⌜ chapter eleven ⌟

"Ah, Miss Black?" Mr. Feeny quickly calls her over as she starts to walk past him, Eric, Mr. Turner, Mr. Williams, and Dr. Sorrell. "What are your plans for the next week?"

"Uh... School, work...then little by little I have to buy diapers, onesies, tiny socks — hey, does baby food go bad? Should we wait to buy that?" The brunette asks. "Oh, no, wait, we have to stock up on formula first... That's basically my Monday through Friday, sometimes I sleep. Is my eye twitching?" Letty looks up at Turner, pointing at her right eyelid.

"There, there." The teacher pats her head.

"Who's having a baby?" Mr. William's points between Letty and Eric.

"Who are you poin— Oh." The teenage girl stops when she sees Eric looking at her. "Wait, you didn't answer my question — either of them." Letty looks back at Turner.

"Yes, baby food goes bad. No, your eye is not twitching." He tells her, and she nods. "Why don't you have a baby shower? You could get some help with some things."

"Mm. Whose job is it to throw that?"

"Probably yours, given that you're the best friend."

She's still nodding. "In our motel room? Most people don't like that side of town."

"You're still living in the motel on seventh?" Turner questions, and she pauses.

"That depends... Did I tell you that we moved out?" She asks, her dark eyes narrowed and her eyebrows furrowed.

"You told us that you were living with Jason." He reminds her. "I went over and talked about this with the Matthews' nearly four months ago."

"Oh!" The brunette chuckles. "Yeah, see, we told you that we were living with Jason because you would assume that we moved to the trailer park."

"And what actually happened?"

"My mom and Jason's have a lot in common, and he moved into the motel with us." She nods, and then pauses. "I wasn't supposed to tell you that. I need more sleep." 

"Three kids — one of whom is pregnant — cannot live in a motel in such a bad part of town."

"We're fine. It's really not any different than how we grew up. Hell, it's actually safer than living in my trailer." Letty tells them. "So, uh... Why- Why did you call me over here?" She asks as she looks back at Feeny.

"Remember when we came to the arrangement of you helping Eric get his work done, and done properly?" Mr. Feeny asks.

"Um... Y-Yeah." She nods.

"It seems he has two papers that need to be done, and one that needs to be redone. If you have the time, I think he could use the help." He tells her, and she looks at Eric, who's now staring at the floor by his feet.

"Yeah, of course." Letty agrees as she looks back at Feeny. "I'm always here to help Eric."

"I want you at the Matthews' house after your shift." Turner tells her. "Hope and Jason too."

"Hope has work at the coffee shop."

"Then I expect all of you there tomorrow."

"What if I tell you that it's incredibly pathetic for a girl to continuously show up at her ex-boyfriend's house?"

"I'm serious, Scarlett." Turner tells her. "You, Jason, Hope — at the Matthews' house right after school tomorrow."

"Yes, Dad. Whatever you say, Dad."

"Stop calling me that."

"Sir, yes, sir." The brunette mutters sarcastically as she then walks away from them, obviously annoyed by what just happened.

The next day, Letty knocks on the Matthews' front door, and Mr. Matthews opens it to see three teenagers standing on his porch. "Come on. Everyone's in the kitchen." He turns and walks across the living room to get to the other door.

The brunette sighs as she looks behind her at Hope and Jason, then she turns and walks into the house. Jason closes the door, and then the three of them head into the kitchen where the adults are waiting for them. Mr. and Mrs. Matthews are standing by the sink, Mr. Feeny's near the back door, and Mr. Turner's leaning against the counter by the fridge.

"Can we make this quick?" Hope asks. "I have homework to do and a nap to take."

"We can make this quick." Mr. Matthews nods. "You three can't keep living at the motel with no adult supervision."

"No offense, sir, but none of us have ever had any adult supervision." Jason tells him. "We raised ourselves. I've been taking care of myself since I was five."

"Seven." Letty interjects.

"Ten." Hope chimes in.

"And we don't need adults coming in and taking over now."

"You've been lying to us for months." Turner says, and she looks over at him as Eric walks into the room from upstairs. "You're smart enough to see that that's irresponsible."

"Irresponsible?" She scoffs as Eric then sits on the stairs. "We're all maintaining C's and B's, while working to save up our money. We share a room because it's cheaper for us to share one rent bill and provides safety in numbers. We didn't lie to you, we just didn't clarify who did the moving. None of us have had to answer to anyone but each other in years. That's not changing."

"Three sixteen-year-olds living in a motel isn't legal." Feeny says, and Hope smirks as she looks down, and Letty and Jason glance at each other.

"What?" Turner questions. "What is that look?"

"Neither is about ninety percent of my mother's..." Jason clears his throat. "...hobbies."

