"She's fine, Austin. Everything's fine. No need to panic " Austin mumbled to himself as he hurried up the pathway to the front door. "Except if it was fine, then Hayes wouldn't have been hurt in the first place, Colton."
He received a text from Colton about 30 minutes ago saying that Hayes hit her head but she was perfectly fine. Perfectly fine. No, everything was not perfectly fine, Colton. What did that even mean? At that point, his meeting was wrapping up so he decided to wait until he got home for answers. It was a bad decision. His brain was going haywire the whole drive home that he barely remembered the route he took.
His little girl was hurt. His baby sister. His Sunshine even on the most cloudiest day. He needed to find some bubble wrap, pronto.
Unlocking the door, he stepped inside to a quiet home. Too quiet. Especially for his bunch of rowdy siblings. Picking up the abandoned nerf guns that were left laying in the foyer, he moved them to the kitchen table as he passed by. He could make out the muffled sounds of a football game playing on the television coming from the family room. Not seeing any bodies in the kitchen, he continued on his way.
"Hey man," Colton greeted, without looking away from his laptop. He was in the midst of grading essays from his gremlins. "You missed lunch. Did everything go okay?"
Austin nodded, too focused on inspecting Hayes to make sure she was still in one piece to realize Colton didn't see him respond.
"Bro?" Colton glanced up at him, a smirk forming when he saw how concerned Austin looked. His big brother was such a softie. Snuggled next to Colton on the couch was Hayes who looked very cozy tucked under his right arm. She felt much better now, having been more scared than actually hurt. The bump was nothing that an ice pack and a bowl of ice cream couldn't fix. Colton promised not to tell Austin about the latter, so she would still be able to have ice cream for dessert. But that didn't mean she wouldn't take advantage of snuggling close to her brother.
"Yeah, hey guys. Where's the rest of the gang?" Austin asked. Dakota was in the room too, but was apparently so engaged with the game that he didn't acknowledge his brother. Dakota didn't even like football. Austin winked at Hayes as he took a seat on the couch. He felt his whole body relax now that he had been able to see with his own eyes that Hayes was perfectly fine. She did have red-rimmed eyes indicating she had been crying which was worrisome but apparently nothing Colton couldn't handle. Which was good, considering he worked with kids as his job.
"Baker's in the backyard with Dumb and Dumber, and Smiley's in his room." Colton replied.
Wait, what?
"Why isn't he outside with them?" Austin was confused. It was out of character for Glen to not immediately jump on the opportunity to hang out with his brothers. And now he was worried again.
"He was not allowed." Dakota answered, finally turning away from the game. There was a cheshire grin planted on his face. This only meant one thing. One of his siblings was definitely in trouble.
"Not allowed?"
"Yes, not al-looowe-d." Dakota repeated more slowly this time as if Austin didn't understand him the first time.
"Thanks smart ass. I meant, why not?" Austin rolled his eyes. It was like pulling teeth to get the answers he wanted.
"They're being punished." Colton stated. He closed his laptop, done with grading for now, and put it on the coffee table. The conversation that was about to take place was way more intriguing than reading persuasive essays. Hayes waited for him to get situated again before curling up against him.
"Let me guess, burpees?" It was a classic Baker punishment. "What for?"
"27 of those motherfuckers," Dakota snickered at his brothers' misery. The number of burpees assigned was the combined ages of the accomplices.
"They left the kids alone when Emerson was suppose to be watching them." Colton vaguely answered Austin's question. When Austin looked at him for more information, he subtly nodded towards Hayes. It wasn't meant for her ears.
Come on, Sonny.
Austin dragged a hand down his face as he slowly pieced together what had happened. So Hayes must have gotten hurt on Glen's watch, again. Fuck.
"Kota, can you go get Glen?"
"Yeah sure," Dakota took a deep breath in, "Glennnn!! Get the fuck down here, dude!"
Austin saw Hayes instantly cover her ears as she surveyed her surroundings. He imagined it was a habit ingrained in her from living with the Bear. He noticed Glen do it a couple times too when the boys got obnoxiously loud while playing video games. It was a habit she didn't even realize she did. What Hayes did know though was that she needed to get used to her brothers' loudness sooner rather than later because she was sure they'd only get louder.
"For fuck's sake, man. Seriously?" Colton threw a pillow at Dakota's face before consoling Hayes. He rubbed her arm trying to get her to relax again.
"You're welcome," Dakota turned back around to watch the game just as Colton reached over and threw another pillow at him. "Stop fucking throwing things at me." Dakota chucked the pillow right back at him, narrowly missing Hayes' face if it weren't for Colton's quick reflexes.
