20.

"You got quite the lead foot there, Smiley."

"Sorry," Glen grinned sheepishly, taking his foot of the gas. He was having too much fun pushing 45 mph when the speed limit was only 30mph. As soon as Austin directed him out of their neighborhood onto the road, his need for speed took over. It wasn't a main road so there was real no danger. It was simply one giant loop around several neighborhoods creating a cute little community.

When the brothers were first looking for housing as they made the transition to South Carolina, his current boss highly recommended the area and the rest was history.

Thankfully their neighbors loved them because no one in their right mind would probably have been stoked to have 6 boys move in next door. Austin and Baker definitely deserved all the credit, keeping their brothers on the straight and narrow.

"Just remember, there's nowhere you need to go that is more important than your life, so please don't think it's necessary to speed." Austin replied, nodding in approval when the speedometer dropped. "But you're a natural at this. I'm impressed."

"Thanks. I learned from the best."

Something to know about Austin was that he typically didn't ask questions he didn't already know the answer to. So when Glen asked about his permit, Austin was well-aware of his driving capabilities. Stephan Rayon imparted as much information as he could without breaking the kids' trust.

Which is why Austin didn't even bat an eye when asking Glen if he wanted to take the car out for a spin. It was the perfect leeway into spending time with his little brother one-on-one. There was a conversation that was overdue.

"The best, huh?" Austin joked with mock offense before giving directions, "At the next corner, you're going to turn right."

"Here?" Austin mhmm'd so Glen expertly put the blinker on and slowed down. "You've met Stephen. You can't deny that he's the best of the best in everything. If he's helping you, he won't quit until you nail it. " Glen answered him. "He taught me for my birthday. He didn't expect the Bear to do it, no surprise there. The man probably didn't even know it was my birthday." He didn't mean to share that last bit. Glen tapped the steering wheel with his fingers, focusing his energy on the road. If he wasn't careful, as soon as he thought of his grandfather, his mind jumped down a million rabbit holes of where he could be.

"I believe that," Austin stated, "you look up to Stephen a lot." Fact.

"Honestly," Glen trailed off, twisting his lips to the side as he debated his next words carefully, "I think if we didn't meet the Rayon family when we did..." Sergeant Stephen Rayon became a presence in their life that the Bear just couldn't ignore. Stephen was probably the reason why him and Hayes turned out okay.

Austin did not like having to fill in the blanks of the kids' past, but respected Glen's decision to keep it to himself. "See that lake up there?" Austin pointed off to the driver's side of the car, "pull in any of these parking spots and we'll go for a walk."

"A walk?" Glen repeated suspiciously. "This better not be where you ditch me because I have no clue how the hell to get back home."

Austin laughed as Glen swung the car into a parking spot with no hesitation and after switching gears into park, he turned the car off. Damn, Stephen really didn't mess around when teaching the boy.

"I'm serious." Glen said, handing Austin the car keys.

"I know you are, I'm sorry." Austin apologized, reaching over to mess up Glen's hair. "Just like how I'm serious about never letting you leave my side again. We're glued together, bud."

Glen rolled his eyes, pushing Austin's hand away. "You're still laughing at me." He grumbled.

"I'm not, I'm not," Austin smiled at the scowl on his face, "come on." He opened his door and climbed out, Glen doing the same, wincing when he accidently slammed the door harder than he meant. He met Austin at the front of the car, the two staring at each other as Austin had just one more question for the boy that popped into his mind.

"I am curious though, Glen, and you don't have to answer if you don't want to, but what were your plans?"

"My plans?" Glen echoed, "plans for what?"

"After you graduate high school."

"Oh. Umm I don't know. I guess just wait for Hayes to graduate and then get the hell out of Dead Oak." Glen shrugged, feigning nonchalance as he crossed his arms. Austin didn't need to know that this exact question was what kept Glen up at night. Not anymore. Glen didn't feel the need to elaborate anymore than that because his future changed. They didn't need to escape anymore.

There was power in silence so Austin didn't respond verbally. He simply hooked an arm around Glen's neck, rough-housing him a little as they got moving towards the pathway. He loved his little brother so much.

