Chapter Twenty One - The Right Way

* ERIC'S POV *

After helping Sarah carefully through the window, I made sure her landing was a good one and cautiously glanced back towards my brother, who was snoring just as loudly as before. I gently held her arms. The look on her face was enough to knot my stomach. I hardly knew her. But I didn't like seeing her that way. Maybe that was just the Matthews in me. I didn't like to see anyone upset. To most people, I seemed like a conceded girl chasing dummy, but 9 times out of 10, that was my intention to seem that way. When people expect certain things out of you, it's easier to control it and not disappoint when the things they expect are the things you create. I genuinely cared about people and the things that they felt. I suppose everyone had one secret or another.

"Talk to me. What happened?"

Sarah explained everything. From the anger boiling inside of her because of what Harley did, to the plan Shawn created to get back at him for it, to the accident that caused him to almost lose his life, to the reason why she was standing in my bedroom, shaking and her face damper than a rained on sidewalk. I pulled her into a hug and held her tightly.

"It will be okay, Sarah." When she started to cry again, I pulled away from her away and made her look at me, wiping away a stray tear with my thumb. "I promise."

"How can you promise that, Eric? I can't exactly hide forever. Sooner or later, they'll find me. They'll make me go back to the horrible place and I just.. I just." She breathed out, trying her best not to yet again break down. I completely understood though. Well, to an extent. I couldn't imagine how I would have felt if I had been told I was being moved away from the only place I felt safe and comfortable, away from everyone who made me feel that way.

Cory began to stir. I grabbed her by the hand and we both got out of my window and down the tree without being noticed. The last thing either of us needed was Cory's good intentions to be mixed up and land her exactly where she didn't want to be. As soon as we reached the opening to the back gate, a familiar voice stopped me dead in my tracks.

"Early morning stroll, Mr. Matthews?" It was Mr. Feeny.

I cringed and turned around. The panic in Sarah's eyes lit up like the Fourth of July. I gave him a half hearted smile. "Actually Mr. Feeny.."

He was wearing a dark green robe and his white hair had been combed down. The sky was a dim blue but the sun wasn't completely up yet. Mr. Feeny raised his hand up. "Whatever it is Eric, I'm sure you've got it handled. And I'm sure you'll both do the right thing," he said, gesturing more towards Sarah.

I smiled at him. "Thanks, Mr. Feeny. You know sometimes you can be pretty cool,"

"Ah, cool." He chuckled. "No. But I've lived and I've learned. As I'm sure you're doing right now. I expect I will see you both in school in a few hours?" He said more than asked.

I nodded and Sarah looked down towards the ground. "Come on,"

And at that, we were both on our way once more. We walked until we finally reached at a park not too far away. She didn't stop until she reached a swing. She sat down and then stared up at me, as if asking me to join her without any words. I did. I sat on the swing next to her and looked straight ahead of me. We sat in silence for a few minutes before she finally broke it.

"Eric, what am I going to do?" She asked weakly, her eyes not leaving the sand beneath our feet.

This was a moment where I didn't want to sound like the moron most people wrote me off as. I wanted to be a good friend, giving the right advice that she needed. The feeling of being needed, for once, was an exhilarating one. "Does Jason know?"

Sarah shook her head.

"Can I ask you something?"

Sarah's eyes met mine briefly before going straight back to where they were seconds before. She nodded slowly. "Of course."

"Why did you come to me?"

She dug the tips of her toes into the sand and shrugged. "I knew they'd look for me everywhere else,"

"Oh," I said. Maybe it wasn't that I was needed after all. I was more of a last option. But really, it didn't matter. As long as I was helping, that was all that did. Paying it forward was good enough for me.

"And because I couldn't remember the last time I felt safe, and protected. When I closed my eyes, you were the first person to come to mind." She said softly.

"Really?"

Sarah nodded once more. "Do you remember when Harley cornered me at school? You took a hit to the gut by the biggest guy there, trying to protect me. No one else would have.. I'm your brother's girlfriend's cousin. I'm nothing to you but you still helped me anyways." She rambled. Her eyes met mine once more. "And now you're out here with me, at 5 o'clock in the morning trying to help me figure out what to do. You're a good guy, Eric Matthews. I'd be stupid not to feel safe with you."

My cheeks bruised a little and I looked away with a shy laugh. "Well, I'm sure if it was Cory that woke up first, he would have done the same." And that was the truth. He would has given his shirt straight from him back and gone without if he thought for a second that anyone else would have needed it. It was silent again for a few minutes.

"I can't go back, Eric. I just.. can't."

"I think you should go and see Jason."

She looked at me.

I gave a small smile. "If anyone will know what to do, it'll be him. He's my best friend. And he's gotten me out of countless messes," I then paused. "After getting me into them," I smirked.

Sarah smiled and slowly got off of her swing. She came close to me and then leaned over and gave me a meaningful kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, Eric. For everything. I mean what I said; you really are a good guy."

And at that, like as fast as she had crawled into my window, she was gone, picking up her pace as the top of the hill that neared. She glanced back briefly before shooting me a small smile and wave and then took off out of sight. I continued to sit there, staring at the sand that seemed to swallow everything it touched. I took my time going back home, uncaring of what time it was, my vision and thoughts a blur. It didn't register that I was in my own backyard once again until I heard my own voice escaping from my mouth.

"Mr. Feeny!" I called out, the desperation in my voice a little more apparent then I wanted it to be. "Mr. Feeny!"

