→ If someone hurts my sister, I'll fight

→ She broke my walls

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"LOOK AT THE little cry baby. You crying because your mommy left you? Or because your daddy didn't want you alive? Or cause no one can even stand to look at your ugly face?" My bully, Jason, teased.

I sat alone, slumped near the wall of my locker with my head buried in my hands. Jason's voice echoed across the empty hallway with no teacher at sight. I had just failed my history test and I knew that Caden was not going to be happy. He had taken the liberty of watching over our grades and my grades were nothing to be proud of. Of course, Jason had found that exact moment to appear with his little minions by his side.

He bent down and snatched the wrinkled paper out of my grip. Straightening it out, he read the grade at the top: B-. His eyebrows furrowed slightly but he recovered.

"Only a B- nerd? I thought you could do better." I knew I wasn't a nerd but that was one of the many words Jason had put into my head. He crumpled the paper up with his fist and tossed it on the ground. I had to get that signed and there was no way I could bring the teared up paper home now. But I knew I couldn't talk back to Jason or else he would turn the school against me. Even more than it was now.

"Heard your dad was put in jail again. And what about your brother Mason? Flunking out of school too?" Talking about me was one thing but when he dared talk about Mason, I looked him straight in the eye.

"You aren't worthy of saying his name," I growled, attempting to sound fierce but the wobble in my voice gave me away. Jason walked menacingly closer and dragged me up only to push me to the ground again.

"Oh and you're the one telling me I'm not worthy?" He scoffed. All his words felt like bullets to my head, hitting me with full force. "Like father, like son. Worthless."

I wake up each day to these thoughts taking over my brain. The countless thoughts, the memories, and my bullies words. That's why I changed those three years ago. I didn't want to be in my brother's shadows anymore. I didn't want to be considered the boy without parents. I was my own person and I wanted to show that to the world. It was a miracle how much a new haircut, a leather jacket, and an attitude could do. I stopped being that boy who went crying to his brothers and kept my storm inside. Everyone started treating me differently and soon, the bullying was like a long ago dream. To everyone besides me. I remembered it clearly, each word that was thrown at me. No one saw the hidden storm though. I loved my brothers and knew they could see past the attitude but they never commented. I never bothered showing my brothers my emotions or even considered breaking down my walls down for anyone.

Until Jess came along.

Jess waltzed into our life and turned everything upside down for me. I would give my world to protect her and without her even realizing it, she had us all wrapped around her finger and my walls crumbling slowly. Every little joke she said and laughter that she brought to the family made my smile widen each tiny bit.

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Walking to grab tissues by the counter, I spotted Jessica by the corner surrounded by a group of girls, fiddling with something in her hand. Their positions brought back unwanted flashbacks and I could see a few tears building up in Jess's eyes. Whoever made those tears appear I had something to say to. And trust me when I say it was not small talk.

"... sleep with new people, slut?" Certain words of their conversation picked my attention as I stalked closer. My eyes narrowed at the name call.

"Everything okay?" I reached the end of the hall where they talked and chose the wall near me to lean on, my hands crossed across my chest. The girls immediately turned their attention towards me and I saw Jess's eyes widen every so slightly. The one in the front of the group wore an aqua green tank top, the material holding tight against her skin. The second girl wore enough eyeliner to be in a play as a racoon and lipstick bright enough to blind my eyes. The third one pulled her top down slightly when she thought no one was looking, making her emo top look more exposing than before. I shook my head with disgust. Clearly Jess wasn't reuniting with friends with this group.

"Yes, we were just having a friendly chat, weren't we Jessica? Now, introduce me to this hot boy?" The second girl was the first to talk, fluttering her eyelashes in my direction. The way she sneered her name as a command instead of a statement created an unsettling feeling in me.

"I don't recall asking you, do I? Jess, are you okay?"

A look combined of surprise, frear, and exhaustion passed Jessica's eyes in a touch but she hid it quickly before nodding. I knew it was a lie but anyone else would have bought the look on her face. Looking at her at that instant reminded me of a mirror of myself, ages ago. She replicad me so much that it scared me. She just was an innocent girl like I had been an innocent boy one day and didn't deserve any of this. A rush of anger came towards me.

"Of course she is, that little one," the first girl threw an arm over Jess's shoulder. Jess winced slightly, gritting her teeth. The action was gone in a second and a neutral expression replaced it. "Are you Jessica's friend?"

"Her brother," I reply curtly. The girls trade shocked glances, a little fear registering on their faces, while Jess's eyes remain facing the floor. "Jess, would you mind standing over there for a second while we have a little talk?" Jess meets my eye and I wink at her slyly as the girls face each other. She gives me a half smile and half raised eyebrow before bobbing her head.

When Jess leaves our hearing line, I clear my throat to get the girls' attention. They turn towards me but the second one still doesn't seem to get the hint. "So hun, I could excuse that you are related to that loser if you go on a date with me?"

My fists clench when she calls my baby sister a loser. "Listen, I know girls like you three and if you really think I would date someone who hurt Jess, the answer is absolutely not. All three of you combined are nothing compared to my sister. My sister could do and has done so much then all of you and if I were you, I would scat before I raise my hand at a girl for the first time." I leave my place on the wall and straighten up my shoulders, watching the girls' eyes widen in fear taking in each of my words.

Without wasting an extra moment, they run off, not even bothering to meet Jess's eyes on their way out of the store. Jess watches them from her spot, gratefulness clear in her eyes and her tensed posture relaxing. Her shoulders come to a sunken stance and she faces me as I walk closer.

"What- what did you say to them?" She asks, her voice scratchy.

"Just a few words of wisdom." She flinches at my tone and I immediately change it a few octaves softer. "Jess, you know I care about you, right?" I was unable to hold the question back any longer. She was my baby sister and I didn't care one bit if she saw me as weak anymore. Clearly, she had gone through a lot in her past and I didn't want to be the cause of the frown on her face any longer. She was too precious for this world. This girl was turning me soft each second of the day and would be the end of me.

"You do?" She asks, her voice so pure and so quiet that I wasn't sure I was meant to hear. But I did.

"Jess... I'm sorry for the way I treated you but I promise I really do care about you. I... I love you." That was the first time I had said those words out loud in more than three years. I had thought it every single day- to my brothers and to Jess but never said it. And I was glad that the first person I said it to was the person I loved most in this universe, my sister.

"I love you too Aiden." Those three words coming from her mouth made my entire day. I grabbed her into a hug and she squeezed me back, almost squeezing the life out of me. I nuzzled my face into her hair, inhaling her scent before placing a kiss on her temple. For once, there wasn't a smirk on my face- rather one of those rare true smiles.

But that moment was enough to keep the smile on my face that entire night.

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