Successfully breaking down Glen's barriers for the moment, his mature side gave way to laughter as he stumbled along next to Austin. One of his favorite things about his brothers was how they didn't hold back from their jesters and physicality. They treated him like he'd been there all along, growing up right beside the rest of them.

Hayes, too. There was no awkwardness or fragility in their interactions. Good thing too, otherwise Hayes probably would have punched them by now. Growing up as a package deal with Glen, she was treated like one of the guys, unless she really wanted her way about something. Then she'd throw the 'girl card' around.

"Hey, how are you?" Austin waved to a couple friendly faces as they walked. There was a mile trail that traced the lake, a secluded walking path for the community.

He knew it like the back of his hand. It was part of his running route that he and Hayes ran in the mornings. He chuckled to himself. Hayes, his little firecracker, loved to race around the lake. She was fast, but his legs were longer.

They reached a break where no one else was around so Austin let Glen escape his hold. He was going to have to tell Baker to teach Glen some self-defense moves when he got back from deployment. All the brothers had the skills to protect themselves. Glen could certainly put up a fight, but having the training would make it easier. With that point, Hayes needed to learn as well. It'd also give them some quality time with Baker that Austin knew he would love to have.

Having postponed it enough, Austin cleared his throat. "I wanted to talk to you some more about Lotte." Austin said, instantly catching the boy's attention. "We were all taken by surprise by her showing up last night."

"Really? I couldn't tell," Glen mumbled under his breath. Austin heard him and gave him a nudge in the shoulder sending him off balance. Seemed like Glen was hanging around Dakota's bad influence too much.

"I told you we'd talk so what would you like to know, Smiley? Ask me anything."

"Anything?" Glen was skeptical. They've kept it hush hush for this long, he couldn't help but wonder if he truly meant anything.

"Go for it."

"Okaaaaaay." Glen thought about. "Well I guess, like who is she? I know she's our sister and all, but why is she not in any photos. No one ever talks about her. It doesn't make much sense." Glen kicked a loose pebble along the path, keeping his head down so Austin couldn't see his face. "Why wasn't she in the picture Stephen showed us as the police station?"

That's probably what bothered him the most, the more he thought about it. Did Stephen know about her when he looked up the family? From the beginning, was there a conscious effort to keep Lotte away from them?

Austin nodded, taking in all his questions. He could hear the frustration in Glen's voice. He gripped Glen's arm, guiding him off the path towards the lake. It was peaceful, watching the ducks swim around.

"Well, Charlotte is Colton's twin. She's the older one, which she likes to remind him the few times they talk." Austin watched Glen bend down and pick up a handful of pebbles, chucking them one at a time into the lake. "It's complicated, which is a sucky answer, believe me, but it's the truth. I can't speak for her and why she does what she does, but I can tell you from my perspective."

Glen shrugged, "okay." He had yet to hear anything that wasn't said yesterday.

"When we were young, we meaning myself, Baker, Cole, and Lotte, she sort of got pushed to the side. Dakota had to have been a baby. No, he was in preschool I think and Emerson was a baby." Austin rubbed his mouth, "Regardless, Lotte felt like she wasn't part of the group. In retrospect, that might have been true, but she played a role in that." It had been a while since Austin relived his own childhood.

"What do you mean?"

"At one point, our mother had some sort a maternal instinct, not very good, but some. And we kept her busy, taking care of 4 boys isn't the easiest thing to do. It made Lotte feel unloved so she tried to find someone or something that would love her back. Jane put her in gymnastics to keep her out of the way and Lotte fell in love with it. And she was extremely good at it too, from what I've heard."

"Charlotte is a gymnast?" It wasn't so hard for Glen to believe. From the brief glimpse last night, she looked petite and in shape.

"Was." Austin shook his head. "She was. Super dedicated to it, too. When I was 13, so she was 10ish, she asked to be sent to a prep boarding school for her birthday so she could focus on gymnastics. Her dream was to go to the Olympics."

"Like, away from you guys?" Having lived that, Glen would never recommend that in a million years. "What happened?"

