Dad Age 47 POV
"Oh God!" Mom exclaimed visibly turning pale. She leaned into me burying her head and holding the paper before me. "Dad" is what it said. I looked at my 16 year old son who was beginning to fear he was about to become a middle aged woman. "It says me. You and I are going to swap."
My son David looked visibly relieved but still unsettled. "Excuse me." he said getting up from the table.
"I dondt gwet to bwe big wet? Dis sucks!" Brad pouted.
"Vacuum cleaners suck, situations make you feel emotions, use good words buddy." I admonished.
"Sowwy daddy, I wanted to bwe big, now i'm sad to stay widdowl." Brad corrected himself
"This is bullshit. What are you doing to our family?" Lucas glared at me and stormed off.
"Woocus swowe!" Brad quickly yelled... repeatedly.
"Honey, I'm going to go have a chat with Lucas. Give him some insight on the situation. See if he would maybe take my place." I said comforting my wife who was on the verge of tears.
"Mariah, would you help with dishes tonight? Mom isn't feeling up to it." I said with a smile.
"Sure thing Daddy, umm, little bro?" It was clear she was trying to get her head around the situation and struggling.
"Dad for now, we can figure the rest out as we go along." I managed to make a convincing smile. Just need to hold the family together a little bit longer.
I got up and went to Lucas' room... *knock knock knock* "Go away, what do you want?" I opened the door and shut it behind me. Lucas was lying on his bed.
"You realize I've got a second job?" I asked broaching the conversation.
"No." Lucas said disinterestedly.
"Well I have. Three nights a week and weekends. Do you know why I have a second job?"
"No." Lucas said with a little more interest.
"Because when you went to college we took out a second mortgage on the house, it essentially dropped our equity to zero and doubled our monthly payments. We've since cashed out our retirement savings to try to keep things afloat. Do you know why we did that?"
Lucas turned a horrified glance to me. "Because I lost the scholarship."
"You were heartbroken, injured, getting great grades and no longer able to play to earn your way through school. it was past the deadlines to apply for new scholarships and so your Mom and I had a decision to make. We decided to make up the difference which pulled a lot heavier on us than we had planned. Within the next 2 months we will not be able to make the monthly payments on the house any more. A few months after that they will begin the foreclosure process but not before destroying our credit. Then your mom and I as well as your siblings, will need to find a new home."
Lucas was dumbfounded, so I continued. "When I'm not working 60+ hours, I'm looking for other ways to get money. A friend at work saw how tired I have been after months of this, and mentioned a friend of his had a well paying money opportunity. You can step up and swap with David, you can step up and swap with me, or you can watch as david loses 33 years of his life because his big brother is a coward. Your choice. You have until 8 to decide. At that time the two who will swap need to drink this." I pulled out a small container of black liquid and showed him. Then I stood up and walked out of the room.