LOTF: Before and After

Phase 3: Chapter 20

"What?" the blond turned around impatiently.

"My house is that way" Ralph pointed his thumb in the other direction as he tried not to laugh at Jack's confident stupidity.

"I knew that" Jack nodded with embarrassment. "I was just warming up my legs."

Ralph laughed a little as Jack came back over to him, slapping him across the arm as he trekked off in the right direction this time. Ralph followed hesitantly behind him, more worried about what Jack was planning than his poor directional skills.

"He doesn't always tell us everything! This could be another one of those things we don't understand!"

Jack pushed open the door to the Langley house quietly, but was bombarded by the all too familiar sound of yelling. Except this time, it was Ralph's father, not his. Ralph stood behind Jack, stunned by the sound of his father's raised voice.

"Ralph wouldn't run off without telling us!" his mother shouted in response. "What if something happened to him? Do you honestly want to take that chance? Because I don't!"

Both boys entered the house unnoticed. They stood in the doorway as Ralph closed it behind him. At the sound, both his parents turned to look at them.

"Ralph!" his mother called out, running over to the boys and pulling her son into her arms. "Don't you ever do that again!"

"I'm sorry" Ralph whispered hoarsely.

"What's going on here?" Jeffery asked as his eyes wandered back and forth from Ralph to Jack.

"Captain Benson's dead" Ralph spoke sadly after it was quiet for a moment too long.

His parents shot each other a confused glance. They had all known for a long time that the pilot was presumed dead.

"Okay" Jeffery said gently. "But we already knew that, didn't we?"

"They found 'im. On the island" Jack clarified. "We thought he swam out but he hadn't. One of the boys killed 'im. On accident."

Jeffery's eyes found Jack's as the blond boy spoke. He sighed and watched as his wife squeezed her arms tightly around Ralph.

"What's gonna happen to Larry?" Ralph cried, tears falling down his cheeks as he pulled his head away from his mom to look at her.

"I don't know, sweetie" Laurie replied regretfully, wiping the tear trickling down Ralph's face.

"Both of you come inside" Jeffery said as he grabbed his wife's arm to pull her towards him as to give the boys space.

Ralph wandered back over to his mom who wrapped her arm around his shoulder and guided him over to the kitchen. She started to pour two glasses of water for the boys as Ralph hung off her arm.

"Did Ralph call you?" Jeffery asked Jack quietly as they lagged a few feet behind.

"I called him. I didn't want him to find out some other way" Jack explained.

"You're a good friend, Jack" Ralph's father insisted, but as the image of Ralph running in front of him through the burning forest on the island passed through Jack's mind, he wordlessly disagreed.

Jack joined Ralph and Laurie and accepted the glass of water the woman passed to him. Both boys drank up as Jeffery and Laurie communicated telepathically, empathy in their eyes.

"Jack, does anyone know you're here?" Laurie asked as the blond set his glass down. Jack, mouth full of water, just shook his head in response.

"I'll call your sister and let her know. I can drive you home in the morning" Jeffery insisted as he grabbed the landline phone off the receiver and disappeared down the hallway.

"Can Jack sleep in my room?" Ralph asked his mom without looking to Jack for confirmation.

"If Jack wants to, sure" Laurie agreed.

Ralph turned to Jack, desperation and heartache in his brown eyes. Jack nodded.

After a night of video games, a big bowl of blueberries and a two hour movie, Ralph and Jack settled on Ralph's bedroom floor for the night.

Ralph laid there, his arms over his chest as he stared aimlessly up at the roof. Jack laid two feet away from him, also lost in sleepless thought.

"Do you really think Larry's gonna be nailed for what happened to Captain Benson?" Ralph asked unprompted.

"I dunno" Jack honestly thought. "Larry did admit to what happened. Maybe they'll go easy on 'im."

"Like they did on Roger?" Ralph pointed out.

"That's different" Jack declared.

"Different how?"

"Different because Roger and Larry are different. There's also the rather relevant factor of Captain Benson's death being an accident. Piggy's wasn't. We all know that, regardless of whose side you're on" Jack admitted somewhat shamefully.

"Did you tell Flag State that Roger did it on purpose?" Ralph wondered.

"Not exactly" Jack shrugged. "I told them I didn't see 'im do it, but he could've."

"But you did see it" Ralph insinuated.

Jack stared up at the glow in the dark stars on Ralph's roof and began to count them in his head.

"I'm scared" Ralph admitted after a minute or two.

"Of what?" Jack asked curiously, turning his head to see Ralph lying still beside him.

"That this isn't really over... That maybe it never will be."