Well, I'm glad Aiden took a step toward this world. But it hurts a little that it was not a step toward me but toward Jack...

Hell, what difference does it make? After all, the main thing is that he took a step. It means he'll recover, right? Come back to normal...

I never spoke to Aiden about what had happened in the hospital. Maybe I should tell him that I know about him being gay and that this is okay. I wonder if he will open up to me. Or maybe Aiden thinks that I will treat him like our parents? I can't blame him for these thoughts. But I must tell him that I know and put his mind at ease as soon as possible.

I thought I would sleep like a log, but instead of that, I can't stop thinking. And the more I think, the worse it gets.

What if Aiden decided to follow through? What if he runs away from Jack? Or buys a box cutter, and then I'll find my brother bled to death near the barn?

No... this is stupid... Why would he buy a box cutter? We have a knife in our house. And he could easily escape on any of those days. He could have gone into the field, laid down in the thick grass, and no one would have found him. But Aiden didn't do it...

And yet I'm nervous... until their return... at 4 am.

I don't know where I got the strength from, but I jump out of bed and run out onto the porch. A scream's bursting out of my throat. I want to break Jack's nose. But I see Aiden carrying the shopping bag into the house calmly, so I just clench my teeth tighter. And only when Aiden is hiding in the house, I fly up to Jack.

"Are you out of your mind?" I split the words as if I were cutting them with a knife. But it's easier to control my emotions this way. Otherwise, they will start gushing out of me.

"What are you talking about?" Jack seems genuinely surprised.

"About the time! And about the fact that you were hanging around hell knows where with my younger brother, who barely said a word for the first time in the whole week!"

"I told you that we would go to the city. Then we went to a bar..."

"What?!" I snap. "What bar?! Did you also get him drunk?"

"Calm down, mommy! We did not drink! He said he wanted spicy buffalo wings, so we went to a bar. Then I offered to go to watch a movie, and he agreed. We watched the movie and then went to have a snack. I thought it would be good for him to chill out, so he would not climb back into his shell again," Jack explains rather calmly.

I stop short. Jack is right. Again, I feel a little hurt that I was out of this game. But I chase this feeling away quickly.

"Okay... thanks, I guess," I say apologetically.

Jack smiles broadly, starts the car, and drives away. I go back to the house. Aiden sleeps on his stomach, fully dressed. I take the blanket to cover him, but then I think it's too hot. So I put the blanket next to him. And then I notice a green spot on his T-shirt and several blades of grass in his hair.