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Georgie's POV
I didn't expect this.
I really didn't expect dinner to be this awkward when we got back home.
I glanced at Veronica, who kept her head down; Missy was staring at me with stars in her eyes; Mom was glaring at me like I'd done something unforgivable; Dad kept sneaking awkward glances between me and Veronica; and Meemaw… well, she looked way too happy with the situation.
Except for Sheldon, of course. He either didn't care or genuinely didn't understand how tense everything was.
"Brother!"
Missy's voice cut through the thick awkwardness of the room. I turned to her, "Hmm?" looking at her with confused gaze.
"Tell me how you fought that junkie like Sheldon said!" she asked, eyes wide with excitement.
Mary whipped her head toward us, her eyes blazing, "No! What your brother did was stupid!" she snapped.
Meemaw chuckled, "Did you beat him up real good?" she said, throwing gasoline on the fire.
Mary turned her death stare on Meemaw, but Meemaw just took a sip of her beer, completely unbothered. "What? I just want to know," she said with an annoyingly smug smile.
I looked at Missy, "Don't do what I did, alright? Yeah, Mom's right. It was a dumb thing to do." I said, taking a sip of water before adding, "I kind of lost myself in the moment."
I glanced at my bruised hands—proof of what happened back at that motel.
My fists were messed up from punching that guy over and over. It wasn't just my blood on them either. His blood was all over me.
Everyone was staring at my hands now, and I quickly hid them under the table, feeling embarrassed.
I gave everyone an awkward smile, realizing I'd completely killed the vibe.
Then I felt something warm—Veronica reached over and held my hand tightly. I turned and looked at her.
She gave me the softest, warmest smile.
"And then?!" Missy's voice broke in again, just as enthusiastic as before.
Mary groaned. "No, young lady. You do not need to hear the rest of that story!" she said, glaring at George now.
Before Dad could respond, Meemaw jumped in. "Why didn't y'all just call the cops?" she asked, looking right at him.
Dad gave me a long look, "That would've been a huge hassle. Georgie's about to debut—I didn't want anything to mess that up."
"And I didn't wanna spend the night at the police station." I added.
"I didn't want to either." Sheldon chimed in with a nod.
I noticed Dad's lip twitch at that.
"Haha! As long as you three are okay!" Meemaw said, raising her beer toward us.
"I heard from Sheldon that you pointed a gun at the junkie, Dad!" Missy said, eyes sparkling. "Why didn't you just shoot him?!"
"Alright, that's enough! Let's move on from this conversation!" Mary snapped, looking around the table. Missy pouted, crossed her arms, and slumped back in her chair, but Mary ignored her. "Georgie, Shelly—I heard you've got a math test coming up. Are you two ready?" Then she turned to Veronica. "How about you, sweetie?"
Veronica smiled. "It's okay, I think I'll do fine."
I felt someone staring at me. It was Dad, but he looked away the second our eyes met.
Mom did the same.
"It's funny hearing you ask me that, Mom," Sheldon said beside me, his voice full of pride. "I've already mastered the entire high school curriculum."
"I'm gonna match your score," I said casually. "Have you picked your gym outfit yet for when you lose?"
"What are you two talking about?" Meemaw asked, narrowing her eyes. Sheldon explained our bet, throwing in how statistically, I had no chance of winning.
"Remember when I beat your score once?" Missy chimed in with a sweet, teasing smile.
"..."
Sheldon stayed silent. Different subject or not, Missy scoring higher than him had thrown off his calculations.
"Do you want to study together later?" I asked Veronica quietly.
"Sure!" she replied, smiling.
"You better only be studying!" Dad warned. "And in the living room!" Now he showed what he want to say in the first place.
I smirked. "Of course. What else would we be doing?"
Dad looked completely speechless, and Veronica blushed, pinching me hard.
Honestly, I was still shocked when Veronica told me my parents already knew how far things had gone between us.
Not that I wanted to keep it a secret forever, but I was really caught off guard when Mom told Veronica to start calling her 'Mom.'
What does that even mean?!.
Well, the cat's out of the bag now. Sooner or later, they were gonna find out anyway.
"Oh good. The more distracted you are with everyone else studying with you, the more likely it is you'll down with terrible score!." Sheldon said next to me.
