*Some edits were made to the previous chapter to clarify the timeline. This chapter takes place the next day, which I would imagine to be January 23.

"Oh hey! Frankie just came out of her room. Don't you want to say hi to her?" Hunter and I had reached an uncomfortable silence, and when we heard the sound of a door slamming, he was more than happy for a change of subject. Problem is, I hadn't talked to Frankie since moving away. She had always kept to herself in our family, doing her own thing and keeping us in the dark. I tried to talk to her once last week, but we barely got as far as hello.

"I don't know. Would she even want to see me?"

"Probably. Frankie!" He looked up and over the phone, so I knew she had walked into the room. "Miles is calling."

"Oh really, Hunter? Is water being wet? Miles calls you every freaking day." I don't know what she had to be angry about on the weekend, but I was more shocked by what she said last than by the overall tone. Our mother never heard our conversations, but clearly Frankie knew. She knew I called all the time and not once asked to talk to me. Did she even ask Hunter about me?

"Frankie!" I yelled out against my better judgment. "Can you just spare a minute?" I was looking up at the ceiling back home for a few seconds while Hunter tried to pass me off to our sister, which sparked the weirdest sense of nostalgia in me. The phone shook too, and I could hear Hunter muttering for her to just take it. I was snatched out of Hunter's hands and found myself facing Frankie as she sat down on the couch and Hunter made his exit.

"Nice to see your face," I offered.

"Yours too." Silence. I didn't really have any idea of what I wanted to say, but I knew we couldn't go on without talking for weeks or even months on end. I needed to know what home was like. Hunter begrudgingly told me about school and his friends, but every time I asked about Frankie or mom or our home he didn't want to give any information at all.

I tried to ask Frankie a few things about her day, or about anything in general, but I was constantly met with snappy, one word responses and glares, and against every fiber of my being that was telling me not to, I felt myself getting angrier with every answer she gave. Clearly her mood wasn't just about me, but she absolutely refused to tell me what went on her life. Didn't she trust me?

"How's mom?"

"Like you care."

"Like I care?" I brought my fist in front of my mouth to prevent myself from saying something I would regret, but at that point I was absolutely livid. It was enough that she was dismissing every topic of conversation I brought up, but how could she insist that I didn't give a shit about the things I was asking? "Right, Frankie. Like I care that you barely talk to anyone. Like I care that Mom is losing her family one by one. Like I care that at any moment, Hunter-" I stopped for a split second, but continued on as if I never hesitated. "Like I care whether any of you live or die! Why should I? It's not like I'm a part of this family or anything!"

"You have never wanted to be a part of this family!"

"She speaks! She yells!"

"Shut up, Miles." At that moment, of all times, Emmett walked in and probably thought I was crazy. I was shaking, and starting to sweat a little where I was standing in front of my desk.

"Emmett. Hey."

"I see you're in the middle of something…" I swallowed, not sure how to react to his awkwardness. "I just wanted to get my coat…Gary and I are hanging out."

"Yeah, man. Sure. Sorry." Frankie was still on the phone, maintaining an impatient silence. After Emmett hobbled out, I felt myself calm down. "Frankie, I don't want us to fight. I need you to believe me when I say I never tried to abandon you guys."

"Well," she sighed and gave in. "I wouldn't blame you if you did. This family is all messed up. I'd leave if I could, too."

"I'm telling you, it's not like that."

"I know, I know." She shook her head. "I'm sorry for being awful earlier. It's just that living here is so stressful now. Even more so than when Dad was here, if you can believe it. I just don't like to talk about it."

"Hunter doesn't either."

"He hasn't told you anything?" I frowned.

"Not a word, other than 'it sucks.'" I did my best to impersonate our brother, and it got a laugh out of her at least.

