Daire's pov

I wake up to find the bed empty. I look over at Willow's alarm clock and to see it was only 5:23 in the morning. Way earlier than she normally got up.

I get out of bed and open the door. It was quiet in the house which was also unusual. I walk to the kitchen to see Graham whispering on the phone. He looks up at me with tired eyes.

"Bella, please, you can't come back," He said taking a long drag from his cigarette. He runs his hand through his black hair from the stress. "I don't give two fucks, Bella," He growled into the phone.

I ignore who he was talking to and grab an orange from the fridge. I peel it back and lean on the counter. I watch Graham argue on the phone for a while wondering what got him so stressed. He finally hangs up and takes a very long drag from his smoke.

"A client?" I asked.

He shakes his head and looks at me. "I'm going to tell you this Daire and I don't want any of my children hearing this you understand me?" He asked in a low voice. I nod my head and stand up straight. "My ex-wife is trying to contact my kids. Both Carter and Levi know she's not dead but Willow doesn't. I don't want that crazy bitch back in our lives but she threatened to sue me for "kidnap". He said using air quotes. He grabs a beer from the fridge and sighs heavily. "Bella is her name and she's crazy." He chuckles a bit. "I met her when I was 19 and she was 24. An old friend had managed to get us into this bar and she was there celebrating her crazy brother's 22 birthday and I thought she was the most beautiful person in that bar with her long blonde hair and beautiful dark eyes. She was my first everything I was a geek back then." He laughs again. "I was blinded by love for six years. I didn't realize how crazy she actually she was until I saw her try to drown her older sister's baby. She was arrested while pregnant with Levi. But I continued to be with her even though she's been in and out of prison and rehab. But I loved her so and I don't ever leave her. But my breaking point was when Willow was 7 and Levi was 9 she was drinking and got on the highway with my children and got into a bad car accident that left Willow with a bad brain injury. And that's also the accident that Willow believes her mother was killed in which she wasn't. While Willow was in her five-month coma she packed her things and left. We divorced a year later and the only time she ever contacted me is when she wanted money or something like that."

"She seems horrible," I said staring at Graham's sad face.

He sighs. "She is but I realized too late."

I look around the quiet room. It felt like nobody was home but Graham which was very unusual. "Where is everyone?" I asked. Graham takes a sip of his beer. "Carter and Willow left like an hour ago to get my brother from the airport and Levi is still asleep I think," He said.

"Why did Willow leave at 4 in the morning?" I asked.

"She couldn't sleep and Carter was already up preparing to pick up Steph, so she decided to go along with him." He drinks his beer. I sigh and sit down in the chair. "I feel like we're not really connecting like we should be," I mumble to Graham. Graham smirks at me as he takes a drink from his beer. "You shouldn't have rushed into asking her out especially right after you beat a girl right in front of her," He chuckles. "Big mistake pretty boy."

I sigh and run my hand over my face. "I don't wanna end the relationship after only a few days," I said. "Maybe you don't have to just try and make it work," He said patting my back before walking out the kitchen.

Two hours later I was sitting on the couch watching some boring tv show that Levi seem to like when the front door had open. Steph steps into the house with a proud smile on his face. "Where's my brother?" He asked looking around the living room. Levi smiles at his uncle and points outside where Graham stood talking outside on the phone. "Thanks," He ruffles Levi's curly brown hair before walking to greet his brother.

Carter then steps in with an irritated look on his face. He carried two suitcases to Levi's room without a word.

I stand up and greet Willow as she steps inside the house. She smiles at me with a tired look on her face. "Hey, baby," I said wrapping my arms around her. She hugs me back and rests her head against my chest. "Hi," She mumbles. She looks up at me and puckers her lips. I kiss them and she giggles.

I take a good look at her and whistle. "You look, good baby," I said spinning her around.

She blushes and looks down at her outfit. "Thank you, but I just threw something together," She bites her lip and looks back at me.

"Imma go take a shower and then take a nap," She said moving past me. I look at the clock on the wall. "Bud, it's 7:00 we have to be at school in an hour," I said to her. She turns around and fiddles with her fingers. "I know but I don't wanna go again today," She looks down with sad eyes.

I smile and walk toward her. "If you don't go I won't go," I kiss the top of her head. She smiles and turns and walks away.

"Bro, whatever happened at that party messed my sister up," Levi said walking to me. I glare at him as he moves around me. "She seems distance." He runs his head through his hair. "I know," I said walking away.

I walk into Willow's room where that dumb cat was laying on her bed. I hit him, making him jump up and screech at me. I roll my eye and crawls in the bed. I lay down on the bed and take out my phone. I notice I got a lot of texts from my older sister and Hayes. I nearly have a panic attack from seeing the messages from Hayes.

I open the messages from Gravity and see she's worried about me and wants me to come home. I don't respond nor do I want to even look at Hayes's texts.

I turn my phone off and look at the ceiling.

"Darry?" I hear Willow whisper in my ear. I open my eyes and realize that I fell asleep. "Yeah, babe?" I asked rubbing my eyes. She smiles and looks at me. "You were taking up half the space on the bed so I had to wake you, sorry," She mumbles fiddling with the strings of my shorts. "Ah, it's okay baby," I said moving so Willow can lay down. She smiles and lays down next to me and cuddles into my side.

