⌜ chapter twelve ⌟

Jason walks over to Hope in the school hallway, and she glances up at him. "You see Cory and Shawn in the cheerleader uniforms?" He asks, and the brunette nods.

"Mhm. And how is it living with the teacher and the newest member of the cheer squad?"

"Gonna be short lived. Turner had me call my dad to tell him what's going on, and he wants me to go and live with him." He tells her, and she turns to face him.

"You're leaving?" She asks, and he nods.

"And it's gonna be boring there too. Apparently my dad and John got into it again, Dad threatened to blast him full of buckshot — had the gun cocked and everything." He says, and she raises her eyebrows.

"Damn."

"How's life at the Matthews'?" Jason asks.

"Morgan has problems with personal space." She tells him. "Meaning she keeps touching my stomach. I have to remind myself that the Matthews are good people, and I can't smack her."

"I don't envy you there."

"When do you move?"

"Next week." He says, and she nods.

"Have we gotten past all of the small-talk now?" She asks, and he sighs.

"I don't know where she is, Hope. Alec showing up really caught her off guard, and that wasn't how she wanted things to go with Eric. She wanted to talk to him, explain why she just walked off the way that she did." He reminds her. "I've never really known her to be the type to bolt like this, and I have no idea where to look for her."

"Yeah, I know." Hope sighs. "So what do we do now?"

"We wait for her to come back."

"Any idea how long that'll be?" She asks, and he shakes his head.

"Hey, can I talk to you guys for a minute?" Eric gets their attention as he walks over them.

"Are we mad at him?" Hope whispers to Jason.

"What for?" The blue-eyed boy questions, his brow furrowed as he looks down at her.

"For breaking up with our best friend and breaking her heart."

"No. Nobody's mad at him."

"Fine. I have to pee." The brunette says, and then walks away from the two boys.

"Have you seen her?" Eric asks, and Jason shakes his head.

"She was gone by the time we got back to the motel, and all of her stuff was gone too. We don't know where she went." He tells him.

"I didn't even know that she had a brother."

He nods. "I think it's pretty obvious why she never talks about him."

Eric clears his throat as he looks at him. "You know, I... I kinda thought that you and Letty were starting to...date." He admits, and Jason's eyebrows furrow again.

"And what the hell gave you that impression?" He questions.

"I saw you kiss her that day at Chubbie's while I was playing pool. And Cory's comments on the subway didn't exactly help all of this."

"Dude, she has been moping ever since you guys broke up. I finally convinced her to have some fun for a night, that's all. And as for Chubbie's, I was just comforting her — trying to keep her from crying. She was upset about seeing you trying to impress that blonde chick." Jason tells him. "She never even came back to the motel until the next morning. She stayed at Chubbie's all night to watch you play."

Eric shakes his head. "When I saw her the next morning, she said that she was just stopping in to get coffee before work." He argues.

"She didn't have any coffee when she got back, and she didn't have work until that night. She slept until she had to get ready for her shift. And she was tired when she went in, hadn't gotten enough sleep." He says. "Eric, the only person that she has ever really had feelings for is you. She only dated Danny because after watching you date a bunch of different girls, she didn't think that you'd ever feel the way that she did."

"Really?"

"And it didn't help when you told her to go out with him." Jason adds. "Look, man, Scar's like a sister to me. She's my best friend, my family; and I will always look out for her. But there is nothing going on between us, and there never will be. Now, I gotta get to class, but I'll let you know if Hope or I hear anything from her." He tells him, and Eric nods.

—

Letty walks into the Matthews' kitchen from the backyard and she stops when she sees Eric resting on Frankie's dad's shoulder. "Somebody get him a bone." Eric cries as he looks at Cory.

"Did I walk into an instant replay from last year or something? What's going on?" The brunette asks, immediately gaining everyone's attention.

"Letty..."

"Put him down, Stechino."

"Make me, little lady." Frankie's father says, and she smiles as she sets her duffle bag on the kitchen floor and takes a few steps toward the table.

"I was taught how to fight by a Marine who served in the Vietnam War, and I grew up in a trailer park — I don't fight fair." She tells him. "Put him down before I take your shiny wrestling belt."

He pauses a moment and looks at his son. "You think she could?"

"I believe it is a possibility." Frankie Jr. tells him, so he sets Eric back on his feet.

"You've had everyone worried." Mrs. Matthews says, and Letty nods as she looks over at her.

"I know, and I'm sorry." The teenage girl takes a deep breath. "I honestly never thought that I'd see my brother again, so him just showing up here... I didn't know how to react, and I still don't really know what to think of him coming back."

"Are you alright?"

"Honestly?" She shakes her head. "No."

"Francis, would you excuse us please?" Mrs. Matthews asks Frankie Sr., and he and his son leave.

