⌜ chapter four ⌟

"What am I gonna do for a letter of recommendation for college?" Eric asks as he and Letty stop at her locker. "Feeny will never write one for me."

"He's not your only teacher, you know?" She says, and he nods.

"Yeah, but a recommendation will look better from him than anyone else." He says, and she knows that he's right. Feeny is a well respected teacher, as he has been for many years. It's likely that he knows people in the enrollment offices of some decent colleges.

"We'll figure something out." The brunette says as she closes her locker, looking up at her boyfriend. "You're a lot smarter than you give yourself credit for, Eric. Things will work out just fine." She tells him, and he just smiles as he looks at her.

"You're the best, you know that?" Eric says, and she smiles as she rests her hand on the side of his face. The brunette stretches up onto her tippy-toe and presses a soft kiss to his lips.

"Scarlett?" Mr. Turner gets Letty's attention, and she turns to look up at the young teacher.

"Yeah?" She leans into Eric's side when he wraps his arm around her shoulders, both of them waiting for Turner to continue.

"I was hoping for some advice on how to get through to Shawn. He missed school today, and that includes a History test this morning." He tells her, and she just nods. "Look, I know that he hurt you, and that he still hasn't apologized, but we're talking about his schooling here."

"I didn't leave him, Turner, he shoved me out of his life. I want to help him, but I don't know how." She says. "I obviously don't know anything about getting through to him. He may be my family, but he doesn't care about anything that I have to say anymore."

"Scarlett, he cares more about you than he does anyone else."

"Then why hasn't he apologized? Why doesn't he so much as look at me when we're both over at the Matthews'?" She shakes her head. "He's not so little anymore, and he's clearly decided that he doesn't need or want me in his life. Can't help someone who doesn't want to be helped."

His expression falls as he looks at her. "I'm sorry you feel that way, Scarlett."

"It's not that it's how I feel. It's what is." She tells him. "You can't force help on him any more than you could force help on me. Shawn is too much like me for his own good, which means he's gonna make a lot of mistakes. Best you can do is see him through them and help him grow. He likes you, Turner; don't be so down on yourself."

The next day, Letty's sitting in the hallway at school talking to Jason on the bench by the steps, and a familiar voice gets her attention. "Well, well, well, if it isn't my favorite tough girl." Harley says as he walks over to them, and they both look up.

"Keiner." Letty's eyebrows furrow as she and her friend stand. "They let you out of reform school already?" She asks in disbelief.

"I busted out." He tells her, and she nods.

"Of course you did. And what do you want?"

"Did I see you at the motel on seventh last night?" He asks, and she nods. "So, you moved out of the trailer park, huh?"

"Yeah, well, my trailer drove away. Didn't really leave me with very many options."

"I hate it when that happens."

"What do you want, Harley? I have somewhere that I need to be." She says as she slings her bag over her shoulder.

"What do you know about this Griff character?" He asks, and she chuckles.

"Is someone feeling a little replaced because his goons found themselves a new leader?"

"You irritate me, Black." He says, and she rolls her dark eyes.

"I have one class with him, and he ordered a masseuse." The brunette tells him. "He's arrogant, self-righteous, incredibly annoying. Less thug, like yourself, more...delinquent."

"Interesting."

"Like I said, we gotta go. You have fun with Griff." She pats his arm as she and Jason walk past him, heading out to the parking lot.

"You got Hope's homework, right?"  The blue-eyed boy asks as he walks alongside her.

"Mhm. Thanks for being our ride to the clinic."

"Yeah, of course. I'm here for anything that you guys need." Jason tells her. "Just as long as you don't make me change any diapers after the baby's born." He adds, and she chuckles.

"I think it'd be wise to keep the job between she and I anyway." Letty says, and he nods. He has absolutely no knowledge of babies, nor does he want any.

—

Letty walks into the Matthews' kitchen with her eyes half shut, and Eric quickly makes his way over to her. "Hey, are you alright?" He asks as he brushes her wild hair out of her face.

"That depends, can I have some coffee?" She asks, and he looks over at his mom as the teenage girl leans against him. Eric then wraps his arm around his girlfriend and rubs her back as she rests her head on his shoulder.

"What's going on, sweetie?" Mrs. Matthews asks as she walks over to the two teenagers with a freshly-filled coffee mug.

"There are bodily fluids all over the motel room." She yawns as she takes the mug. "But I guess I should get used to it. It's only going to get worse after the babies are born."

