⌜ chapter four ⌟

Letty's doing her homework on the bench in the school hallway, and she hears Shawn walk past with his best friend, but she's too distracted by her own thoughts to look up at anyone around her. That is, until she hears a familiar voice that shouldn't be at the school at all.

"Hey, Mr. Feeny. How's it going by and by?" Eric asks, gaining both his old teacher and his ex-girlfriend's attention.

"Fine, by and by." Feeny says as Eric looks around the hallway. "So, Mr. Matthews, how does it feel to be back in the old school hall?"

"They miss me, don't they?" He asks, and Feeny nods as he takes a few steps toward him.

"Oh, yes. We've brought in a crisis counselor to help the students deal with their loss."

"Well, I think that's a great way to begin the healing process." He turns as Mr. Feeny walks past him, moving toward where Letty's sitting.

"I take it you're here to set up a tutoring schedule." He says as he looks at him. "Or are you here to try and talk to Miss Black?"

Eric pauses a moment. "Why would I be here for that?"

"Your window was open last night, I heard what happened." He tells him, and Letty looks down, too embarrassed to risk making eye contact with their teacher.

The teenage boy clears his throat and opts to change the subject rather than answering the question. "You know, I actually was here to set up a tutoring schedule, but now, Mr. Feeny, I really don't think tutoring's going to be necessary for me." He says.

"Now, Eric." Feeny grabs his arm and starts pulling him toward his office, which is right next to where Letty's sitting. "I thought we agreed that colleges look favorably on students who acknowledge their scholastic shortcomings and try to rectify them."

"Whatever." Eric says, trying not to look at the brunette that they stopped right in front of; he can see her drawing in her notebook out of the corner of his eye. "But, you know, my dad has actually decided to start a family business and has generously offered me a position within the firm, so, as you can see, my future's assured."

"What kind of business is it?" He asks, and Eric shrugs as he incoherently mumbles an I don't know.

"But, you know, it doesn't really matter because this weekend the Matthews men are attending the Be Your Own Boss franchise exposition opportunity extravaganza at the airport comfort inn."

"Where dreams are born." The older man then turns and looks at Letty. "Do you know anything more about this, Miss Black?" He asks, and she looks up at him.

"Me?" The brunette raises her eyebrows. "What? Uh... N-No." She shakes her head. "I don't think he knows what he's doing exactly...just yet. It was kinda...sudden, it seemed...like."

"You're usually much better at English, Miss Black."

"Really? 'Cause that wasn't convincing." She shakes her head as she glances at Eric, who's staring at his shoes, and then looks down at the purple pen that she was drawing with.

"I suppose you'll be spending your weekend studying then?" Feeny asks, and she offers him a half smile as she looks up again.

"That seems like the smart move."

"Are you alright?" He asks, and she takes a deep breath as she tries to force her smile to widen, but she can't. "You can say no, Miss Black."

"I think that's been the answer my entire life, Mr. Feeny." She says as she stands up, grabbing her bag from beside her as she straightens up, and then she slings it over her shoulder. "I guess it's about time I did something about that, huh?"

"I would say so." He nods. "Any ideas on what you'll do?"

"Yeah, uh... I think it's about time I stopped hiding, faced my problems head on rather than running from them." She says. "Guess we'll find out what that looks like." The brunette turns then and starts to walk away from them.

"Scarlett?" He calls after, and she looks back at him. "Might I suggest you don't face whatever it is you've been running from alone?"

"No, I think this is something I have to do on my own... Something I have to do for myself." She tells him. "But I'll be sure to let you know how it goes."

"My door is always open." He says, and she nods before walking away from the two of them.

After school on Friday, instead of going home like her better judgment is telling her to, Letty heads to a bar called Reggie's on the other side of town. She takes a deep breath before going inside, and she sees her older brother sitting at the counter.

"Seriously, a bar?" The brunette questions, and Alec looks over at her upon hearing the familiar voice.

"I guess I deserve that look, but I'm not drinking. I don't usually drink, and what happened before is part of the reason." He tells her. "A buddy of mine owns the place, I'm living with him and looking for a job here."

"So that you can work surrounded by alcohol?"

"I don't have a drinking problem."

"Said every alcoholic ever."

"I'm not an alcoholic, I hardly even touch the stuff." He argues as she sits down on the stool next to him. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you." She tells him, and he nods.

"Of course you could track me down no problem." Alec sighs as he shakes his head. "I thought you hated me. Why are you seeking me out when the last time you saw me, you punched me in the face?"

"You deserved it."

