Sleep eluded Sam, but it didn't feel as bad when he had other things to focus on. He'd thought that the flight to Texas would have him spiraling further down his self-destructive ladder, but Kyle and Kay figured something out that prevented his mind from wondering down long, deserted hallways.

They seated him between them and launched into a long exposition of every place and every person who mattered for their little adventure. It was hard to focus on Christine when he had to remember the name of the members of Kyle's band and the basketball team, and Max's employees and horses. And even if he was mostly still down in the dumps, Sam had to admit that their enthusiasm was contagious. So much that Sam actually wouldn't have minded attending the wedding of Sonia and Dustin, Kyle's former band mates.

Whenever there was a break in conversation, Sam would make a mental list of names and places and who used to date who in high school, so by the time they landed, he hadn't had time to get depressed. There was one tiny, unsettling detail, though.

"Are you alright?" Kay asked Kyle as he picked up their carry-on bag from the luggage belt.

"Yeah, sure," he answered. His voice was pretty good at hiding things, but his stiff posture, not so much.

Sam grabbed his own luggage, wondering what was up. It was true Kay did most of the talking as they landed and walked around the airport, but he hadn't thought it was because Kyle had fallen silent for some reason.

"Is this about seeing Max?" Kay asked, shining a little bit of light on the situation.

Kyle huffed. "No." Which Sam took to mean yes.

"It's going to be alright," Kay said soothingly. "I'm sure he's not mad at you or anything."

"Mad at me?" Kyle raised his eyebrows. "I'm not sure I'm done being mad at him."

"Kyle, it's been almost five years!"

"We've been together that long?" Kyle asked with a grin.

"What's going on?" Sam asked, a little lost in their exchange.

Kyle sighed. "When I came home for college... Max lied to me to get me there. And because he did that, I lost track of Kay. Hence major misery. Not sure how I feel about him stabbing me in the back."

"But now you know why he did it," Kay said, putting her hands on her hips. "Honestly, give the guy a break."

"We'll see about that," Kyle mumbled as they headed for the exit.

Sam followed, scratching his head. Apparently other people beside him had serious drama in their lives. He hadn't known about Max, hadn't even bothered to ask. But now he was a little nervous about seeing his uncle as well.

But when Sam saw the honest smile on his face, he couldn't help but smile back. Max had the same blond hair and blue eyes as his sister, and was shorter than them which surprised Sam a little. Since he'd never seen his uncle in real life, he'd always supposed he was as tall as them, or taller, since he was an adult and everything.

Turned out he was just a little taller than Kay who rushed to hug him. He also wore a light-blue sweater, stone grey jeans and boots, looking much younger than his actual age.

"So glad to see you," he said to Kay, hugging her back. He then threw a fleeting glance towards Kyle before focusing on Sam. "Hi, Sam. So glad to finally see you."

Sam hugged his uncle back, once again feeling like a complete idiot for thinking it was normal to not see close relatives. "Nice to finally see you, too."

"We're going to have so much fun," Max said, grinning at him. "Scout's honor."

"You'll see, Sam," Kay said, clasping her hands together. "The Ranch is wonderful. I missed it so much."

Sam just nodded and was glad to see everyone happy. Well, almost everyone. Kyle was still stiff and not talking. Max seemed to notice that, because he finally turned to him.

"Kyle..."

"Oh, shut it," Kyle mumbled, totally rude. "Did you bring it?"

"Of course." Max searched his front pocket and pulled out a card.

Kyle finally lightened up as he took it. "Sweet. See you at home." And just like that, he left.

"See you soon," Kay said and trotted after him.

Sam shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Um, should I ride with you?"

"Nah." Max still looked amused even if Kyle had practically blown him off. "You don't want to miss this."

Sam finally headed out after Kyle and Kay, and by the time he caught up with them, they'd stopped in front of a red Ferrari. Sam faltered, unsure if he was imagining things, but Kyle unlocked the car with a grin and tossed the luggage in the trunk.

A lot of things suddenly started making sense. "This is your old car?" Sam couldn't help asking.

