Enough to prove her point

“...He should be the one you're mad at considering I found a pair of used panties tucked away in his room this morning. And before he tries to worm his way out of this, he even admitted that they were Sarah’s” Lucy announced, folding her arms now that she’d said her piece.

Mom turned to look at you with wide eyes, taking a moment to comprehend what Lucy had just revealed. She took another look around the room to see if anyone else had heard what had been said before drawing her attention back to you.

“Why would you…”

“Mom. I...I can explain” you stammered, trying to think of the best way to convince Mom without lying in front of Lucy. Before you could even start to speak, Lucy immediately cut you off.

“He’s only gonna make up some excuse if you give him chance” Lucy said, smirking at you as if daring to prove her wrong.

“Still, he deserves an opportunity to explain himself to us, and to Sarah for that matter” Mom replied, before waiting for you to start speaking.

“Like Lucy said, I think we should discuss this when we get home”

“And give yourself more time to think up a lie? No way. And besides, Mom was adamant about asking me, so the same should apply to you” Lucy explained, throwing Moms words back at you to further prove her point.

You looked between the two of them before your eyes locked on to Sarah who was also staring at you. She gave you a nod and her face looked full of confidence as if she was saying ‘leave it to me’. You had no idea what she was planning but if it meant that she would potentially be backing you up, you felt like this would go a bit smoother than before.

“So… it is true that they were Sarah’s underwear but…” you said, starting to explain before Sarah stepped in to help.

“Wait, this would probably be better if it came from me” Sarah commented.

“It’s fine. You don't have to say anything if you don't want to. I can...”

“No it's better than them ganging up on you” Sarah replied, bringing an end to the two of you continually interrupting each other.

“What are you two talking about?” Lucy asked, the smirk no longer present on her face now that Sarah had joined the conversation. It looked like she expected Sarah to be just as shocked as Mom was, but the fact that she had started to defend you really threw her off.

“I knew about the panties because I was the one who gave them to him in the first place. Max didn't steal them and I handed them over knowing full well what he would do with them” Sarah explained with a blush rising on her cheeks from embarrassment.

“...why would you do that?” Mom asked.

“Well, it was a deal we came up with a while ago. I was the first to offer them in exchange for him no longer spying on me in the shower”

“So he was blackmailing you?” Lucy asked. You noticed Mom tensed up at the mention of ‘****’ but you didn't have time to comment on it.

“No it wasn’t like that, like I said, I was the one to offer them in the first place. We had a fight about him spying on me and he said he was sorry and that he’d stop but I wanted to give him something as a substitute in return. And besides... No, forget about it.” Sarah explained before censoring herself.

“Go on sweetie, you can tell us” Mom said reassuringly.

“Well… it was kinda nice knowing that I can make someone feel ‘that’ way if you know what I mean” Sarah shyly responded, surprising everyone at the table including yourself. You had expected her to only take some of the heat but revealing her own feelings to Mom and Lucy was something you would have never thought she would let slip.

“Even if it's your own brother?” Lucy asked curiously.

“Especially if it's him.” Sarah replied before realising how that sounded and correcting herself. “Err I meant that as in... he's the only man I can trust with this sort of stuff”

The table was deathly quiet with Sarah's confession now out in the open. You wanted to thank Sarah for the help but for now, all you could do was wait for Mom to speak up. The seconds seemed to crawl by until the silence was broken by a waitress returning to your table.

“I can see there's still some food left, but you all look pretty zoned out” she said with a smile. “I think I know the answer but would any of you like to look at our dessert menu or would you like me to refill your glasses?”

“No,I think we’ll skip that for today, thank you. Could you please go and get us the bill if it's not too much trouble?” Mom replied, trying to remain cordial with her.

“Certainly” she replied before backing away from the table.

“...I was looking forward to dessert though” Sarah pouted, getting a stern look from Mom.

“I think it's best if we head home as soon as, and carry on this discussion there. It’s where it should have started in hindsight” Mom said, giving an apologetic look to Lucy before turning to you.

“And you mister, don't think you’re off the hook just because of what Sarah has said. I expect a full explanation when we get in and don’t think I can’t punish you with all the changes going on around here” Mom announced, not caring about what she was referencing, even in front of Lucy and Sarah.

The waitress returned to the table and handed Mom the bill before making herself scarce again. You didn't know if it was just how all the staff acted but considering the heavier than usual topic of conversation, all of you were pretty grateful that she had mainly left you alone. Mom paid the bill with a tip and got up to get out of the booth. She looked a bit staggered after the sudden movement but managed to steady herself against the table before carrying on walking to the exit. You and your sisters gave a look of worry between yourselves before following after her in case she did the same again.

Lucy was the one who quickened her pace as she headed over to Mom and made sure to grab the car keys from her in the unlikely case that she thought she was fit to drive.

“You're in the front with me” Lucy demanded, pointing at you to make sure you didn’t think her words were merely a suggestion.

With no other option, you got in the front seat, leaving Sarah sitting nervously next to Mom. Not a word was spoken once the car set off back home but you tried to calm yourself down and figure out the best way to explain yourself without accidentally going against anything that Sarah had skillfully lied about just minutes ago. You leant your head against the window deep in thought, watching the familiar roads pass by before Lucy turned onto your street and pulled up to the house.

She turned past the cars at the side of the road(including her own) and parked on the driveway before turning the ignition off. All four of you headed up the front yard and as Mom would probably have trouble unlocking the door, you got out your key and went to do it yourself.

You grabbed your key from your pocket, still worried about the impending conversation, when suddenly, the door was unlocked from the other side.