Austin shrugged, "Nothing really. Our mother said yes, happy to have one less kid to worry about so one day Lotte was just gone. They had a weird relationship. As soon as Lotte left, it was as if Jane suddenly remembered she had a daughter. Her sons no longer mattered to her. All she talked about was Charlotte."

"So she left for school? That's why you guys don't talk?" Something wasn't adding up for Glen, especially when Emerson was away at college and he talked to the brothers every day. Distance didn't destroy their bond.

"It's not that simple. Charlotte became very manipulative when she realized that now all the attention was on her. Jane was never home because Charlotte kept asking her to come to all her events. So I was left in charge of everyone. It was fine for a little while, we made a routine and it worked." Like Glen, Austin also grew up quicker than he should have. So did Baker and Colton. Dakota and Emerson accepted it as normal for Austin to be in charge, their father-figure since their dad was MIA overseas most of the time. It was harder on the brothers when their mother actually tried to parent them.

"But then Jane continued having more kids, pulling her attention away from just Charlotte. Not that she paid you guys much attention either. Baker and I, we had to grow up fast and take care of you younger ones but I'd do that all over again in a heart beat. Anyways, not nice words were exchanged and bridges were burned, that sort of thing." Austin quickly summed up the story.

Glen frowned, "Why didn't mom take care of us?"

"Why, you don't think we did a good job?"

"I wouldn't know, remember?" Glen scowled, throwing a pebble at Austin.

"I'm kidding, kidding. I know you don't remember, but you, Hayes, and Francis were probably the best thing that could have happened to us. Emerson's still a toss up, though." Glen huffed out a laugh. "But to answer your question, I think Jane was in over her head and for some reason, she had it in her mind that if she kept getting pregnant, maybe our father would decide to stay home. Obviously that's not what happened so Mom became depressed. If we hadn't stepped up, then social services would have been involved and that would have been a whole different ball game. Not to mention, Lotte was away at school too, crying wolf every 2 seconds."

"But you left. You went to college and you left us with her anyways." The words coming out of Glen's mouth sounded harsher than he meant. "You weren't there to stop her." To save us.

"You're right, I wasn't." It was a sucker punch to the stomach. They were suppose to be talking about Charlotte, not his own misdoings. "I wrongly thought Jane would be able to handle things, now that everyone was a little older. Hayes had started kindergarten so Jane could relax during the day with no kids. Plus Colton and Dakota were still at home in case anything went awry. She had been doing alright before I left for school. Dad had been back for a couple months this time before he had to leave so she was still riding happy again. She was involved in what we were doing, asking us about our days, attending everyone's sporting games, and then..."

"And then the car crash." Glen threw the last pebble into the lake, watching the ducks flutter around from the unexpected splash.

Austin furrowed his eyebrows. "You remember that?"

Glen turned to face Austin. "Hard not to when Hayes woke up screaming every night for the first year at grandfather's house."

Hard not to remember when every time, their mother would scream and shout like no tomorrow for waking her up. Glen tried his best to quiet Hayes quickly, but it didn't always work.

"She used to cry for you," Glen's fists clenched as his mind dug through some more memories, "every night. Mother would get so mad at Hayes." Glen glanced over to Austin before staring back out at the lake. He chuckled humorlessly, "That's why we don't remember any of you. One day, mom had enough and," He caught himself, cutting off abruptly. No need to go down that memory lane. "We never mentioned you again." Out of sight, out of mind.

"Glen," Austin was speechless.

Glen half-shrugged, his shoulders tense. "It's fine. Things got better after mother pulled her disappearance act. No more constant reminder in her face."

"Hayes hadn't said anything to me. I know she's still having nightmares but I don't know what about. Is it the crash?"

"No." The crash was in the past, Glen was certain. He assumed that Hayes had been triggered by all the changes and by seeing Dakota again, making the memory resurface that first night at their new home, even if she didn't really recall the accident.

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"No." There wasn't anything Glen could do either, besides just be there for her. Hayes didn't like talking about them but he lived the nightmares with her so he knew her sufferings.

A moment passed with neither talking, both facing the lake but Austin's eyes remained on Glen.