"Then stop being so fucking obnoxious." Colton replied.
"Both of you, shut the hell up." Austin ordered, feeling a headache coming. Dakota rolled his eyes and focused back on the TV for real this time. And to think Austin complained that the house was too quiet.
----------
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. Turn. Repeat.
Glen paced back and forth in his bedroom, anxiously awaiting his doom. He had been hiding away from everyone ever since Baker turned his attention to Emerson and Francis. He was pissed at them for leaving, which Glen didn't understand why. While he and Hayes didn't mind that their brothers kept referring to them as kids, to be honest they both liked it, they weren't truly kids. He was 15, for crying out loud, and they had been taking care of themselves without supervision for years now.
But then again, look what happened. He let his sister get hurt again. Austin was going to kill him. Or worse, ground him. He'd never been grounded before, but Lewis always complained about it, saying it was worse than hell.
Glen ran his hand roughly threw his hair pulling at the ends and let out a groan of frustration. He heard Austin come home a couple minutes ago so it was any moment now when he'd want to have a word with him. Even with Baker and Colton's constant reassurance that he was not in trouble, the words meant nothing unless it came from Austin.
"Glennnn!! Get the fuck down here, dude!" He froze, hearing Dakota shout for him. The moment came too soon. He felt like he was going to shit his pants and vomit at the same time.
Thankfully neither happened, and he dreadfully left the room. Right before he entered the family room, he stopped to gather himself. Deep breath in and out. He slowly walked forward, not bothering to announce his presence. Instead he stood in silence with clenched fists, waiting for them to notice him.
It was Hayes who saw him almost immediately. She jumped off the couch, taking Colton by surprise, and ran over to him, trapping him in a hug. Hayes knew he needed some space to think, otherwise she would have been hidden away with him.
"You gucci, G?" she whispered taking a line out of Glen's book. She propped her chin on his chest to look up at him.
"Peachy, HayHay," she managed to coax a tiny smile out of him. Grinning back at him, Hayes punched his arm before dancing out of his reach so he couldn't return the love. She returned to her spot safely by Colton's side.
"Hey buddy, come sit. I haven't seen you all day." Austin patted the spot next to him, resting his arm on the top of the couch.
"Um, I'm okay," Glen cautiously declined, "if that's okay with you," he hurriedly added, not wanting to upset Austin any more. He didn't seem angry, but the kids knew facades. Glen nervously shifted from one foot to the other.
"Smiley," Dakota groaned, throwing the second pillow at Glen, "how many times do we need to say you're not in trouble to get it in your fucking head?" Glen caught the pillow and hugged it against his chest, his fingers messed with the fading edges. He only needed Austin to say it once.
"Kota, go find something else to do." Austin sternly suggested. Dakota rolled his eyes, slouching back against the couch. He was only trying to help. "That's fine," Austin addressed Glen. He moved so he rested his arms on his knees as he leaned forward, "But you got to talk to me, kiddo. Tell me what happened."
Glen had all the intention to spill, but he couldn't bare to look Austin in the eye to see the disappointment. So he started his pacing again in the family room. Seven steps, turn, repeat.
Austin turned his head to Colton, eyebrows furrowed. Colton shrugged, feeling just as helpless. No one could read Glen's mind. Except maybe Hayes, who was watching Glen as he paced back and forth.
Hayes' bright blue eyes suddenly connected with Austin's. She thought she figured it out.
"Austin?" she spoke quietly.
"Yes, baby?"
"Would you ever kick us out?" Austin's eyebrows rose in surprise, definitely not expecting that. He had thought he made it perfectly clear that his baby siblings were never leaving his sight again. But, Austin looked at Glen who now stood stock-still, it made sense now for why Glen was so worried. Did he really think that?
"Never." Austin said with conviction. He stood up and strolled straight to Glen, embracing him in a tight hug with one arm on his back, the other holding the back of his head. "You hear that?" He whispered against his head, "I don't know where you got that idea, but listen up and listen good. You're never ever leaving us." He pulled back to look Glen in the eyes. "Understood?"
Austin saw the emotions running through Glen's eyes as he stared back. Relief, was the last thing he saw before Glen hugged Austin back, ducking his head under Austin's chin. "I love you, buddy." Austin kissed the top of his head.
"Love you too," Glen muttered back.
"Group hug," Hayes giggled as her brothers let her weasel her way in. It was two-for-one hugs! How could she resist?
