Now that their parents had made it, Eddy could take a breather. She lit up a cigarette outside of the emergency room doors, not caring that her parents would give her shit for still smoking. It'd been a hell of a week and she fucking deserved it. She took a long drag, looked up at the moon as it rose, and secretly thanked God for bringing her baby brother back. She exhaled slowly, looking out into the street, and saw the fucker crossing the street. She cut him off before he could even make it to the door

"Where the fuck do you think you're going?"

"Always a pleasure to see you too, Eddy."

"He doesn't want to see you."

"Let's let him decide," he said, trying to push past her. She blocked him even more forcefully.

"You're gonna have to get through me, you dickless fuck."

"I have a right to... "

"You gave up that right a long time ago. No matter how many times he forgave you. If you really cared... "

"I DO care!"

"... IF you really cared, you'd have been here when I texted you. He would've been long dead by now!"

"What text? I didn't get any text!"

"Don't play stupid. How else could you have known?"

"On Tristan's Facebook! I found out on Tristan's FUCKING Facebook!" He took a breath and calmed down. "How is he?"

"He's alive. He's gonna pull through."

"Did he ask about me?"

"No," Eddy lied. "Now do us all a favor. Fuck. Off."

*

Tyler slipped into Charlie's room quietly.

"Sorry Mrs. Parker, don't mean to interrupt. I just wanted to see how he was doing."

"It's not a problem, sweetheart," said Charlie's mom. "And please, call me Mary." Charlie had fallen asleep again and Mary sat holding his hand. Tyler knew there was nothing that he could do and he should probably just go home. Just the thought of a sudden change in his condition (for the worse) terrified him. Charlie's dad came back with cups of coffee. If Eddy and Charlie got their dark hair, olive skin, and almond eyes from their mother, their height and chiseled bone structure they got from their father.

"Oh, I'm sorry son," Charlie's dad said. "I didn't realize you'd be coming back."

"It's alright, Mr. Parker. I'll only be a minute."

"You can give him mine, Richard. I don't think I'll need it." There was something so effortlessly momish about how Mary offered up the coffee that Tyler felt rude not accepting it.

"I can't tell you how much it means to us to have you and Hunter looking after our boy, Tyler," said Richard.

"It's not a problem, Mr. Parker. He means a lot to both of us."

"Charlie definitely seems to mean a lot to Hunter," said Mary. "I don't mean to pry, I don't want to be THAT mom but... are they... seeing each other?"

"What? No! At least... not that I know of."

"The way he was pacing and watching Charlie after he woke up... I haven't seen someone worry like that since I gave birth to Eddy."

"Yes dear, but that's because I almost lost you."

"Exactly my point, Richard."

"We really aren't THOSE parents," Richard said to Tyler. "We just worry about him. We want him to be happy."

"Oh god, they aren't boring you with horrors from our childhood, are they?" Eddy said as she came in.

"Ah yes, and then there's this one," Mary said. "Edwina, when are you gonna stop screwing around and settle down with some nice girl some day."

"When I do. Jesus, Mom, why don't you bug Charlie about it?"

"She does in fact," Richard said.

"He screws around as much as I do."

"Yes but you just... take such sport in it. At least he's looking for something more."

"Wait a minute," said Tyler. "You actually want Charlie to end up with a boy someday? And Eddy with a girl?"

"Well we don't want them to end up alone, if they could help it," said Richard. "Life's much easier when you've got someone to go through it with."

"It doesn't matter that they're gay?" There was a weird, silent non-reaction to that.

"Why would it?" Mary finally asked, breaking the silence, as if the thought had never occurred to anyone in the family. Tyler didn't answer.

"We love our children, no matter what," said Richard. "We don't take issue to their brown eyes or dark hair, why should anything else about them be an issue?"

"Here we go. They're practicing their campaign speeches for co-presidents of PFLAG," groaned Eddy.

"We DO take issue with snide daughters who slouch."

"And still smoke after they PROMISED that they would quit!"

"And forget to call on birthdays."

Eddy rolled here eyes and looked to Tyler for support. "Parents."

"Right," Tyler said quietly. He excused himself out into the hall for a moment and reflected on what just happened. This is how parents should be. He thought about the fight he had with his father before he stormed out of the house. He thought about his mother crying, begging him to stay. He thought about all the repressed angst from hiding his gayness from his dad and the lifelong animosity it had brought. He hadn't heard from them since he left. Maybe it was him that needed to take the first step.

Tyler picked up his phone and called home...

###