twenty-two

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⌜ chapter twenty-two ⌟


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"Eric!" Letty calls after him as she quickly walks out of the bedroom as well, then she follows him downstairs and into the living room.

"Eric, you are not leaving tomorrow." His dad says, and Eric turns around to face his parents then, so Letty moves behind him to let them talk.

"Yeah, I am."

"No. Maybe you didn't hear me. You are not leaving tomorrow." He repeats as Letty leans against the front door. "You haven't gotten your letter of acceptance to college yet."

"I'm on the waitlist. The official acceptance comes, like, a day before classes. And I'm not giving this trip up." He tells them as he walks across the living room and then turns to face them again, now standing by the fireplace.

"Look, you are upset about your brother. Eric, you are not thinking this through." His mom argues as she walks over to him and rests her hands on his arms.

"What's the difference — a week here, a week there?" He questions.

"Eric, maybe when you're a parent and your first child is about ready to leave home, you will understand that every day- every minute makes a difference."

"You guys..." He takes a few steps away from them. "You don't think I'm not freaked about leaving? About going to college? Being on my own? Doing my own laundry? I'm having nightmares! Whites, easy. Darks, easy. What about my white shirt with black stripes?! What then?!" He's starting to freak out.

"So?" His dad questions. "This is tough on all of us."

"Look, that's why I think it's just gonna be easier if I take off now." He says as he starts walking back toward Letty.

"You know, we have this goodbye dinner planned for you." His mom tells him.

"If you can move the dinner to tomorrow night, I'll stay an extra day." Eric says. "Please."

His parents look at each other, and Mrs. Matthews shrugs as she shakes her head. "We'll think about it." His dad tells him.

"Thank you."

"And another little bit of advice..." He continues as he turns his body to face him entirely. "You take that extra day, and you try and figure out what is bothering your brother."

"I've shared that room with him for fifteen years; I have no idea what's bothering him." Eric tells him.

"Ah, well, maybe that's your answer." Mr. Matthews says, and his son looks back at Letty as he remembers what she was saying in his room earlier.

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