Nathan: WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT FOR? (He walked over to his stereo and turned it down and then grabbed a dirty shirt off the top of it to wipe his face.)
Kaylee: (She walked over to his window and lifted the closed blind.) It's raining outside Nathan.
Nathan: Are you on drugs?
Kaylee: It is not only raining outside my dear brother but it is POURING so hard that on my way home I could barely see in front of my face.
Nathan: Thanks for the freaking weather report you psycho now why did you throw the water on me?
K: Do you remember the conversation that we had before school today?
N: About your loser boyfriend?
K: After that.
N: Umm...my good hair day?
K: BEFORE that! The part where I told you I needed a ride home...
N: ...At 5:30. (He looked at the clock on his nightstand.) Oops. Why didn't you...
K: CALL? (She picked up his cell phone off his bed and held it 2 inches from his face.) I DID! (She looked at the display.) 14 times. It's on vibrate dumbass. I called the home number too. (She picked that phone up and put it to her ear.) Dial tone. Seems to be working.
N: Oops again?
K: That is all that you have to say? Why weren't you answering the phone?
N: Cause I figured that it was Dad calling to yell at me and I didn't feel like listening to it.
K: (Yelling louder then she had so far.) CALLER ID! HEARD OF IT?
N: Calm down Kay. It was a little water. You are not going to melt. (He went to the closet and pulled out a pair of jeans and a couple of shirts on hangers and held them up.) Which one?
K: You can not be serious. You get that I am pissed right?
N: Kinda hard to miss that. I said that I was sorry.
K: Ahh... no you didn't.
N: Thought I did. Which shirt?
K: I GIVE UP! (She threw her hands in the air and flopped on his unmade bed. You could tell their mom was gone because there would be no way he would get by without making his bed. Kaylee was a neat freak but her mom was obsessive about it. Another sign that their parents were gone was that Nathan obviously had plans to go out on a school night which was definitely unheard of in the Scott household. Having a teacher for a mother was not easy for Nathan. He could not wait to graduate and never go back to school and he just could not understand how his mom could go there voluntarily everyday.) The blue one. It's a week night Nate.
N: First a weather report and now you are going to go through the calendar with me?
K: Mom would never let you go out tonight.
N: She's not here in case you missed that.
K: You are just asking to get your concert tickets taken away again aren't you?
N: I sold the tickets an hour ago.
K: Why? That show is all that you have talked about forever.
N: (Nathan picked up his cell and dialed and then held the phone out to his sister.) Listen. (He watched as his sister's eyes got big as she listened to the message.) Nice huh?
K: Wow. I don't think that I have ever heard Dad yell that loud before. So did you call Mom and apologize for hanging up on her?
N: Yeah. I left her a message at their hotel.
K: Good thinkin'. So you think that going out after Dad just grounded you for the weekend is going to help your cause?
N: First of all it is not the weekend. Second, I figure I might as well have a little fun before he kills me.
K: So who is it tonight?
N: Who's who?
K: You are actually not going to wear some t-shirt or sweatshirt out so that must mean that there is a girl involved.
N: If you must know I'm going to the bar with Tim. If there happens to be a few cute women there...
K: (Shaking her head.) You are such a ...
N: ...Great brother.
K: Yeah. That's exactly what I was gonna say. You are so great that I practically drown on the way home.
N: (Rolling his eyes.) Speaking of that, get off my bed you are getting it wet.
K: (She took off her shoe and then her sock and rung all the water out on his pillow.) OOPS!
N: Seriously get out.
K: Uh uh.
N: Fine. Stay while I get dressed. (He started to take the towel off of his waist.)
K: (Jumping up and covering her eyes.) NATE!
(The door opened and Chris walked in.)
Chris: Keith has pizza downstairs. (He looked at his sister and smiled.) Nice look. Try taking your clothes OFF before you get in the shower next time.
K: Funny!
C: Nathan, what are the chances of you getting me to school by 7:15 tomorrow?
N: I have to be there at 7:00 so if I don't have to wait on your ass you can go then.
K: So I guess I am walking again.
N: (Laughing.) It is not suppose to be raining.
K: I live with a bunch of comedians.
N: Why do you have to go to school so early? Dad's gone. Give training a rest.
K: He has detention.
Ch: How did you find out?
K: Karly told Sara who told...
C: Forget I asked.
N: (Smiling.) That is what I love about you little brother. No matter how much trouble I get myself into I can always count on you to screw up and take the heat off me a little.
C: (Sitting on the bed.) Glad I can help. Dad's cell was on caller ID. Who talked to him?
