Fred sighed. He was still young, only 20, and his parents had aged another 26 years in his absence. It was confusing at times, especially as his baby sister was no longer the baby in the family - instead, that position had now been given to him. "It's horrible. Losing a parent." he tried a smile, but barely managed to hold it. "I never really got the chance to grow up." he added sadly, pondering the pudding on his spoon instead of eating it.
The mention of his father brought tears to Fred's eyes, which he tried his best to fight off. He didn't want to cry in front of Alex. "I should never have left in the first place." his voice broke, and he quickly wiped at the tears that were threatening to fall. "I should never have given my family that grief. And George..." he trailed off, glancing at his nephew, "If it had been the other way around, if it had been him instead of me, I don't know what I would have done."