Seeing Nate moving to go outside, I quickly jump in his way and put my hands on his chest, stopping his movement.

"No. Nate, you can't do anything to him." I say quickly.

"And why the hell not? That bastard deserves to be six feet under for what he put you through." He growls out.

"He's my uncle. You can't just kill him. Plus, you'll go to jail. No way am I letting that happen." I answer sternly.

He looks down at me and I take a small step backwards because the look in his eyes is pure rage. I know he wouldn't hurt me, but he's not thinking rationally right now. He must see my slight fear because he takes a few calming breaths and scrubs his hands down his face.

"Fine, but then we need to call the police." He says.

"No." I reply sternly.

"No? Jesus Lainey. The man beat you to a pulp and put a bloody fucking pig on my door step to try and scare you. He needs to be reported." Nate says, getting frustrated again.

"I said no." I repeat, even more stern.

I can see the anger and frustration come back into his face as he turns around and walks to the other side of the living room. I follow behind him, but not too closely.

"Lainey, he's right. That jackass needs to be behind bars." A very angry Tank pipes in.

"It's not going to happen, Johnny." I say back to him.

"God damnit Lainey. Listen to yourself. You're really going to stand here and protect that worthless piece of shit?" Nate whips around, looking really angry.

"I'm not protecting him. I'm protecting us. I call the police, then they call CPS. That means my siblings and I get separated. That's not an option." I say, anger lacing my own words.

"So what? You're just going to let your uncle beat you up for the rest of your life?" He asks with a glare.

"No. I just have to hold out until I'm 18, then I'll get legal custody of my siblings and we can get away from him."

"Hold out? Adelaine, are you hearing yourself right now? This isn't just some person you don't want to be around. He's abusing you." Nate states, raising his voice on the last part.

"Nate. Just listen to her side of the story. She's in a tough spot." Candace says in a soft voice. She's moved to stand next to Keith and his soothingly rubbing his arm. Nate's angry eyes whip around to face her.

"You don't get to talk Candace. You knew and didn't think to tell me? What, you thought that her situation wasn't as bad as your little anti-romance thing?" Nate asks angrily.

I let out a small gasp at his words while Candace recoils as if he slapped her. I watch Keith's face go an angry shade of red before he's stepping toe to toe with Nathan.

"Shut the hell up right now Nathan. I get what you're going through but you don't get to talk to my girl like that. Ever. Unless you want to end up flat on your ass." Keith growls out.

"I'd like to see you try, Walker." Nate spits back. Noticing that this is going to end bad, I quickly squeeze myself in between the two giants, while Mouse grabs Keith to pull him back. Tank steps in to push Nate back towards the kitchen island.

"You need to calm down, brother. This shit isn't about you." He says in a low voice. Nate just pushes him out of the way and gives him a glare.

"The fuck it's not. My girl just told me the man, who is supposed to be her guardian, is beating the shit out of her and all you cowards want to do is just sit back and allow her not to report him." Nate growls out. I walk over to him and get into his space, no longer caring about his angry gaze.

"Allow? They aren't allowing me to do anything Nathan. It's my life and my choice. The only reason I told you is because I couldn't keep lying to the man I love." I say angrily.

You just told him you love him.

Oh my gosh. I did. I watch as my words hit his ears and his face softens for a brief second. Then his cold, angry gaze goes back up.

"Well, I'm not going to let the woman I love, be beat up for another year, when I can do something to stop it." He says back, just as angrily.

He said it back.

Ya, but it should not be happening like this. This is not how I planned to tell him. Ignoring the 'love' part, I focus on his other words.

"It's too bad that's not your choice to make." I spit back at him. His face contorts in anger again and I see his fists clench. I'm guessing the other guys see it too because they all take a step towards us and Wyatt stands from his spot on the couch.

"You're wrong Adelaine. See it is my choice. I'm calling the police right now." He says, reaching past the mug I left out earlier to get the house phone.

