Past, Present, Future | 5

eight

Letty nods as she shuts the door behind them, and they make their way into the bathroom. "Uh, the striped shirt needs to go, or it's gonna screw me up when I cut." She tells Hope as she gets the scissors from the shelf.

Hope pulls her work shirt over her head, happy to be out of it after such a long day, and then she starts combing the knots out of her hair. Jason leans in the doorway, and the three of them start talking about their schedules for the next week, none caring that Hope's only in a bra. It's exactly the same as seeing her in a bikini top, which they both have before. Not to mention, Jason was with her when the twins were born, and he was around while she breastfed them when they were younger. The three of them are best friends, practically siblings.

After Letty cuts Hope's hair like she asked her to, she and Jason leave the bathroom so that she can shower. The brunette hops on his back, and he heads down the hallway between the apartments to walk Letty home. He leaves her in the living room, saying that he has to get back in case either of the twins wake up, and Letty heads to hers and Eric's room.

"Hey..." Eric rolls over on the bed and stretches his arm out to look for his girlfriend.

"Hi." The brunette kicks her jeans off and then climbs straight into bed, immediately cuddling with him under the blanket.

"Damn, you're cold." He mutters as she tangles her bare legs with his.

Letty chuckles. "You're warm."

"What time is it?" He asks as he rubs her arm, trying to warm her up a bit.

"Just after midnight." She takes a deep breath as she nestles into his chest, her eyes closed. "I didn't mean to wake you up."

"You didn't. I never go to sleep before you come home." He tells her, and a smile tugs at her lips.

"No?"

"Gotta make sure I'm awake in case you don't make it back, and I have to send a search party."

"I didn't know you do that."

"Have I ever been asleep when you got in?" He asks, and she pauses a moment.

"Actually, no... Come to think of it, you're always awake." Her smile widens. "That is incredibly sweet, and entirely unnecessary."

"Go to sleep." He kisses her forehead. "I love you."

"I love you." She yawns as cuddles more into him for warmth. "G'night."

The next day, Letty's showing Lina around just like she promised, and they walk into the creative writing classroom. "You remember Jack?" Letty says as they walk over to where the boys are sitting near each other.

"Right, yeah. The guy with the boned pumpkin pie." Lina teases, and Jack chuckles as he looks up at the two girls.

"I hate you." He says as he looks at Letty, and she smiles at him.

"Is that seat taken?" The older girl points at the one next to Jack, and he shakes his head as he returns his attention to her.

"No, no one's sitting here. You know, I didn't know that you were taking this class." He says as she sits down beside him, and Letty goes to sit next to Eric.

"Yeah, well, Reggie's annoying." Lina shrugs. "And Tyler suggested that I take some classes to meet some people closer to my own age." She tells him, and he nods.

"Excuse me, is this seat taken?" A familiar voice catches their attention, and they all look up.

"Mom?" Eric questions when his eyes land on Mrs. Matthews.

"Eric? Oh, hi, Scarlett." She smiles when the teenage girl waves at her.

"What are you doing here?" He asks as he quickly stands up, his voice rising as well as he glances around the classroom. "Am I in trouble?"