43A/N So I decided to put an absolutely massive twist on the whole Riley's older brother thing (its kind of AU). I didn't plan this or anything and I'm just making it up as I go along at the moment; I hope that any readers understand that this is just a bit of fun and isn't really to be taken seriously.
Now as for ships so far (because I know that ships are incredibly important in the GMW area of fanfiction) I'm settled on one and that is Rucas. Personally I'm more of a Lucaya and Riarkle shipper and sometimes I'm a fan of Joshaya as well… But I think that Rucas will work here as I'm still playing around with potential relationships for Maya.
I haven't got anything else to ramble on about up here so without further ado, here is the first chapter of Cory's one mistake. Hopefully there will be many more to come.
Chapter 1
Cory Matthews only ever made one major mistake in his life. Topanga forgave him for it. And it was a long, long time ago.
He made the mistake four years before Riley was born and although it had never been brought up again Cory still thought about it sometimes, and he often wondered if Topanga thought about it too.
The rest of the family – including their children Riley and Auggie – knew nothing of Cory's one mistake. It was in the past and had nothing to do with the future.
Until now.
Cory's mistake was a boy named Brent.
Yes, he had done what he deemed unforgiveable and had cheated on Topanga. Yes, he regretted it every single day. But it was all in the past and both Cory and Topanga had moved on together, starting a family that they would both do anything for. Their family was a strong one and even took in Riley's best friend Maya when her own mother was struggling. They really were the perfect family image.
That was until a British nineteen year old boy – man, technically – with a northern accent, showed up and knocked on their door. His dark hair was styled in a messy quiff and his moss green eyes were incredibly intense. Tattoos on his arms could be seen poking out of the bottom of his leather jacket and his black combat boots looked as if they had seen better days. Put simply, Brent Lawson looked nothing like his father; looked nothing like a Matthews. But records didn't lie, and he was going to find the man that refused to be his father…
Earlier that day
Brent sat on the hotel room bed nervously as he read his mother's letter for what seemed like the twentieth time. It felt like he'd lost her yesterday but in reality it had been three months. She'd left him with the information that he'd nagged her about for years – the identity of his father and where to find the man. After spending some time in England after she had passed away, Brent decided that it was finally time to find the only family he had left.
He had no idea if they'd accept him or not. It's not like his appearance would make a great impression but he believed that the tattoos on his arms were part of him and who he was; so this Cory Matthews would have to get over it… That is if he didn't shut the front door on his forgotten son as soon as he realised who it was.
No. His mother had said that he was a good man. He wouldn't shut the door in Brent's face without asking for an explanation first.
Hopefully.
Letting out a huge sigh beforehand, Brent fell back onto the bed and tightly shut his eyes. He was about to drop a huge bomb on the guy and the family that he probably had. Hurting Cory Matthews and his family was the last thing that Brent wanted to do, but he was alone now, and closure was what he was searching for.
His plane had only landed a few hours ago but anxiousness was getting the better of him. Brent just wanted to whole thing over and done with and so he silently decided that after getting something to eat, he'd visit the address that his mother had left him. He had no idea if Cory actually lived there but it was worth a shot.
And that was how Brent found himself standing in front of a door that he couldn't bring himself to knock on. He couldn't do it; he was too nervous, and every time he was about to knock his fist fell back down to his side.
"Jesus." Brent swore under his breath in frustration. He never got nervous. It was getting pathetic now; he just needed to man up and knock on the door. So he knocked. One, two, three times. And then he waited.
Click.
He felt his stomach flip as the door opened slowly, revealing a man with short curly hair. The eyes of the man looked him up and down and Brent chose to speak before it got even more awkward than it was.
"Cory Matthews?" Brent asked cautiously.
"Yes?" So it was him. This man was Cory. His father. The man that he had never seen in his whole nineteen years of living. The man that had made a mistake with his mother and would now be paying for it all these years later.
"I know I shouldn't be here and I get that I'm about to make your life a whole lot more complicated," He paused for a breath, taking in the way that Cory frowned in confusion as he listened patiently. "My name's Brent Lawson and I'm-"
"My first son." Cory said weakly as his grip on the door handle tightened noticeably. "Oh, wow." He muttered to himself as he stared at the face of what to him was a stranger. "Why are you here?"
"I wanted to meet my father." Brent replied bluntly with a shrug of his shoulders. "I've never even seen a picture of you – you can't blame a guy for being curious."
"I have a family." Cory said sternly.
"Lucky you." He muttered in a tone that was almost poisonous.
"I have a wife and a daughter and a son,"
"Cory, honey, who's at the door?" Cory immediately froze when he heard his wife's voice approaching to see who the visitor was. Brent simply looked on in silence as Topanga Matthews stopped beside her husband and got a look at the guest.
"You must be Mrs Matthews." Brent said, changing his deep tone to a friendlier one. She smiled politely to him but it did not reach her eyes as she began searching her husband's face for answers. Cory still looked pale; he was frozen on the spot and Brent could tell that he was freaking out on the inside.
