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3rd POV
It had only taken Mary ten minutes before she snapped—after making sure the kids were out of earshot.
"Why didn't you tell me?!" Mary asked, staring at Connie.
She had finally let her feelings out, unable to hold them in any longer. Connie, however, remained silent, taking a sip of her beer.
"Did you think I'd get mad and forbid them?!" Mary continued, her voice firm as she looked Connie straight in the eyes.
Connie smirked at that and met Mary's gaze. "Would you allow it?" she asked with a hint of sarcasm.
"Of course I wouldn't!" Mary declared, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Heh. No kidding." Connie scoffed and took another sip of her beer. "That's exactly why they didn't tell you." She smirked again. "You're no fun!"
Mary fumed at that comment, her anger rising. "You don't need to teach me how to raise my own kids!" she snapped, glaring at Connie. "For the record, I am fun! So much fun!"
Connie let out a deep sigh. "Alright, fine. What do you want me to do? It's their secret. Why do you feel the need to know every little thing about your kids?" she said before downing the rest of her beer in one gulp.
Mary fell silent for a moment, her expression unreadable. Connie watched her before speaking again.
"And before you start judging her, she didn't tell me either. I just figured it out when something changed with her." Connie added, "…Well, I thought he would 'do it' the first time Veronica stayed over..." she mumbled under her breath, but Mary still caught it.
"That's not okay!" Mary exclaimed.
"Oh, please! You did the same thing! You think I didn't know?!" Connie shot back, pointing at her. "You think I was sleeping when that Tom guy climbed into your bedroom?."
Mary's face turned bright red. "Enough! This isn't about me! It's about Georgie!" she huffed, trying to steer the conversation away.
Connie chuckled, "He's not like other kids, Mary. I'm telling you, he's already grown up. Acting like a grandpa in the house—playing wise and charismatic." She took another swig of beer. "Besides, do you even know why Veronica didn't tell you?"
Mary stayed quiet, waiting for Connie to continue.
"It's because she's afraid—afraid that you'd tell her to leave." Connie finally said.
Mary's expression softened as the realization sank in.
Connie knew exactly what was going through Veronica's mind. Georgie had become an important part of the Cooper family, and Mary didn't want him to go down the same path she did.
Veronica didn't want that either. She feared that if Mary found out, she wouldn't approve of her and Georgie's relationship—that she wouldn't be welcome in this house anymore.
"That's absurd! I would never do that to Veronica!" Mary argued.
Yeah, Connie thought so too. As religious as Mary was, she wasn't the type to banish Veronica from the family.
But Veronica was an outsider. She had only known Mary for a short time.
At most, Mary would probably try to put a stop to certain… 'activities'. But she wouldn't forbid Veronica from coming over, nor would she stop her from being with Georgie.
Connie sighed and stood up, "Well, that's what she thinks," she said as she walked over to the fridge and grabbed another beer, "I bet she went through with it because she was afraid of losing Georgie."
Mary leaned back in her chair, exhaling deeply. "I know. After hearing Veronica's story, I felt it." She took a sip of her tea, trying to calm herself.
Connie sat back down, looking at Mary with a smirk, "She's head over heels for Georgie, you know." She popped open her beer can, "Well, if Georgie really wants it, she might end up preg—"
"Stop it!" Mary cut her off immediately.
Connie chuckled, sipping her beer again, "I know what you're thinking. But like I said, Georgie's not a kid anymore. He understands consequences. He knows how to take care of himself and the people he loves."
"I know that!" Mary admitted. But the fear still lingered in her heart—the fear that Georgie might follow in her footsteps, that he might repeat their mistakes.
Connie sighed, looking at Mary with an uncharacteristically soft expression. "I know… I wasn't the best mother to you. I wasn't always around. You were right about that." she said, smiling slightly.
Mary wanted to respond with sarcasm, but she rarely heard Connie speak from the heart, so she held her tongue.
"But you?" Connie continued. "You're a good mother. Better than I ever was. You raised your kids well. More importantly, you raised yourself better than I could have."
Mary listened carefully, her expression turning gentle—no sarcasm, no biting remarks.
"That's… very thoughtful of you." Mary said, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.
"Come here," Connie said, opening her arms.
Mary hesitated for only a second before stepping forward, embracing Connie tightly.
"Did you smoke again?" Mary muttered against her shoulder.
"Shut up. Don't ruin the moment," Connie grumbled, pulling away. "Now, go talk to Veronica." Connie said, nodding toward Georgie's room.
Mary followed her gaze. The light under the door was on—Veronica had definitely heard them talking.
Mary looked back at Connie and gave her a small nod before heading toward Georgie's room.
Meanwhile, Connie slipped out the front door before she got roped into any more exhausting conversations.
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Georgie's POV
Our trip home was much faster than we'd planned. My dad, Sheldon, and I were on our way back after being interrupted by that damn junkie!
No, I didn't lose the fight. But under the influence of whatever the hell he was on, that guy was like Rocky—he wouldn't go down!.
Damn it, how many times did I hit him, and he just kept getting back up?!.
I even had to sacrifice my ukulele just to knock him out.
It was like fighting a zombie or worse!—you had to smash his head into the ground before he finally stayed down, but he didn't!.
"…I should've shot him…" George muttered under his breath, gripping the steering wheel a little too tightly.
"Well, I don't want to spend the night in a police station." I said, closing my eyes.
I had already told him why I fought the junkie. I also explained why I had the confidence to take him on.
