks left of the school holidays and after we’d dished up food, I cleared my throat and looked at Alexander.

“Yes, Kage?”

“School starts in two weeks and we,” I smiled at the glare Miles gave me. “I was wondering how we were going to get to school.”

Alexander continued chewing and looked at me for the longest time. He finally wiped his mouth with a napkin and smiled. “I assume you’ve figured it out because my expectations have always been that you come to me with a problem if there is no solution.”

I smiled as well. Alexander forced us to use our minds, to see the problem but to also find the solution to it. “You’d have to get up every morning at seven thirty to take us to the bus stop in town and pick us up again in the afternoons. It might put a damper on your Friday activities.”

Even though Alexander was a private man, we all knew he left on Friday afternoons to go see a woman. None of us knew exactly where he went but he only returned on Saturday nights or Sunday mornings, and we had all wondered why he just didn’t bring her home.

“That might be problem for me,” Alexander said with a smile, and I shook my head.

“There’s a Chevrolet Silverado for sale in town, $18 000.00. If you divide that money, it’s not a lot to spend on each of us although there will be conditions to having a car. Keep it maintained and clean. No drinking and driving. It’s big enough for the five of us,” I said as I maintained eye contact with him.

“Is it a used truck?” Alexander asked.

“Yes. It hasn’t been in any accidents, I’ve checked,” I said.

“I’ll think about it.” Alexander resumed eating and I knew he’d do more than think about it. He’d already thought about it, but he was waiting for us to broach the subject with him.

I didn’t mind taking the bus but the rest minded. They were used to the lavish lifestyle Alexander offered whereas I’d only been here for three months and that small backpack with my three sets of clothing were still in my closet.

We cleared the dishes from the table, and I stopped short in the foyer as Alexander stood near the front door. It was Friday morning and he’d leave in a few hours. The look on his face told me he was up to something.

“I’ve been thinking about your transport problem for a while now,” Alexander said with a grin.

“And?” Sloan asked him.

“It’s in the garage,” he said and opened the front door.

We looked at him for exactly five seconds before we pushed each other out of the way and headed outside to the garage. Castiel opened the garage doors and I bumped into Endri’s back as we all stared.

“Holy shit!” I spoke.

“Are these really ours?” Castiel asked.

“You could always walk to the bus stop.” Alexander chuckled.

“This is awesome!” Sloan yelled.

Alexander was generous, he gave us everything and so much more than we needed but that also made us work harder to excel. The five bikes were almost identical, black and silver and the only difference were our initials etched onto a chrome plate on the tank.

“Aw man, you got us matching jackets,” Miles said and laughed.

Etched onto the back of each jacket was the Hawthorne family crest and a different symbol below that for each of us. I gripped the jacket tightly in my hands, really feeling part of a family and I had to swallow my emotions away.

“Alexander, this is …” My voice faltered because I really had no words to explain that the leather jacket meant to me.

Alexander walked over to me and surprised me by hugging me tightly. I had stiffened initially when he touched me, but he just kept holding me until I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him back. The others joined in and soon we were all laughing.

The rest of the day was spent with Alexander teaching us how to ride our motorcycles and then he told us that our appointments were on the following Wednesday and if we failed to get our licenses, we’d walk to the bus stop.