But the silence was short lived, because their door opened again a moment later, to reveal a tall dark Eddie.

“Good morning, beautiful darlings.” He said, smiling like the world had handed him a blank check. He shuffled himself in, hampered by the heavy shopping bags he was carrying and bumped the door shut with his hip. Then he stood facing them, bold as a cockerel.

He had obviously gotten changed. He wore a pair of fitted denim jeans that hugged his hips but had a wide bootleg hem, somehow making him seem even taller than he had the night before. He wore a dark chequered jacket with a hood that had a huge faux fur trim that almost covered his face. When he took it off, throwing it carelessly on the couch, the shirt he was wearing said “Gay AF.” When he finally noticed that none of them had moved and were all staring at him, mouths agape, his grin wavered.

“I said ‘good morning’. Don’t you people have manners?”

Laurel, naturally, was the first to thaw. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

Eddie contrived to look confounded by the question. “You invited me.”

“We did not! We gave your ass a place to crash.”

“That’s as good as an invite with me. I’m like a vampire that way.”

Laurel was speechless in the face of his wilful misunderstanding. Before she could go on, he spoke, holding up the grocery bags.

“I brought breakfast.” He paused, listening to some inner voice. “Well, more like lunch. But I’m sure you are hungry.”

He strode into the kitchen and put the bags down. Brendan stared at him like he had three heads.

“Good morning, you lovely man. I recall you carrying me. Very nice arms.” Eddie said to him while unpacking eggs.

Brendan blinked then looked at Christian, who looked back helplessly. He wasn’t sure how to feel at this point. Eddie was here, and he didn’t seem to care if he was welcome or not. But he wasn’t sure if they could boot him out. He wasn’t being difficult, or unfriendly, or hurling furniture around the apartment. Could you kick someone out for being nice?

“Uh, thanks.” Brendan replied.

“Well at least you have nicer manners than your sister.” Eddie muttered.

Laurel had found her voice again. “Seriously, you need to leave. You can’t come barging in here. I’ll call the police.”

Eddie waved a hand dismissal at her. “Don’t do that. Then I can’t cook you breakfast. Or lunch.”

Laurel was fuming now. “I’m calling the police.”

“Uh,” Christian tried. “Laurel, I don’t think…”

“Are you kidding me here, Chris?” she practically shouted. “There is a stranger in our home. A guy who, less than twenty-four hours ago, was flying so high he could see stars, and then you brought him home. Now he somehow got into our place without a fucking key, and he won’t leave. How is this ok?”

Christian could see she was freaking out, and she had a point. He stood and turned to Eddie.

“Uh Eddie. You need to...” he started, but how did you talk to someone you barely knew? And Laurel’s words had merit, and it was his fault he was there at all. How had he gotten into the apartment? But as if he heard Christian’s thought, he reached into his back pockets and pulled out Christian’s house keys.

“Don’t feel bad, they were right there, and I needed them to get back in.”

Laurel was going to go nova any minute. But Eddie carried on.

“Let me start again. I woke up this morning with a very scattered and vague recollection of yesterday’s events, but I remember you all. I do remember that I came down hard and instead of leaving me there, you didn’t. You brought me to your home, even though you didn’t know me and could have been anybody, out of the goodness of your Christian’s hearts.” Here he winked at Christian. “When I woke up, unmolested and not in a cold ditch somewhere, I was determined to thank you. So I took the keys, went out to get changed and returned bearing gifts.”

He splayed his hands out like a magician who had just vanished a white dove, and looked at Laurel. “Better?”

Laurel’s wick had been tamped down, but she still smouldered. “No. you’re still not welcome.”

“Why on earth not?” Eddie seemed genuinely surprised at this.

“We aren’t a halfway house. “ She said, and Christian didn’t miss the pointed glance she sent his way.

Eddie let his hands fall to his hips. “I’m not a junkie.”

“That’s what junkies say.”

“It’s also what sober people who experiment rarely with drugs say.”

“I don’t care which one you are, last night you were so wasted you left a wet spot on the couch cushions.”

“Do you always judge everyone based on first impressions?”

Laurels was stymied when he said this, because Laurel prided herself on doing the exact opposite of that.

Brendan and Christian stood staring at the two in their standoff. Brendan caught Christian’s eye and winked, startling Christian. He then realised Brendan was enjoying this, seeing someone face off with his sister. It was also visually comical; the tall against the short. Christian had to look away from Brendan so that he wouldn’t smile, suddenly feeling an overwhelming urge to laugh.

Eddie seemed satisfied that he had made his point with Laurel and Laurel wasn’t going to call the cops. He then turned to Christian and bowed deeply.

“And to you Christian, I will also extend my thanks, since it was obviously not Madam’s idea to rescue me.” He said to the floor.

Christian did smile then, unable to stop it. “It wasn’t my idea actually, it was Brendan’s.”

Eddie shot upwards and turned to look at Brendan’s. “Then I must show my gratitude with a prince’s favour!” he said with a flourish. And with that he grabbed the collar of Brendan jacket and kissed him full on the mouth. Brendan’s eyes went wide and his hands floundered for the three seconds that Eddie held him, then Eddie released him with a smack. He looked around at them all, unconcerned a gaping mouths and shocked expressions.

“Now that that’s covered. Lunch?”

Laurel was the first to recover. She closed her laptop case with an audible snap and gathered her notes up messily, before shooting a glare at Christian.

“Stop bringing home strays. This place is getting fucked up.”