⌜ chapter sixteen ⌟

"Shut up, putz." Letty shakes her head at her best friend as Jason starts laughing.

"Thanks for helping me with the girls." He walks over and sits with the brunette, carrying the sandwiches that he made after they put the twins down for their nap.

"Thanks for helping me with my homework. You miss one week of college and it sets you back a month." She sighs, and he smirks as she takes her plate.

"Isn't that only, like, one day of each class that you missed?" He asks, and she nods.

"Yeah, but it's still a lot of work to make up, and I don't have Jack in all of my classes, so I didn't get all of it last week. I hate playing catch-up."

"Then you're gonna have to stop playing hooky." He tells her, and she takes a deep breath.

"Yeah, I went back today, and I don't plan on missing anything else. But I needed the time to think and...try and clear my head."

"I know." He nods. "How are you doing?"

"I don't know." Letty shakes her head. "I didn't know that it was possible to miss someone so much. Sometimes, if I think about everything for too long...it's like my body starts to physically ache, and..." She takes a deep breath as she looks down.

"Have you seen him besides at Chubbie's during the game?" He asks, and she shakes her head.

"No. But I'm sure I'll see him in class tomorrow."

"You know, uh... I was talking to Jack the other day, and he told me about what happened after you got all your stuff out of Eric's room." He starts, and her eyebrows furrow as she looks at him, having no idea what he's talking about. "I guess he saw that all of your stuff was gone, and he kinda... He broke some stuff, started throwing things in the room. Sounds like he's not taking this whole thing very well either."

"He broke up with me." Letty says. "He found out that I was a hunter, and he ended our relationship. He wouldn't even let me... If I reached for him, he backed away. And if I managed to touch him, he moved my hands...like he was afraid of me, or...repulsed by me." She shakes her head as she looks down. "After everything that we've been through, he just..."

"I'm sorry, Scar."

"I have to go." She says as she gets to her feet. "I have a shift at Mr. Matthews' store." She tells him, and he nods.

Letty's glad when she doesn't run into Eric in the elevator or the lobby, and then she quickly gets to work. "Oh, good, Scarlett." Mr. Matthews gets her attention when he sees her. "Ansel Adams is Eric's favorite from your Art History class, right?" He asks, and she nods.

"American landscape, yeah."

"Do you think you can help me find something for him for his birthday?" He asks. "I really want to find a nice one after that day we spent at the museum."

"Uh... Y-Yeah." She nods, getting the feeling that he has no idea that she and Eric are broken up.

"I feel like I really learned a lot about him that day, and I want him to have a reminder that things can be different now." He tells her. "That he and I can always talk like Cory and I do."

Letty offers him a small smile. "I'm sure he'll love that." She tells him, and he smiles.

"You know, you two have always had such a beautiful, unique relationship." He says, and she does her best to maintain her smile. "It's also incredibly odd at times, but it's always amazed me how well you two know each other."

"Guess that kind of thing happens when you know someone your whole life...if you let them know you." She takes a deep breath. "I don't really remember much from before I knew him, he's just always been there." She says, and he nods. "I love him. I always will."

Letty's working behind the register half an hour later, and the main door opens. She smiles as she turns to face who's entering the store. "Welcome to—" Her words fall short and her jaw tightens when she sees the man standing in the doorway. "What the hell do you want now?" She questions.

"You know what I want." Julian says as he shuts the door behind him before walking farther into the store. "And I'm getting impatient."

"If you know where I work, then you know damn well where my brother works. If you're too much of a bitch to get your answers straight from the source, that's a you problem." She says as she walks out from behind the counter to go and find something to do.

"You think I'm dumb enough to walk into a hunter's bar?" He questions.

"I know you're dumb." She mutters, and he grabs her arm before pulling her closer to him.

"You know, I do think you look like a messenger pigeon." Julian says as he looks down at her, and her jaw tights as his grip on her arm remains firm. "So pass this along — Alec needs to stop running from his past, and give me the answers that I'm looking for. I'm owed the truth."

"What's going on here?" Mr. Matthews questions as he walks over to them.

"Scarlett here was just helping me with a problem that I've been having." He says as he releases the teenager's arm. "I trust you'll do as I asked."

"Scarlett?" The older man walks over to her as Julian leaves the store. "Are you alright?"

Letty clears her throat as she looks up at him. "Yeah." She nods. "Yeah, I'm fine." The brunette tells him, then she walks away to find something to keep her busy. He stares after her, confused.

—

Letty knocks on the backdoor to the Matthews' house, and Morgan walks over from the table to open it for her. The little blonde looks up with a furrowed brow. "Since when do you ever knock?" She questions.

"Since I needed a little assistance. This thing's heavy." The teenager tells her. "Can I bring it in?"

"Who's it for?"

"Uh... Currently, your dad."

