LOTF: Before and After

Phase 3: Chapter 15

Laurie Langley crawled out of bed in desperate need of a cup of coffee the next morning. She slipped into her slippers and trekked down the hallway to the living room. She stopped in her tracks when her eyes found Jack and Ralph asleep on the living room floor.

Ralph's head was propped up against Jack's midsection as they slept; Jack's arm mindlessly thrown over Ralph's shoulder and chest. Laurie stared at the boys, watching the falling and rising of their chests as she sighed quietly to herself.

Ralph might be too good for his own good, the brunette's mother considered. Jack was the one who was supposed to be sleeping out here; Ralph had obviously come to check on him. How they ended up like this, Laurie didn't know. But something about the sight of the two of them sleeping like... brothers? friends? Whatever it was, it made Laurie feel something she was certain she'd never felt before.

By the time Jeffery got up, Laurie was practically out the door on her way to work. She watched as her husband entered the living room and stopped to look at the boys, just as she had done.

"They're sleeping late" his wife said simply as she grabbed her car keys from the hook on the wall.

"When did Ralph come out here?" Jeffery asked as if his wife had been there.

"Sometime in the night, I suppose."

Jeffery turned back to the boys, watching as they slept, unmoving and silent. He shrugged to himself and walked past them to pour himself what was left of the coffee as Laurie closed the front door behind her. Jeffery left for work about an hour later. The boys, to his surprise, were still asleep when he left. He left Ralph a note on the counter reminding him to catch up on his class work when he got up.

Ralph awoke, finally, just after 1100. His eyes adjusted to the sun's blazing light that came in through the open kitchen window behind the dinner table. He sat up as he realized Jack wasn't there anymore. He scanned the room, peering over the couch into the kitchen. He found Jack standing at the counter in his hoodie, hair disheveled, as he picked at a bowl of fruit on the counter.

Ralph scratched his head as he slowly stood up and joined the blond boy in the kitchen. For a moment, neither spoke as Ralph started eating from the fruit bowl too.

"Aren't you late for education.com?" Jack spoke into the silence, pushing the note Ralph's father had left towards the brunette boy.

"It's self-paced, there's no class times" Ralph responded simply as he tossed a grape into his open mouth.

"No class and only have to study when you want to? Fuck, I should drop out and sign up" Jack considered as he continued to eat.

"You're back in school?" Ralph questioned.

"Didn't get a say in the matter" the blond informed him as he turned on the tap and shoved his head under it, drinking the water like a critter would.

Ralph watched in shock as he tried to think of what to say. "Public school?"

"Unfortunately. Shitty system compared to the academy" Jack replied with a mouth full of tap water, the liquid running down his chin, wetting the neckline of his hoodie.

Jack pulled his head out from the sink and abandoned Ralph at the counter. He said nothing as he wandered down the hallway. A second later, Ralph heard the bathroom door shut.

A couple hours later, Ralph was sitting at the kitchen table cracking down on a math worksheet while Jack sat in the adjacent living room, playing Ralph's Super Nintendo racing game. When Ralph finished the assignment, he gave himself permission to take a break and joined Jack on the couch.