Just a Little Sequel by Tracie Puckett Read Free Book Online

morning.”
    “Are you sure you don’t want me to come back to Rebecca’s with you?” I asked. “I can help with Molly.”
    “She pretty much takes care of herself,” he said, looking at her in the rearview mirror. “I think we’ll be okay.”
    “Alright,” I felt my eyes grow heavier by the moment.
    I let myself out of the car, but I didn’t shut my door right away. I stood there, still overwhelmed by everything that had unfolded in a few short hours, and leaned back down to look at Luke.
    “You okay?”
    “I love you, Lucas Reibeck.”
    “Mmm,” he savored the moment, as he always did. He always told me how much he craved hearing those words, and I had no problem sharing them. It thrilled me to see him revel in my admiration for him. “I love you too, kid.”
    And with a smile, I shut the door and backed away.
    Luke didn’t drive away until I’d unlocked the front door, and when I met the scowl on Charlie’s face seconds later, I suddenly found myself wishing that Luke hadn’t left at all.
    “Are we really gonna do this tonight?” I asked, checking my phone. 3:12 a.m.
    “Where’ve you been?” he pinched the bridge of his nose.
    “The hospital,” I said, “Rebecca’s in labor. They left the party hours ago—”
    “Right,” he said, now rubbing his head.
    Based on the tired lines around Charlie’s lips and his increasingly heavy eyes, I assumed he’d just woken up from an intoxicated slumber. Most people favored weddings or St. Patrick’s Day for a good, drunken night of fun, but Charlie always chose Halloween.
    “Did you…” I looked toward the stairs and back to my uncle, “did you hear from Matt at all tonight?”
    “No,” he said in a low voice. His eyes flittered slowly, and he dropped his head to stare at the floor. “Was I s’pose to?”
    “No.” Charlie took a few stumbles backward, and I looked behind him to notice a pile of blankets on the couch. I assumed he must’ve been sleeping there before Luke’s headlights flashed through the front windows and woke him. I patted his back and led him back over to his makeshift bed.
    “Alright, why don’t you lie down,” I helped him back down on the cushion. He put a lot of his weight on my shoulders as he sat back, and I half-laughed. “Get some rest, Charlie. We have a lot of cleaning up to do tomorrow.”
    My uncle started settling himself as I made my way for the stairs.
    “Hey, Julie,” he said, and through his slurs it sounded a lot more like hey, Choolie .
    “Yeah?” I turned back.
    “You’re gonna leave me, aren’t you?” He nestled his face into the back of the couch.
    “I’m just going upstairs, Charlie. I’ll see you in the morning.”
    “You’re gonna move in with Luke in that house that he bought,” he said, and his tone was void of any emotion. As his breathing grew heavier, I already sensed him falling back asleep. “You’re gonna leave me all alone,” he nearly whispered. “Please don’t. I don’t want to be alone…”
    And before I had time to respond, he was snoring.
    I pulled my lips inward and watched my sleeping uncle for a few long minutes. I left the bottom step and headed back for the couch, carefully tucking him beneath his favorite old quilt.
    “I love you, Charlie,” I whispered, and I pushed a tuft of his graying hair from his forehead. “Sleep tight.”
    Back on the second floor a few minutes later, I stopped off at Matt’s room and found him strewn across his bed, still wearing his ugly mask. I went in and removed the mask as easily as I could without waking him, and I set it aside on his empty dresser.
    It was weird seeing him home, sleeping in his own bed. But even in his sleep, Mattie looked lost and confused—almost as lost and confused as his father looked downstairs.
    This wasn’t the same Matthew Little I’d known since birth. Physically, yes. It was him. But the person lying there, taking shallow breaths in his slumber, was supposed to be off getting the best