"Are you really about to cry right now?" I asked my brother with a look, a small tear slipped down his face. I used my shirt to wipe it off, pouting at him.

"I don't want you to go." He whined on my shoulder. I awkwardly patted his back, hoping that would somehow comfort him. To my dismay, it made him cry more.

"Ryan, I will literally see you at school tomorrow." I laughed at my brother's dramatics. I had been staying at Mom's house for about a week and we resolved most of our issues yet she still hadn't revealed to me why she left which made me curious.

What was my mother hiding?

Ryan and I were inseparable this week and he helped refresh my memory of a lot of the past before the accident.

"That's too long." He continued whining on my shoulder. He eventually lifted his head and bid me goodbye.

I was greeted with an unfamiliar car sitting in the driveway. I was about to walk away but the window rolled down revealing Micheal sitting in the driver's seat and Liam in the passenger's seat. I took a seat in the back seat on the leather interior.

"Are you playing candy crush, what are you, 40?" I peaked at Micheal's phone, he chuckled, putting the phone in his pocket.

"Don't judge me, it's fun." He replied, starting the car.

"Yeah, if you're 40." He chuckled again, shaking his head as he pulled out of the driveway.

"Where are we going?" I noticed he missed the turn to the house.

"We have to pick up some papers at work but nobody's home to watch you so you have to come with us." Liam laughed while I shot him an offended look.

"I'm fifteen, I don't need a babysitter." I whined, they gave me a look and I immediately realized my mistake.

"Wait, Dad told me you were fourteen." Micheal questioned, I forgot none of my stepbrothers knew I turned fifteen.

"I turned fifteen last month." I shrugged nonchalantly.

"Why didn't you tell any of us?"

"Yeah, my first thought would be to tell my new step brothers to throw me a fucking birthday party after they set me up and sold my stuff on the internet." I said sarcastically, because of their guilty face, I mumbled a small apology.

We drove in awkwardly until we stopped at a tall, glass building. I stare at the building in awe until I hear a laugh near me. They motion me outside of the car and we make our way into the building.

"Sit right here and don't move." They told me ten minutes ago and now I was currently trying to fix the lamp that I broke after wandering around.

As I attempted to repair the light, somebody looked down at me with an angry look.

"You're coming with me." The random man yanked by arm, I tried to pull away but the man was too strong, I dragged my feet as he pulled me along around the building. I was about to call for Micheal but I was interrupted by a stern voice.

"What are you doing with my daughter, Steven?" A voice called out, the voice belonging to Paul.

While the man was distracted, I kicked him in the balls and walked to my stepdad.

"Da-daughter, since when? I thought your wife was dead." The man grunted on the floor, groaning in pain. I looked up and Paul's green eyes dramatically darkened at his words.

You just played your motherfucking self.

"I suggest you walk out of here while you can walk," Pau; gritted, he then assessed the man's situation. "Or maybe it's already too late." He chuckled at me.

"You can't fire me, this- this is the only job I have." The man pathetically pleaded on the ground, still holding where I kicked him.

"Should of thought about that before you put your hands on her." He shrugged, calling security to escort him out.

"Thanks." I gave him a hug, he hesitated for a moment before he finally joined the embrace.

"You're not mad?" He asked, exiting the hug. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion and he continued. "For calling you my daughter." I almost laughed.

"No, of course not." I smiled at him, he let out a sigh of relief. "You're not mad?" I asked, he also furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "About the-" I couldn't finish before Liam rushed in the main lobby looking for his dad.

"Dad, I am so sorry. We told her to stay but this is what you get when you tell a child to stay still they just don't listen; especially when you give the child sugar on the way here. We could check the cameras, yeah that's a good idea. What if we-" He rambled on.

"Bro, I'm right here." I interrupted. He turned in my direction and slowly looked down so that he could see me due to his tall height. He then poked my cheek to verify I was real. He then suffocated me in a giant hug.

"Liam- can't breathe." He immediately apologized and he let me go.

"Where were you, I thought you got snatched or something?" I showed a guilty face and he turned to his Dad who shrugged in response. "I'll go get Micheal and then we can go." He scurried off, I shook my head laughing at his dramatics.

Once Micheal joined us, he whispered something in Paul's ear. He nodded and smiled in return.

When we entered the house, we were greeted with yells and screams.

"Give me back my phone you little shit." Jayden chased Hayden around the living room, holding what I'm assuming is Jayden's phone in the air.