"Never said I didn't. I just don't understand what you're doing looking for me when you made it pretty obvious that you wanted nothing to do with me."

"Well, as it turns out, I have a lot of shit that I need to work through, and I don't know where else to start." She says as she looks at him, but then she sees something behind him. "The hell's with the cakes in a bar?"

"Lina likes to bake. I think she lives in the kitchen." He tells her, and her eyebrows furrow.

"Lina...and Reggie? Oh my— The Price siblings?" She questions. "They're still in Philly?"

"Mhm." Alec nods. "You have your hunter friends, and I have mine."

"I thought the Prices skipped town after you did."

"We did." A man says as he walks over to them. "Who the hell are— Oh, shit... Don't tell me, I know this one... Little Scarlett. Damn, kid, you grew up."

"Reggie."

"Don't sound so disgusted." He chuckles.

"You were always a dick." Letty says, and Alec laughs as he takes a drink from the water that he has in front of him.

"Still is." Her older brother tells her.

"Shut up, Black." Reggie shoots him a dirty look. "Both 'a you."

"You left the hunter life to make an honest living?" Letty questions as she looks up at him. "Lina — hell yeah. Tyler — sure. You — never woulda thought."

"Wasn't much reason to stick with it after our old man died. Didn't want to give Ty and our sister another body to burn." He tells her, and she nods.

"Oh. I'm sorry about your dad."

"Sorry about yours."

"Eh." She shrugs, and he chuckles.

"Alec, here, said the same thing. You'd think you two were related or somethin'." He says as he looks between the two of them. "If you're here looking for a job too, I can't help you. I don't hire minors, come back when you're eighteen."

"Yeah, you said you were looking for a job." Letty says as she looks back at Alec. "You're moving back to Philadelphia?"

He nods. "Just 'cause you don't want me around now doesn't mean I'm gonna give up on you so easy." Alec tells her. "I was just giving you space. Figured that was what you wanted considering you left town for the Summer."

"I see I'm not the only one who's good at tracking."

"Nope."

"What about your kid?" She asks, and he sighs.

"I'm trying to convince my girl to move here, but she has her own history here that she's not ready to face. That, and she doesn't trust me." He tells her, and she raises her eyebrows. He glances at her as he rolls his glass on its edge on the countertop. "I have commitment issues."

"But you want me to believe that you're committed to making things right with me?" She questions.

"That's different." He argues, and she nods.

"Yeah." The brunette sighs as she pushes her hair back. "Glad to know that's hereditary."

"That ex-boyfriend you mentioned before?" Alec asks, and she nods.

"Eric — says he loves me."

"You don't believe 'im?"

"No, I know he does. He isn't the problem." She tells him. "Problem is that I can't say it back."

"Mm." He nods. "Been there."

"How long did it take before you could say it back?" She asks, and he glances at her again, but doesn't answer. "And that is my future, ladies and gentlemen. Now I know that breaking up with him was the right thing to do."

"It's not that I don't feel it..."

"Oh, believe me, I know." She gets to her feet. "Come on. Let's get something to eat. Maybe we'll both gain something from the conversation that follows."

Alec looks at her as she walks away from him. "Two Cokes and a basket of fries." He tells his friend as he stands up as well.

"Sir, yes, sir." Reggie mutters, not looking up from the tab he's calculating. "I'll be there to wait on you and your reluctant ward as soon as I give a shit."

"Dick." He shakes his head, and the bar owner starts laughing.

—

Mrs. Matthews sighs as she looks between Letty and the three men standing in her kitchen. "I really wish that you'd give this some more thought." She says as she looks at the brunette.

"We've been going over this for a week." Letty says. "We can talk  about doing it all we want, but... There's only one way to know for sure if we really can do this."

"You haven't even spoken to Eric about any of this yet."

"He's in the woods with his dad, and—"

"And she doesn't need permission from her ex to get on with her life."

"Shut up, Reggie." The brunette turns to glare at him.

"Yeah. The hell do you know about a committed relationship?" Alec questions as Mrs. Matthews goes to greet her husband and Eric who just walked up in the backyard. "Longest relationship you've ever had was with a toothbrush...and I'm not even sure it was yours." He says, and Tyler starts laughing.

They continue arguing after Reggie punches Alec, and then Letty turns away from them when the former makes a snide comment about her. "Bite me, jackass." She mutters as she walks out into the backyard, gaining everyone else's attention.

"And you still think this is the best idea?" Mrs. Matthews asks.

"Oh, I never said that it was the best. I'm really getting the feeling that nothing involving Reggie ever is." The brunette says.