"This place is practically barren. Hunter stays in his room mostly, and so does Mom. You know the hallway on the other side of the kitchen?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm pretty sure I'm the only person who has walked in it the past few weeks. Every time I'm at home, it feels like I'm the only one actually living here. Mom cared about family dinners at first, but she just kept crying because she knew you weren't coming. So we stopped. We all just fend for ourselves, and even Winston hasn't been stalking about like usual. He hates me because I won't date him anymore, and you're not here to help him with his homework, so…" She trailed off.

"Franks, that's awful."

"You're right," She laughed. "I'm left in charge of everything. And I hate talking about it because I'm always living it, you know? I'd like to forget."

"Well you have your friends, right?"

"Not really. I mean, Lola and Shay and I are still close, but it doesn't feel right to talk about this with them. It's not their problem."

"Well-" I started to give her advice, but she cut me off. It was for the best, because I probably had nothing helpful to offer.

"So when we hang out, I can't talk about it. And yet, it doesn't feel right to talk about anything else. They're talking about homework or boys and I'm just like, how can you even care about that when I'm living the way that I am? My mother is literally driving herself crazy."

"If you want me to come back, just say so."

"I can't ask you to do that. I'm not mad at you. To be honest, I'm proud of you, and when you get better… you'll come back and things will work out." I wasn't sure what to say. There was always talk of "getting better." How is something like that even measured? It had been so long since I'd taken drugs that they were completely flushed out of my system. But I wasn't better. How would I know? I decided that this conversation was running its course, and I needed a change of pace. I thanked her for her optimism.

"Alright Frankenstein, put-"

"No one calls me that anymore. Frankenstein? Chewie? Face it, you can't make nicknames stick." Her mood had also improved over the course of our conversation, and I think she was relieved to get out these things that she had kept secret for so long.

"Okay…Well…Disagree…" I shook my head. "Anyway, put Hunter on the phone again."

"Sure, whatever you say. Hunter!" She called out. "Hunter?"

"Where is he? Turn the camera around."

"I don't know; he came out but he's muttering something. I can't listen to two people at once." She flipped the camera around and I saw Hunter at the end of the hallway for a brief second before he darted back into his room. She flipped the camera back and frowned at me.

"I don't know if you picked it up, but he said he doesn't feel like talking anymore."

"Well why the hell not?' Our conversation was cut off prematurely- he was more than happy to pass the phone off to our sister, but I wasn't done.

"I don't think he's feeling well. He's going to lay down. There's a cold going around, too. I've had a sore throat myself." I squinted at her, not sure if she was covering for him or not. We were loyal to each other, if anything. Ultimately, I decided that I had to let it go.

"Fine then. But tell him he has to call me tomorrow. I mean it!" I yelled in case he had peered out into the hallway to eavesdrop.

"Why do you care so much about Hunter?" Frankie asked. She looked genuinely offended for a second. "You guys have to talk every day? I don't see you calling Mom any day. Hunter may not even care that you're not here, but she does."

"Frankie-"

"I'm sorry. I know I said this before." I remembered her saying this family is all messed up. There was an implied you messed it up ringing in my head, but I wasn't ready to hear her say it even though I was sure that she thought it. They all thought it. Dad thought it.

"Don't…Don't apologize. Frankie, I'm sorry. I'm really sorry and…and I love you. I miss home, too. I think about you guys every single day, and I promise you that I will fix myself and I will fix this family, okay? I promise. I really mean it. I promise." I looked at her, hoping for a response, hoping for any semblance of forgiveness, but I was met with Frankie's bittersweet smile.

"How long has it been since you've said you love me?" Too long.

"I-"

"You are getting better." She started to cry and I felt my own tears building up in my eyes. They were burning. Every part of me burned with this guilt that I couldn't express even if I tried. "Stay there," was all she said before hanging up on me.

After that complete emotional rollercoaster, I didn't know how to feel. My head was absolutely drained and I was overheated. I closed my eyes for a moment, but restlessness kicked in eventually and I knew I had to get fresh air. Nick usually worked on Saturdays, the worst day of all to work, but I was pretty sure the gas station was near a liquor store. I looked down at my phone, planning for a second before giving Emmett a call.