Taking the hint that he should drop the subject, Austin briefly ran a hand through his hair as he tried to remember where he left off, "Right. So yes, mother, Dakota and Hayes got in that car crash. Hayes was unscathed physically besides minor scrapes and bruises, and Dakota busted his knee up really bad, but Jane was on a whole other level. Though I'm not sure where the physical pain ended and the emotional pain started for her. All I know is she got hooked on the pain meds and that was the downfall."

Glen couldn't stop the shiver than ran through him. He knew this part of the story well. Their mother outgrew the pain mediation and turned to other drugs and alcohol, leaving behind any chance of being their mother again. The drugs and alcohol that she valued more than her own children.

"We could see the change in Jane and knew something was going to happen, we just didn't know what or when. So that's when we enforced the buddy system, never letting you kids be alone with her without another brother, that sort of thing."

"That's why I slept in Hayes' room."

"Exactly, Bud. You took your role very seriously and were very adamant about keeping an eye on Hayes at all times. The plan was to get through final exams week and then Baker and I would be home as well and we were going to re-evaluate what to do. We were already in communication with dad about guardianship, the whole 9 yards."

"She knew about that."

"About applying for custody? I know, that was my fault. We were arguing and I threatened to take all of you right then and there."

"Did Charlotte know that mom took me and Hayes?" Glen asked, folding his arms so he was almost hugging himself. He was building himself up to share his secret.

Austin looked at him weirdly. "Yes, she knew. We called everyone Jane possibly knew to see if they had seen or heard from her lately. The police were also looking."

Glen suddenly turned, making Austin turn to face him as well. "I have something to tell you but you're going to be extremely mad at me."

"Why would I be mad at you?" Austin was puzzled.

"Because I should have told you sooner," Glen replied quietly.

"That's alright, Smiley. Whatever it is, I'm just happy you feel comfortable enough to tell me now."

"You're really not going to like it." He nervously scratched his arm.

"Hey, hey, it's okay." Austin stepped forward and extended one hand to cup the back of Glen's neck, his thumb brushed up and down at the baby hairs. "Whatever it is, we'll get through it."

Glen looked at Austin, looking for any signs of hatred but only seeing love and concern. "Charlotte lied."

Confusion was written on Austin's face. "Lied about what?"

"She knew where we were. I saw her."

That son of a bitch.

Austin stared at Glen, his face going blank. The bombshell Glen just dropped on him made him rethink everything that happened since the kidnapping. His brain was buzzing. How did he not know this? How did Lotte out of all people, get a hold of their mother? How did she not think to tell anyone?

What the fuck was wrong with her?

"I'm sorry Austin. I know I should have told you as soon as possible but I didn't really remember until like Thursday because Hayes kept pestering me about the stupid photo and then I remembered you saying Lotte's name before but then Baker said he was leaving and my head hurt so I couldn't really think and then yesterday when I brought it up you said we would talk about Lotte this weekend which is now." Glen took a deep breath, trying to not get worked up. He couldn't tell what Austin was thinking which made him scared.

"Shhh, Glen buddy it's okay." Austin raised his other hand to run his fingers through Glen's hair but froze when Glen flinched back.

"Sorry, sorry!" Glen was starting to panic now. "I didn't mean to, don't be mad."

"It's alright, Glen. I'm not going to hurt you." Austin put his hands up in surrender, "I'd never hurt you."

"I know, I'm just," Glen rubbed his forehead, pinching his eyes shut. Get a hold of yourself.

The sound of Austin's phone ringing interrupted what he was going to say. Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he saw it was Francis calling. It was a rule to always answer when one of them were calling so Austin accepted the call. Keeping his eye on Glen, he held the phone to his ear.

"Hey Francis, what's up?" Austin kept his voice light, giving no evidence of what he was feeling right now.

"Where are you?" Francis asked, skipping the greeting. "Hayes may have eaten her ice cream already and is literally bouncing off the walls right now and won't listen to a single word I'm saying." Austin could hear his sister in the background, she must have been nearby. Good God, the ice cream gave her a second wind of energy. He withheld a groan.

"I'm at the lake with Glen. Where's Cole or Dakota?"