"Aw, man. Austin's home, back outside we go." Emerson's voice was heard from the opened back door. Hayes peeked between her brothers to see Emerson shirtless and sweaty at the door. Francis appeared from behind him and let out a groan.
"No more burpees, my legs are jello," he complained.
"Wow, didn't take you for such a wimp there Francesca," Dakota commented, making Colton laugh. How quickly their bickering turned into laughter when teaming up against their siblings. Francis flicked him off, before letting himself be pushed back outside by Emerson.
"I think that's my cue." Austin kissed Hayes' head and Glen's again before releasing them. His job was never done. But he wouldn't change it for the world.
-----------
"Soooo, when can I get a tattoo?" Glen asked, shoving a fry into his mouth. It was Francis' turn to pick dinner so the siblings and Peyton were at the pier downtown eating burgers. The brothers had a Saturday night dinner rotation to keep it fair, which meant next week would be Glen's turn.
All was right in the Powers family again. Austin eventually was told the whole story on how Hayes ended up with a nice bump on the back of her head and what was so important for Emerson and Francis to leave the kids unsupervised in the first place. He understood why they did it, but he still didn't like it.
"Um, how about never?" Austin retorted. Although he had one himself, he was not a big fan of them.
"Tattoos are overrated anyways," Colton added, nudging Glen's shoulder. Glen rolled his eyes. Says the man with the tattoo arm sleeve.
"But you all have one," Glen pointed out, "even Francis and he's only 2 years older than me."
"Times have changed, little bro." Francis grinned at him, rubbing it in his face.
"Francis has one tattoo and it was an one-time exception." Austin stated. It was a very special tattoo that held a lot of meaning to the brothers. Glen and Hayes had seen it on Emerson's chest that afternoon after they were finally freed from the backyard. In addition to Baker's burpees punishment, Austin gave them a 20 minute lecture about responsibility. Francis claimed it was worse than the burpees.
Now both kids wanted the tattoo.
"Why do you want it anyways? It's a tattoo to represent you. Isn't that weird?" Emerson asked.
Glen shrugged, "because you all have one."
"When you turn 18, we can all get matching tattoos." Baker said. Besides Colton, Baker had the next most tattoos for a grand total of 5.
"What about me?" Hayes piped up, not wanting to be left out.
"Not a chance," Austin smiled at her, running his hand over her hair. "And would you please eat some burger with your fries?" Hayes nodded, before shoving two fries in her mouth like a walrus and grinned up at him. He could only shake his head with laughter. Silly girl.
"When Hayes turns 18, we can all get tattoos, except for Hayes." Baker fixed his previous statement. Hayes glared at him making him laugh. She didn't think he was funny.
"That sounds gay as shit." Dakota said.
"Don't talk like that," Peyton threw a fry at him. Dakota flicked her off so Baker returned the gesture on his wife's behalf while she stuck her tongue out at him.
"Bro, did you forget we already have matching tattoos?" Francis asked.
"No, I just must have been drunk or something when I agreed to it." Dakota lied. No one had to twist his arm to make him get one.
"You don't drink." Emerson said matter-of-factually. Actually, Hayes just realized none of them do. She hadn't seen the staple of beer at their home or at Baker's. A huge difference from seeing the Bear with a beer in his hand every morning.
It was Dakota's turn to throw a fry at Emerson's face who proceeded to pick it up off the table and eat it.
"Let's not throw food, and say we did." Colton suggested, not wanting to be in the crossfires of a french fry fight.
"No, let's not throw food, hard stop." Austin corrected. "Seriously, we're in a restaurant for Christ's sake. At least pretend you have some manners." He sounded serious so Hayes turned her head away from him so he wouldn't see the laughter in her eyes.
"Well, now that the cat's out of the bag, we can go back to not wearing shirts, right Austin?" Francis asked, tugging on his collar. "They make me uncomfy."
"There is still a lady in the house, show some respect." Baker slapped the back of Francis' head, making Francis scowl.
"Respect? We played pick-up ball with grown men, I think Hayes has seen plenty of hairy chests." Glen laughed.
"Hayes!"
"Holy shit, Sunshine, your poor eyes!"
"Oh noooo, but she's so innocent."
Hayes' face was as colorful as a tomato. She covered her eyes, slouching down in her chair. Glen sure did love to make her uncomfortable.
"Smiley," Austin shook his head at him, "Not nice."
"Yeah Smiley, you were suppose to protect her, not fucking corrupt her." Dakota slapped his arm with the back of his hand.
"I did protect her." Glen grumbled, crossing his arms. Why did everything seem to backfire on him?
