Off Ones Rockers II • Lashton

Chapter Thirty-nine

Chapter Thirty-nine

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"Do you want another one?" Liz asked, gesturing to the half-empty, and cold coffee that sat on the kitchen table.

Ben shook his head, knowing dinner would be soon. "Nah, I think I'll just have some water. Do the other two ever leave their rooms?" he asked, looking over at the stairs in which his other two brothers were.

Liz laughed. "Barely ever see Jack anymore, either never here or sleeping - similar to how you were," she said handing his a glass of freshwater, he thanked her politely.

"Do you not get worried about Luke being in his room?" the older brother asked. He wanted to see the young boy, see how he was doing. Jack had messaged him the night prior, informing him that it was essential for him to let the boy know he looked good - that it would mean a lot to the blonde - even if it were just a lie.

"I can't watch him all the time, it's not fair on him either. And I think I trust him, he seems different now," she said thoughtfully, looking over at the cereal cupboard where her youngest son had spent ten minutes deciding what cereal to have, looking at the back of each box for the nutritional information.

Liz wasn't sure if that was allowed, it seemed to obsessive and compulsive. But Luke insisted it was okay; that he needed to know what was in each one to meet his daily requirement. That it would allow him to know what one to have on a daily basis.

"I should hope he has: you've paid for nearly five months worth of inpatient." There had been times when she had talked to her son about pulling him out, that it was a lot of money and was concerned she couldn't do it any longer.

"He's still fragile Ben," Liz said softly, sitting opposite her, knowing that he never approved of her decision. "And I think that's just going to be who Luke is now, but he does realise that he has a problem."

Ben ran his hands through his hair and sighed. "I still think he should have been here. It's clear that he was supposed to be here, they've sent him home now because it wasn't the right place. He's a family boy mum, he needed his family to survive."

Liz glared at her son. "I did what I thought was right. There was no way I was going to get him to eat, and I wasn't going to burden you boys about it. And Luke seems okay, he doesn't seem too damaged by the experience. I know he's missed out on a lot of stuff, but he doesn't resent me for it. He understands why I did it, and I don't think he would have had it any other way."

Her eldest son wanted to bring up another counter, but he kept quiet when hearing footsteps coming down the stairs. He watched the doorway hesitantly, not knowing what to expect - he's only ever known the boy through two extreme - malnourished or overweight. There was not really any mental image of the boy being normal

Luke appeared at the doorway and smiled awkwardly at his brother. "I didn't know you were here," he said looking at the floor. "I would have come down earlier, you should have told me, mum."

Liz wanted to talk to her eldest son first and wanted to give the boy some space to be calm before dinner, knowing it was important for him to have some time alone to reflect.

Ben smiled slightly, feeling a sense of ease overcome him. It was nice to hear his brother express some love towards him, it was rather hostile last time they saw each other. And it was comforting seeing him look normal. He was small, and his black jumper was still too large, as were the shorts that looked a little silly on his legs. But, he did look better.

Ben stood up and opened out his arms. Luke happily hugged the older brother. They were not as close but had never had any tension between them. "You look good," Ben whispered to him, giving the young boy a tight squeeze.