Post by StoryGirl83 on Apr 21, 2010 18:09:09 GMT -5
Chapter Seventeen – Welcome Home
Derek Silberman closed his front door behind him sadness enveloping him. His date with long time girlfriend, Danielle Josephs, had ended badly. She’d suggested that maybe Seth’s nearly four month absence was a good thing and he’d blown up at her. She had no idea how many times he’d imagined his son lying dead somewhere. She had no idea how close he’d come to severing ties with her. There had only been one reason he hadn’t and it hadn’t been her.
The door to the kitchen opened and a teenage girl, Kelly Ross, entered the room. “Hi, Mr. Silberman. Seth already paid me, so I was on my way out.”
At first her words didn’t register. “Thank you, Kelly. Did Peter . . . what?!”
“Seth paid me. Is something the matter, Mr. Silberman? He used to pay me all the time and now that he’s back in town, I guess he figured he start, again.”
Derek gulped. “Where is he?”
“Upstairs in Peter’s room last I checked,” Kelly informed him watching amused. “Did you and Danielle have a good time?”
Derek ignored the question. “Since Seth paid you, why don’t you see yourself out?”
“Sure, Mr. Silberman,” Kelly agreed. “Call me when you want me to babysit, again.”
Derek nodded. “Sure, Kelly. Good-bye.”
Kelly laughed as she grabbed up her purse and headed toward the door.
Derek didn’t bother waiting for her to leave before heading into the hall for the stairs. By the time he reached the top of the stairs he was running and he didn’t stop until he reached the door to the bedroom across from his own.
Before he could reach the door knob it turned and Seth was standing there. “Shh, he’s sleeping.” Seth stepped and closed the door behind him. “I’m sorry, Dad. I didn’t mean to be gone so long.”
“You worried your little brother,” Derek informed him, trying to downplay his own worry. “Peter kept asking about you, wanting to know when you were coming home, and I couldn’t tell him because I didn’t know. Where were you, Seth?”
Seth sighed. “I’m sorry, Dad. I didn’t mean to worry either of you. I just kept having reasons to stay where I was. Peter looked peaceful when I looked in on him just now.”
“Of course he did,” Derek retorted. “He’s asleep. Why didn’t you wake him?”
“Tomorrow morning is soon enough,” Seth informed him. “Tonight I figured I spend time with my dad. Kelly said you were out with Danielle. Did you enjoy yourself?”
Derek shook his head. “No. She insulted you.”
Seth chuckled. “Dad, you do know that Danielle hates me, right?”
Derek sighed.
“You don’t have to date her to make her spend time with Peter,” Seth informed him. “If you want to date her for you, that’s one thing, but don’t do it for Peter. She hardly spent any time with him since she left him here at sixteen-months-old. So don’t do this for Peter.”
“She’s pregnant,” Derek informed him, “seven months. I was trying to find a way to tell you when you disappeared. As you can imagine she’s not too happy about it. I already know this baby will be living here shortly after birth.”
Seth gulped. It had been interesting as a teen to suddenly have a baby in his home. One of the most difficult things had been to keep his little brother from blurting out that his older brother had a tongue like a snake. And with magic back there would be new challenges. He’d have to keep this new baby from blurting out that his or her, shudder at the thought, older brother could disappear in a shimmer of air. It was already going to be interesting explaining that to Peter and Peter knew about his mother. Compared to that he figured helping his dad raise another child would be easy. “Okay. And after that?”
“I don’t know,” Derek admitted. “But I need to know I can count on you, Seth. I need to know you’ll be around at two in the morning.”
“I’ll be here, Dad,” Seth assured him. “I can’t promise where I’ll be all the time. I’ll need to find a new job and, Dad, magic’s back. That seems to mean people need protection from those who abuse it and I can do something about that, so I want to. I want to help those people. I don’t know how you feel about that.”
Derek smiled. “Proud. I’m proud that I managed to raise a son that can say that and do that.”
Seth grinned and hugged his dad. “Thanks. Now, let’s get out of this hall before we wake my little brother.”
Derek laughed as father and son headed down the hall to catch up on lost time. With nearly four lost months neither figured they wouldn't be getting much sleep.