"You did, buddy. You did a damn good job." Colton immediately reassured him. Austin and Baker nodded in agreement. They were all seriously beyond proud of him. "Kota's just being an ass." Colton added, ruffling Glen's hair as he gave Dakota a warning glance.
"To Smiley and Sunshine! We're so unbelievably fucking glad you're back home." Baker lifted up his glass of water.
Resounding mix of 'here, here' and 'to Smiley and Sunshine' encompassed the table as they raised their drinks.
"To the return of the blonde babies!" Dakota toasted.
--------------
"So, like, what's the plans for tomorrow?" Francis asked the group. They were taking a post-dinner stroll along the pier, enjoying the night together.
"Ask the birthday boy, it's his day." Austin shrugged.
"Yeah, it's myyyyyy day. And I'm totally going to sleep in so you better not wake me before noon." Emerson warned, wagging his finger at everyone. He made the 'i'm-watching-you' sign at Glen who simply grinned back. Rumor had it, Francis bet Glen $10 to 'accidently' wake Emerson up that morning. Neither Emerson, nor his new roommate Dakota, were particularly happy.
A couple seconds later, Glen and Hayes both paled in realization as what Austin said finally hit them. It was Emerson's birthday! Looking at each other, they were both thinking the same thing. They were the worst siblings in the history of siblings.
For once, Austin felt like he could read their mind. He stepped in between them, throwing an arm around each kid pulling them close. He slowed their pace to get some separation from the rest of the group. "I know you guys didn't know about his birthday, and that's okay." He spoke quietly. Seeing that Glen and Hayes did not agree with him, he added, "Honestly, having you two here is the best gift the kid could have ever gotten. The best gift any of us could have asked for. Don't doubt that for a second. Alright?"
"Okay," both kids responded. Austin purposefully made eye contact with each kid, making sure they understood how serious he was before letting them go to catch back up to the group. Well, Glen hustled up while Hayes chose to stay tucked by Austin's side.
"It's your 21st, and you choose to spend it with a bunch of losers?" Dakota was asking as they walked up.
"That includes yourself, you know." Baker reminded him, swinging his hand that was laced with Peyton's.
"Yeah, but I'm the best fucking loser around."
"It's because we're his only friends." Francis chortled. "He has no one else to spend it with."
"Or, I don't know, maybe I love my family?" Emerson defended.
"Naaaaah. Definitely no friends." Dakota and Francis high-fived, enjoying messing with Emerson. It was no secret that the brothers loved each other and wanted to spend time with each other. Who wouldn't want to hang out with their best friends?
Emerson rolled his eyes good-naturedly before running off, yelling "I see the ice cream store!"
---------
"How is it that you were too full to finish your hamburger, but have no problem eating that ice cream?" Austin questioned his sister. She shrugged innocently, licking the drops that were falling onto the cone. There was always room for ice cream.
"The power of stomachs, Austin." Peyton laughed.
"Babe, what does that even mean?" Baker asked, wrapping his arm around her waist.
"You know," she elbowed him playfully. "We have the normal stomach, and then the dessert stomach. Our stomach may be full from dinner but bam, dessert stomach activated." Hayes nodded along with her explanation, mentally patting herself on the back. Did this count as getting along with Peyton even though they were more than 6 feet apart and technically Hayes hadn't spoken a word to her? If so, Mama Deja would be so proud of her. Speaking of, Hayes should probably stop avoiding her calls. Deja probably wasn't so proud of her for that.
Austin and Baker exchanged a look before shaking their heads. It wasn't worth it.
"Oh come on," Peyton teased, "You guys do the same thing!"
"No, we simply take a massive dump and then our stomachs are ready to be filled again." Dakota disagreed. Hayes scrunched her nose. Dakota certainly had a way with words.
"Thanks, Dakota, truly, for that beautiful image." Peyton rolled her eyes.
Dakota saluted her, shoving the rest of his ice cream cone in his mouth. Brushing his hands off on his pants, he stood up. "Well, I'm going to go see what the big fucker, little fuckers, and Smiley are doing. Wanna come, Sunshine?" Dakota asked.
Hayes looked hesitantly at Austin, who smiled in reassurance. She had been a little more velcro than normal since they left the house that evening, but he chalked that up to bumping her head. It was a nice feeling to know that he was someone she turned to for comfort.
