Persuading the Brother

For the remainder of the day, I went about business as usual, though my mind was acing over different plans and approaches to getting us to move to OZ. The only time I was scheming was when I noticed my mom or sister walk by, my imagination stirring as my eyes lingered on the beautiful frames.

Getting my family to move, especially to an OZ, would be the riskiest endeavor I was ever going to take. If they said no to moving, it would definitely suck, but if they found out I was trying to get them to go to such a city, I'm pretty sure my family would beat me then kick me out of the house.

Night soon came around, and I laid in my bed contemplating. If I wanted my parents to move, I'd need to pitch them the perfect city, with a nice house, great morals, and of course, church-centered. Then whatever I proposed, they were bound to try and research the city on their own. But if my brother were to help, my parents might believe in the lie much easier. He always was the smartest and more innocent one in my parents' eyes, so they were always quick to believe him on anything.

However, the question was if he would be on board with my plan.

Turning over in my bed, I looked across the room to peek over at my brother. I could see the outline of his sleeping form in his bed. My heart was beginning to beat fast as I decided now was the time to try and bring him in on my scheme.

Just as I was about to whisper out to him, I heard his voice.

"Daniel…"

"Uh… yeah?"

"Do you think that mom and dad would be willing to move?"

I couldn't help but chuckle at his question. What are the chances that he's already thinking about moving? Maybe this plan wasn't doomed.

"What's so funny?" He asked me.

"Nothing, I was just about to ask you the same question. But Idk. Why do you ask?"

At that, he seemed to go silent for a minute before talking up again.

"Everyone in town can be mean… and if we left, I wouldn't have to see them again." Ah, so that's why. That's the problem with small towns. Your high school bullies still remain close. "But what… what if we do leave and that new town also has mean people?"

I couldn't help but feel bad for Lucas. He was such an innocent guy that it always angered me to see how badly he got treated. But as much as it was going to make me feel like an asshole, this could also be the leverage needed to persuade him to help me out.

Heart pounding with fear, I tried to carefully speak out my next words, "But what if the town we went to didn't allow people to be mean to you?"

"What do you mean?"

I shifted over to my side to look directly at him. "Do you remember that conversation we had a couple days ago?"

There was another minute of silence before he spoke up. "Are you talking about the Oedipal Zones? But aren't those places weird… like they're supposed to be very sinful… and people like you would do weird things to their family…"

"Don't think about it like that," I interrupted. "Just think of it. Whenever someone made fun of you or bullied you at church, school, or anywhere around town, mom and dad just told you to ignore it and did nothing about it. Samantha's no help either for both of us. But if we lived in a place like that, you wouldn't have to worry about others. I'd make sure no one messed with you just like I have been doing."

"But what about the weird stuff they do…"

"I know it's weird cause we don't have any of that here, but is it really wrong if thousands or millions of people do it around the world? Is it really wrong if the 'right' things never help you?"

More silence…

"Maybe. Do they really have everything you told me, even the… you know… between family members?"

"Yes… they do. Everything and more."

"And would you be doing that to us if we lived there?"

Once again, my heart felt like it was about to blast out of my chest with nervousness as I uttered my next words.

"I'll be honest, and I want you to really think about it. Just think about how mom and Samantha look. Really think about it and tell me you wouldn't do any 'funny' stuff with them. And again, you're my brother, and I wouldn't do anything to hurt you. I would make sure you were never bothered by assholes again."

"Maybe… but mom and dad would never agree to go to a place like that."

"They definitely wouldn't, but what if they didn't know?"

"Are you thinking about tricking them?" Lucas started to sound surprised.

"Again, think of it, Lucas. I'm entirely serious. This isn't just some wishful dream; this is something that WE can make a reality. Mom and dad trust you a lot, and together we could get them to move there without knowing. Do you really want to stay in this town forever? I always told you that you can be strong, and this is it; your chance to show some control."

"…strong …strong, yes …I can be strong. Okay, I'll help you."

And like that, the pounding stopped, and I internally screamed for joy once more.

"Really, you'll help?"

"Yeah, I'll help you if it means never being here in this town again."

"You're the best, Lucas."