CHAPTER NINETEEN

Valerie walked down the stairs lazily. Her hair was still dripping wet from her shower and she had shoved on her university sweatshirt and old jeans that she had ripped in high school from too much street hockey.

The boys were all up and ready to go when she made her way into the living room.

She came down to see Jack was flinging on his leather jacket and heading for the door with the other two Mercer brothers.

"Where are you guys heading?" She asked, scrunching up her hair to get it to keep its curl.

"Lawyers," Bobby answered her. "Ma's safety deposit box."

"Oh, well have fun," Valerie said. "Will you be back for dinner? I can throw something on."

Jack pushed through the archway and his older brothers. He shook his head. "Nah, you're not doing shit. Go out and have fun or something."

Valerie laughed. "You know I ain't good at that."

"You ain't good at cooking either." Jack said as he left.

They all piled out the door.

Valerie didn't listen to Jack. She never did and she wasn't going to start now. She started on the boys' laundry and she tidied up all their mess. She would have cooked or maybe baked something but Jack was right about one thing, she couldn't cook for shit.

She called in a order for a pizza when she heard the engine of Bobby's car in the driveway.

Angel didn't even stay to hello. He walked in and walked out - probably gone to get Sofi.

Jack sat next to her in front of the TV. She had cracked open a beer while she was waiting for them to get back and was watching Coach Carter on the movie channel.

"Did you even go out?"

She shrugged, taking a sip from the bottle in her hands. "That's for me to know and you not to find out."

He rolled his eyes.

Bobby ran down the stairs just as the bell rang. He flung the door open and Valerie walked over to pay the bill.

Bobby whistled. "Valerie Beaumont, if you weren't almost ten years younger than me, I'd wife you."

Valerie grabbed the pizza and brought it to the living room. She let out a little chuckle. "Why's that Bobby?"

"You got my laundry done, the house is fucking spotless, food is hot and ready," Bobby said. "And you ain't even bitching about it."

Jack's head snapped towards them. "Val, I told you to just relax. Why do you keep doing all this shit?"

"Ain't you heard? I'm trying to get Bobby to wife me."

Jack muttered something she couldn't hear but she rolled her eyes and let it go.

Bobby patted her shoulder and gave Jack a shove before digging into the pizza.

"If she wants to act like our housemaid, let her," Bobby spoke up. "I ain't complaining."

Bobby kicked back on the couch, propping his feet up of Evelyn's coffee table. Valerie went back to sitting on the floor, her back pressed against the foot of the chair.

They all ate in silence. Bobby left when the credits rolled up. She wasn't sure if he went upstairs or outdoors, she wasn't paying any attention. Jack was silent, still intently watching the screen even though there was nothing even slightly interesting on it.

She leaned into him, resting her head on his broad shoulder. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm alright," he told her. "I'm always alright."

"Bullshit, Jack," she didn't believe he was anything but terrible. "Your mom's gone, your bands on tour without you. How are you holding up?"

"I don't know, okay?" Jack ran his hands through his already slicked back hair. "It seemed like everything was falling into place and now it's all fucked up just like it was before."

She gave the arm she was leaning on a squeeze.

"I don't want to sound like a bitch but I'm glad you're here." He laughed, not looking at her. "You're the only sane person I got with me right now."

"Yeah, Bobby's crazy," Valerie nodded in amusement. "Angel ain't far behind either."

X X X

Valerie had stayed at the Mercers for two nights now, on their worn-out couch. Sofi had stayed the night, too, Valerie realized when she had been woken up to yelling in Spanish.

Bobby was starting his usual idiocy when it came to Sofi, who was not taking a second of it, and Angel was trying to defuse the situation.

Valerie, unfortunately having slept on the couch, had no chance of sleeping through this. She flicked open her eyes, sitting up straight, and stretching out. Nobody seemed to notice her, too wrapped up in their agruements.

"How are you all so rowdy? It's like ." Valerie yawned out. All three of them turned to her.

"Sorry, did we wake you?" Bobby said sarcastically before going back to trying to degrade Sofi as much as he could. Valerie rolled her eyes at all the childness that was going down.

It calmed down after awhile. Sofi offered to clean up Bobby's wounds, ones Valerie had no idea how he got, and they sat down at the dining table with a makeshift first aid kit. Bobby cursed as she cleaned him up and Sofi called him a pussy - but it was calm. Valerie hoped Jack didn't have any matching wounds - she didn't see anything when he came back last night but that didn't mean anything. It had been late when the boys came back, just as it had the night before. Valerie knew these boys were up to something, with Bobby being back it was bound to happen. She couldn't see the Mercer men letting their mothers death go without "closure".

Angel started yelling about cops pulling up and the new calmness was lost. Sofi scurried around to get Bobby something to wear to cover his wounds. There was no doubt in Valerie's mind now that he had gotten them from something less than legal.

Valerie retreated into the kitchen in an attempt to avoid the drama.

Jack stood in the kitchen, chugging milk from the carton, clad only in his boxers.

Valerie scrunched up her face. "Revolting."

Jack put the carton down and grinned. "We both know that's not true," he said with confidence Valerie wished she embodied. "What's going on out there anyway?"

"Green's here." Valerie informed him the second the door bell rang.

Valerie stepped out to get the door, greeting Green with a polite smile.

"Officer Green, good to see you," she told him with a faux-chipper attitude. "What brings you around here?"

"Morning, Valerie," Green said back just as polite. "I could be asking you the same thing but I won't."

He gave her a pointed look. "Can I come in?"

"You got a warrant?" Valerie said. Green immidiately looked taken aback at her words and her lips twitched in amusement.

"I'm just playing. Sure, come in. Everyone's in the living room."

When Valerie entered the living room with the two men, everyone, including Jack, was in there, already sitting down. She stifled a laugh at Bobby's attire: a silk, floral bath robe.

The two cops started questioning Bobby about some hair at a crime scene the night before and Valerie barely held back a scoff. Bobby claimed it wasn't his - or he'd already be in cuffs - but there was no doubt in her mind that he had been there. Valerie looked at Jack to see his reaction to all this but he wouldn't meet her eye, which told her everything she needed to know.

When Officer's Green and Fowler left, Jack tried to leave the living room without her noticing but she was hot on his tracks.

She followed him up the stairs and to his room. He shut the door before she could reach it but Valerie had no shame in opening it.

She stepped in and Jack rolled his eyes.

"I know what you're doing," she said softly. "But please be careful."

It wasn't a coincidence the boys were getting in trouble after Evelyn's death. They were doing something about it.

"I will, okay?" Jack said. "I promise."

"It's all I ask."

She patted down his sweater and smiled. "You look good today, by the way. I like the sweater."

He tipped his head down to her. "You always look good."

She clasped on to the rosary hung from his neck, trying to distract herself so she didn't let a dopey expression make its way on to her face.

"Thank you."

I had severe writers block when I wrote this so I'm sorry about its blandness.