**Note: In order for any of this to make sense please go back and read the previous chapters.
Also, thank you so much for all your comments thus far. Please keep letting me know what you think! **
Eric and Adam left the house together early the next morning. They'd all fallen asleep the night before in Eric's old bed and hadn't stirred until well after the sun had come up. When Eric had rolled over he'd nearly had a heart attack. The woman he'd held in his sleep was long gone and instead he was looking directly into the eyes of his youngest brother. But, if nothing else, he had been very suddenly awake. In fact, he couldn't recall ever having jumped out of bed so fast in his life.
But, once he'd gotten moving and had a shower, the memories of the night before had planted themselves in the forefront of his mind. So when he came downstairs and saw his baby sister making breakfast for the bunch of them his body seemed to come alive all on its own. She was leaning down into the oven and her cute rear end was sticking straight up at him. She must have realized he was there because he could have sworn he heard a bit of a giggle before she shook it enticingly for just a second. Then she was standing and closing the oven door again.
Eric began to walk towards her but didn't make it far before he heard the front door open. Beth apparently heard it as well because she quickly turned off the stove and with Eric went into the living room to see who had casually walked in without so much as a knock. They found Joe sitting in the same chair he had occupied the night before just as Adam was coming down the steps. It seemed the only one missing from this strange reunion was their father.
Joe looked up from the couch as everyone entered and zeroed in on the fact that his eldest brother's hair was still damp from the shower and that his youngest brother appeared to have just rolled out of bed. He balled his fists both in rage and frustration but then looked at his sister. She looked ready to burst that he'd come back and was all but bouncing with happiness that he was sitting in the living room at all. "Get out. Everyone get out but Beth. I want to talk to her for a minute." When no one left he added, "Alone." It took only a second for his two remaining siblings to walk back toward the kitchen and salvage breakfast. Beth just stood across the room looking at him.
"Come here," he said and motioned with his hand. She ran over to him and jumped into his lap like she used to do as a little girl. As soon as she got within a foot of him though the tears began to flow. Beth snuggled her head in his shoulder and began to sob on him. He heard her murmuring that she was so happy he was back and he thought she'd said she'd do anything to keep him in her life. But surely, no matter what had happened here last night, she didn't mean that. Even if what she had with their father was so special she'd never really do those things with her brothers. But he had to find out.