She kisses my cheeks before laying on my chest. She lays there playing with the rim of my shorts until her breath becomes steady and gentle. I kiss the top of her head before moving her as lightly as possible. I lay her down on the bed before standing up. I grab some random clothes that were laying around Willow's room and put them on.

I slip out of the room and close the door behind me.

"Where are you going?" Carter asked as I passed him in the hall. "I'm going to stop by my house and grab some clothes," I said running my hand through my hair. He nods. "Okay come back before 7 because dad wants to take us out to dinner." He said before walking away.

"Hey Carter," I call after him. He turns around with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah?" "Can I borrow your car?" I asked. He nods before walking away.

I grab the keys off the table and take Carter's car.

I drive all the way to my ghetto apartment complex. I stop outside the building I used to live in. I notice the dogs that Alfred had gotten outside sniffing around the garbage that had been thrown outside. "Hey boys," I say to the Pitbulls. They bark and wag their tails at me. I pet them before walking up the stairs where my home was.

I knocked on the door. I could hear a lot of commission going on on the other side. After waiting for about 3 minutes the door finally opens to reveal my stepbrother Xander. He grins at me and takes a drag from his cigarette. "Hey, whiteboy it's been too long," He said ruffling my hair. "Hey Xander," I said stuffing my shaking hands in my pocket. "Is Janice around?" I asked praying she wasn't. Xander inhales the cigarette and shakes his head. "Nah man she left to get some shit for Alfred," He said turning and walking inside. I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding and followed him inside.

I look around the small living room where Hayes normally slept. The couch was a pulled-out couch and since there were only four rooms in the house and since Hayes normally moves in and out he sleeps on the couch.

"Why are you here anyways whiteboy?" Xander asked pouring himself some cereal. I swallow and stand where the counter was blocking us when I saw the Glock right next to him. "I just needed to get some clothes," I responded watching him closely. He nods and puts the cigarette out. "Yeah our closet is stilled filled with your clothes," He swallows his cereal. "Don't worry whiteboy I put them in some trash bags and stuff them in Colby's closet."

I tap my fingers against the countertop. "Thanks, Xander," I said.

I walk away and walk inside Colby's princess room. She was playing on the floor with her large Barbie house. "Hey, Minnie mouse," I whisper catching her attention. She looks up and her face instantly brightens up. "Hey, Frost," She said standing up and running into my arms. I bend down and pick her up. I look at her and she smiles showing her teeth were growing back. "I like your hair," I said playing with her long braids that had pink beads at the end of them. "Thank you, Frost," She said hugging me closer.

I look around the room. "Where are my clothes, Colby?" I asked putting her down. She skips over to her closet and opens the door. She takes out two large trash bags and drags them out. "Here they are," She said smiling at me. "Thank you," I said picking up the heavy large bags.

I walk into the living room and see Hayes staring at me with a sinister smile on his face. "Baby brother, you're home," He said smiling showing his cricket but pretty teeth. I gulp but glare at him. "I just came back to get my clothes no need to worry," I said stepping back slightly.

He smiles at my discomfort. "I would love for you to stay, Frost," He said walking closer to me. I shake my head and step back. "I can't I have plans already," I look down at my shoes to avoid his dark blue eyes. "Aww that's too bad," He said looking back at Xander with a smirk.

"Frost?" I hear the melodic voice of my older sister Gravity. I turn to see her smiling at me. "Gravity," I smile back at her. She rushes to me and wraps her arms around me. "I've missed you," She whispers. "I missed you too," I pull away from the hug and place my hand on her shoulder. "Are you staying?" She asked looking at me. I look back at my grinning brothers who I knew will kill me at any given moment. "No, I just came to get my stuff."

She frowns and steps away from me.

"I hate you," She mumbles under her breath and walks away.

I was going to say something but Hayes beats me to it. "Oh grow up, Gravity, you are 19 years old and still acting like Colby. If he wants to move out I suggest he do, he's 18 years old an fucking grown man. He doesn't have to live under his mommy's roof for the rest of his life like the rest of us."

I frown and look down at my shoes. "Can you tell Janice I stop by," I said looking at Hayes with teary eyes. He scoffs and glares at me. "Whatever," He said.

I pick up my bags and was about to walk out of the apartment but a large body stops me. I look up from my shoes and make eye contact with Alfred. He looks confused to see me but smiles nonetheless. "Hey, Daire," He said. "Why are you here?" I hold up the trash bags. "Just came to get my things," I said. He nods and pats my back. "It's nice to see you again, Daire," He said walking away into the house.

I put my bags in the back of the car and get in. I drive back to Willow's home and walk inside. I say hello to everyone in the house before making my way to Willow's room. To my relief when I opened her door, Willow was still fast asleep. I walk over to the bed and kiss Willow on the top of her head.

I undress and climb into the bed and wrap my arms around Willow's small body. She cuddles into me and hums in delight. I hug her close and instantly fall asleep.