"Or Uncle Bobby's." Letty mutters, and he nudges her.

"Or the truancy from when I lived with my dad." Hope adds.

"Or working under the table from ages seven to fourteen." She looks at Mr. Matthews. "Wasn't exactly legal working age when you hired me either."

"No, but I helped you then, and I'm gonna help you now." He says. "You and Hope are moving in here, and Jason's moving in with Turner."

"You didn't even like Shawn living here." Letty argues. "Said that the open-ended arrangement wasn't fair because you have three kids and your own family to take care of. Now, suddenly, your coupons are enough...for two teenage girls, and the twins that Hope has?" She shakes her head.

"You let us worry about the money." He says, and she scoffs as she turns away from them.

"Yeah, we've kinda always been worried about money." Hope tells him. "Our parents weren't the most reliable there either."

"Or did you forget the story about Dean getting arrested for stealing bread and peanut butter so that he could feed Sam?" Letty asks as she looks back at the adults. "We're fine to take care of ourselves, same as we always have."

"Your friend getting arrested was supposed to convince me of that?" Mr. Matthews questions.

"I spent fifteen years living in a trailer that I wasn't wanted in." The brunette says as she turns back to face him. "Now you want me to move into my ex's house when he won't even speak to me?" She shakes her head.

"Yeah, Amy told me about your conversation in the backyard." He says, and they all watch as her eyes seem to darken and her jaw tightens.

"Glad that that's popular gossip, but I'm not looking to be anyone's charity case." She tells them, and Eric's surprised by the amount of anger he sees in her.

"You're not our charity case." Turner says as the doorbell rings.

"No?" She questions as Mrs. Matthews goes to answer the door.

"You showed up on my doorstep and asked me to give Shawn a place to sleep, and then you went back to that dirty motel choking back tears. Us helping you is not charity, it's us caring about you and your well-being." He tells her. "If you can't let us help you for you, then do it so that those babies can sleep in a place with a decent lock on the door."

Their expressions change as Letty and Jason both look over at Hope; her gaze falls to her stomach and she runs her hand over her bump. The men all realize something as they watch the way the three teenagers look at each other — nothing that they do is ever for themselves, it's always for the others. If they willingly accept help now, it won't be because they need it themselves, it'll be because the babies need it. The three of them don't care about their own well-being, they only care for their friends'.

"Scarlett!" Mrs. Matthews calls from the living room, and the teenager's eyebrows furrow as she looks over toward the door that leads out of the kitchen. "Sweetie, it's for you!"

"One of your dad's old contacts?" Jason asks, his voice low.

"No." Letty shakes her head. "The only ones that I trust enough with this address are John and your dad. Bobby would call first, and John wouldn't come here."

"Is something wrong, Miss Black?" Mr. Feeny asks as he and the other men exchange confused looks.

"No." She says, speaking louder now. "Everything's fine."

"Stay here." Jason whispers to Hope as he and Letty start for the living room.

All three men follow after the two teenagers, and Hope keeps the door propped open so that she can hear what happens; Eric stops in the other doorway between the two rooms — the one by the stairs. They all look at the unfamiliar brunette boy that's standing by the front door; he looks like he's probably in his early to mid-twenties.

Letty looks at Jason, and he shakes his head as he shrugs, silently telling her that he has no idea who this guy is. Her eyes land back on the boy, not liking his close proximity to Mrs. Matthews.

"Something we can help you with, buddy?" Jason asks as he takes a step forward, moving in front of Letty in case she needs protection.

"You're the Singer boy, aren't you?"  The stranger asks. "You always were the protective type, but there were usually more of you. Those Delgado girls, and the Winchester boys."

Jason and Letty both glance in the direction of the door that leads to the kitchen before looking back at each other for a second. "If you know us," Letty starts as she turns her attention back to the man. "Then you know that you'd better start explaining who the hell you are and why you're here."

"You really don't recognize me?"

"No. And I don't like your little suspense game either."

"Scarlett, you're never gonna believe—" Shawn stops running when he sees who he just shoved past to get in the front door. "Uh-oh."

"Hunter." The stranger smirks, and Letty shifts uneasy on her feet as Hope then makes her way into the room as well. "You've all grown up a lot."

"Yeah, that's what happens in nine years." The younger boy says accusingly, and he looks back at the brunette across the room. "Uncle Mike called — he was snooping around the trailer park."

"Come on, Scar, I don't really look that different, do I?" He asks, but he sees the way her jaw tightens. She knows who he is now.

"Gotta be honest, I don't really remember what you looked like." Letty says. "I haven't given you much thought in nearly ten years. That's what happens when you're dead to me."

"Scarlett, is he gonna be a problem?" Mr. Matthews asks, and she glances over at him.

