arrival

Thankfully, Ellie was with him at the airport when his father and brother came in. It would be all right. Except his heart beat thumped through his ears, and he felt as if the pit of his stomach had dropped out of him. He kept having to pick himself up to figure out exactly what he'd say to them. He'd hate to come off like a snide bastard.

His father, Nigel was friendlier than usual. Even friendly to his Mom. Eric choked for air. This was hard to watch. Maybe his dad was acting too. Eric just stared at him for the longest time, not knowing what to say. And there was Ian all smiles, glad to be in the states, going on about the flight and how he'd never been out of the country before.

"Yes, we've had our passports ready for over a year," his Dad informed him. "Ian has been planning this for a very long time."

Ian wrapped his arms around Eric's waist so tightly. Eric thought he couldn't breathe. He thought he'd say something like, "Get off! Man." But he didn't. Instead, it felt kind of nice even and that scared Eric the most.

With that, he wanted them to meet Ellie. "She's the most important person in my life," he informed him wondering if this would make or break them. But it was true. He could be at least honest about that.

Ellie just smiled, giving Ian a pat on the back. "I can't get over how much the two of you look so much alike," Ellie looked at Eric who looked as if he wasn't so sure he wanted to hear that.

"Just a regular mini me, I suppose." Eric tried to smile. What was suppose to happen now?