#gevyn

@devyn-morey

Gem didn’t have a lot of friends. It wasn’t like he was boohooing about this fact. There was just a truth to it. He’d had friends. Or, at least, people he would hang out with. Sometimes. (They were few and far between.) Being in prison for five years fractured all of those. The only people he had now were his brothers, which was fine with him.

The winter break meant that Devyn was around more than they usually were. Which had been nice, if not a bit awkward. Mostly because Gem had never really known what to say to Devyn, even when they’d been younger. They’d always been much softer than him. Goofy in a sweet sort of way that Gem couldn’t ever remember being. And sometimes that sweetness felt like a toothache and Gem wasn’t sure what to do about the pain of it. 

But, he also cared about Devyn and he knew all this bullshit with Dian had been tough for everyone. So, one day, when he found Devyn downstairs, eating a snack, he’d invited them out and told them to dress warm. Then, they left the house, trudging towards the woods in the south, the closest entrance to the farm. Once inside, Gem navigated easily to where he wanted to go. 

“I used to come out here all the time in secondary. No idea if it still exists,” Gem signed, taking one hand from the backpack strap over his shoulder so he could use both. 

The trees parted to a little clearing, small enough to still be covered by reaching tree branches, but in the winter the sky could poke through here or there. At one end was a rotted log, turned over on its side. It was more rotted since the last time Gem had seen it, but it was still sturdy enough. 

“Nice.” He stopped in front of the log and set down his bag, which clanged around, not that he worried about that ruining the surprise for Devyn. He pulled out a few glass bottles he’d collected from around the house and then produced a handful of tennis balls, raising his eyebrows at his brother.