N: (Sarcastic.) I had the pleasure of talking to Mom earlier.
K: What did she say anyway? Had they met Lucas yet?
N: Don't know. Don't care. But she did say that you two had to clear out the office up here and the spare room down stairs because someone is coming tomorrow to work on the rooms.
C: Why don't you have to do it?
N: Because I am the oldest and I'm going out.
(The door opened and Keith popped his head in.)
Keith: Hey anyone coming down to eat?
Kaylee: Me.
Chris: I am.
(They both stood up and started for the door but held up when they heard Nathan.)
N: Not me. I am going to grab something on the way to the library. (He gave Chris a death glare when he started to laugh but then covered with a fake cough.)
Ke: (Looking at his nephew and not believing a word he said.) Your mom said no going out on school nights.
N: Unless it is school related. I am meeting my tutor at the library.
Ke: Uh huh. So what time are you coming home?
N: 11ish.
Ke: How about 9 ish.
N: Ten?
Ke: Fine. Make sure that I don't have to come bail you out of jail okay?
N: Deal. (He knew Keith did not buy his story about going to the library but he had also heard all about his teenage years and figured that nothing that he could do would even compare.)
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Hotel in Nebraska - First night
(Lucas was restacking the eight pillows on the bed and crawled back under the down comforter. He hit the pillow behind his head a few more times, flipped it over to the other side and then laid back down looking at the ceiling. Lucas sighed realizing that even in the largest, most inviting bed he could not sleep more then a few hours. He patted the covers around him looking for the television remote. He turned the power on and aimlessly channel surfed with the volume off making sure that his "parents" would not hear. Karen had been in to check on him at least five times, all of which Lucas pretended to be asleep. He shut the power back off as he was unsuccessful in finding anything good to watch. It was now almost pitch black in the room and he would have given almost anything to be able to get at least one good nights sleep. He just needed his mind to stop. That had been the problem before his adopted parents died and now it just seems to be worse. He was feeling guilty about the way that he treated Matty. There was no doubt that he had acted like a complete brat at the mall but Lucas knew that most of his anger was not because of that but because of everything that was happening with Dan and Karen. Lucas had not talked to his little brother at all since he had told him that he was not going to take him swimming. The little five year-old probably hated him for it now and Lucas was beating himself up for acting that way. Lucas had been through a lot in the last few days but he needed to remind himself that Matt had been through the same and he was even too young to understand most of what was going on.
The hotel that they were staying in was unbelievable and when they first arrived Matt had looked at Lucas several times waiting for him to comment on it but Lucas was too angry and never said a word. It is not that he did not notice the fifteen floors, the glass elevator or the suite that belonged to them, it was because all that Lucas could manage to focus on was that him and Matt had only stayed in a hotel two times in their lives and they were both places that were so scary that it made you not even want to take a shower. How many times had Karen and Dan taken their other kids to places like this and how many family vacations had he been left out of?
Lucas felt the emptiness in his stomach at the same time he heard it rumble. It had been a long time since he had eaten anything. Lucas turned on the little light above his bed and then got up and headed to the table in the corner of the room and examined the contents of the plates that were sitting on it. Lucas was thankful for his own bedroom in the suite. When they first walked into the hotel room Dan had told Lucas and Matt that they could have the bedroom because he did not want to disturb their sleep because he knew that him and Karen would be up late. Lucas however was not stupid and knew the real reason was that he wanted to make sure that Lucas and Matt did not take off in the middle of the night. Lucas did not bother to call him on it because he just needed to get away from them for a while. He needed to sort some things out and he needed to calm down. After the mall scene they had went straight to the hotel and the first thing that Lucas did was shower and go to bed. Matt had been staying clear of him and Lucas could not blame him. In the past there were a handful of times that Lucas had lost his temper with his little brother when the stress of his life just got to be too much. It scared Lucas that he could get that mad and it scared him more because it reminded him of his abusive father. Well, the man that he thought was his father. Lucas was again feeling guilty and to top it off he had left Matt alone with Dan and Karen the whole time since they had been back. He had to admit that some of his initial anger came from the fact that Matt had taken to Karen so easily. Luke knew that part of it was that he just wanted the toy but it did not make it any easier to take when he refused to go with him and he just could not help being jealous.