"Should you really be saying that out loud?" Missy asked him, puzzled.
Meemaw chuckled. "She's right, Moonpie. You probably shouldn't have said that in front of Georgie. What if he actually does study harder now?"
Sheldon looked at me while I grinned at him, and he shook his head. "No. Brother won't go back on his words."
I laughed. "That's right. Besides, getting an A+ is easy, you know!" I said, ruffling his hair while he grumbled and slapped my hand away.
Then with his squinted eyes, "You're not planning to cheat, are you?" Sheldon asked seriously.
Everyone looking at Sheldon after he saying that, and silence completely wrapping us until they snapped with their own thoughts.
"Shelly!"
"Sheldon!"
"Hey, dumbass! Apologize!"
I ignored everyone yelling across the table and looked at Sheldon, smiling. "Why would you think that?"
He glanced at Mom, Dad, and Missy, all of whom were glaring at him. "Well, I've calculated the probability of Brother getting the same score as me. It's very low. Around 10 to 15 percent. If he did cheat, though, his chances would increase to around 60 to 70 percent."
Mom and Dad were speechless, and Missy looked like she was about to explode.
"Well, I think you're wrong, Moonpie—" Meemaw started, but I cut her off.
"Haha, okay, I give up! You got me! I admit defeat!" I said, ruffling Sheldon's hair again. "After the math test, I'll take you to the train store."
Veronica just held my hand tighter.
"Really? Alright then!" Sheldon said happily and went back to eating.
I smiled and dug into my food too, ignoring all the stares around the table.
{At that time, I didn't understand what had just happened. I simply asked if he was going to cheat on the math test, and my brother… didn't deny it. He admitted it. I remember that moment, because later I realized my words had actually hurt his feelings.} — Adult Sheldon
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3rd Person POV
At the Cooper residence, Veronica was getting ready to head home. She had stayed over long enough and didn't want to impose on the family any longer.
From inside her car, Veronica kept her eyes on Georgie, who—as usual—had walked her out.
"Are you alright?" she asked, concern lacing her voice.
Georgie looked at her with a hint of confusion. "Hmm? What do you mean?"
Veronica didn't respond immediately, still gazing at him knowingly. She could tell Georgie understood exactly what she meant—he was just pretending not to.
"If you're asking about Sheldon, it's fine," Georgie said with a shrug, waving his hand. "He's just a kid. I'm a little disappointed, sure, but he's family. He'll come around eventually—it's gonna take some time, that's all."
Veronica nodded, understanding his point. "Alright," she said, then smiled softly. "Aren't you forgetting something? No goodbye kiss?"
Georgie chuckled and leaned in to kiss her lips, "There, happy?" he teased, then planted a gentle kiss on her forehead, "Drive safe, alright?"
Veronica's smile widened. "I love you." she said warmly.
"I love you too." Georgie replied, watching as her car disappeared down the street.
Once Veronica was out of sight, Georgie turned to head back into the house. But before he could make it far, a familiar voice called out.
"Georgie! Come here for a minute!"
George was standing near the front of the house, arms crossed, his expression serious. Georgie could tell this wasn't going to be a casual chat—it was a father-son moment.
He nodded and walked over.
"Let's talk." George said, leading him toward the backyard.
Georgie didn't say anything, just quietly followed until he see George motorcycle.
"We should fix your bike sometime.." Georgie commented as they passed the old motorcycle.
"No," George said flatly, then looked at him. "If we fix it, are you actually gonna ride it?"
Georgie smirked, "Maybe?"
George scoffed. "Then no."
Georgie couldn't help but laugh, and hearing his son laugh brought a hidden smile to George's face—though he masked it with another scoff. Their light banter carried warmth, and George liked that.
In the backyard, Mary was already sitting, waiting for them with a faint smile, though a bit awkward.
George sat beside her, while Georgie took a seat across from them.
"If this is about Sheldon, don't worry. I understand." Georgie began, not looking overly concerned.
George and Mary exchanged glances before Mary hesitantly spoke up, "Well, yes, that's one of the reasons. Are you sure you're okay with it?"
"It's not a big deal," Georgie said casually, waving it off. "Maybe it's a good lesson for Sheldon—not to judge people so quickly."
