Chapter 65

"Okay then, with that all sorted," Hanna said, "the on-,"

"Can I go too?"

Everyone paused at Penelope's sudden request. However, she did not give them a chance to immediately answer because she was more than aware it would be a 'no'.

"I asked Archer if I could go ages ago and he couldn't get another seat. But if it is only Henry and Joshua, it means we have one spare. Plus I've been recovering well and taking my treatment and physio seriously. I'm also not going overboard with school and piano. So can I please go? I would have those two with me too."

"No! You're still in pain. You can't even go a night without your pain killers, and you want to go to a seminar after school?" Archer seemed pretty adamant on it, making the young girl look down at her lap and frown.

John and Hanna, while they felt some comfort in knowing that she would have both Joshua and Henry, still were not keen on the idea. So, if their son was against it, they would allow him to make the final decision.

However, things were suddenly overturned by the least expected person: Joshua.

"If it's only the seminar, why not? A seminar is not the most exciting of situations and she would be going straight home after. Of course, it is all subject to her being completely open about her condition and if she needed to go home, but if she wants to go, I don't really see a problem in it."

While he would never admit it, what Henry had said when discussing Penelope's piano practice had made a meaningful impact. All he wanted was for his baby sister to be safe and happy, but what was the point of her being safe if it was at the expense of her freedom and happiness. With something so trivial, it was not so difficult to achieve both, so why not give that little bit of leeway if it meant that it would make his sister smile.

The young man was also slightly haunted by the realisation that sometimes the decisions he would make for her safety and upbringing would make her look as sad and frustrated as she had the other day. Especially since knowing his sister, what she really felt was at least ten times worse than what she was willing to show on her face. He didn't want to be the reason she felt like crying.

Archer immediately knew the reasoning behind why his younger brother spoke out of character, he had also been there that day. He had also noticed the small, unintentional changes Joshua had made when interacting with Penelope. As Samuel would say, they acted more like siblings now.

But that did not mean he agreed. He did not want to risk Penelope getting hurt in any way, shape or form, and of course the same applied to Joshua. It was only so much comfort that Joshua was going with her. It might have been more before this whole fake fiancé thing, but if there was one thing that this whole debacle did highlight it was that as capable as Joshua was and made himself out to be, he was still his very human kid brother. Archer wanted to slap himself for it, but he had almost forgotten that initially the mature face was just an act, a mask. He forgot Joshua could get hurt up. And now his younger brother had a very open, public weakness with people willing to use that to get their own way. A weakness he also was starting to care about.

All that was going through the Lore heir's head was the fact that if all three of them went and any one of them was hurt, he would never forgive himself for allowing it. He was now half tempted to go anyway, even though the pair attending was without a doubt capable.

"Archer… it's your call." Hanna had seemed unsure of what to do so John took the initiative to leave the final decision to their eldest. Both parents could see both sides of the argument, this was a dilemma best to be sorted between the children.

He was now stuck. That was perhaps the most shocking factor of it all. Archer could not outright say no. Usually he was more than wilful enough to do so, but this time he was unable to do so. His younger sister was looking at him with seriously pleading eyes, which were brimmed with tears. On one hand he did not want her hurt, on the other, she had never acted like this before and Archer could not help but feel that it was a more natural way of asking family. And this time, he did not have his usual, unbridled support from his younger brother, but also this was the first time in a long time he had seen his brother take the initiative to take Penelope's wants over the brothers' sense of protectiveness.

The man was truly in a bind.

In the end, he turned to look at Haerin, as if an answer might appear on her face. Generally, if work got tough, looking at her would make him figure out an answer, but this time he was met with a minimal shrug.

"I am picking you up personally from the convention centre, 6:30 on the dot, not a minute later."

Archer hated how his sister's immediately brightening eyes warmed his insides so much.

"And the first sign of trouble, you lot tell me first. This is for all three of you, if things look even slightly off for any of you, I want to know immediately. And You two have to pick her up from school and then stay as a three the whole time. Actually, while we are at it. Joshua, Henry, one of you better keep me updated at least every hour or I will come crashing. I'll also be watching the live stream so if I see any issues, I am going straight over. In fact, I will pick you two up too. Have dinner at home before going back. Is that all understood?"

The Lore's could barely keep it together at the sudden appearance of the mother hen. The Reyes, as amusing as it was, had muted the phone to gush over how unexpectedly adorable Archer turned out to be. Samuel had also muted the phone… to fall into a fit of laughter. He found the overprotective helicopter parenting absolutely hilarious. It would have been a different matter if their roles had been reversed, the man knew for a fact he would have been the same, if not worse than Archer. But it was not him but his friend, which made the whole thing a funny ordeal.

"Why aren't you answering?" Archer demanded with an embarrassed scowl. What he did not know was that the two men had answered very promptly, it was just the microphone was on mute.

Henry got up and plucked the phone from his still hysterical brother, unmuting the call. "Sorry. Yes, we understand."

In the background, everyone could hear the eldest Reyes son laughing.

"Well then, looks like we are all set. Henry will have the minutes ready for me tomorrow and then him and Joshua will prepare for the conference. It will be Those two and Penelope attending the seminar, the latter who will be home promptly after it finishes. After that, Archer will also pick up Joshua and Henry. Dinner at our place in the evening, and we can discuss Joshua's sudden move after that. Is that all fine for everyone, except my younger son?" Hanna had summarised the events of the next two days perfectly, everyone agreeing.

Everyone except Joshua, who was suddenly dreading to see his family again, even just tomorrow.