Luke's stomach growled again as he grabbed a piece of the pizza off the plate. It was hamburger and mushroom, his favorite. Matt must have helped them out when they ordered. The second time that Karen had come to check on him she had brought the tray of food and Matt had followed but never tried to wake him or talk to him. There was a slip of paper on the table and Luke picked it up. It was the receipt for the room service and the total was $73.99. There was no doubt that it was the most expensive food he had eaten. He sat down on the chair and shook his head at the events of the last few days almost feeling that he had to be having a nightmare. He put his feet up on the chair across from him trying to take a breath and relax a little but instead a shiver ran through his body. He did not have a shirt on and they must have turned on the air to the room. He got up and grabbed one of the ten bags that were sitting on the floor and dumped the contents on the bed. He found some new socks. They were "Nike". Nothing but the best when it comes to Karen and Dan he thought as he slipped them on and could not help smiling a little at the fact that they were warm, clean and not worn by anyone previously like the rest of the clothing he had been wearing since he went to the shelter. Lucas grabbed another bag as curiosity had gotten the best of him. It was either freeze or find some clothes. He had found a couple of pair of pajama pants and countless t-shirts. He grabbed one of each and pulled off the tags, not missing the prices that were in bold print on both of them. In a different situation he would have thought that he has won the lottery, instead he felt like crap. On the one hand he felt like his new parents bought him all this stuff so that he would like them or forgive them for giving him up for adoption and on the other hand he felt cheated that obviously if they would not have given him up for adoption he would be accustomed to a whole different lifestyle. Again his thoughts were interrupted by the hunger pains and he grabbed some more food and before he knew it he had finished off the last bite. Lucas glanced at the clock and realized that it had gotten silent in the other room. Lucas opened the door and the only light that he saw was coming from the crack in the bathroom door. It was not that late and he was surprised when he walked in the other room and found Karen and Dan asleep in the bed and Matt covered up and sound asleep on the couch. He gently picked up the little boy and put him on his shoulder. He did not worry about waking him because unlike Lucas he never had any problem sleeping. Matt stirred a little and popped his head up to see what was going on.)
M: Lucas?
L: Shh.
M: (Whispering.) Are we leaving?
L: No. I am going to bring you in bed with me. (Luke felt him relax completely and lay his head back down.)
M: I ate all my vegetables and drank all my milk. Don't be mad at me anymore.
L: I'm not buddy. Go back to sleep. (Lucas shut the door quietly behind him.)
(Karen breathed a little easier when she opened her eyes realizing that Lucas headed back to his room and not out the hotel door. She had heard him come out of the room but instead of confronting him she wanted to see what he would do. It was the first time since he had gone in the bedroom that he had come out. Karen felt her husband move beside her and he wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed her neck.)
Dan: I knew that you were still awake. (He did not get a response but could tell from the light from the bathroom that her eyes were open.) That was a good sign. For a second I thought that I might be chasing them down the hall in my boxers. (Still she never said anything and Dan rolled to his back and looked at the ceiling.) You're still upset?
Karen: Where were you?
Dan: I told you that I ran to a few more stores and got some more stuff for the kids. You saw all the bags that I came back with.
Karen: You were gone for three hours. You hate shopping so I know that you were not doing that the whole time. (This time it was her that did not get a response.) How many did you have?
D: How many what?
K: I have always been able to smell vodka Dan. When did you start drinking again?
D: This was the first time.
K: And I suppose that you expect me to believe that? Next you will be telling me that you only had one. (She was doing her best to keep her voice down but her anger was starting to put him on the defensive and she could tell he was getting upset too as he propped himself up on one arm and faced her.)
D: (A loud whisper.) I don't see the problem in having a drink to relax.
K: For the average person that might be the case Dan but we both know that you are not
the average person we are talking about. Plus, you left me here with a crying five year-
old and an angry teenager to go have that supposed one drink. One drink has never been
enough for you Dan. The problem is that alcohol almost cost us our marriage seven years
ago. I can't do it again.
D: (He could hear that she was crying and felt bad. He wrapped his arm around her again.) It really was just one drink. (He was not lying. He had lied about it being the first time but he did not see the point in making her more upset right then and he had every intention of that being the last time.) I needed it to take the edge off Karen. Kare I just felt helpless. You were comforting Matt and I know that he does not trust me at all yet and Lucas is so mad at the world there was nothing I could do to help there either.
K: But having you here would have helped me. Instead you added to my problems because I was worried about you. I needed you.
D: You are right Karen. I'm sorry. No more I promise. (He kissed her when she didn't say anything. At least she seemed to have calmed down a lot. He knew that she was right but he also did not see the harm with one drink. Alcohol almost cost him his family at one point but that was a long time ago and he was a better person now.