"Cory." Topanga said quietly as she placed a hand on his arm, snapping Cory out of his trance.
"Topanga, this is Brent, my son." Cory explained tensely as Brent nodded at him in thanks for being honest as he put his hands in the pockets of his black jeans. Topanga froze just as Cory had and some colour drained from her face also.
"Invite him in Cory." Topanga muttered in a tone that Brent noticed to be slightly reluctant. "I'll make a decaf for you both while you sit and chat." She moved away from the door quickly, making a beeline for the coffee as Cory opened the door slightly wider in a gesture for Brent to enter. Brent didn't look around much, instead simply following Cory over to the couch.
"Look," Cory started. "My kids are in their rooms getting ready for bed, they don't know-"
"That I exist. Yeah, that's what I expected as soon as you mentioned them to be honest." Brent cut in, his tone indicating that he wasn't up for dancing around any points. "I understand that me being here is a shock to you and that it would probably be better if I'd have stayed in England but my mum…" He trailed off as Topanga passed him a cup of decaf before sitting down next to Cory. "She passed away a few months ago."
"Oh," Topanga said softly, her eyes shining with sympathy that had certainly not been there when he was standing at the front door. "We're sorry for your loss."
"Thank you." Brent replied coolly. "She'd been battling cancer for a while and it finally got too much for her. Her passing is the reason I'm here, trying to find the family I've got left. I know that no time would ever be a good time for me to appear in your lives, Mr and Mrs Matthews, but now that my mother's gone I'm finally understanding how important family is-"
"Family is everything." Cory commented with a small smile as he put an arm around Topanga. "You've come here looking for a family, and our family has never turned someone in need of a family away."
"I hated what Cory did." Topanga said to Brent as she looked him dead in the eye. "But I'm not going to hold what happened against you – nothing in the situation was your fault. It will take some getting used to and I have no idea how Riley and Auggie will react when we tell them about this but I want you to know that if you ever need someone, I'll be here, and so will Cory."
"Are you sure, Mrs Matthews?" Brent asked after he had swallowed thickly. The kindness that Cory and Topanga were showing him made him slightly emotional. And he would not, under any circumstances, cry. He had a tough guy image to protect here. "I can just go back to England now if it's too much of a burden for either of you."
"You're my son Brent. You're a part of this family." Cory said, much to the shock of Brent. He had no idea that they would be so accepting in such a short amount of time. The two of them really were good people – just like his mother had said.
"Thank you Mr Matthews."
"Call me Cory, Brent." He said with warm smile.
"And while we're talking about names, call me Topanga. You don't need to be all formal with us." Topanga added with a smile that reflected her husband's.
"You have no idea how much this means to me." Brent said as he ran a hand through the front of his hair. "I honestly thought you were gonna slam the door in my face the moment I said who I am."
"I considered it." Cory said seriously as he took a sip from his cup of coffee that Topanga had made. "But it was my actions years ago that brought us all to where we are now, and I had to put any selfish thoughts aside and listen to my wife when she told me to let you in. You've just lost your mom – we can't let you go through that alone."
Brent was just about to reply when his phone started vibrating in the pocket of his jacket. He gave his father and his wife an apologetic look as he took out his phone and glanced down at the caller.
"Bloody Jacob." He muttered before reluctantly answering the call. "Hold on a minute Jake." Brent snapped as he removed the phone from his ear. "Do you mind if I step outside? I've really got to answer this."
"Not at all, go ahead." Topanga said as Brent rose from his seat and exited the apartment quickly, shutting the door behind him so that Topanga and Cory could talk about what was happening. They were in need of a serious talk and Jacob ringing him gave them the opportunity as Brent stood just beside the door.
"I've just tracked down my dad, Jacob. We were having our first conversation."
"Sorry mate but this couldn't wait."
"Well come on then, I haven't got all night."
"Calm down, calm down. You're lucky I'm your manager you know – any other person and they'd have quit their job in minutes."
"Why did you ring me?"
"I'm just trying to say that you're not really that easy to talk to most of the time-"
"If you don't tell me why you rung me in two seconds I'm ending this call and turning off my phone."
"Alright, alright. We'll talk about your crappy attitude next time. I rung you because everything's going to shit here. People are finding out that you've left for good and that you've left England, and there's loads of lads here that are kicking an' screaming because they wanted a shot at you and now they can't have one."
"How is that my problem? I told you before I left that I'm done with the cage."
"Because they're all taking it out on me mate. That's why it's your problem."
"Just make them all believe that I haven't told you anything. Tell anyone who asks that you know just as much as them. It'll be fine; everyone'll forget about me in the next few months."
"Are you having a bloody laugh? You're a legend here. You're undefeated in the cage and you've taken on anybody and everybody in the last three years. There's got to be a queue of at least twenty guys that wanted a shot at you and now you've gone and they still want to beat one of the best cage fighters in the history of underground cage fighting."
