Chapter Thirty Two-2

He would be leaving in just a week. And they had absolutely no idea on how to respond to that sort of time frame. No idea whatsoever. * * * * * * * * * * * Later that night, after everyone had already found themselves tucked into bed and well on their way to sleeping, Jesse's mind still worked overtime. The look on his parents faces when he gave them a date on his departure lingered, seared into his mind. Every time his eyes closed, ready to sleep, the image flashed again. Jesse never saw such a heartbroken look on his mother's face before. He nearly dissolved his own dreams in an attempt to fix it. But before he did, she gave him a wobbly smile and wordlessly hugged him. The action said all sorts of different things to him, one by one. I'll miss you. Please be safe. I love you. He squeezed her back with all the strength he possessed, hope to relay the messages back he wanted. The words he wanted to say, but just didn't know how to at the time. Thank you. You're the most amazing mother. I love you, too. The entire interaction, soundless as it may have been, made his eyes misty. Groaning, Jesse sat up in bed and looked around his room. He chose this room when they moved here. This room was always his; thinking of leaving it behind tugged on every nostalgic string in his body. Instead of focusing on those feelings, Jesse threw the covers off his body and left the bed. The floorboards made a small creaking noise as he put his full weight on them. Instead of letting the noise deter him, however, Jesse collected a few items from his room and made his way out of the bedroom and down the hall. Taking the stairs one by one, he slowly but surely made his way to the door at the end of the downstairs hall. Without knocking, Jesse inched open the door. Soft snores met him on the other side, the only noise in the otherwise silent room. "Everett," he whispered. The snoring didn't cease; if anything, it merely intensified. Squinting, Jesse stepped further into the room. "Everett!" He whispered again, putting as much emphasis on the name as possible. Finally, Jesse came up beside the bed and since his brother still hadn't woken up, he slugged him in the shoulder and whispered shouted, "Wake up!" Everett shot up in his bed, eyes half closed from sleep and his arm swung out instinctively. He clocked Jesse in the abdomen, forcing a grunt out of him. "Jesse?" Everett mumbled out, trying to get his bearings. "Yeah, it's me," he replied quietly. Shuffling from foot to the other, he looked down. "I can't sleep," he said after several long seconds of silence. Jesse shook his head. "Can I hang out in here? I know it's the middle of the night but. . ." A lot of rustling followed the statement, with Everett groggily saying, "Yeah, yeah, no problem. Lemme just move a bit." Jesse heard patting on the mattress and climbed on, flopping backwards on the bed. "Licorice?" he asked as an opening line, holding out one handful of the candies. One slipped from his hand and he grabbed one for himself. Chewing on the sticky strand, Jesse stretched out next to his brother. "I used to come in here after bedtime all the time when we were little," he mused, a small smile on his face. Everett hummed next him. "Yeah. We built blanket forts most of the time," he recalled with a laugh. "Mom would always come in the next morning with mom freaking out about where you were, always afraid you disappeared." Everett sighed happily. "She figured it out after a while." "I wish I wanted what mom and dad do. Like, their plans for me. Making decisions would be much easier if we were all on the same page," Jesse noted, plucking another piece of licorice out of the pile. "Yeah, but it looks like they are letting you go. Not happily, but still." Everett poked Jesse in the shoulder. "Small victories, man. Small they may be, but still a victory." Jesse huffed an agreement and shook his head. "This is crazy. I still feel like we're kids. You going to college - -" "Maybe." "Me leaving and going on an adventure to see the world. We're growing up, aren't we?" "Yeah," Everett said softly. "We are. But it's a good thing, I think. Life is finally catching up with the North family." With a grin, he added, "But I kinda like it." Even though the time was late, the brothers stayed up into the early hours of the morning, discussing plans, ideas and how their lives would play out. And in the morning, just as she did so many years ago, Denise walked into Everett's room in search of one missing boy. And instead, she found both sprawled out over the bed and floor asleep, half of a blanket fort put together as shelter. This time, the tears she cried were ones of happiness and contentment. Her boys were growing up.