The older boy walks out and wraps his arm around her shoulders. "I'm gonna make her love me." He smirks, but his expression turns pained when she slams her elbow into his ribs. "That's gonna bruise." He groans, and she smiles.

"Maybe that'll teach you to stay away from the jailbait." Tyler says as he pushes his brother out of the way so that he can walk onto the back patio.

"Yeah. Um, ew." Letty gags, making him laugh.

"He'd never make it to jail." Alec says as he walks out behind Tyler. "He'll find himself six feet under before any cop could get ahold of him."

"Oh, my hero." The brunette says sarcastically as she leans against the fence between the Matthews' backyard and Mr. Feeny's. "Where have you been my whole life? Oh, yeah."

Tyler's still laughing. "I like her. She's a lot more entertaining than you are." He says as he nudges the older of the two siblings.

"Amy, what's going on here?" Mr. Matthews questions as he looks at the three men, his gaze lingering slightly longer on Alec.

"Scarlett's moving out, she wants to live with her brother and his friends." She tells her husband.

"Want is a strong word." Letty sighs as she crosses her arms over her chest. "But I can keep saying that I need to deal with my past, or I can actually start dealing with it."

"You're moving out?" Eric asks, and the brunette nods as she looks at him.

"Yeah, but it's not too far from here." She tells him, taking a deep breath. "Alec and I have some things that we need to deal with, and we both just got jobs."

"Oh, yeah?" Mr. Matthews asks. "Where at?"

"We're both gonna be working for dumb and dumber here." She motions between the brothers.

"You're dumber." Tyler says as he looks at his brother, and Letty shakes her head at him.

"You're the most mature one, aren't you?" The brunette asks as she then looks over at her brother, and he nods.

"Parenthood'll do that to you." Alec tells her.

"Hey, you know what I say — no glove, no love." Reggie chuckles. "Don't be silly, wrap your willy." He says, and Tyler slaps the back of his head before shoving him back in the direction of the house. "Wait, I got more."

"Not in front of the ladies." His brother tells him.

"Can you tell which one runs the bar and which one owns a bookstore?" Letty asks as she looks back at Mrs. Matthews.

"Bar?" Mr. Matthews questions.

"Mhm." She nods. "Yeah, uh... Alec's gonna be waiting tables at the bar that Reggie and his sister own, and I'm helping Tyler at the bookstore that he bought last year. Straightening shelves, pointing people toward their preferred genre."

"You're moving in with The Three Stooges." Eric says, and she nods.

"Pretty much, yeah."

"And what exactly is this little experiment supposed to do?" Mr. Matthews asks, and she takes a deep breath as she looks back at Alec.

"I'm working through my abandonment issues." She forces a smile.

"Hey, that's the spirit." Her brother says sarcastically.

"Shut up, asshole, you started it. I didn't even realize how bad it was until you showed up." She tells him. "Hey, maybe that's why your girlfriend doesn't trust you."

"Mhm. But I am your future, remember?" He asks. "Those were your words."

"Oh, thank you for repeating them back to me. I feel a lot better." She nods. "This is gonna be a lot of fun — you, me, Larry, Curly."

"This was your idea, sweetheart."

"What are you mad about? I didn't abandon you in a trailer park with an abusive drunk and then show up ten years with a lame—"

"Protecting my son is not a lame excuse."

"Hey, touchy — that's not what I said. You didn't let me finish talking." She says.

Tyler leans out of the house. "Can we go home before you two kill each other?" He asks. "Kid, we got an early start at the store tomorrow so I can show you around." 

"Oh, yay. I love work." She says sarcastically. "I'd rather go back to this Summer." The brunette mumbles as she follows after Alec and Tyler.

"And we're allowing this?" Mr. Matthews questions as he looks down at the woman standing at his side.

"We can't stop her." His wife tells him. "He's her brother, and she thinks that this little arrangement will benefit them both. All we can do is be there for her while she tries to put her life together, and let her know that she can always come back here if she ever needs to."

"Here is where she's supposed to feel safe." Eric argues. "She's supposed to be with us — with me. Now I'm just supposed to let her go?"

"You're supposed to support her and her decisions." His mom says as she walks over to him and wraps her arms around his shoulders. "I know that you love her, Eric. But you know what they say about the people you love, don't you?"

"That you're supposed to be with them." He says, staring at the kitchen door she disappeared through.

"If you love someone, let them go. If they come back, then it's meant to be."

"She's gonna come back." He says, turning his gaze to her. "I know it."

Mrs. Matthews smiles as she looks at her son. "I think so too."