"Father has been unfaithful in his marriage to Mother. He has had a mistress for the past 20 years or so. Eddy, I have a brother and a sister."
"Wow. Are you going to be able to meet them? How old are they?" Eddy asks immediately.
"Well, my sister is 16. My brother is 14. Their mother, Father's mistress, decided she was tired of raising them alone. She gave Father an ultimatum. Either he leaves Mother and comes to help her raise my brother and sister, or he must take them himself. He and Mother have been arguing for days. They don't want to split up, but Mother doesn't want to raise 'his bastard children.'" Eddward informs his two best friends tiredly.
Eddy shakes his head sadly, "The one they should be asking is you, considering you'll be the one watching them…How do you feel about all of this, Double D?"
Eddward sighs, "I'm worried about them. It's a painful feeling, not being wanted. And I want to meet them, I think."
Eddy frowns, "Why don't you tell them that?"
Eddward chuckles bitterly, "I can't speak past the screaming. Actually, I do need to go now. I might as well try to talk to them about it before they leave again."
That evening, Eddward walks into the kitchen of his own home to speak with his Mother and Father. "Mother, Father. I have something I would like to say, and if you would hear me out, I would be most grateful."
The two adults stop flinging heated words at each other long enough to eye him in confusion. Then, Father says, "Well spit it out then boy."
"I want to meet them," he blurts. The two stare at him in shocked silence. "I want to get to know them, and neither of you are really home enough to have to deal with them anyway. They're old enough to be home alone on the weekends. Please stop fighting."
After he finishes speaking, he chances a look at his parents, and finds that they're both scrutinizing him. Finally, Father speaks, "Alright boy. You take care of them, and I'll make sure that all the money I was sending to Mary will go to you instead, so you can take care of them and buy them whatever they need. If your Mother approves, that is."
Eddward recognizes the sound of dismissal at the end of the statement, so he returns to his room. His Mother and Father talk long into the night. Now that neither will have to stop working to support two strangers, there's no reason to argue. Their son can take care of the two of them, and when he turns 18, they can change everything over to him and leave the country, like they were planning to do before this unfortunate discovery was made.
Eddward sighs, he knows exactly what they're planning. He's heard them speaking of it since he was a very small boy. Truth be told, that was why he and the other Eds had tried scamming the cul-de-sac for years. Eddward has been squirreling away money since he was 5. He had been planning to sell the house once it was in his name, and move in with Eddy. That won't be possible now that he has two others to take care of. He concludes that night that he has to talk it over with his newly discovered siblings, and see what their lifestyle was like before. He'll be truthful with them, and most of the money Father sends will be put into an account his Mother and Father are unaware of. He has enough saved up that when they leave him with all of the responsibilities, and the house, he'll be fine for a few years.
Time passes quickly and before Eddward knows it, Saturday is upon him. Today is the day that he gets to meet his brother and sister. Mary is supposed to drop them off in 30 minutes and despite the circumstances, Eddward finds that he's very excited. He has a meal prepared, the guest rooms that will become their rooms are utterly spotless, and he can't wait to meet them. At exactly 12:30, the doorbell rings.
Eddward opens it with a smile and greets the woman at the door politely. She's about 5'4, has long brown hair, and beautiful green eyes. She smiles back, and he invites her inside. She enters the house, followed by a teenage girl that looks identical to her mother, aside from the fact that she's about 3 inches taller at about 5'7. The boy is as tall as Eddward himself, standing at around 5'10. He looks just like Father. Eddward greets both teens with a smile. He closes the front door and leads the trio into the sitting room. Once everyone is seated, he begins speaking, "I have prepared a meal, if any of you are hungry. For drinks, I have milk, Gatorade, and bottled water. If any of you need the restroom, it's the last hallway door before you reach the staircase."
Once everyone has visited the restroom, grabbed their food, and gotten comfortable, the woman begins to speak. "My name is Mary, in case they didn't tell you. This is Heather, and this is Ethan. Dear, may I ask, where are your parents?"
Eddward forces a smile, "My name is Eddward. You may call me Edd or Double D if you'd like, since there are two other Eds living in the cul-de-sac. They're at work, ma'am."
Mary frowns, "Are you left alone often?"
"Mother and Father don't come home much," he says simply, "but I have lifelong friends here whose parents check in on me regularly."
She nods to herself, "Ethan, Heather, please get your things out of the trunk of the car." The children get up and walk out of the door.
"Would you like to see the rooms they'll be staying in?" Eddward asks politely.
"Kid, you can drop the act, I know you've probably heard your Mother and Father talking. I doubt you like me. That's fine. You seem like a good kid, you've probably been left alone all your life, and you still seem perfectly functional. I don't want to do this, but your Father informed me that since Ethan is 14, he doesn't need to send money anymore. I can't support them on only my income, so I agreed to let Ethan and Heather move in here. I realize this is probably hard on you, but I hope you can come to love them as much as I do."
After her little speech, she lets her mask fall, and he sees how much this truly hurts the woman. He smiles at her and nods, "I'm actually very excited to get to know them. You know you're welcome to come and see them at any time, right?"
She blinks, apparently surprised, "Your father…."
"Isn't here enough to care." He states firmly.
"But what about your mother?" she asks.
"She'll get over it." He replies.
At that moment, the teens return with their things, and they all travel upstairs to see their rooms. "You can decorate them however you see fit." He informs them happily. He then indicates a door across the hall. "That's my room. Please knock before you enter, but feel free to do so any time you need me. My door will always be open, metaphorically. In addition, any messes you make in your own rooms, you will clean. I will clean everything else until you get used to the place."
The teens nod along, happy that they won't be part of some godawful Cinderella story. He gives the trio a tour of the house, and finally they return to the sitting room. It's 2:00 now, and Mary smiles sadly, "I have to be at work in a few hours, so I need to go. Kids, you have my phone number if you need anything. You know I love you."
They respond in kind, and Mary goes to leave, "Oh! Eddward, dear, come with me, I have some paperwork I need to give you."
He follows her out to her car and she hands him a briefcase, "This contains all of their information, birth certificates, everything. Please take care of them, and thank you for your hospitality." She kisses him on the cheek, gets into the car, and drives off.
'Well,' he thinks to himself, 'time to go make sure they haven't set the house on fire.'