"Hell yeah," Kyle said with a laugh.

Sam got into the tiny backseat, a multitude of thoughts spinning around his head. Kyle had been nineteen when he'd moved back to Chicago, which meant he'd had this car as a very young, very irresponsible teenager. Who bought a kid a Ferrari? No wonder Kyle constantly complained that everything was slow. That car was a monster, aspect which Kyle decided to prove right then and there.

"Shouldn't we wait for Max?" he stuttered.

"He'll catch up," Kyle said. "I bet he replaced his Lamborghini with a new one. My car is old."

Yeah. Old. Sure. Seemed to work fine, though. Sam dug his fingers into the seat, trying to focus on something else but the speed. He wasn't a slow driver either, but this seemed a little extreme.

"God, I missed this car," Kyle said.

"I missed your music," Kay replied, running her fingers on the touchscreen and changing folders with the speed of light.

It was nice to see them so excited, but the little excitement Sam had managed to gather slipped as he started feeling left out. It was like entering a life he didn't belong in. His heart ached when he realized this was how Kyle must have felt when he came home, but a lot worse because Max had betrayed him and it wasn't temporary.

This wasn't his world. His world was Chicago and being a cheated on boyfriend. He groaned and knocked his head against the window. Once they finally got there, he was grateful for more distractions. 

Max's ranch was surrounded by a tall, grey stone fence that blocked any view of the house and seemed to go on forever.

Kyle pressed a small remote control and opened the tall wooden gates. Kay squealed in delight and clapped her hands together and Sam wondered just how much time she'd actually spent there.

They headed up the drive which seemed to go on for half a mile and led to the house. It was just two story and painted in a pleasant cream color, but Sam could tell it covered a lot of ground. There was a large patio with columns running to the side of it in a comfortable hacienda style. Even if it was obviously luxurious, it looked more like a home than anything Sam had ever seen.

There was no perfectly manicured lawn, but clumps of plants, trees and flowers spread between winding gravel paths. As Kyle drove around the house, Sam saw the large stables and paddocks. In the distance, beyond the back fence, oil pumps dipped away which explained what was fueling Max's expensive tastes.

Kyle finally pulled into the garage next to red and black Ducati and cut off the engine. "Hard to believe I'm back here."

Kay took his hand and Sam just wanted out of there. The two were obviously going through some deep emotions being back where everything had started, but Sam couldn't handle other people's dramas or happiness at the moment. He had his own and it sucked, so he wanted out of the car and into the house where he could be distracted by some food.

Not that he was hungry or anything, but anything was better than going down memory lane with two very in love people. So he figured out where the door was and entered a long, carpeted hallway. The noise of pots and pans come from a room on the left and Sam headed that way, barely noticing the paintings of desert and horses on the wall. 

He could hear Kyle and Kay behind him, but it only made him want to go faster. He stopped in front of what turned out to be the kitchen. There was a young woman with dark hair washing something in the sink.

Kyle pushed him to the side. "Honey, I'm home-- Holy shit!"

The woman turned with a smile to reveal a very pregnant belly. "Hi, Kyle," she said with a small trace of an accent.

"Hi, Rosario," Kyle answered, his tone hesitant.

"What's up--holy cow!" Kay's mouth dropped opened to as she caught sight of the pregnant lady and Sam was starting to get a little confused.

"Is it...?" Kay asked, her voice small.

Rosario laughed. "Yes, it is."

"Max!" Kyle bellowed, turning back down the corridor and almost bursting Sam's eardrums.

"Oh, he shouldn't yell," Rosario said, though she looked amused.

Kay's eyes shifted the to other woman's hands. "Yes, he should."

"What?" Max called back, his voice amused and Sam couldn't help but admire him for not being intimidated by an angry Kyle. "Met your godson?"

"My what son?" Kyle stopped his advance down the hall and Max bypassed all of them and entered the kitchen, grinning like a maniac.

Rosario's own smile broadened as Max came next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. At that moment, Sam finally understood that the woman was probably his new aunt and he'd had no idea. Though apparently Kyle and Kay were just as lost.