"Dude! What's up?"

"Uh…how far out are you and Gary?"

"We're not. We've been hanging out in his room for five minutes trying to figure out what to do. If only someone would be decisive!" I heard Gary tell Emmett to be quiet in a less than appropriate way.

"Do you think it would be cool if I went out with you guys?"

"Is everything alright?" He sounded hesitant, and I froze.

"What do you mean?"

"Well… you were being weird? For starters?"

"No, that wasn't anything. My sister just knows how to push my buttons."

"Right. Well if you aren't going to be a total nutjob you can come. Besides, you looked like you could use a drink." He laughed.

"You guys have some?"

"Well, no. We're pretty much out." Perfect. "Gary! Miles gave me an idea."

"What?" It was muffled, but I managed to hear him.

"We're going to Patrick's. Stocking up again."

"Alright, sounds cool."

"Miles, you still there?"

"Yeah."

"Meet us by the gate. We'll walk there." He hung up, and I grabbed my coat as quickly as possible before escaping my room.

The walk to Patrick's only took twenty minutes, but it seemed longer with the harsh January wind blowing against us. We joked the whole time though, keeping things lighthearted. Gary was one of the funniest people I have ever met. He actually made the history class we had together really fun. Browsing through the selection of liquor took way longer than anticipated. Gary and Emmett bickered for easily half an hour over which brand of whiskey to get, and after they settled on one bottle they moved on to arguing over vodka. I tried to stay patient and give my honest advice despite the fact that I didn't even care about drinking a lot anyway. After they settled on what they wanted and got through the line without any trouble, I motioned to the convenience store next door.

"Let's get snacks too. You guys have no chips left."

"Good point." We walked in, and needless to say, Nick was very surprised to see us.

"Hey guys?" He questioned, shooting me a look in particular. I shrugged.

"I wanted chips."

"Right." I strolled over to the appropriate aisle while Gary and Emmett sat down on top of the ice cream freezer. Nick glared at them, probably to show some sense of loyalty to his job, but he laughed it off and made his way over to me. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Getting booze," I stated matter-of-factly. "And I wanted to see you," I added so our friends couldn't hear. He smiled.

"You just can't get enough," he said at a normal volume, inconspicuously answering both statements. He shook his head and went over to Gary and Emmett to talk to them for a bit while I kept looking through the snacks.

As I came to the front with as much food as I could carry, they were all standing by the counter.

"So how are things between you and Katherine?" Emmett asked Nick suggestively and I froze. Nick bit his lip.

"Nothing is going on between us. We're just friends."

"Dammit." Gary actually sounded disappointed. "We were hoping it was true so we'd know what happened. Just tell us what's going on."

"Wyatt and I decided not to say anything." They both groaned and would have pushed further if I didn't bring the snacks up to pay for them.

"Well, we're just going to be hanging out at Gary's today. It's only going to be us three, so feel free to join." Nick smiled at Emmett.

"Sounds good. I'll catch you guys later."

"Later!" Gary called out, not even waiting for me to get the bags before walking out of the store. I trailed behind Emmett, but turned back to look at Nick one more time before leaving. He winked at me, and I was thankful that the wind blew the blush off my face as I stepped outside.

*Thank you for reading! The next chapter will take a step back and give backstory on how Miles became friends with Gary and how he and Nick became involved. Also some other names were thrown around here that have not been mentioned yet, but will be in the next chapter. I wanted to add a little something to Miles's boarding school experience so that he gets something out of it before he has to go back home. These characters that I created for the sake of adding to depth to Miles's time away are not central to the story! I promise that once Miles returns homes (which will most likely be at the end of chapter 4), these people are not going to be seen or heard from again. They may be mentioned offhandedly, but they were only created for the sake of giving Miles people to talk to while he is away.