Richard rested his head on the big green hill and stared at the dark clouds in the sky, waiting for lightning to strike down and hit him. He always loved that tingling sensation from the shock, the euphoria of it all, though he didn’t know why that was the case.

Richard stared out into the horizon, and an enormous mansion stood there proudly, which left a bottomless pit in his gut. Despite the amounts of thunder ringing in his ears, it didn’t look like lightning would come down.

“Young Master Richard, are you here?”

From a distance, a faint voice called out his name, one he found all too familiar.

“Oh great,” Richard muttered, as he got up and brushed the grass pellets off his clothes.

The voice grew louder as the figure came closer, revealing to be an older man wearing a black and white suit with short black hair.

“There you are!” He exclaimed, pulling out an umbrella. “What are you doing? It’s dangerous to be out here with the weather like this.”

Richard sighed in disbelief and rolled his eyes. How many times did he hear this conversation before?

Gerald, you should know why I’m here at this point.

“I don’t understand your quirks sometimes. How many times must I tell you to not run off without supervision?” Gerald reminded him. He opened the umbrella and looked up at the sky. “Please get under my umbrella, sir.”

“Why?”

“The weather forecast said it would be pouring rain later today,” Gerald explained. “If you stay out any longer, you’ll get sick.”

“I didn’t want to go to school tomorrow, anyway.”

“That’s no way to talk, your father is worried about you.”

“Don’t give me that! Since when does he care?”

“But it’s true; he sent me here to come and get you.”

“But I don’t need—” Before Richard could finish his sentence, a single raindrop hit his cheek.

He looked up as more raindrops fell and hit the ground. Gerald hovered the umbrella over the young master to protect themselves from the water.

As much as Richard hated to admit it, he needed shelter right about now. He begrudgingly went with the gentleman back to The Dewberry Mansion. Even if it was the last place he’d stay in, considering his options, he didn’t have much choice.

.-.-.-.

Gerald and Richard made it back inside the Dewberry Mansion, where another older man had waited for them. He also had a suit, one that was more affiliated with red and white as opposed to Gerald’s.

Richard grumbled under his breath. His father was the last person he wanted to see. Well, not the last person in the household, but the sooner he can escape without having to encounter him, and in the same room, the better.

“We have arrived, Master,” Gerald announced with a bow.

“Ah, excellent work, Gerald.” The father chirped. He took out some dollar bills and handed them to his loyal servant.

“Thank you, sir,” Gerald said after accepting the money. “The pleasure’s all mine.”

Richard tried to sneak back into his room while the two of them talked by going up the stairs so he could avoid talking to them.

“Richard!” The man with the toupee looked over and called out to him.

“What?” The boy asked bitterly. He stopped in his tracks but didn’t look back.

“You are not getting out of school that easily, do you understand?”

“Uh-huh, sure, whatever.”

The doors from another room opened, and a child with blonde hair came out, rubbing his eyes. He appeared to be the same age as Richard but dressed more formally than him, despite the bedhead.

“Hey, father, what’s going on here?” He asked politely.

“Oh, it’s nothing.” The father replied. “Did we wake you from your nap, Reginald?”

Reginald shook his head. “I needed to get up soon anyway, or else I wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight. And besides, I need to finish my piano recital.” His stomach growled as he clutched it tight.

The father glanced at Gerald and ordered him to get the chefs to make his son a meal. Gerald bowed and hurried off to the kitchen.

“So, shall we practice your piano recital while waiting for the food to arrive?” The father suggested.

“Of course, father,” Reginald replied.

Richard looked up from upstairs and overheard the conversation. He wasn’t fast enough. That’s a lie, he thought, Reginald probably waited on his big brother to return and get a scolding from dad, before showing up to rub in his face over his status in the mansion compared to him. He didn’t need to say anything, just act all innocent, wide-eyed, and go along with whatever his father told him. It made him sick to his stomach, especially seeing how noticeably different their dad acts towards Reginald. Richard didn’t want to deal with either of them, especially if they were together. He certainly wasn’t in the mood to see the display unfold.

He stomped up to his room and slammed the door behind him.