"I've never really had good parents, and I didn't really think that I had any...parental figures who care about what happens to me. And it's not that you and Mr. Matthews haven't done enough for me to see it or..." Letty swallows the lump in her throat, trying to refrain from crying as Mr. Matthews then walks into the kitchen. "When people leave you behind so easily, it's hard to believe that you're important enough for anyone to actually care and stick around. It's different with Hope and Jason, you know? They were left too, makes us all cling to each other that much harder..." She shakes her head as she looks down.

"Where have you been for the past week?" Mr. Matthews asks, and she shrugs as she looks at him.

"Motel in the next town over." She tells him. "Hiding like a coward." She scoffs, shaking her head.

"I'm sorry." Shawn speaks up, and everyone looks at him. "And I'm not just hoping that you'll forgive and forget, and we can go back to normal. I know that I hurt you, Scarlett, and I know that I never should've said what I said. I was angry and I was lashing out, but you gotta believe me when I say that I had no idea it was that bad with Alec. I knew that bringing him up would get you off my back for a few days, but I never expected you to leave for the whole Summer and then not speak to me for months after that.

"You never seemed that bad. I knew your dad sucked, but you hid everything from me. Before everything came out at school, I had no idea that your dad hit you. And I didn't know why Alec left, and I had no idea that you would be that hurt when I said... I was wrong, Scarlett. I do need you in my life, and I never should've said that you were unwanted. I want you around, I need you to keep me from being an idiot, because I obviously fail at that on my own. You're my big sister, and I..." He clears his throat as he looks down, wiping a tear from his cheek.

"Come on, kid. Don't be as broken or screwed in the head as I am." Letty says.

"I love you, Scarlett. Please don't hate me."

"I don't hate you, Shawn. Trust me, that emotion, I do well." She shakes her head. "And I could never hate my little brother. My occasionally incredibly idiotic little brother."

Shawn rushes forward then and wraps his arms around her, causing her to stumble back a couple steps. She hugs him as he buries his head in her neck, trying to keep from crying. He knew that he'd hurt her, and it became pretty clear that it was bad, but after what happened last week when Alec showed up, he was afraid that he'd never get her back.

"I forgive you." Letty tells him. At the moment, that's the closest she can get to I love you too.

"You can't keep living in motel rooms." Mr. Matthews says, and Letty looks over at him as her brother straightens himself up.

"I know."

"You're welcome to stay here. In fact, we want you here so that we know you're safe." He tells her, and she offers him a small smile.

"Thank you." The brunette nods, and then her dark eyes find Eric.

"Why don't we give you two some privacy?" Mrs. Matthews says. "Cory, Shawn..." She motions for the younger two to leave the room, and then she and her husband leave as well.

Hesitantly, Letty and Eric each take a few steps forward, until they're standing by the kitchen table. "None of this has gone how I wanted it to." She says as he looks down at her. "I was trying to figure things out, and then I was going to talk to you. I wanted to try and explain why I didn't say it back, why I... Well, I don't really know why I just walked away. I guess it was the surprise and confusion with all my... But I never wanted to hurt you, Eric." She says, and he nods.

"I know. I'm sorry for the way I acted." He says, and she shakes her head.

"We were both in an impossible situation. There's no way you could've known." She says. "I didn't even know that I would..." She sighs.

"If I had known that you never heard it, I would've been saying it all the time. I've always loved you, Letty." Eric tells her, and she smiles as she looks up at him. "I mean, I definitely love you differently now than I did when we were just friends, but... I still loved you."

"I think that I... This has all been really difficult trying to wrap my head around, and I'm lost on a lot of things. I don't know where I stand with...love on anything, but this is what I do know." She takes a deep breath. "I need you. You are one of the few people on the planet that I have no idea how to live without... You're my home, Eric."

"And I'm here, I'm never going anywhere." He says as he reaches up and brushes her hair away from her face. "I know that...I should really let you figure some things out before we date again."

"Probably." She reluctantly agrees.

"And I'm gonna be your supportive best friend for everything you're going through." He says, and she chuckles as she looks into his light brown eyes. "But can I kiss you just one more time before we go back to being just friends?"

Letty nods, and he leans down and presses his lips firmly against hers. Eric's hands rest on either side of her face as her fingers curl around his shirt. The kiss lasts a few moments longer, and then he pulls back and rests his forehead against hers. After another few more seconds, he wraps his arms around her, and she rests her head on his shoulder, her forehead against his neck.

"I hope you know that I'm never gonna stop telling you that I love you, and every time I'm gonna mean that I'm totally in love with you." He says, and she smiles.

"I don't want you to stop." Letty says. "Just try not to get upset with me too much, 'cause it'll probably take me awhile before I can say it back."

"I have patience, especially when something's worth the wait." He tells her, and her smile widens. "Take all the time you need, I understand. More than that, I understand that I'll never understand what you've been through. But I'm here for you."