I had observed his movements while we talked earlier, watching his body closely to make sure he wasn't carrying a weapon.
I am not stupid.
But I am still human.
George stared at me, clearly frustrated, but I caught a flicker of worry in his expression. "Why in the hell were you outside?! You should be sleeping in the room!" he snapped.
He had asked me that several times now, and I had already given him my answer. It was like he wasn't satisfied and kept looking for an answer that would put him at ease.
Sheldon, sitting in the back seat, had his eyes closed. If he hadn't woken George up, I probably would've kept hitting that man until every trace of drugs left his system.
Or until he was dead.
Oh, I'm confident in my fighting skills.
I could still feel George's gaze on me. "We should stop at a motel again." I muttered, exhaling deeply.
I watched his jaw tighten, and before he could explode again, I met his eyes seriously.
"What did you expect me to do in that situation?! Just stand there and let him shove his drugs in my face?!" I snapped, tired of his anger.
I knew.
I knew he was just worried about me.
I knew he felt guilty for leaving me alone to deal with that situation.
"It's over, Dad. I knew what I was doing. I'm not stupid." This time, I said it with sincerity, hoping he would finally understand.
But he still wouldn't accept it. "What if he had a gun on him?! You'd be dead!" he shouted, then immediately looked like he regretted his words.
George fell silent, staring at the road without glancing at me again.
"I'm sorry." I murmured, lowering my head.
Yeah, I know. I'm too stubborn.
George sighed but said nothing more.
As the silence grew heavier, a small voice from the back seat broke through. "Please stop fighting. I'm trying to sleep here." Sheldon mumbled.
Right then, the rain started falling, making the atmosphere even more somber. George had to focus on the road.
"Find a motel on the map. We need to stay the night." he said without looking at me.
I simply nodded and started searching for the nearest motel.
{It was quite a ride with my family to Cape Canaveral. I don't really want to remember that day, but my brain won't let me forget it.
I call it the Cape Disaster.
My brother got into a fight with a junkie. My father was mad at him for fighting. And in the end, I never even got to see the launch because of the storm.
I never blamed my brother for why we couldn't go to Florida. The launch would've been delayed anyway because of the weather.
But still… it was quite a ride.} - Adult Sheldon
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Third-Person POV - At The New Motel
"Remember! We sleep, and we're heading home in the morning!" George declared, looking sternly at Georgie, who was already sprawled on the bed. "Georgie! You hear me?!"
"Yes! It's raining outside. I don't want to get wet!" Georgie said, waving his hand dismissively.
Sheldon had just come out of the bathroom, looking at Georgie with disapproval. He had to shower again because they had gotten soaked when they ran from the car to the motel. "Georgie, you need to shower before you sleep next to me!"
Grinning, Georgie ruffled Sheldon's hair, "Oh? So you wanna sleep with me, huh?" He teased. "Are you scared? Don't wanna sleep alone tonight?"
George watched them, exhausted both physically and mentally. He was in no mood for games. "Georgie, go take a shower and sleep!"
Georgie pouted but obeyed. George merely snorted, already lying down and closing his eyes.
Sheldon remained quiet for a few minutes, observing his father as he rested.
"Why are you blaming Georgie?" he finally asked, making George open his eyes again. "What? I'm not blaming Georgie!."
Sheldon immediately disagreed. "Yes, you are. I don't approve of what Georgie did either. I would've preferred we handle things like civilized people." He looked at his father seriously, "But I'm not blame him and I'm not upset with him either."
George sighed, rubbing his face. "What your brother did was stupid. You have no idea what people like that can do to you."
Sheldon nodded thoughtfully. "Are you more afraid of what that man could've done to Georgie?"
George scoffed. "I am not! Now go to bed and sleep!"
Sheldon nodded again and walked over to George's bed, pooking at him, "I want to sleep here."
George gave him a deadpan look, "No! I'm way bigger than you two!"
Georgie, fresh out of the bathroom with just a towel around his waist, overheard the conversation with interest. "Come on, Dad! Me and Sheldon are sleeping together, so of course, we need the bigger bed!"
George glanced at a coin beside him, "We'll flip a coin. Georgie, call it." He tossed the coin into the air.
Smirking, Georgie called out confidently, "Heads!"
The coin landed in George's hand, and he peeked at it without showing them. "Tch tch tch… not your day!" he said flatly.
Georgie lunged at him, "No! Let me see it!" He tried to pry George's fingers open, but his father wouldn't budge.
"What are you doing?! You lost! It's tails!" George snapped, dodging Georgie's grasp.
"You're lying! Flip it again and let us see it this time!" Georgie demanded, still trying to snatch the coin. "Sheldon, help me!"
Sheldon, watching their childish antics, shook his head. "I prefer not."
"See?! Your little brother knows how to accept losing with grace!" George declared, rolling onto the other side of the bed.
That struck a nerve Sheldon's competitive spirit flared. He marched toward them as they wrestled over the bed.
{See? It was quite a journey to Florida. And I never regretted it. but…} – Adult Sheldon.
"Ahhh! I touched Georgie's nether region!" Sheldon suddenly screamed, his face twisting in horror.
George blinked in confusion. "Wha… what?"
"His Peepee!! Ahhh!!"
{Yeah… I don't really want to remember that trip.} – Adult Sheldon.
Georgie burst into uncontrollable laughter, while George just stared at him, speechless. Meanwhile, Sheldon had already bolted into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.