Here is Home • The Pack

Chapter Four

Chapter Four

Mitch was supposed to arrive home in a week, and for some weird reason unknown to Preston, Jerome seemed even more excited than he did.

Preston first noticed it when himself, Jerome, Lachlan and Alfie were sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast, which consisted of a piece of slightly overdone toast and thin layer of cheap Tescos peanut butter.

Lachlan had been helping Alfie with summer homework of some kind with Ruby on his lap, while Preston read the newspaper and Jerome just sat there stirring his coffee and staring blankly at the table.

"So Mitch comes home next Thursday," Preston remembers saying conversationally, downing the rest of his orange juice.

"Guess that means you're out of here, huh?" Lachlan had said, glancing up at Preston from over those stupid glasses he'd gotten into the habit of wearing recently. They were those huge ones with the black frames that teenage stoner art students wore, and Preston hated that they suited him. His eyes looked even bluer than usual, which should have been impossible but somehow wasn't.

"Probably," Preston agreed. "I could go and stay with him in Phoenix, if he still has a place there. He did when I last saw him."

"No," Jerome had said quickly, drawing the attention of everyone at the table. Even Alfie looked up with a small eyebrow raised.

"I mean, that's okay. Mitch can stay here with us, if he wants to. And you, obviously."

"Jerome, I hate to break it to you man, but there's really not enough space for Mitch AND me on the couch," Preston had chuckled. "Although, really, it's flattering that you want me to stay that bad."

"Mitch could share Jerome's bed," Lachlan had muttered under his breath with a smirk, absently playing with a small strand of Ruby's fine blonde hair.

Jerome had choked on his coffee.

Lachlan just smiled into his.

Alfie giggled, turning the page on one of his textbooks.

Preston had looked from one brother to the next, sure he was missing something as he watched Jerome desperately try to regain control of his breathing. Shaking his head, he let it go.

Then there had been the other night, when Preston and Jerome were playing on the X-Box that Lachlan had bought as an "I'm really sorry for disappearing for three days without an explanation" gift. Jerome had casually asked if Mitch ever mentioned him at home. Preston had answered honestly, that he did occasionally, and he could've sworn that when he did he saw Jerome's cheeks turn pink.

The whole thing was bizarre. Then again, Jerome and Mitch had been really good friends, and seeing as Mitch had been gone for nearly two years it was no wonder the guy was excited about seeing his friend again.

Preston was standing behind the register at the grocery store, thinking about what he was going to do about accommodation when his brother finally arrived home.

Obviously they couldn't both crash with the family, and he felt if he stayed any longer he'd be overstaying his welcome. Maybe he could book a hotel or something if it turned out Mitch's place in Phoenix was no more, and if the worst came to the worst he could always just go back to school and spend the rest of the summer in his dorm.

He sighed, lightly tapping the keys on the register out of boredom. He glanced up at the clock; the 16-year-old kid with bad acne and worse hair who was supposed to come in to take over his shift was almost fifteen minutes late. Go figure.

When the kid finally turned up, Preston had done a half hour's overtime, wasn't getting paid for it, and was feeling particularly irritable. He grunted a hello at the younger boy before grabbing his jacket and pulling it on, finally walking out of the empty, air-conditioned store and into the blaring heat of a midsummer day in Illinois.