"Colton's taking a long-ass shower and Kota is encouraging her bad behavior." Francis must have held the phone away from his mouth to shout the second part at said sibling. "Hey, no I'm talking to Austin!" Francis whined as Dakota must have stolen the phone out of his hand.

"Sup Austin. You coming back soon? I'm fucking starving."

Austin watched as Glen walked a couple steps away, facing the lake once more. "Please don't rile your sister up. It's Smiley's turn to pick dinner. I'll let you know in a few minutes and then text me all of the orders, alright? We'll pick it up on the way home."

"Fine, just hurry the fuck up please."

"Tell him I want chicken tenders!" Austin heard Hayes shout. She was a lot closer to the phone now.

"Thanks for yelling in my ear, Sunshine," Austin could hear Dakota grumble before he hung up the phone.

Austin sighed, God help them all. May He grant him the patience to deal with hungry and hyper siblings as well as the strength to get to the bottom of this Lotte situation and find out the truth, whatever it may be.

Austin slowly walked next to Glen. "That was your brothers and Hayes."

"I heard." Glen replied shortly.

"Then you also heard that it was your choice for dinner, so do you have any places in mind?"

Glen twisted his shoe in the dirt. He didn't have the appetite to even think about food anymore. "Where's the best chicken tenders?" The whole park probably heard Hayes' request.

Austin smiled at his youngest brother, proud of his loyalty to his sister. He was one helluva young man. "Any place serves chicken. What do you want to eat?"

Glen shrugged, not feeling up for anything. "Anywhere."

"How about this, we do something easy like Cane's tonight for some chicken tenders and then next week you can choose?"

"Okay," Glen mumbled. He didn't even know what Cane's was but he didn't care.

A sudden wave of hysteria-like emotion encompassed Glen. "You do believe me, right? I swear I wouldn't lie about this. I know I saw her. She was at our house."

Austin placed a firm hand on his shoulder before embracing him in a hug. Silent tears were running down Glen's cheeks.

"I will always believe you."

————

Austin wasn't at dinner. He had more pressing matters to deal with that night, matters being named Charlotte.

Glen and Austin picked up the food on the way home as promised, before Austin slipped right back out the door, with a passing comment to Colton as he left. He and Baker were going to have a word with Charlotte.

Colton was a little bummed since he had to cancel his plans now, feeling obligated to stay home with his siblings. He knew Dakota and even Francis were perfectly capable of staying alone with Hayes, but Glen had him concerned so he stayed. As soon as Glen had gotten home from the park, he bolted straight for his room. Hayes went up to talk with him, before reporting back that he wasn't hungry.

Colton didn't know exactly what transpired on their walk, but it must have been huge to rattle Glen like that. He had one guess, Charlotte.

The rest of the night went as smoothly as it could with five siblings. But when it came time for Hayes' unofficial bedtime, they hit a roadblock. She absolutely refused to go to bed without saying goodnight to Austin. This was a problem because no one knew when Austin was coming home and Colton didn't want to disturb him.

Tired of trying to negotiate with Hayes, Colton gave up and focused on the basketball game that was playing on the television. He could have been there.

Shuffling of pages caught his attention, so he glanced over to Hayes. She was laying on her stomach on the floor with her feet in the air, wearing one of their sweatshirts that practically swallowed her up, while contently reading a book. He recognized the title, having read the book himself. Hayes must have borrowed it from his bookshelf. He'd give her an hour before she passed out from exhaustion.

Surveying the rest of the room, he caught Dakota's eye who was sitting in his normal spot at the far corner of the couch. A laptop was perched on his lap with his legs rested on the coffee table. Most likely he was editing some photos that he had taken recently to post to his Instagram. Like most of his brothers, Colton included, Dakota wasn't big on social media, but he did have an anonymous account to show off his incredible photography skills. In one of his easy-going moods, Dakota winked at Colton before flicking him off. Love you too, bro.

Rolling his eyes, Colton landed on the last brother who was gracing them with his presence. Glen. He re-emerged from his room about an hour ago after Francis escaped up there to talk on the phone. According to Glen, who was bitter about being kicked out of his bed, Francis was fancying a young lady who was a fellow senior and talked way too much. Of course, that was a nicer summary than what Glen actually said.

