Mirabe felt someone''s gaze on her and turned her head slightly. "Zach?" she asked, catching his eye from across the room.


    Zach just huffed and looked away, too proud to engage.


    Mirabe was left puzzled, her expression a perfect question mark.


    Delh, always the observant mom, sighed as she watched her second son''s usual antics. "Does he ever get tired of this?" she thought to herself.


    "By the way, is Emmitt still asleep?" Shawn asked Zach, looking up from his newspaper.


    "Probably. He was up all night feeling sick as a dog," Zach replied, taking a sip of his coffee, his voice soft with concern.


    Mirabe stayed quiet, continuing her breakfast in peace.


    Shawn nodded. "Make sure you check on himter."


    "Sure thing," Zach agreed with a nod.


    Not long after, Mirabe left for school. It seemed almost deliberate, as Emmitt came downstairs shortly after she left, looking worse for wear after a rough night.


    Delh handed him a ss of milk, her voice tinged with motherly concern. "Try to cut back on the booze, will you?"


    Emmitt took the ss, his lips pressed into a thin line, and nodded. He took a sip, finding the milk tasteless as he let his eyelids droop.


    Zach noticed his brother''s state, his brow furrowed with worry. "You under a lot of pressuretely?"


    Emmitt looked up, distracted. "It''s manageable." He nced around, sensing the awkward tension, and then asked, "Where''s Dad?"


    "He went to drop Mira off at school," Delh replied, watching him closely.


    Emmitt''s fingers tightened around the ss, a soft ''hmm'' all he could muster before he went back to his milk.


    The memory of that morning, seeing Mirabee out of Nick''s room and her eyes going cold when she saw him, weighed heavily on Emmitt''s chest. It was a familiar and unsettling feeling.


    Nick had only just returned, after all.


    Setting the ss down, Emmitt stood up abruptly. "I better head to the office."


    Without waiting for a response, he walked out, his exit a swift escape from an invisible pursuer.


    Delh stared after him, murmuring, "That boy, Emmitt..."


    Zach pushed his sses up his nose and looked away. "He''s stubborn."


    Delh fell silent, reflecting on her son''s behavior.


    After finishing his breakfast, Zach stood to leave for work. Just then, Delh


    pped her forehead as if she''d just remembered something.


    "What''s up, Mom?" Zach asked, amused by her sudden gesture.


    "Oh, dear! I almost forgot something important. A friend of mine needs some legal advice. Be home early tonight, will you?" Delh hurriedly instructed.


    Zach squinted suspiciously. "Why not send them to my firm directly?"


    Toe all the way here? That seemed rather peculiar.


    Delh shot him a look. "I said it''s a friend. Their issue might be a bit sensitive."


    Zach, catching Delh''s stare, quickly changed his tune. "Alright, alright, I got it."


    In this house, crossing either of the family''s two titans meant facing theirbined wrath. Zach knew better than to provoke either one.


    Delh, now more at ease, waved him off with a smile, signaling that he was free


    to go.


    **


    Nick woke up past four in the afternoon, his room shrouded in darkness due to the tightly drawn curtains. Hey in bed for several minutes, collecting himself before tossing the covers aside and sitting up, feeling significantly more refreshed.


    He rubbed his shoulders and then made his way to the window, drawing back the curtains. Daylight flooded in, banishing the gloom that had enveloped the room, weing him back to the world of the living.