⌜ chapter twenty-three ⌟

Eric makes his way back into the kitchen from the backyard with his dad following right behind him. "That's the last bag, the car's all loaded." The teenager says as he walks up beside Letty and rests his hand on the small of her back.

"Yeah, I guess this is it." Mr. Matthews says as he walks over to his wife.

"Oh, guys, you're sure you can't stay for breakfast?" His mom asks as his dad wraps his arms around her from behind. "I could fix you both an omelet. Toast, pancakes, muffins...pizza."

"Ma, you just want us to stay till the freezer's empty, don't you?" Eric asks, and his dad nods.

"Does it show?" She smiles, and Letty chuckles.

"Just 'cause I know you."

"Don't forget to say goodbye to your brother." Mr. Matthews tells him.

"Oh, I didn't see him this morning." Eric says.

"He slept on the couch." His dad explains, and his eyebrows furrow. "Yeah, he's pretty embarrassed about last night."

"I gotta tell him there's nothing to be embarrassed about." He kisses the side of Letty's head and then starts out of the kitchen. "Hey, Cor! Come on, get up. Your brother's leaving." He says as the four of them make their way into the living room. He pulls the blanket back and finds that Cory isn't asleep on the couch like they thought he was.

"Oh, he said he was gonna go to the park to say goodbye to Topanga. Maybe he already left." Mrs. Matthews says, and Letty rests her hand on Eric's back when she sees how disappointed he looks.

"Uh, yeah, you know, um... Just, uh, tell him goodbye and give him a hug for me." He says as he looks up at his dad.

"Now, Eric, I mean..." Mr. Matthews starts. "We'll hug him, but I don't think that's gonna make Cory feel any better."

"I'm just going off to college. I mean, I'm still his brother."

"Eric, now, it's, you know, just going off to college. Then it's gonna be, oh, just getting married, just having kids. But you know that you will never be the same brothers you were upstairs, sharing that room." He tells him.

"I'm the older brother." Eric turns and walks around the couch. "It's not my fault I'm the older brother."

"Yes, but it's not Cory's fault that he's the younger brother, who never understood why your buddies and your girlfriends always seemed to be more important to you than him." His mom says as she walks around the couch as well.

"He- He's three years younger than me. He's got his own girlfriend, he's got his own buddies. I bet he'd understand me better now."

"Well, it sounds like you have a lot more in common now." His dad tells him, moving to stand on his other side.

"Yeah, I guess we do." He nods.

"And three years isn't that big a difference anymore."

"No. I-I mean, I-I never really looked at it like that." Eric says. "I guess Cory and I can be friends now."

"His girlfriend's leaving him for the Summer, and his best friend's leaving him for the Summer, and now his brother — who he's never really had a chance to get to know as a friend — is leaving...forever." Mrs. Matthews says.

"But, now, why aren't you guys upset?"

"Uh, well, we got to know you. It's okay. You can leave." His dad laughs.

"You're father and I know you're a good guy, and you have a good heart. You've always made us proud." Mrs. Matthews tells him.

"So, I guess, this is, um... Goodbye." Eric says.

"Uh... Uh, yeah. Um, you know..." His dad pulls out his wallet. "I'm not...very good at this, so... A few bucks. You know, emergencies, whatever." He says as he hands him some cash.

"Uh, what about the Gold Card, er..."

"No." He shakes his head. "But you better take care of Scarlett while you're out there." He says, and then grabs his shirt to pull him closer. "And if she comes back pregnant, no school will be far enough away for me not to find and kill you."

Letty whistles as Eric lets out an uncomfortable chuckle. "Awkward." She mutters.

"Oh, good. You didn't leave yet." Morgan says as she runs down the stairs.

"Oh, thank God." Eric sighs as his dad lets go of him.

"I wanted to give you something." The little blonde holds up the teddy bear that she brought downstairs with her.