His heart twinged, as he watched her walk away with Dakota, attempting to lick the ice cream before it melted all down her hands. She probably should have taken some napkins with her. Austin didn't like this feeling of her walking away from him. But he could see his brothers goofing around out on the dock so he knew they wouldn't be to far away. They were safe. Hopefully. God forbid one of them decided to take a plunge into the water. They weren't that stupid, were they?
"How'd it go today?" Baker broke the silence. Taking advantage of having no little siblings around to overhear, he asked the one question that been on his mind all afternoon.
"Hmm?" Austin asked, his attention still on his little sister. Colton had his arms wrapped around her to protect her from the sea breeze. "Oh with Lotte? She's a pain in the ass as always."
"Do you want me to go take a walk so you two can talk?" Peyton offered, starting to pull out of Baker's grip. She knew the brothers preferred talking in private about these things.
"No," Austin shook his head. "I don't have anything to say. It's not the right time yet. The kids are still adjusting, it wouldn't be fair to them. I don't even know how she found out they were back."
"You know I agree with you 100%, always. I got your back." Baker said, "But we both know she won't stop until she sees them."
"Yeah well, fuck that." Austin cursed. "Then she'll fucking run, leaving behind her mess. Just like she's always done." Austin crossed his arms, stance firm. There was no way in hell, she was going to see his kids.
"Roger that." Baker nodded, accepting Austin's answer. Lotte was in for a rude awakening trying to get through their brick wall.
"By the way, B," Austin glanced over at him and Peyton, "Don't mention I saw her to Em. He asked about her yesterday and I would rather they didn't meet up."
Baker and Peyton nodded. Mum was the word.
"The fireworks show will begin in 10 minutes. Please find your spots." A voice came over the loudspeaker.
An exhausted sigh escaped Austin as he stood from his seat. He should probably find his siblings before the lights went out for the show.
"Hayes still having nightmares?" Baker asked, concerned about Austin's tiredness.
"Yeah, not last night though. At least I think she slept through the night. She didn't wake me or Glen." Austin responded as they started walking in the direction of the dock.
"Are you sleeping?"
"Stop worrying about me." Austin brushed him off.
"Well, someone has too." Baker retorted. "All I'm saying is maybe skip your morning runs for a couple days. Everyone needs beauty sleep."
Austin opened his mouth to respond, but cut off when he saw Hayes running towards them with Glen right behind her. The rest of their brothers were walking at a more normal pace in their direction.
Hayes ran right into Austin's stomach, immediately wrapping her arms around him.
"What's wrong?" He asked, slightly panicked. She had been fine not even 10 minutes ago. What changed? Knowing Hayes wasn't going to respond, he turned to Glen for some answers.
"She doesn't like fireworks." Glen explained. Austin swore under his breath. How did he forgot she didn't like loud sounds, the problem stemming back to the car accident all those years ago. Maybe he was a little more tired than he wanted to admit. Today had been draining. He felt absolutely horrible for Hayes. They were too far from the car to make it before the fireworks started.
Austin looked around, trying to come up with ideas. Thankfully Colton took Glen under his wing to calm his anxiety for his sister while Emerson, Francis, and Dakota just looked on, not knowing what to do either. Think Austin, think.
"We can go look in those stores," Peyton kindly suggested, pointing out the several store fronts just meters away. "It'll be a little quieter in there."
"Yeah, come on Sunshine, maybe we can find you a souvenir sweatshirt." Baker tried to persuade her. It didn't seem to be working.
"Get out of my way," Dakota butted past Baker, strolling right up to Austin and Hayes. Leaning down to reach Hayes' ear, he whispered something to her. Whatever it was, he had the magic words because Hayes peered up at Dakota. He could see her thinking about it before nodding.
Visibly relieved that a crisis has been averted, Austin kissed Hayes' head before giving her a gentle push in Dakota's direction. She grabbed Dakota's hand in a death grip, and the two of them walked to where Baker and Peyton waited.
"Alright, Money man, lead the way." Dakota slapped Baker on the back. "We want matching sweatshirts."
~~~~~~Author's note~~~~~~
Hi Everyone!
I just wanted to clarify the ages of the siblings to make sure we're all on the same page. I think I may have confused myself as I was writing the story and got some numbers added up wrong. Sometimes my mind jumps quicker than my hands can type. Very sorry about that.
Here you go- Present day: Austin (29), Baker (28), Colton (26), Dakota (23), Emerson (21-to-be ;) ), Francis (17), Glen (15), and Hayes (13).
Also, just in case there is someone wondering when the next chapter will be posted, it won't be until after April 18. I'm not ghosting, I just have a very very very important test coming up in less than 2 weeks.
Until next time, ma homies.