"Babies?" Mr. Matthews questions. "Did she just say babies? Son, do I have to kill you?"

"Only way she's currently having any babies is if it's Jesus 2.0." The teenage boy quickly tells his father, who immediately looks relieved.

"Did you say babies?" Mrs. Matthews asks. "As in more than one?"

"Jason and I took Hope to the clinic yesterday — I hate that ultrasound tech..." The brunette takes a deep breath before drinking some of the coffee. "Hope is seven weeks along, and having twins. We got back to the motel, and she kept puking. I don't know how much of it is from the pregnancy, and how much of it is from anxiety. Even I'm a little nauseous... Can you be nauseous from sleep deprivation?"

"It certainly doesn't help."

"I think I'm dying. Eric, am I dying?" Letty asks as she rests her forehead on his shoulder.

"You are a little cold." He tells her. "Let me grab you one of my sweaters before we leave." He gets her to stand up straight so that he can head upstairs.

"How are you doing, hun?" Mrs. Matthews asks as she walks over and starts combing through the teenager's hair with her fingers.

"I'm okay, I'm not the one housing two tiny barf-buckets." The brunette says. "I am a little tired though. I was up all night with Hope because she's been sick, and I didn't want to leave her on the bathroom floor all by herself."

"Well, where's her dad?"

"He split right after she told him that she was pregnant." She sets her coffee down and tries to rub some of the sleep from her eyes. "He's not really the nicest guy. He won't be coming back."

"What about your uncle, the one that you were staying with?" Mr. Matthews asks as his son makes his way back down the stairs with a sweater in his hands.

"John left — he travels a lot. He probably doesn't know that she's pregnant, but Hope said that she talked to Dean, and he doesn't want to be a father. He's been raising Sam since he was four and Sam was six months, doesn't want to start over. I think it's cowardly, but I also have no say."

"Wait... Is it just you and Hope living in the motel? You don't have anyone else there with you?"

"No." She yawns and leans into Eric when he walks over and rests his hand on the small of her back. "It's just me and Hope, but we're okay. We're used to being left alone while our father's are traveling. We'll be just fine."

"Why don't you two get to school?" Mrs. Matthews suggests, and Eric takes Letty's backpack for her as they start for the back door.

Halfway through school, Letty's walking down the main hallway and she sees Harley and Griff standing outside of Mr. Turner's classroom. "Oh, look, a bitch fight." The brunette chuckles as she pulls Eric's sweater tighter around herself, then she sees Joey and Frankie. "And the objects of their possession."

"Shut up, Black." Harley glances at her over his shoulder.

"Ooh, cranky thug." She mutters, and Griff looks at her for a second before returning his attention to the raven-haired boy in front of him.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Griff questions, talking to Harley. "See, the sooner you hit me, the sooner Feeny finds out, the sooner you end up back in reform school. But I'm sure a smart guy like you already figured that out."

"He's a thinker, this one." Harley says after glancing at Joey and Frankie.

"So, the fight's over." Joey says with an awkward smile as he steps forward. "Who's up for a little Chinese?" He asks, and Frankie raises his hand behind him.

"I want to leave, but it's like a train wreck. I can't look away." Letty mutters.

"I'm a thinker too." Harley continues. "Boys, do him." He says as he steps away from them.

"Uh, by- by do him, you must mean Frankie, uh, the Enforcer. Not me, Joey, 'cause let's face it — I'm the brain."

"Are you though?" Letty questions.

"I'm waitin', Frankie." Harley looks at him.

"Alright, I know what I gotta do." The bigger of the two goons says as he steps forward and then looks at Griff. "I'm sorry about this, but... Griff, I quit. Harley, I quit. I can't be a lackey no more."

"That might be the smartest thing that you've ever said." Letty says as he steps away from the two boys. "I mean, kind of." She shakes her head because of his poor grammar.

"Frankie, what are you saying?" Joey questions.

"I'm saying exactly what you should say. It'll do a lot of good for you, Joey. Come on, from in here." Frankie points at his own chest.

Joey takes a step forward then. "I don't wanna be a lackey no more either. I wanna be my own man. There, I said it. Now, that's what you call an epiphany."

"Isn't that what Shawn and Cory told you two to do after Harley got shipped off to reform school, and you wanted a new leader?" Letty asks, looking between Frankie and Joey. "You couldn't do this months ago, spare yourselves the drama?"

"Why are you still here?" Harley asks as he looks over at her.

"That is a good question...and I have no answer." She shakes her head.