"No. 'Cause he was just leaving."

"I am still your family."

"Go to hell, Alec." Letty says as she looks back at him, taking a step forward. "Family? What do you know about family? Besides how to abandon yours."

"I talked to John." He tells her. "I know about Dad."

"That's fascinating." She nods. "Dad killed himself a year ago. I didn't need you then, and I don't need you now."

"You don't want to know why I left?"

"You always were a mama's boy."

Alec nods. "You always did hide behind your anger."

"Who's hiding?" She questions. "I used to wonder about you — where you went, why you left, if you were ever coming back. But the longer you were gone, the less it mattered. I stopped crying over the loss of my big brother years ago."

"He used to beat me." He tells her, and she scoffs as she looks down. "What? That's not a good enough reason for you?"

"No, I'm sorry. Genuinely." Letty says as she looks at him. "Nobody should know what it feels like to have their father hit them. Not any part of the abuse. I'm sorry that you know that pain, that fear, that kind of betrayal. I'm sorry that you went through that. Now get out."

He takes a deep breath as he looks at her. "He started hitting you after I left, didn't he?"

She shrugs, no emotion on her face. "If you have to ask..."

"I'm sorry, Scar." He says.

"I survived." The brunette says. "No thanks to you."

"He beat and abused me for eleven years, and he did the same to Mom for so many before that."

"Well, I guess if it's a competition, then you win. Your prize is getting to live your life as far away from me as possible." She tells him.

"Scarlett..."

"What, Alec?" She questions. "You think that I don't know how bad you had it? I have been working basically every day since I was seven years old, and every dime that I made went to him before he left. Every time Shawn asked me for money, and I scraped up what I could — Dad beat me when he found out that it was missing. I went out with my friend to take his little sister Trick-Or-Treating, and Dad nearly broke my ribs because I got home late, and he was even more pissed because I was with a boy. And then he beat Miller to a pulp for trying to protect me... So, I'm sorry that it was so bad that being alone was better than being stuck there, but I don't forgive you for leaving me alone. I found people that I could actually depend on, and I survived. So whatever it is that brought you back here — guilt, money problems, a five-step program with your shrink — I don't care. You're off the hook, go live your life somewhere else."

He swallows the lump in his throat. "I came back because I've got a steady job, and means to take care of us both now. You're my little sister, and I love you."

"Love, huh?" Letty scoffs as she looks at her brother. "You claim you love me, but you left me, and it took you nine years to look back. Parents are supposed to love their children, but ours abused, neglected, and abandoned us. Shawn's parents love him, but we haven't seen either one of them in months. Dean loves Hope, but he turned his back on her and their kids... A couple months ago, my boyfriend told me that he loved me — it was the first time anyone had ever told me that they loved me. And I couldn't say it back to him because I've never known what love is supposed to feel like, so we broke up... If love is leaving the people that you say you love, then I don't want it." She shakes her head and then turns around to go back into the kitchen.

Eric quickly turns to go after her, but she's out the back door before he even makes it to the other room. And then she's just gone.

"What are you really doing here?" Shawn asks as he looks up at Alec. "You've been gone for almost ten years. Why come back now?"

"It took a long time for me to get my life together." The older boy says and Eric walks back into the living room then. "But I did, and I want to make things right for my family."

"Now you have a sense of familial responsibility?" Jason questions, and he turns to him.

"You're Bobby's son, right?" Alec asks, but he doesn't answer. "I don't expect you to understand any of this. You were raised by a good man—"

"You got one part right, and I'm not referring to who my father is." He cuts him off. "He is a damn good man...but I raised myself. You don't know a damn thing about me, so let me clue you in a little here. My family is a little unorthodox. We're not blood, but we will spill it to protect each other. Scar is my family, not yours. And until or unless she decides she wants to see you, I don't want to see your face ever again. You show up unannounced and unwelcome again — here, of all places — and I will kick your ass six ways to Sunday...then I'll call the guy who really does love her like a brother. You'll be lucky if you can still walk away on your own after he's through with you."

He smirks. "Nobody can do a threat quite like a Singer...except maybe a Winchester." He nods as he looks between Jason and Hope. "You're talking about one of the twins, aren't you?"

"Do you find this amusing?" His eyebrows furrow. "'Cause I don't. You go near her again, and I'll make you regret it. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal."

Hope and Jason look at each other after he walks out the front door. "Well, that was fun." She says sarcastically, and he lets out a deep exhale as his jaw tightens. "Alec Black, ladies and gentlemen. The last man I ever thought I'd see again."

"Right up there with your father." Jason says as he starts for the kitchen, heading out the back door.

"What the hell was that?" Turner asks, and Hope looks over at him.

"If Alec shows up again... The beginning of World War III." She tells him before following after her friends.