His door quickly opened and he stumbled out, an empty coffee mug at hand. "Eric? What is the matter?"

"I need your advice, Mr Feeny." I quietly said looking down.

The annoyance in his eyes fluttered through them quicker than I had ever seen before. He let out a sigh. "Why is it that you never listen to a word I say in school yet make it a habit to need advice at all hours of the day when you are not there?" He asked more to himself than me. "What is it?"

I leaned against the fence that divided us, kicking at some stray grass that peeked out at the bottom. "The situation with Sarah," I told him. "I don't know what to do. I don't know how to help her,"

"Ah," Mr Feeny closed his door quietly behind him and then slowly made his way to his patio set. He sat down and set the coffee mug down carefully. "Although I have no idea the kind of trouble she's in, what do you think you should do, Eric?"

I shrugged. "I'm not exactly the smartest guy out there, Mr Feeny. I don't even know why she came to me for any kind of help,"

His aged faced formed into a small smile. "Maybe once you find the answer as to why she came to you, then you'll know." Mr Feeny examined the coffee mug. "Let me ask you something."

I nodded but stayed quiet.

"Do you see anything wrong with this mug?"

I shook my head. "No. It looks perfectly fine to me."

"Mmm," he spun it around a time or two. "And if I threw it on the ground as hard as I could, what would happen to it?"

"Well, you are old Mr. Feeny, it might just bounce a couple times.." I trailed off.

"Eric!" He said clearly annoyed that I wasn't clicking into the lecture I knew I was about to get. "Pay attention. What would happen to it?"

"I guess it would break."

"And could it be fixed?"

"Well... Yeah. I guess you could glue it back together. But it wouldn't be the same anymore." I told him, still not entirely sure where he was going with it.

"Precisely." Mr. Feeny took a deep inhale of the morning air and then gave me a nod, with another small smile. "See, Eric. Sometimes, people need to have the comfort, the satisfaction, of knowing that although things are going to change, and although things may never go back to what they used to be, there's a silver lining through it all. No matter how many bumps, bruises and cracks, if you will, happen along the way. It doesn't always mean knowing the right thing to say, but when to say it and how to react. Sometimes Eric, all someone needs is to hear someone else reassure them that they aren't alone and that they don't have to go through those things alone."

For once, one of the many speeches I had heard from the one man I had known my entire life, besides my own Father, actually made sense. "Thank you, Mr. Feeny." I smiled. "I think I know what to do now."

Mr. Feeny nodded. As I turned and made my way to the treehouse, to go back into my room, his voice stopped me. "And Eric,"

I turned back around. "Yeah, Mr. Feeny?"

"As for that comment about you not being very smart," he slowly rose and made his way back into his house as well, pausing at his doorframe, his hand firmly on the doorknob. "You're a lot smarter than you give yourself credit for. I knew from the moment I met you, you had something special inside of you. Try not to doubt yourself. Have faith and you'll go a galaxy farther than you ever imagined you could. Remember that next time you ever do doubt yourself."

And at that, he disappeared back into his house. My heart felt like it was ripped in half, but, in a weird, good kind of way. It was reasons like that, that he was the only man I looked up to. My mentor. My teacher. My friend. No matter what I landed myself into, I knew he would help get me out of it. With his wisdom and his kindness, to his caring heart, to his strong beliefs. Mr. Feeny was who I aspired to be exactly like. If I had become half of the man he was, I would have been content with myself and the path I lead to get there. Mr. Feeny was a certain kind of special. And I was glad I had the privilege to know him better than any other kid at John Adams.

I scaled the treehouse, careful to be as quiet as I could. Once I got inside, I quickly got dressed and then made my way down the stairs, not surprised at all to see my Father standing beside the door of the fridge, a fresh cup of coffee at hand. He was wearing a white button up shirt, a plain teal tie and a pair of grey dress pants. His hair was a lot curlier than usual, but considering he had just woken up, I gave him more credit than I would have to the brillow head I called my brother.

"Hey son, where you off to, at," he glanced at his watch. "6:30 in the morning? Eric, are you sick?" He shut the fridge and made his way over to me.

I shook my head and slipped on my worn out Nikes. "Trust me when I say this is important, Dad. And trust me when I say I'm going to do the right thing."

"What did you buy, steal or knock up?" His eyes glimmered in curiosity and with a hint of fear.

I couldn't help but chuckle. "It's nothing like that for once. Just trust me." I didn't give him time to respond before I made my way out the door, knowing if he involved my Mom, I would have never gotten out the door.

I walked for a while before I finally stopped upon a large white house with a large red door. I took a breath before walking up to it and knocking, as loudly as I could. It wasn't even 30 seconds and it was ripped open. A tired woman with wild hair, and dark unpleasant bags under her eyes stood, looking me over like I was the spawn of Satan.

"Who are you and what do you want?" She spoke quietly. Another woman appeared behind her, except more delicate and business looking. Her hair was cropped short and her lipstick was bright enough to blind a neighbor two blocks away.

"My name is Eric Matthews. I'm a friend of your niece's," I watched as she tensed up and the other woman moved in even closer. If eyes could leave a burn, both of theirs would have burned holes and gave me forever scars of hate. "If you would give me just a moment of your time, I would like to explain to you why I think she should stay in Philly." I spoke quickly. "I promise, I'll tell you where she is. But only, if you disagree with any of my points. Please, just a moment, that's all I ask."