"Eric, Nate, Ben's here!" Martha called to her sons. Ben Twist stood in their kitchen, trying not to drip too much on their floor. It was pouring, again, and though he'd only walked a short distance from his house to theirs, he got soaked. He didn't want to trouble Martha anymore than she already was.
Martha had been through so much in the past few weeks since her husband’s death. It was like one horribly tornado of events. Ending today, with her first day back as a teacher at the local elementary school. But at least some good came from the mess.
Yvette completed the other girl she scratched, and saved her life. Now the new vixen and her mate were getting married at the end of the month. Then, that bitch was sentenced to life in prison. There was no leniency for a murderer who also broke Moon Lake’s most enforced law.
Nate and Eric had grown even closer in the ensuing months. Martha was happy to see them spending their evenings talking or working on their homework together. It made her sad as well, but still. It was a bittersweet moment.
“Sorry, got caught up talking. Good luck today Mom. I’m sure everything will go great!” Nate said, stopping to kiss his mother’s cheek.
After his father’s passing, Nate was suddenly thrust into the role of “man of the house” being the oldest. The first week he’d been so stressed and panicked about fulfilling that role. But Francis started talking to him, and Eric, and Nate calmed down some. Martha was glad to see Nate was getting back to his old self again.
“That’s fine. Have a good day.” Martha said.
“Those third graders won’t know what hit em’. You’ll be running the classroom like an army in no time.” Eric said, hugging his mother.
“Uh, thanks Eric.” Martha said.
In the wake of his father’s death, Eric had only spent a short time in mourning. Then he was on a crusade to make sure Yvette was held responsible. And then, to everyone’s surprise, started seriously contemplating what kind of were he wanted to become.
There was some initial concerns about his doing this just so he wouldn’t feel weak, or useless. But Francis, having spoken to Eric the most about the subject, assured the other Andersons that wasn’t why Eric was doing what he was planning on doing.
“I think the self confidence thing is a part of Eric’s reasoning, but not the major factor. He wants to help other people. Seeing what the rogue were did to his family, he doesn’t want that happening to others. Which is the driving force behind many of his decisions now.” Francis had told Martha one afternoon.
Martha shed a tear as her sons left. Nate was maturing so fast, and Eric suddenly had the self confidence he’d lacked for so many years. She only hoped that his decision wouldn’t impact his relationship with Julie Stovall. But even if things didn’t work out with Julie, Martha knew Eric would be okay.
“You’d be so proud of him William.” Martha said, more tears falling down her cheeks. She quickly wiped them from her face, and prepared to head to the elementary school. Thinking of her sons, and late husband, Martha’s confidence grew, and she held her head high as she ran to her car.
-------------------------------------------
The rain kept up right until lunch time, when they finally subsided. The junior and senior lunch waves ended as sunlight poured into the cafeteria, and the freshman showed up for their lunch period.
There, Julie found Eric sitting alone, as he often did since his father’s death. She sat beside him, but he showed no indication of recognizing her presence.
“Eric?” Julie asked softly. She was worried about him. They had been doing so well until Yvette ruined Eric’s life. Which is when Eric stopped talking to her on a daily basis, and became very preoccupied with something. She knew she shouldn’t pry, or press him about what was going on. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t any less concerned.
“Oh, hi Julie.” Eric said, looking up from the sandwich he was picking apart.
“What were you thinking about?” Julie asked. It was pointless to ask “Are you alright?” because Julie knew Eric was far from “alright”.
“Lots of stuff. Mostly about us.” he said, surprising Julie.
“You were?” she asked, not sure what to expect. Would Eric be breaking up with her? They were never officially a couple. But then, Julie loved Eric, more than Eric did her (though Julie didn’t know this)
“Ya. I know I’ve kinda been weird the past month. I’m sorry. I haven’t been much company,” Eric started, “I never got to thank you for being so comforting and supportive.”
Julie was touched by his words. Even though they were in full view of everyone, she kissed his cheek as a thank you.
“But… I want to do something.” Eric said once she pulled away. Julie’s face paled a bit, as she tried to remain calm.
“You know I’ll love you no matter what you do Eric. Just tell me.” Julie said softly.
“Are you sure?”
“Eric, I promise, whatever you say I’ll support your decision.” Julie said. But in her mind, she was thinking, “Unless you breakup with me.”
“Alright. Well, I’ve been talking a lot. To Nate and Ben, and Francis. They all wanted to make sure I wasn’t doing this because I felt bad about my dad, or something like that. But I’m not. I’m doing it because I want to.”
“Eric, what are you doing?” Julie pressed.
Eric took a few deep breaths. He’d said this many times in front of his brother, his mom, Ben, and even Francis during their weekly sessions. But telling Julie… that was like cementing it. Julie was the unknown factor.
“This Friday, I’m joining Nate and Ben’s pack.”