Erin knew she shouldn't be listening through the closed living room door but she figured it was too late now, she already was.
"Mummy and Father have had enough of him, Gregory. They want him to stay with me, but he point blank refuses."
"Is there no one he'll go to?"
"No, no other relatives would even consider having him in the house, most of them have already suffered through him once. He insists he'll be fine by himself, but he's just sixteen! I wouldn't trust him alone overnight, let alone permanently! I just don't know what I'm going to do with him."
"My…" Her dad had said it slowly, thoughtfully. Erin's heart leapt. She knew she could count on his soft heart. "I could take him. There's the spare room, we could try him at Erin's school… It could work."
"Gregory, are you sure? Sherlock's… difficult at the best of times."
"It's worth a shot, isn't it?"
"Well, yes, but… how would Erin take it? Another child in the house?"
"Erin would be delighted!" Erin had called, forgetting they didn't know she was there. She slapped a hand over her mouth and ran back to her room.
Erin caught herself smiling at the memories as she looked across to the clock this time. Somehow, within the course of one meeting, she had become irrevocably tied to this boy. He was her brother, blood or no; she now knew him better than anyone, and yet she still didn't know why- no, she wasn't going to think about that just yet. She would allow herself to drown in the good times for a bit. Her eyes drifted idly back to the TV.