Chapter Four: Discussion

After dinner Chloe talked her brother into giving her a ride to Craig's house. When Craig finally opened the door he looked positively stricken, and she wondered what horror could have befallen him since they had last seen each other.
"Craig, what happened?" She asked, wrapping her arms around him and squeezing tightly. He hugged her back ferociously. Suddenly Angela appeared underfoot, smiling up at them brightly.
"Hi Chloe!" she spoke, wrapping her arms around their knees and hugging them both. Chloe smiled.
"Hey Angie! It's awfully late for you to be up, isn't it?" she asked, and Angela nodded.
"Craig said I could stay up until you got here." She replied with a yawn. She turned to Craig. "Can I go to sleep now?"
Craig nodded and followed her as she went off to her room. Chloe followed, but veered off into what Craig was currently calling his room. It was more or less still just a guest room; Craig had left no permanent mark on it or made any attempt to claim it as his own. She sat down on the bed, enjoying the darkness.
Craig finally finished putting his sister to bed and entered the room. He sat down next to Chloe without turning on the light. Apparently he enjoyed the dark as well. After a moment, she turned to face him.
"Craig," she began to say for what seemed like the millionth time. He interrupted her before she could finish.
"My dad finished counseling, and he wants me to live with him again." He blurted out in one breath, heaving a sigh of relief at finally saying the words to someone other than himself. Chloe's eyes grew wide.
"Already? But he just started!" she cried, and Craig buried his face in his hands. Chloe frowned. "You don't think he's changed?"
"How can I, Chlo? I haven't been out of his house for more than a month yet and already he's a model father? People don't change that quickly." He replied, and Chloe rubbed his back gently.
"No they don't, usually." She told him, and he finally looked up, tears brimming.
"I can't go back there, Chlo. I can't imagine what I'd do if they said I had to. I just couldn't." He spoke as Chloe hugged him tightly again. He gripped her tenaciously, and prayed she wouldn't notice the tears that had begun to escape his eyes without consent. Just then they both heard the door open and close. Craig pulled away and hastily wiped away a stray tear. Standing, he left the room quickly to greet his foster father. "Hey Joey!"
The sound of Craig's falsely happy tones depressed Chloe greatly. He was reverting back to his old patterns, getting back into the habit of pretending everything was all right. They both knew that everything was not fine, and Chloe wondered how long it would be before things came to a head.