A giant thanks to my second pair of eyes from Across the Pond, Irfon.
***
The house cleared out by nine with all the women heading out to spend as much money as possible. The elder males headed off to fine a rumored vintage steering column or steering wheel. Dillon was a bit too groggy to understand the conversation. He was face down in his bed ten minutes later. The covers had barely settled over him before he was asleep.
Five hours later a repetitive tapping to his head caused his unfocused eyes to open. He saw a blurry Alexis staring down as she sat on the side of the bed. She was making a face at him.
"Open up, Freak Show. It's family meeting time."
Rubbing his eyes, he rolled over to see his parents staring down at him from the foot of the bed. Not really knowing what the looks were for, he grumbled and hid his head under the pillow. His voice came out from under the pillow muffled but filled with exaggerated exasperation.
"Fine. Yes. Alexis and I are having sex. It's been killing me that we couldn't admit it to you. We were planning on running away together, but..."
Alexis gasped loudly and began smacking him as hard as she could on the back. Her palm striking his skin echoed loudly and brought yelps out of him.
His Father's voice boomed in the confines of the small room. "What the hell is wrong with you? Do you make a point to think up the sickest shit you can?"
When Dillon rolled over after the fifth smack to catch Alexis' hand, he saw his Mom fighting back a laugh. Alexis was bright red and scowling at him. Her eyes were filled with panic.
"What? It's love Daddy. The heart wants what the heart wants. Plus, she's got a smoking hot rack. You should she what happens when you tweak her nipples."
Before Dad could respond, Mom's hand covered his open mouth. "Honey, don't you know by now, reacting only encourages your son. Ignore him and maybe he'll go away."
"My son? He's your son. I was trying for a puppy."
"There's an image." Dillon smiled up at Alexis and stuck out his tongue. His eyes flashed relief at his glaring sister. "Mom and Dad doing it doggystyle. Now, I'm back to having nightmares. Pretty sure I just got erectile dysfunction."
Alexis was finally able to let out a nervous laugh. No one was taking his confession seriously. She grabbed the pillow away from him and scooted against the wall with her face half hidden behind the pillow she was clutching to her chest. Mom sat down on the foot of the bed while Dad glared at him with a bemused look on his face.
"We have a question for you two." Mom began as she tried to take control. "Sammy wants to move here and try to find work. She's asked to stay here until she does. We'd like to know what you two think about it."
"Is the little poop mobile part of the deal?" Dillon asked.
"What do you think?" Mom rolled her eyes then added quickly. "No. Don't say what you're thinking. You just shut up. Alexis, would you be okay with that?"
"Yea. I'd have someone nice to talk to for a change. Having Dillon as a sister sucks."
"I don't do that anymore. And I only wore your dress once. I told you it was a Halloween thing. You're just jealous I fill it out better than you do."
"It was August, Freak."
"Quiet." Mom looked at Dad and let out an audible grunt of exasperation. "I blame you for these two."
"Me? What did I do?"
"This is their Jackson trait. You're all disturbed."
"I'm not. It's just Dad and Rick. I'm the only normal one in the family. You did this. You coddled that precious little princess too much."
"Hey." Alexis' face turned shocked.
"Not you, Honey. I'm talking about your sister. He's always been coddled. The one boy of the family and everyone thinks he's so special. I can't prove it, but I'm sure he wet the bed for so long for the attention."
Dillon hung his head as the room filled with laughter at his expense. The small creep of red working up his face made the laughter louder. Moving up to a sitting position, he pulled Alexis across his knee and swatted her ass before he let her snuggle closer.
"I wet the bed once when I was eight. Seriously. You forget your anniversary, but you remember that."
Dillon smiled when Mom swatted Dad's leg and glared at him. It was a subdued glare. More like a warning to never ever forget again. Happy the focus was off him, he let his hand snake around Alexis' back to caress a bit of skin above her pant line. She shot him her best behave look and squirmed closer as subtly as she could.
"All right." Mom finally got control of the meeting. "Do we say yes to Sammy or no?"
"Yes." Alexis answered quickly. She was looking at Dillon with a knowing smile.
"Yes to Kyle. No to Sammy." He answered. "I like the kid, but his mom is a pain in the ass."
"That's a yes." Alexis corrected and swatted him again. "Where will she stay?"
"Dillon's old room. You'll have to move your stuff out of the closet. It's about time you threw out some of that crap. She's going to need your pickup to help her move her stuff. That way it only takes one trip. That okay?"
He shrugged. "Like I have a choice."
