Living Arrangements

Chapter Thirteen: Drew

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: DREW

Drew's palms were slicked with sweat, his heart racing as he paused in the sheriff's driveway. After the half-hour drive, he'd hoped his nerves would have calmed slightly but no such look.

His foster mother had agreed to remain in the car for as long a necessary and whilst he appreciated the thought, it would have been nice to have someone by his side for this.

Drake had always tried to convince him that they'd never have to reveal the truth, but Drew had always known the day would come when they'd have no choice. It appeared that today was that day.

Raising his fist to the door, he rapped his knuckles sharply against the wood, glancing at the window to see a dark haired girl watching him curiously. He smiled hesitantly at her and she disappeared from the glass, only to open the door for him moments later.

"You must be Drew." She attempted a smile at this point, but her tone was abrupt and tinged with the sadness she couldn't quite conceal.

"Caroline, right?" Drew replied, recalling the sheriff mentioning her briefly during his phone call. She nodded, opening the door further and gesturing for him to come inside as footsteps echoed along the landing upstairs.

* * *

Drake was shocked to see how much his brother had changed. Somehow, he'd still been expecting, maybe even hoping, to see the teenage kid, scared out of his wits.

Instead, he saw a young man, his puppy fat long gone and his face older, with signs of stubble beginning to appear.

"Drew." Drake nodded in greeting, a wide  smile breaking out on his face as he pulled his brother roughly into his arms. Over his head, he narrowed his eyes at Caroline. As glad as he was to see Drew after all this time, he wasn't at all happy with the circumstances.

"It's very nice to meet you." Caroline's father stepped out of a nearby room, extending his hand to shake it with Drew's.

"We have a lot to discuss." Drew glanced back to Drake curiously, shocked to see him and Caroline exchanging angry glances. His jaw was set in a hard line, his eyes spitting. Caroline on the other hand, looked as if she was trying very hard to hold back tears.

"We really do, but if it's alright with you, I was wondering if I could catch up with my brother for a moment first?" Drew requested, smiling hopefully.

"Of course." The sheriff gestured them into the lounge before he and Caroline headed up the stairs.

* * *

"You're an idiot sometimes, you know that?"

"Excuse me?" Drake coughed loudly in shock at his brother's accusation and Drew smiled sheepishly, realising that perhaps simply blurting it out wasn't the best way to go about voicing his opinion.

"Drake, I love you, but you're being a di..." At his brother's narrowed eyes, Drew quickly trailed off from the last word, assured that he'd gotten the meaning through.

"Whatever's going on with you and Caroline, you need to sort it out. She looks absolutely miserable and no matter how well you think you're hiding it, you're not exactly happy either."

Drew's tone was surprisingly matter-of-fact and once again it struck Drake how much he'd grown. He so desperately wanted to take his brother's advice, but surely nothing could ever come out of him and Caroline. Nothing permanent at least, as they'd both proven.

Watching a series of emotions run over his brother's face, Drew smiled sadly.

"We should have told the truth in the first place. We were always strong enough to handle it." When Drake said no more, Drew continued hesitantly.

"I saw you bring her to my foster home yesterday." Drake's head shot up suddenly, his eyes alert and questioning. Drew nodded in confirmation.

"You obviously care enough to tell her the truth. She obviously cares enough to try and help you."

It was at this point Drew realised that if he were amongst friends, his reputation would most certainly be digging itself into the ground.

Clearing his throat, he straightened up slightly, attempting to look nonchalant as he glanced from side to side.

Fortunately, his point had already been made. Drake needed to apologise and he wasn't going to wait another minute.

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Hey, so I updated in like two days this time, so proud of myself! I'm not sure I'm happy with this chapter. I just feel like Drew is way too unrealistic as a character so sorry :(

But hopefully it wasn't terrible. Maybe you enjoyed it... I dunno.

Anyway, there's two more chapters left so they'll probably be updated by the end of the week... I dunno. After that unfortunately, exams start, as I mentioned a couple o' chapters ago. So I won't be starting my new book for quite a bit after that, probably towards the end of June...

Sorry, but enjoy...

- Lena