"Oh, Fluffers! Your favorite bear." He smiles as he takes the stuffed animal and sits down on the couch to be closer to her height. "You giving him to me for luck, Morgan?"

"No, I'm eight years old. What do I need a stinkin' bear for?" She smiles, and he chuckles.

"You gonna miss me, Morgan?"

"I already do." She tells him, and he reaches out to hug his sister.

"Um..." Eric looks between his parents as he stands up. "So, I guess there's nothing left to say, but, uh... Goodbye. I, um... I love you all very much."

"We love you too." Mrs. Matthews says as she starts to cry, and they all hug him. "Oh, Scarlett, sweetheart, come here." She holds her hand out to her, and the brunette walks around the couch to join the hug. When she pulls back, she looks at Letty. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Yeah, of course." The teenage girl nods and then follows her into the kitchen. "Is everything alright?" She asks, and Mrs. Matthews nods.

"Yeah. Look, I don't want to make you uncomfortable, but..." She clears her throat, and Letty's eyebrows furrow as she looks at her. "Alan told me about the conversation that he overheard you and Eric have last year, and he told me about the conversation that he had with Eric after that, and I... Well, I realized that you may not have had anyone to talk to about...that before."

"Oh."

"I know that talking to your...sort-of-boyfriend's—" She stumbles over how to classify their relationship, and they both laugh. "—mother probably isn't the most ideal thing, but I've considered you a part of this family for a long time... I consider you my daughter, and I will always be here if you ever need to talk about anything."

"You're making me cry." Letty chuckles as she wipes a tear from her cheek, and the older woman laughs along with her. "I know that Mr. Matthews is nervous about Eric and I being alone on the road for so long, but... I know that Eric loves me, and I think that I..." She sighs as she looks down. "He and I won't be...doing that until I can tell him how I feel without...clamming up and..."

"You don't have to explain." She tells her.

"I feel like I should explain to someone..." She shakes her head as she covers her face.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I'm afraid that after I say it, I'll lose him." Letty tells her as she lowers her hands.

"What?" Her eyebrows furrow. "Scarlett, sweetie, that's just not gonna happen. Trust me, I've seen the way he looks at you, and you are the only person that he has ever looked at that way."

"I know it's crazy, I just..." She takes a deep breath. "My parents never said it to me or Alec, and the first time I remember hearing someone say it... I was at school, and it was before the start of class, and a girl was saying bye to her mom, and the mom told her daughter that she loved her. I was curious, and I asked my teacher what it meant. She explained it the best she could to a five-year-old, and that night, as my mom was putting me to bed, I told that I..." She wipes tears from her cheeks. "My mom kissed my forehead, left the room...and I never saw her again."

"Oh, honey." Mrs. Matthews pulls the distraught teenager to her and wraps the brunette in a hug as she cries. She can't even begin to imagine the affect that that would have on a child, but she feels like she understands Letty's struggles so much better now.

A few minutes later, they walk back into the living room, and Eric's eyebrows furrow as he looks at her. "Letty, what's the matter?" He asks as he walks over to the brunette.

"Nothing." She shakes her head as he rests his hands on either side of her face and uses his thumbs to wipe her cheeks. "Your mom told me that she thinks of me like a daughter, and I started crying. You know me, I show no emotion 'til I blubber like a baby." She half laughs.

"You're sure that you're okay?"

Letty nods, smiling as she looks up at him. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay." She tells him. "Now, are we driving to the park so you can say a proper goodbye to your brother?" She asks, and he smiles.

"God, I love you." He wraps his arms around her, and she chuckles as she hugs him. "What do you think about taking him with us?"

"Oh, finally!" Letty pulls back and looks up at him. "I've been waiting for you to get there so that the suggestion would come from you when you ask him."

"I honestly don't think you could be any more perfect." Eric says, and the brunette smiles as she looks into his light brown eyes.

"Go get your brother." She tells him, and he smiles as he then leans down to press his lips against hers.

⌜ author's note ⌟

book four is up. it's called...
Looking Up