Family Ties
Chapter Three
"Man, Nick, this has been great! Thanks, for taking us," Aaron remarked as he brushed the snow from his boots.
Angel stepped inside the small cabin. "Yeah, it was really great. We've missed you."
"I've missed you guys, too. You know that."
Aaron entered heading to the kitchen. "What are we gonna' have for dinner?"
"Uh....."
"You're gonna' cook, Nick?" his sister laughed.
"Not if I can aviod it."
Leslie stood at the staircase. "Hi, guys have fun?"
"You bet!" Aaron replied. "Hey, Les, can you cook?"
"Sure, I can heat up canned soup with the best of them."
"That's a step above Nick," Angel observed.
"Hey, I take offense to that!"
Leslie opened the microwave door. "Nick, we're going back home on Friday, right? For Christmas."
"Yes, you sound like you're in a hurry to get back."
She shrugged. "I just wanted to spend some time at home before I go on tour with Aaron."
"Weren't you just on that 'All That' tour with Nickloden?"
The burnette lowered her head turning pale. "It didn't go so well."
"Yes, it did," Aaron argued. "You did fine, you can't help it that you got sick."
Nick's eyes narrowed. "When were you sick?"
"I wasn't really sick, just..."
Angel sat beside her older brother. "It was kinda' weird. She did a couple of shows and she was really tired. Then, one night she just felt really sick, so, Daddy took her to the doctor and the doctor said she needed to go back home."
"It was exhuastion, I wasn't ready for the tour." The microwave sounded and she removed it's contents. "Here. I think I'll go back upstairs."
"Leslie, you seem kind of odd lately....is there something bothering you?"
"No, everything is okay. I'm going to call Dad."
Nick stared at the soup unable to speak. He turned to Angel. "Why do you know so much about Leslie? Why does she cling to you instead me or Aaron?"
"We spend more time together. You and Aaron are always busy somewhere. So, it's just me, Leslie and Daddy. Or just her and Dad. BJ and I normally go on tour with Aaron, when Mom will let me."
Aaron passed out the silverware. "Leslie and I go to stuff together. Like Nickloden premieres and stuff. But other than that, it's just Les and Dad."
"That doesn't make sense."
His younger brother shook his head. "Of course, it does. You have BJ, I have Angel. Leslie is the typical middle child who feels left out. It's all perfectly normal in a modern day family."
Nick exchanged glances with the twins. "Maybe you two should consider becoming therapists.........."
Chapter Four