George nodded in agreement. In their family, that kind of conflict wasn't unusual—especially considering Connie's trademark sarcasm and sharp tongue, which, in her way, was still love sign.
Mary looked more at ease now. "You're such a good brother," she said gently. "I'm really proud of you, son."
Georgie smiled lightly. "Alright, now shoot—what do you guys really want to talk about?" he asked, leaning back in his chair.
Mary's expression grew more serious. "Alright, tell me what really happened at the motel."
"I already told you what happened.." Georgie said and looking at George, sounding a little weary.
"What I want to know is—why did you do it?" Mary pressed. "You said you lost control. What did you mean by that?"
Georgie had shared the details with George, but not the emotions behind it. Mary, being a woman—and more importantly, a mother—wanted to know how Georgie felt in that moment. She loved her son, and her instincts told her there was more to the story than simple anger toward a junkie.
Georgie sighed, taking a moment to steady himself. Truthfully, he didn't want to share this part, but when he saw Mary's face, he knew he couldn't escape it.
"I... let him hit me first…" he finally said.
George's eyes widened, and his temper flared immediately, but Mary squeezed his hand, stopping him before he could speak.
They waited, silently, for Georgie to continue. He was staring at the sky now, avoiding their eyes.
"I led him to hit me first."
BAM!
George slammed his hand on the table, pointing at Georgie furiously. "What kind of stupid thing is that?! Why would you do that, you damn fool?!"
Mary didn't stop George this time. She looked at Georgie with frustration in her eyes. "I was just saying how proud I was of you before! Now I don't even understand why you would let that happen!"
For once, they weren't proud of his actions—they were terrified.
Terrified of the consequences.
"You told me you weren't stupid," George growled, his breathing heavy. "But that sounds like the dumbest thing I've ever heard! You said you assessed the situation? Saw he didn't have a weapon and decided that was safe? That's not smart, Georgie. That's reckless!"
He glared at his son, who kept his head down after George shouted at him. Mary rubbed George's arm in an attempt to calm him down again. She had meant to get upset too, but George had beat her to it.
"Tell us everything, Georgie," Mary said softly. "We want to know what was going through your head. What were you thinking back then?"
George snorted but sat back, still simmering with worry and anger.
Georgie exhaled, then began to speak.
"The moment he pulled that stuff out—I snapped. All I could think was... what if Sheldon had been the one to meet him? I know Sheldon would never take it, but what if he got pressured? What if he offered it to Missy?"
He clenched his fists tightly. Just imagining it made his blood boil.
"In that moment, he was already dead to me," Georgie said, looking at George. "He's not just a junkie—he's scum. Offering that stuff to kids? He's the lowest kind of person."
Mary opened her mouth, but Georgie cut her off.
"No. I can't risk even the smallest chance of Missy or Sheldon getting near that stuff."
He looked down again, continuing, "So I watched him. I read his body, watched what he was carrying. Yeah, I know what I did was stupid—I'm very aware of that."
He looked up at George, his expression serious now.
"But I wasn't going to let him walk away. I just wanted to take him down, call the cops after he passed out. That's all."
Then, he added quietly, "I didn't know you'd point your gun at his head."
"You were like a madman!" George said, eyes wide. "You kept punching him again and again—I couldn't even tell what was going on!"
Georgie actually smiled at that—because it meant George had protected him. No questions, no hesitation. He pulled his gun and shielded him.
Mary noticed the smile. "No! Don't you grin like that! It was dangerous! Both of you could've gotten seriously hurt! What if he had friends nearby?!"
Georgie chuckled lightly, and even George gave a brief smile—until Mary glared at him and he wiped it away.
"That's how I felt," Georgie said, rising to his feet. "And yeah—I didn't realize how tough junkies are to knock out!"
George nodded, still frustrated—not just with Georgie, but with himself for letting it happen.
"Where do you think you're going? We're not done!" Mary said, nudging George. "Yeah—hey! Sit down, Georgie!"
Grumbling, Georgie sat back down reluctantly. He had a feeling he knew where the conversation was heading—and he really didn't want to go there.
George looked at him, raising an eyebrow.
"So... how far have things gone with Veronica? I told you—not in my house, you little rascal!"
Georgie groaned and turned his face away. Absolutely not a topic he wanted to discuss with his parents.