"Like hell you are. You call them and I deny everything." I say back sternly, putting my hands on my hips. He momentarily forgets the phone and turns back to me with a glare.

"I'm not letting you protect the bastard by lying to the cops. We're going to fix this problem right the hell now." He says back, just as sternly. I give him my own death glare and take a step closer.

"WE aren't going to do anything because THIS isn't your problem, Nathan." I reply angrily. He gives me a look I've never seen before, but one that has me taking a step backwards.

"See that's where you're wrong. This is my problem. You made it my problem the second you brought all your shit into my life. So you want to stand there and continue to get beat the fuck up by some old man. Fine, be my guest. But don't come crying to me when it gets to be too much." He all but spits out at me.

I let out a shocked gasp and take another step back. I can feel the tears streaming down my face while I try to process his words. I can vaguely hear another gasp come from the room, but I don't know who it's from. Out of the corner of my eye, I see the four boys looking murderous and feel Wyatt push me protectively behind him as he lets out a low growl.

"The fuck did you just say to my sister?" He asks in a menacing tone.

"You heard me. I tried to help you all, but if you want to live your crappy lives then go ahead. I just wish I would've known about all this before you RUINED MY FUCKING FRONT DOOR." Nate yells the last part.

Then he picks up the mug from earlier and throws the cup across the room to the opposite wall. I'm unmovably shocked until I hear the mug shatter and a loud cry come from behind me. My shock is broken and I whip my head around to see a crying Katie standing by the shattered mug, with a small cut on her forehead. I quickly rush over to her crying form, take off my jacket, and press it to her head.

"Bug. Are you ok? What are you doing out here? I told you to stay in your room." I say, checking her for any more injuries.

"I heard yel-lliing like whe-hen Unc-cle would come ho-ome. I want-tted to make su--rre you were o-oo-okk." She stammers out between cries. I pull her into my arms and turn around to see everyone shocked still behind me. That is until her quiet words hit Nathan's ears.

"Oh my god. What did I just do? Katie, are you ok?" He confusedly asks.

I see him move to take a step towards us, but hold up my hand. That motion must have sent the others into action because Wyatt runs over to us, Candace goes to the kitchen for ice, and the three boys move towards Nate and start hauling him outside. I watch them push him out the door.

"Take a walk Nathan. You need to blow off some steam or something. Just. Just go take a walk." Keith says to him, obviously still a little shocked as to what just happened. Nate looks back at me, but he must see something in my eyes because he hangs his head and walks down the driveway. With him gone, the boys turn their attention back to us.

"Is she ok?" Mouse asks at the same time Candace comes back with the ice. I hold the ice to her head and reply.

"Ya. She's fine. I think it scared her more than anything. She just has a small cut, nothing a band aid won't fix." Dropping the ice I turn to face both Wyatt and Katie.

"Bug? Why don't you go with WyWy and he will get you a super cute hello kitty band aid from my backpack. You are going to look so cool with it on. Then, I want you guys to go and get Dyl. We are going to go on a little adventure! I'll be up to help you pack in just a little bit. Ok?" I say, trying to make my voice sound excited. It seems to do the trick because Katie gets a big smile on her face and hops up.

"Ok! Come on Wy! Let's go get my band aid. I bet Dylan is going to be sooo jealous of me." She says while grabbing his arm and pulling him to the stairs. I just stay in my crouched position, watching them walk up the stairs.

"Laine? Sweetie, are you ok?" I hear Candace ask from behind me. Hearing her voice sends my water works into overdrive. Tears come flowing faster than a river out of my eyes and I turn and rush into her hug.

"You were wrong CeeCee. He acted just as I expected. He didn't act like a man in love." I say and the realization only makes me cry harder. Her hand rubs soothing circles on my back as she whispers softly in my ear.

"I know Lainey. I'm so sorry. I honestly don't know who that man was."

I know. He wasn't the man that I love.