Head Over Heels ✓

26 / beside the seaside

september, age 19

Lucas sat on his bedroom floor with his little brother on his lap, his packing slowed by the seventeen-month-old boy who had proved to be the most demanding of the triplets, though he was fairly easy to handle: Julian craved attention from his family but he was easily pleased just by being with someone, whereas Freddie was a bit of a flight risk with a fancy for shiny things. The youngest, Harvey, was the easiest. He could never run away when every single thing in his path captured his attention, stopping every few seconds to pick up a leaf or to examine a beetle on the pavement. Not yet two, he had the same curiosity that Lucas had possessed at that age, craving the answer to every why he asked.

Lucas was quite content to hold Julian on his lap as he folded a week's worth of clothes into his bag, chatting to him as he worked. When the triplets had arrived, he had been terrified about having three new siblings - three brothers, to be precise, which had scared him even more - but in the months since their birth, he had found himself intrigued by their growth, how each of the boys developed into a completely different person despite having identical upbringings, all born within ten minutes of each other.

Sarah stepped through the open door with a smile on her face and a laundry basket clutched against her hip that she rested on top of Lucas's chest of drawers. "What're you boys up to?" she asked as she put the clothes away, keeping out the pair of jeans that Lucas wanted to pack.

"Just making sure I've got everything," Lucas said. He took the jeans that his mother passed him when she sat down opposite, grinning and waving at her baby.

"And you have?" she asked, though the question was fairly pointless when Lucas always made sure he had absolutely everything that he needed.

"Yup." He looked down at his bag over the top of his brother's head, confident that he had everything he needed from his toothbrush to his underwear; his laptop to his book. In approximately one hour, he would accompany Asher down to Brighton to move into university and he was staying with him until Friday, almost a whole week. The first week was nothing but nights out and exploring the new city: Asher had no interest in the former and the latter was something he only wanted to do with his boyfriend.

Julian slipped off his Lucas and reached out for his mother, one hand pointing at the ceiling. "Up," he said. She hauled him onto her lap and kissed his cheeks, snuggling him close. He had picked up the most sign language so far, as though being a couple of minutes older than his brothers had given him some kind of developmental advantage.

"What time do you want to go, hun?" Sarah asked, bouncing her legs to make Julian chuckle.

"We're leaving Asher's house at eight, so I want to be there for quarter to at the latest. It takes twenty minutes to get there so ... within the next ten minutes. Is that ok?"

"No problem," she said, her features soft as she cuddled Julian as though he was a teddy bear and said to him, "And you're going to have a fun morning with Daddy, aren't you?"

"All morning?" Lucas asked. His mother nodded.

"Audrie and I are going to the spa today," she said. "A little R and R before she starts her PhD."

"And you're leaving Truman alone with six kids?" He raised his eyebrows, wondering if his ever-competent stepfather had ever been completely in charge of his six youngest children.

"Oh, no. Cooper's coming over when Audrie and I go out," she said, playing with Julian's feet. "He's so great with the kids. He and Audrie will be such wonderful parents some day. You like Cooper, don't you, Jules? You boys will get another brother soon."