"Are you still..." Kay stuttered.

Rosario let out a musical laugh, but she turned to Kyle instead of answering Kay. "I took your advice. I don't know how you knew, but you were right. I quit about five days after you left."

"You did not quit, I fired you," Max interjected, but Rosario just elbowed him in the stomach.

"So I went to college," she continued as if nothing had happened. "Got my degree in large - scale management."

"And she's been running the ranch ever since," Max added, squeezing her tighter against him.

Sam felt nauseous again. Another fairy tale with an obvious happy ending. Texas was really a magical place. Maybe he should move there and hope he'd find some semblance of happiness.

"You hired her back?" Kyle asked, raising his eyebrows.

Max laughed. "Hell no! She's doing it because it's ours. Or at least it will be in a few days."

On cue, Rosario turned and and picked up something from next to the sink. It turned out to be an engagement ring she slipped on her finger. It was a delicate, discreet thing, not the huge rock that might have been expected of Max. Either way, Sam felt completely left behind.

"Congratulations?" he said since no one else was saying anything.

"Thank you," Max answered as if it wasn't weird at all.

"Well then..." Kyle finally said. "Glad to see you're finally settling down. I guess you were right. You needed to get on with your own life."

The affirmation chased the smile off both Max and Rosario's faces. The color drained from their cheeks and they actually looked scared.

"No," she said. "It wasn't like that."

"That was bullshit, Kyle, and you should know that by now," Max interjected, talking over her.

"It was exactly because you said--"

"Because I missed you so much and realized you were right--"

They both stopped and Sam turned to Kyle to see him finally smiling in a way he only rarely did at their mother.

"It's okay. I know."

And that was all it took for everyone to start hugging at random and Kyle to lose his tension. Sam watched all this as his mind put two and two together. His uncle was expecting a child and was on the verge of getting married and he hadn't known. Kyle hadn't known. Which meant there was a huge chance his mother didn't either.

"So, when is the wedding?" he blurted out.

"I was waiting for you guys to get here. So you'll be attending two weddings."

"If you can put it off for a few more days, Jessie and Jimmy will get here, too."

"That's great."

"What about the rest of the family?"

Everyone fell silent at Sam's question. Max finally heaved a sigh, but didn't lose his smile.

"Family is a complicated thing, Sam. What better proof is there than us just now seeing each other? So I'm taking the best I can get and rolling with that."

"But what about Mom? She's your twin." And Sam could never imaging taking such huge steps in his life without Tom there. Then again, he couldn't imagine doing any of this without all his brothers. Strangely, he felt pretty sure he'd pull it off without his parents.

"We're not like you," Max said, as if reading his mind. "I mean we were close as kids, but we drifted apart as adults. The fact that I haven't seen you kids since you were babies should say enough."

"But that's not right," Sam whispered.

Kyle clasped his shoulder. "A lot of things are not right, Sam. But if there's one thing I've learned since living in Chicago it's to leave people to their own ghosts and take what I can."

Sam turned to him and for a moment felt like telling him what Fredier had said, that the only reason he'd been so unreasonable was because he was afraid what had happened to Sam would happen to everyone. And even if Kay was right there and Sam loved her as much as ever, the possibility that she'd leave and destroy Kyle had never felt so real.

The thought was broken once Max made some random joke about ghosts and everyone loosened up. Sam smiled along though he hadn't really taken it in, his hazy, sleep deprived mind playing tricks on him.

"Go help Sam settle in," Rosario said, finally snapping him back to reality.

"I'll show you!" Kay said, once again seeming very excited.

She took Sam's hand and dragged him back out into the hallway, then into the living room which was filled with cream furniture, and up the stairs. She lingered a little next to one of the doors, but moved on and entered the room next to it.

It was a regular, comfortable room with a queen-size bed, dresser, end tables and a desk. It looked a lot like a nice hotel room with its own bathroom. Sam glanced around and dropped his luggage next to the bed. This was so obviously a guestroom.

"We're right next door if you need us," Kay said.

