The Life and Times of a typical, crazy teenager!

Chapter 12

---------- Chapter 12 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Lucas, you're looking skinny...aren't you eating enough?"

"I'm skinny? I thought I was chubby?"

"No, definitely not chubby! Paige said your family is in the UK. You must miss them a lot. Can't be easy being away from home for so long."

Jasper and I look at each other frantically. Dad is lounging on his dinner chair and is casually asking Lucas questions. Dad assumes Lucas and I are together, since whenever my brothers go out with their girlfriends, Lucas tags along as my date. So, dad decided to invite Lucas, Tanya and Anna over for dinner and a movie, but in actuality, I think he just wanted to get the down low on Lucas.

"Umm...Paige didn't tell you?" and even though he was talking to my dad, he shot me a questioning look. I just shrugged, not knowing how to broach the subject.

"Didn't tell me what? Is your family giving you a hard time about transferring here?"

"My family and I were tight...they'd always support me, no matter what."

"Why are you using the past tense? Was there a falling out? Did your parents get divorced?"

"Dad! Leave him alone!" I mutter between clenched teeth.

"No, no, its fine, Paige. Mr. Daniels...I used the past tense because...well, my mum passed away, giving birth to me. And my father and fraternal twin passed away, on the same day, years later."

My father tenses, not knowing what to say. Jasper, Tanya, Anna and I squirm uncomfortably in our chairs. Derek doesn't care, and it's so painfully obvious. "I'm so sorry," dad finally manages to whisper.

Lucas exhales loudly and plasters a smile on his face, "It's not your fault, Mr. Daniels...if it was anyone's fault, it would be mine."

"No!" all of us, excluding Derek, shout at the same time.

Lucas smiles sadly at us and shakes his head a little. "No...my twin brother was a few minutes older than me. Ma managed to give birth to him, no problem...the complications aroused with me...so, I guess I killed my mother."

"Luke...you can't torture yourself like that!"

"It's not that big a deal, Paige! I've accepted it...what else could I do? My da and brother died in a car accident. They were on their way home from town. They had gone there to buy me a cake...I had been clinically depressed at the time. If it wasn't for me, they wouldn't have been on the road that day. They wouldn't be dead."

Lucas continues eating, either completely not bothered about talking about his dead family, or he's being an extremely good actor.

"How are you getting on, then? Financially, I mean?"

"Oh, that's the easiest part. I have quite a large inheritance. It should put me through college and support me for a couple of years even if I don't get a job. But my da had a company...and since he isn't around anymore, I've taken over. It's not easy, and I'm still learning, but I'm lucky to have some of the best people from various fields, teaching me everything I need to know. The money bit I can handle...it's just, hard sometimes. But I'm babbling, and it's not like you guys haven't suffered a horrible lost too."

"You know, Lucas...when mum died, we were devastated. Really...Derek could control himself better than Paige and I, but we were really in bad condition. The only reason we made it out of that horrible time is because of dad...and we had each other. But you...you are amazing! You were all alone, and yet, you managed to move on and live your life."