*Uh, you kinda got the continuity wrong TMW. Reread chapters 27 to 30 for a refresher. And Eric and Spencer did meet before, when he was late to school and she was checking out the town. Chapter 11. It's ok, we all make mistakes. - bj88
Frances ended her “session” with Eric there. She’d gotten what she needed, for now. She wouldn’t see the Stovalls until tomorrow at best, since the day was dragging on. Frances did have other patients, though at the moment none were as important and high risk as Julie.
After a quick talk with the Andersons about how the trial would go, with Eric needing to be at the court in case the prosecution or defense called on him, Frances left. Samantha lingered in anticipation of the long talk she, the Andersons and Lawsons were to have in the near future.
“Did Maggie say when she and Evan would be available to chat?” Martha asked once Frances had departed for the Twist home next door. .
“When he got back from work. Should be within the next hour.” Eric said. He retreated to his bedroom to let the adults talk in private. He could still hear the occasional word or two with his new and improved hearing capabilities. But not enough that he could piece together their conversation.
“Just so I have an idea what we’re dealing with, what’s the worst case scenario?” William wanted to know exactly how powerful Benton was. He was already familiar with the Tachibana family, as he and Martha were part of their Skulk.
“I really don’t think you want to know.” Samantha said, knowing full well Benton could make life hell for the Andersons if he wanted to. The guy might be a werepanther, but he had a bit of an alpha complex going. He constantly needed to reaffirm his position, and remind everyone else they were at the bottom of the barrel.
“I do. I’m not about to let some inflated, rich bully push in on my family without a fight. But I’d like to know what to expect should things take a turn for the worse.” William said confidently.
“Alright. I’ll explain more later once the Lawsons are ready to talk.” Samantha said.
So for the next hour or so, the Andersons and Samantha passed the time watching TV, and talking about their respective days. Nothing too interesting to report. But Martha did lighten the mood by mentioning that Ben and Alex were doing a great job getting Jeremy Watson out of his shell*
“I’m glad something good is happening in town. Seems like all we’ve had thus far are headaches.” William said.
“No pain, no gain.” Samantha sad half heartedly.
Her cell phone started to vibrate in her jacket pocket, signaling the Lawsons were on their way over. Not long after the doorbell rang.
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Meanwhile upstairs…
“Nate? You alive in there?” Eric had walked upstairs to find things unnaturally quiet. It wasn’t like Nate to be so… calm.
“Ya. When you’d get back?” Nate cracks his door open and sees Eric standing in the hallway.
“A while ago. You okay? You seem distracted.” Eric noticed how Nate was only showing his head. He took a cautious sniff of the air, but couldn’t tell if Nate had been doing what Eric suspected he’d been doing.
“No, just texting someone. What’s going on downstairs? Sounded like you guys were having a pretty intense discussion.” Nate opened the door the rest of the way to reveal he was still wearing his clothes. But the fact that his fly was down was enough for Eric to assume he’d caught Nate just as he was finishing his “alone time”.
“Just some new developments I thought everyone should know about.”
“Regarding Julie?”
“Not this time.” Eric explained the situation with Frieda and her parents. Nate was surprised to learn Frieda wasn’t just loaded, but her family was up there with the Tachibanas in terms of power and authority.
“And the Lawsons are on their way over now?”
“Yup. Hopefully the adults can think of something to do, because I’ve got nothing. Like going up against Lex Luthor. Frieda’s dad has all the power, and we’ve got…”
“A Navy SEAL who probably has connections of his own?” Nate couldn’t imagine Spencer’s father would sit back and let Benton Knight terrorize Spencer, Eric and the others. Evan was the kind of guy who would want to get even. More than even, he’d want to knock Benton down a peg or two.
“What could he possibly do? Send a bunch of SEALs to rough up Frieda’s dad? That’ll add fuel to the fire.”
“Eh, it was just a suggestion. Like I always say, you worry to much. I’m sure things will work themselves…”
The doorbell ringing cut off Nate’s sentence, and told Eric the Lawsons were here. Well, either them or Jack Johnson (who still had yet to speak to Eric or Frieda). The two brothers descended the staircase to find their guest talking to their parents.
*See chapter 42