Since they were in the driveway, it was not hard to go to the door. Ernest followed behind. "Open up so we can go in." Anna instructed. Ernest did as he was told. When the door was unlocked, Anna pushed the boys in the house and shut the door behind them. "What are you going to do?" Ernest asked. "Do you guys have suitcases in here, or will we need to buy some?" she asked him. He nodded and walked to a closet. There was a big suitcase and a travel bag inside. It seemed like there was only one set. That was when a woman came over to them. "You brought friends over, Ernie? Are you sure? I didn't get a chance to clean yet." she said. "Hi Mrs. Walls." Ryder said with a wave. She smiled at him. "I haven't made any snacks. I would have if I knew you were coming over. How is your mom?" she asked with a sweet voice. Anna looked at her. "Mrs. Walls. My name is Anna. Ryder and I heard some distressing news from Ernest today. We don't think that you or him are safe here. We just want to rescue you both before Ernest's father comes home too." she said calmly and plainly.
There was a flash of panic on her face before she schooled her expression. "What do you think is going on?" she asked. Ryder spilled all the beans. He even added a lot of extra details that even Anna had not heard yet. They were things only a next door neighbor could know. The jig was up. It had been up for a while. Ryder was just too young and unsure of what to do until now. The woman looked tired. Really tired. "I can't just leave. Where would we stay. What would we do?" Anna looked at all 3 of them. "Let me tell you a story." she said. She then told them everything about Victor. "Wait a minute. Is this the lazy ass that lives in the guild housing at the airport." Anna nodded her head. Ernest crossed his arms. "He's no different than me right now. He fucks all the alphas there!" he snapped. Anna said "Because he's a lazy guy who's given up on himself. Things got hard. He did what he had to in order to survive. When he got safety, he got complacent. Then we all kicked his ass in gear. If he actually tried, he be at Platinum by now. You aren't him. You'd have someone with you there."
Until, he had found the guild, Victor was turning tricks in the park bathroom. Now he was a member of a guild. "Manny said it himself. The guild law of room and board is sacred. You are a Silver Aviator. If you 2 were to share a room, your mom would be taken care of. She could even join and have her own room. You know the easy jobs. I know it just as much as you do. You could be the one to show her the ropes. Filing all the flight logs? Air traffic controller positions? Basic shit. All we need to do is fill the suitcase with her stuff. The most important things that you would need to start over in a new place" Anna said. The woman looked at her son. "Is this girl you've been telling me about? The one that was whipping the boys into shape?" she asked. Ernest nodded his head. "Whipped my ass more times than I could count." he said with a scoff. She smiled. "Fine. I've given so much of my happiness away for a man that's not going to change. At first I thought you would never be like him, so it was fine. Last night.... you were like me. I... hated it. We all need to get out of here." she said firmly.
30 minutes passed by in the blink of an eye. They had scoured the place looking for their essentials and packed it in the suitcase. There really was not much in the small house. Debt collections had repossessed most things. It was only the things that Ernest had bought with his money that was in the house. His mother had give up so much. Once they were packed up, they moved next door to Ryder's place. It was not safe to stay there when there was no telling when he would be back. Ryder was more than happy to shelter them until the cab arrived. Ryder's parents were also pretty poor, but they would not do anything like Ernest's father did. When they got to the airport and spoke to Manny, he sighed. "Room and board is sacred. Guild work can be lonely, so they are allowed to live with their partner even if they are not a member themselves. It doesn't mean you get bigger lodging though. It's one bedroom, one bathroom and a sitting room. Victor is always down in the canteen by meal time." They took it. Anna left when she saw the deed was done. She went to the dorms to rest up.
