Sinner's Prayer

Heaven Knows

Ennis eventually finds some sense to pull himself away from Jack. Even if the brunette is sleeping soundly and he has to meticulously slide out from beneath him, leaving with a gentle kiss to his temple before reluctantly leaving the privacy of his bedroom.

He's hoping it's late enough in the morning that he won't be confronted by both siblings. He's not exactly sure where Jack had parked his truck, but it was bound to have been noticed if not his boots by the back door. There's conversation down the stairs, however, soft with stifled words bleeding through the walls. He swallows, coming off the last step as his socked feet are met with hardwood and pad quietly across the floor.

Two pairs of eyes, both questioning, greet him under the archway, silence falling as words are cut. Jeanie sits at the table, K.E. leaned up against the counter with a steaming mug in his hand.

"Mornin'," the lady Del Mar says, watching her youngest brother carefully. Almost scanning him over for anything inconspicuous. Ennis squirms a little, lips tight and his eyes darting to the ground.

"Mornin'," he mutters, feeling a pull of nerves in his stomach. Silently he curses.

"Jack okay?" Jeanie continues, worry in her voice and laced behind her eyes. Ennis nods.

"Yep," he says shortly.

"The hell is he doin' here anyway?" K.E. chimes in, voicing his question. Ennis peers up to meet his brother's curious gaze, the cogs turning in his mind as he struggles to find an explanation. He settles on something simple, though he knows it won't satisfy.

"He had a rough night."

K.E. doesn't look convinced.

"Well, it don't look like he was plannin' on stickin' around the way his truck's parked out by the mailbox."

"'Cuz he wasn't," Ennis says, dropping his gaze once more. "But.. I think he should," he mumbles. His siblings share a glance, returning it to their little as they await an explanation. They're met with sheepish doe eyes, Ennis still being rooted in place, his plaid shirt left open from when he'd thrown it over his shoulders and his undershirt left out of his jeans.

"He's got trouble at home," he says carefully.

"What kinda trouble?" Jeanie asks, though Ennis has his reservations about speaking on Jack's behalf. It's not his place and he's not quite sure how deep to go with it. He rubs the back of his neck in thought, kicking himself because he had all morning to figure out what he was going to say, but instead let himself become a puddle at Jack's whim.

K.E. seems to understand, always being able to read his little brother like the back of his own hand.

"That bad, huh?"

Ennis looks up, K.E. sets down his mug and crosses his arms.

"An' you want him ta stay here?" The older Del Mar brother presumes. Ennis drops his hand away from his neck.

"Jus' 'til things cool down," he replies.

"I don't think that'd be a problem," Jeanie says, turning to look at the middle sibling for confirmation. K.E. merely tightens his lips.

"An' if his folks come knockin'?"

"They won't," Ennis says, matching the gaze that his brother shoots at him.

"We should still call somebody," K.E. continues, glancing back to Jeanie. "We don't exactly know the situation."

"Do we need to? Trouble's trouble," Jeanie remarks, sitting back in her chair and keeping her attention on the middle sibling.