"Dad! It's for you!" Morgan yells as Letty walks into the kitchen, carrying a long box. It's kind of heavy, but more awkward than anything.

Mr. Matthews walks in from the living room as his daughter heads up the stairs, and he smiles when he sees Letty. "Hey."

"This was delivered to the store, but you said that you were doing dinner tonight." The brunette says as she looks up at him. "I figured you'd want it."

"Thanks, I appreciate it."

"Yeah, no problem." She nods as Eric walks into the room.

"What's going on?" He asks when he sees Letty and his dad.

"Nothing." Mr. Matthews says as he quickly picks up the box. "You don't see anything, I'm not even here." He tells him as he quickly takes the box into the other room.

The teenager clears her throat as she looks at Eric. "That was delivered to the store by mistake, I was just dropping it off." She tells him, and he nods.

"Oh."

Her eyes are still on him when she notices the absence of the black chain that his lock used to rest on around his neck. "Oh, uh..." She takes a deep breath as she reaches up to undo the clasp on her own necklace. "I should probably give this back." She says as she reluctantly removes it from her neck and holds the key out toward him, and he raises his hand with his palm face up.

She lets the charm rest in his palm before dropping the chain, that way she can't accidentally touch him, not wanting to make him any more uncomfortable than he obviously already is. It hurts the brunette to see him keep himself at such a distance from her.

"I'll, uh... I'll get the others back to you later." She tells him, looking down as her eyes turn glassy with tears. "They're in my room at my brother's place."

"I should get your ring back to you." He starts to turn.

"Please don't." She shakes her head, and he turns back to look at her. "I get that you don't want to be with...or around me... But I told you that that ring was for protection, and I meant it. Please wear it, Eric. I jus... I just want to know that you're safe, is all."

He hesitates for a second, looking at the tears that are still welling up in her dark eyes, and then he nods. "Okay." He finally agrees, and she nods.

They hear footsteps on the stairs, and Letty uses the sleeve of her shirt to wipe the tears from her cheeks. Mrs. Matthews smiles when she sees the brunette standing in her kitchen. "Scarlett, you're here early." She says, and the teenager looks over at her. "That's what you're wearing to dinner?" She asks, seemingly confused as she looks at them.

Letty's eyebrows furrow as she looks down at her boots, black leggings, and long-sleeve blue shirt. "Hm?" She looks back at Eric's mom, not having any idea what she's talking about.

"Yours and Eric's birthday dinner." She tells her. "You didn't forget, did you?"

"Oh, um..." She glances at Eric as he stares at the floor. Letty takes a deep breath as she looks back at Mrs. Matthews. "You know, I'm not really feeling up to it right now. I haven't been sleeping well, and... School's been really hard lately, and then taking care of the twins has been a lot of..." She shakes her head as she looks down.

"Are you alright, sweetie?" She asks as she moves closer to her.

"Yeah." She nods, fighting back tears. "I'm just— I'm really tired. It gets hectic taking care of kids, and Shawn, and keeping up on school, and work." She sighs. "It's just a little...overwhelming."

"Alright, well... You should take your presents home with you."

"Oh, no. You guys don't—"

"Nonsense." She shakes her head. "Alan, can you bring Scarlett's presents in here?!"

"You really don't have to—"

"You are a part of this family, and we give presents on birthdays." Mrs. Matthews says before walking out to make sure that her husband heard her.

"Why haven't you told them?" Letty whispers as she looks at Eric.

"That I broke up with my girlfriend because she has a secret life killing monsters?" He questions as he looks at her. "What exactly am I supposed to tell them, Scarlett?" He asks, and hearing him call her that feels like she had the air knocked from her lungs.

"Scarlett, you're not staying for dinner?" Mr. Matthews asks as he walks into the kitchen, carrying a few wrapped gifts. "Amy says you've been having a hard time lately. This doesn't have anything to do with the man from the store, does it?"

"What man?" His wife asks from beside him.

"No, he's nobody." Letty shakes her head as she looks at them. "He's just someone that thinks he knows my brother. He keeps showing up, but he isn't... I can handle him."

"I should've called the cops when I saw him grab you." He shakes his head, looking down for a moment.

"No, it..." She takes a deep breath as she places her hands over her face. "He isn't a problem, he isn't anybody. I'm sorry about dinner and...and I really can't take those." She says as she looks at the gifts on the counter.

"What are you talking about?" Mrs. Matthews questions, eyebrows furrowed. "Of course you can."

"No, I really can't." She shakes her head. "It wouldn't be right because...because last month I broke up with Eric. I guess I really can't change like I thought I could. He's the best thing that I ever... And he deserves someone who isn't...as completely screwed in the head as I am." She tells them as she wipes away more tears, barely keeping herself from falling apart. "So, thank you...for everything...but this is it this time, so I have to go. Goodbye." She turns around and walks out of the house, leaving his parents shocked as Eric stares at the floor with tears silently running down his face as well.