Sam nodded and watched Kay leaving. He could hear Kyle coming up the stairs, them talking to each other, Kay giggling. The door closed, but he could still hear their movements and talking, even if he couldn't understand the words. The movement of people who were happy.

It hurt. Being alone hurt. So he left his luggage there, unopened and headed next door. He only had to knock once before Kyle called at him to come in and Sam entered what was obviously Kyle's childhood bedroom.

It was larger than the guest room. The bed he and Kay were already slumped over was a weird size, obviously a single but wide enough to fit two people. They were both on their stomachs, pouring over some papers. The luggage was next to their bed, just as unopened as Sam's.

"Sam, it's going to be so great," Kay said, rolling on her back to get a good look at him. "Kyle just talked to Joey and the band is booked for the week!"

"Band?" Sam looked from her to Kyle who had an excited grin on his face.

"That's right, kid. Since we're all in town, we're having a little reunion. So now's your chance to see what my life was really like in high school."

The thought was interesting, and Sam couldn't deny he felt a little curious. Especially since one corner of Kyle's room was dedicated to four guitars, two acoustic and two electric. He'd always known Kyle could play and had heard him at home. He was amazing. But hearing him with an actual bad was something else entirely.

"That sounds cool," he said, looking away from their grinning faces and at the walls.

They were covered in maps, posters and next to the desk, a wooden panel filled with pinned photographs. Sam walked to the panel and looked at the photos. They were of Kyle and his friends, of Max and Sophie, a few even of Kyle and Kay. And then there was one of him and Jerry.  

Sam smiled as he picked it up. Kyle had a photo of them. Even if he'd always felt it was him who cared more about talking to his oldest brother, Sam had never had a picture of him pinned to the wall or anywhere for that matter.

"Want something to eat?" Kyle asked.

Sam pondered on the question as he watched Kyle and Kay in their natural habitat. They looked a few years younger and so worry free he couldn't help but feel a bit of jealousy. He was supposed to go back in time and forget about everything, not them.

"I still don't think I can hold anything in properly. Maybe I'll get some toast later."

"You should try and get some sleep."

Truer words had never been spoken. Sam's brain already felt like so much mush. So even if he'd come to them to feel less alone, he suddenly felt the need to be by himself. It was late enough to go to sleep. All he had to do was close his eyes and hope it would work.

Instead, he turned on one of the lamps next to his bed and unpacked. He could hear Kyle and Kay in the other room, talking, Kay giggling, laughing, letting out a scream.

"I can hear you!" he called through the wall, just in case.

"Gotcha!" Kyle called back, sounding amused.

The noise stopped after that and Sam realized he didn't like the silence. Not like he could tell them to keep talking now. So he focused on the motion, on each step, on each breath as he took a shower and got ready for bed.

As he finally lay in bed, his eyes stinging, his mind was for once blank, lacking the energy to think about anything. The door to Kyle's room opened, and Sam could hear his brother and Kay sneaking out. To where and why, he had no idea. He also didn't care enough to spare it more than a few seconds of thought.

For a moment, he really though he'd managed to drift off, so the disappointment was twice as bad when a flash of light broke through the darkness and he realized his eyes were still open.

He got out of bed and headed for the window. The porch light was on and Kyle and Kay were on a small patch of grass, both of them barefoot and in their pajamas. Sam had no idea what they were doing there, but it became sort of obvious when the sprinklers came on. Kyle avoided it with ease, but Kay got a facefull of water.

They were acting like teenagers. Like carefree, lovestruck teenagers. Running around to avoid the water, wrestling each other to the ground. 

Sam pursed his lips. It hurt so much he almost wanted to laugh. So he went back to bed and closed his eyes instead. Tom had been right. He wasn't the center of the universe and there was still happiness in this world. And with that thought, he finally fell asleep.

♠️♠️♠️

Finally updating again. I was hoping to spring the surprise on you by now but life got in the way so I'd figured I'd churn out another chapter before that happens.

Sam is stil a downer but I hope you enjoyed being back in Texas and seeing Max and his little surprise... How about that? 😅

Any thoughts are greatly appreciated. We're having more fun next chapter before we go back to more serious stuff.