"I'm done with the cage."
"You can't just give up on what you're good at mate – you've always loved fighting."
"Listen Jake, I've found a really good family here. They're probably already thinking I'm a ragger because of my tattoos and stuff and I don't want them finding out that I used to be an underground cage fighter. The people I've met so far are great people and I'm not gonna mess this up by letting them know that I liked to fight."
"Liked? That love for fighting that you have can't just disappear Brent. I bet it's still there, deep down. When you're feeling the need to kick some arse again, give me a buzz, yeah?"
"Right, yeah, fine. I'm gonna head back in there now and hope they haven't changed their minds while I've been out here. Take care."
"You too."
Brent ended the call quickly and let out a deep sigh. Jacob's words always got under his skin and the guy was right: Brent did still love to fight. Maybe he didn't crave it anymore but the anger still appeared. His mother made it clear that she hated seeing him limping around the house with cuts and bruises on his face but then he'd argue with her, pointing out all the money that he would make after a win.
He sighed again. No more fighting. No more anything that had anything to do with the cage.
"Brent? Are you out here?" His neck snapped round quickly to see Topanga's head poking out into the corridor.
"Yeah, sorry about that." Brent said as he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "I'm really tired after the flight this morning, do you mind if I head out?"
"Do you have somewhere to stay?"
"I've got a hotel room booked for a couple of nights." He replied.
"Well if you stick around for longer then you're welcome to stay with us rather than spending all that money on a room." Topanga said in a motherly tone.
"Thank you, Topanga." Brent said as he discreetly thought about how he hadn't questioned her unique name until now. Topanga? Was he even saying it correctly with his accent?
"You're welcome to come by and meet Riley and Auggie tomorrow Brent. We'll have to take time explaining over breakfast but you can join us for dinner if you're comfortable with that." She said, smiling in a way that a mother would smile at her child. She was so accepting, even knowing that he was the child of a woman that her husband had been unfaithful with.
"I would love that. Thank you for the offer."
The new day came all too soon and the Matthews family along with Maya were all sitting around eating breakfast like they would on any other day when Cory finally broke the news hesitantly.
"Riley, Auggie." He said, getting their full attention. "And Maya." He added as the blonde held up her glass of orange juice, toasting sarcastically to her late mention. "Your mother and I have some news to share."
"We're getting a supercool car." Auggie guessed, amusing Riley and Maya with his outburst.
"No." Cory said seriously. "I never told you kids this, because it happened way before either of you were born-"
"This doesn't sound good." Maya commented to Riley as the brunette listened to her dad intently.
"Your father and I were having issues with our relationship." Topanga continued, just as seriously as Cory. "And even though it's in the past, we're telling you this now because last night your dad met his son – your half-brother." The bomb had officially been dropped. All that could be heard was the clattering of Auggie's fork as he dropped it onto the plate that had previously held pancakes. Riley's jaw was open so wide that Maya had to push it up for her as she stared at Cory in shock.
"It was the biggest mistake I ever made and although your mother forgave me I never really found it in me to forgive myself. And then last night I opened the door and saw the face of a son that I'd never been the father to. It was a huge shock." Cory said quietly as he waited nervously for his kids to react.
"The reason we're telling you all this now is because I asked him to join us for dinner tonight." Topanga finished bluntly.
"You did what?" Riley asked in a shocked whisper.
"Brent is joining us for a family dinner tonight." Cory repeated. "So I want the both of you here on time and on your best behaviour."
"Maya you're welcome to join us." Topanga added.
"Oh, I am so not missing this." She replied, giving a frozen Riley a nudge with her shoulder.
"Why's he here?" Auggie piped up suddenly.
"Because he needs a family." Cory stated simply. "And now that he's in our lives we should all make an effort with him."
"Is he hot?"
"Maya." Riley scolded before giggling at the outburst of her best friend.
"He's got tattoos, dark hair and last night he was wearing a leather jacket." Topanga shrugged innocently as Cory frowned at her. "Make of that what you will." She winked at Maya.
"What is it with you and guys in my family Peaches?" Riley asked light-heartedly.
"I only asked if he was hot Riles." Maya replied with a smirk. "If he is then I'm going to sit across from him tonight and if he isn't then I'll sit somewhere else."
"I'd sit across from him, if I were you." Topanga joked. "We don't know Brent that well yet but to me he looks like a bit of a bad boy."
"That is so gonna be my nickname for him." She said, grinning. "Either that or I don't know – maybe a variation of boing, or something to do with twilight if he gives off an Edward vibe-"
"You haven't even met him yet." Cory cut in with a chuckle.
"And when I do meet him, I'll have even more nicknames to call him." Maya said bluntly. "So he wears a leather jacket," She thought out loud. "Could always call him grease lightning."
"Mom, what have you done?" Riley asked, smiling as she watched Maya brainstorm names for her new half-brother.