Teach Me Something New (Boyxboy)

Chapter Sixteen

When Lawson had visited his house on Friday to pick up the tennis racket for Sean, his mother had refused to let him leave until he agreed to come home for brunch on Sunday. Luckily, he didn't have much homework for the weekend, so he was able to manage, but he had to turn down Sean when he offered to take him to breakfast, since Lawson had actually served out the day before, though not on purpose.

Despite that disappointment, Lawson was excited to see his sisters and step-father, all three of whom had been absent when he visited on Friday. He hadn't seen them since they had visited campus within the first week of school, and he missed their enthusiasm and zest for life more than he ever thought possible.

The second he stepped in the door, it was clear to him that the feelings went both ways. Luna saw him first, and called out his name in glee, sliding off of the couch on her stomach before launching herself into his arms. Cyble, who had been sitting on William's lap in the chair, had to wait until her father actually put her down before she rushed him, and by then Lawson had crouched to the ground to be at proper height for the both of them. "Are you coming back?" Cyble asked, brown eyes hopeful and Lawson laughed and kissed her cheek.

"Just for today, button. I've got to go back to campus after brunch".

"No," Was Luna's simple response, which made him smile as he stood, holding Cyble on his hip with one arm, and Luna on his other.

"Hey Will," Lawson greeted, smiling warmly at his step father, who grinned back at him. "How's it going?" Lawson remembered his mother telling him William already as a call back for a second job interview at a company in the area, but he wasn't supposed to know about their financial struggles in the first place, so he didn't bring it up.

"It's all good with us. What about you? How's college? How are your grades?" He asked, all with a laid back smile. Through high school, Lawson hadn't been the perfect student, but he had gotten decent grades, enough to get a small scholarship actually, so his parents tended not to worry about him.

"All good, of course". The girls began to squirm in his arms, bored with not being able to run around for longer than a minute, so Lawson crouched back down to set them both on their feet. Away they went, giggling something about toys in their room, and Lawson smiled after them.

"You know, yout mother told them yesterday that you'd be coming home, and they were so excited," William said and Lawson laughed.

"Yeah, well, I don't really blame them for having that reaction. They do have an attention span of about thirty seconds". He got another chuckle in response. "Hey, where'd mom?"

"Where do you think she is?" William teased. "You're coming home. She said she's going to make the best damn brunch you've ever tasted so you'll decide to stay here forever, but it's your mother's cooking, so I doubt that will happen". At that, Lawson grinned, nodded his head and slipped into the kitchen in search of his mother.

She was in front of the counter, facing away from him so he couldn't see what she was making, but it smelled familiar. Her brown hair was pulled up into a messy bun on the back of her neck, and she was still wearing her pajamas. Lawson went up behind her and tapped on her shoulder. Not even a second later, he was enveloped into a bone crushing hug. It made him laugh, but also made him want to cry with the centemiant. His mother had always hugged him like that; like if she didn't hold on tight enough he would slip away. "God mom. I saw you two days ago".

"I know. It's been far too long," she claimed, but she allowed him to take a step back. "Get in here and make this french toast. You always do it better than me". When she moved away from the stove, Lawson took her place without complaint. Like his mother, Lawson was very very bad at cooking, but when it came to his favorite breakfast foods, he happened to excel. "So, love, how've you been?"