Couch cushions were on the floor, plants were knocked over, and the television displayed colorful lines on the screen.

"You have to catch me first." Hayden yelled in response, still holding up the phone. All of a sudden, he tripped over one of the couch cushions and the phone went flying. I caught the phone and gave it back to Jayden.

"And yet I'm the one that needed a babysitter." I sighed dramatically, making our presence known. The three elders gave me a look and I immediately shut my mouth.

Tough crowd.

Jayden and Hayden immediately stopped running, intimidated by the look on their Dad's and elder brothers' faces. Hayden sheepishly smiled as he slowly backed away while Jayden stood frozen in place. Jaylen, Jaxon, and Blake quietly snickered on the other side of the room.

Safe to say, my younger step brothers were in a shitload of trouble.

"Hello?" I answered my ringing phone, the phone displayed Hayden's name.

"Hey, can you help me with my math homework?" He asked.

"You called me for that? Why couldn't you just come in here?" I asked in response, I heard a sigh from the other side.

"I'm not allowed to leave my room for the rest of the night and technically you're not allowed in here either." He pouted, "But the weirdo let me keep my phone." He laughed, I joined in.

"Okay, I'm coming but if I get caught, it's on you." I laughed, heading out of my bedroom door. I opened my door, only to run into Blake. He glared at me before walking into his room and slamming the door.

In my two months of living here, he's barely spoken more than three sentences to me, he always has a permanent scowl on his face when he looks at me. I try to avoid him most of the time but even I can't avoid these awkward moments between us.

"What do you need help with, squirt?" I sat down on his desk chair as he sat on his bed, frowning down at a red folder.

"I hate math." He groaned, flopping face first on his bed. I laughed at him and peeked through the folder filled with pages of math homework.

"Damn, did you even do anything?" I joked, he playfully sntached the folder and continued groaning.

"Shut up, I didn't realize it was this much. I'm so stupid." He smacked himself repeatedly with the folder. I chuckled and took the folders out of his hands.

-

"When you said you were stupid, I thought you were joking." I sat on his bed. Hayden smacked me in the head with the folder, I dramatically fell on the bed and let out a big sigh. "We have been studying for hours, it's already dark outside, Hay." I pointed to the window.

Hayden jumped up from the bed and admired the stars with his head resting in his hand against the windowsill. His sparkling eyes glistened as he watched the stars.

"Mom used to love watching stars with me, it would be our thing we did together." He spoke up after a few minutes. He was still looking out the window as he talked, more to himself than me but I didn't dare interrupt.

"When she first got diagnosed I was five, I don't remember much but enough to miss her, you know? I will always remember when she told me that if she goes away one of the stars took her and she would be watching over me." Tears were now running down his face.

"Once she was gone, I hated stars," He sadly laughed, the painful expression prominent on his face. "They were a constant reminder of what was taken from me. I couldn't sleep alone for five years because I didn't want a star to take me too." He cried, I hugged him as his tears drenched my shirt.

I didn't know why he vented to me when he did but I didn't complain, it made me feel like he trusted me; and I valued that more than anything right now.

He eventually fell asleep in his bed and I took my chance to venture back to my room. I quietly closed the door on my way out and let out a sigh of relief, thinking I made it without being caught. Just when I thought I was clear, I turned around and was greeted by Paul standing in front of me with his arms crossed at his chest.

I tiptoed away, hoping he wouldn't notice me. He cleared his throat and I slowly pivoted in his direction, showcasing a sheepish smile and a nervous wave.

"Where are you going young lady?" He says in a stern voice.

"Just going back to my room, you know, the one over there?" I pointed to the room across the hall, he gave me a deadpanned look and let out a long sigh.

"Look, I'm not mad, I just want you to respect the rules in my house. But I will give the benefit of the doubt and say that you didn't know." He shrugged, I nodded and headed back to my room.

I was about to fall asleep when my phone interrupted me. My phone slipped out of my hands and tears clouded my vision.

There stood a picture of everybody in the living room when Liam came out to everyone. Next, was a picture of me hugging Paul in the office building. Then, Hayden with the red folder in his hands with me sitting across from him, multiple bursts of photos taken like a stop motion movie. Lastly, Ryan and I, standing outside of our mother's house.

-I'm coming for you, all of you. You know where and when, be there.

He was back and he was back for blood.

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1869 Words

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