Black Sheep Part 2 - 10. Chapter 10

“How is he doing?” Sarah flops down in the seat opposite mine.

“Yours or mine?” I push one of the cups of coffee to her side of the table.

“Yours of course, I know how mine is doing. He is packing his stuff in his old room.” She smiles at me but it falters when she sees I don't reflect it. “Hey, I thought he was doing better?”

I hold my hot cup between my hands, hoping some of it's warmth will seep into me, and stare into the dark liquid. “It's not really Vic that is the problem. Adam is getting worse. We're not sure of we should tell Vic or that we might jeopardise the whole thing now.”

“Oh, that is difficult. What does Adam think of it?”

“Adam doesn't want to tell, but he doesn't want to talk about it at all anyway. Tom and I think that telling Vic might help because he is the only one with some sort of power over Adam, but it might backfire on us.”

“Yeah.”

“Jack seems to be against it. Though because of Adam, not Vic. He seems to have that same odd sense to know when Adam is not himself as Vic has.”

“So you're gonna wait?”

“Yeah, probably. Maybe if he is feeling better Adam might tell Vic himself. Ugh, they can be so childish.”

“Talking about children, how are Chris and Kevin?”

“They have settled back in. Chris is a bit emotional, but between being a teenager and having her brother in the hospital I wouldn't expect anything else. Kevin is sad that Jack is leaving. He has become a second brother to the little guy. With Vic gone there isn't really a male role model in his life and I know he sometimes misses to have someone to play rough with.”

“We could always send Jack by your house.” Sarah smiles.

“You mean like playdates, I think Kevin would love that.”

“Yeah, but I'm not sure Jack would feel the same.” We giggle over our cups. “You could also come by our house, we're always there if you need to just hang out with people your own age.”

“Thanks. Having you guys means a lot to me.”

“Hey, don't go all sentimental on me. Finish your cup so we can get some last stuff for the house. I'm so glad you've got a car.”

“So I'm both your little brothers babysitter and your chauffeur? I feel so loved.” I take the last sip from the cup and grab my wallet.

Sarah stops me and smiles at me. “I'm glad to see you can still smile, this one is on me.”

We stop in front of their old house. Sarah looks at the back of the car before she looks back into the house. “I hope we can still fit some boxes in there, I didn't realise cooking utensils took this much space.”

“It'll be fine, we can always get more later.” We get out of the car and are greeted by Jack who stands in the doorway. His hair is pulled back into a ponytail and his clothes are full of dust.

“I'm not ready yet, there is so much stuff.”

Sarah leads into the house. “We know, we're just getting some of Steve and my stuff.”

“They were just here, you just missed them.” Jack grabs a piece of cardboard and folds it into a box as he walks up the stairs with it.

“That is okay, I know which boxes I need to take. Do you have some small boxes packed we can take?” Sarah follows him up the stairs as I pick up one of the boxes with her name on it from next to the door.

It is weird how many boxes they want to take, but I can understand why they do it. Their parents left for the weekend so they could move out but they never told their parents Jack was going to live with them. Their parents will be furious when they find out and might do something drastic just like they did with kicking Jack out. It feels weird to know there actually are people like that, especially since I know how open Sarah and Steve are about the whole thing.

I walk up the stairs into the second floor apartment Steve and Sarah rent.

“You always seem to be at her place these days.” A whining male voice comes from the kitchen.

“Because Jack is there. He needs me.” Steve raises his voice.

“Right. Of course, it's only because of your beloved little brother.”

“It is.”

“It has nothing to do with that hot chick that lives there?”

“No. I've got you, why would I want her?” A pang goes through my heart. I don't expect anything else but this bluntness still unsettles me.

“I don't know, maybe play around a bit? You play for both teams so it could be expected.”

“What?! Do you trust me that little?”

“No. I just don't get why you have to hang around there all the time. You never invite me over to your place any more. You're my boyfriend, I want to be with you more.”

“My parents are being suspicious of everyone I bring home. We can spend more time now I've moved in here. Come here.” It falls quiet and I try to decide if I should walk in or just let them be for a while.

Sarah walks in behind me and looks at me questioningly.

“They're making out.” I mouth to her. She nods at me and smiles devilishly as she winks.

She walks into the kitchen while holding out a box. “Steve, where do you want me to put your porn? Oh, hi Eric, didn't know you were in here.”

I decide that this would be the right time to walk in too. Steve has Eric cornered against the sink both looking like deer caught in the headlights of a car.

Eric's face distorts. “Why is SHE here?”