Nonetheless, Colton was happy to see Glen and that he had an appetite for some heated up chicken tenders. Now they got to bond over this basketball game.

"What a flop," Glen groaned, his eyes meeting Colton when he looked over to see if he was watching the replay. A blush covered his cheeks when he realized Colton was already looking at him. "What?" Glen complained, "don't look at me."

"Nothing," Colton shook his head, relaxing back against the couch. Nothing at all.

Yeah, he could have been at the game but his siblings were more important.

————

The soccer ball soared through the air, bouncing once, twice, before being stopped by Francis' foot.

"Come and get it, Baby Bro," he taunted, kicking the ball in front of him as he took off down the field.

Glen ran after him, tracking him down at the penalty arc. The siblings were getting goofy now as they got tired so instead of making a move for the ball, Glen jumped into Francis' back. Their legs tangled together, the both of them crumpled to the floor in a heap.

Watching this happen as he walked back from the parking lot, Austin shook his head at his brothers. It wasn't even worth intervening. No pain no gain, little brothers.

"I'll take that," Hayes tapped the loose ball away from the boys and went right back down the field in the opposite direction. The smile on her face widened when she saw Colton running straight for her, her competitive nature taking over. "Here, Dakota!" She passed the ball forward just in the nick of time as Colton swooped her up into his arms. Laughter filled the air, putting a smile on Austin's face.

In the beginning, the two teams were evenly split thanks to Baker and Peyton tagging along. Dakota claimed Hayes immediately and gained Glen as the package deal, with Baker rounding out one team.

Austin, Colton, Francis, and Peyton were on the opposing team. Pretty fairly matched for the much-needed fun day at the park. It felt like Austin could finally take a deep breath, letting go some of the stress from the past days. The relief only lasted for a few seconds but it felt good.

Unfortunately, after an hour, Baker had to leave to meet up with his unit. He received an urgent phone call from work saying that they would be deploying tomorrow, Monday, instead of the original Wednesday as planned. Things were apparently escalating wherever his assignment was.

Peyton decided to stay with the siblings, no point in her going home to an empty house now when she'd be alone for a whole month starting tomorrow. Just thinking about it made her sad, but she knew the brothers wouldn't let her mope around. They made it clear when Baker was serious about dating her that she was part of their family.

Austin had walked Baker to his car to say goodbye. With only being a year apart in age, they considered themselves as equals. But that didn't mean that Austin didn't worry for his brother's safety when he was at work. His life was at risk from the moment he put on the uniform at the start of shift.

"Do me a favor, and keep your head down." Austin said, folding his arms against his chest. "No super hero shit."

"Jeez bro, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you're going to miss me." Baker laughed, hiding his own anxiety behind his teasing words. "Love you too, by the way."

Austin rolled his eyes before hugging Baker firmly. "Of course I love you. If you die, I'll fucking revive you just to kill you again."

"It'll be fine," Baker replied. "We'll be fine. You'll be fine. Just don't forget what we talked about, alright? Let me know how it goes when you tell Colton and Dakota about Lotte."

Austin barely stopped his expression from morphing into dread. Right, now he had to break the news himself. "I'll see you in a month, B."

————

🎶 "I am slowly going crazy, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, switch;

crazy going slowly am I, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, switch..."

Hayes was soooooo bored. It was Sunday night so she was finishing up her homework last minute. But she had no interest in math. Math was stupid.

"I'm going to go crazy if you don't shut the fuck up, Sunshine." Grumpy Dakota announced.

"I don't want to do math," Hayes whined, throwing her head back against the couch.

"Tough shit," Dakota had no sympathy for her. If he had to go to school and do homework for 13 years then so did she.

Hayes scowled at her brother, what was the point of sitting in the room with her if he wasn't going to help her. "Go away, I was here first."

"That's no way to talk to your favorite brother."

"You're not my favorite anymore."

"You wound me, Sunshine." Dakota chuckled, "Take a knife and shove it in my fucking heart, why don't you."

On impulse, Hayes chucked her pencil at him. Not exactly a knife, but close enough.

"Wow, someone's pissy." he muttered, loud enough so she could still hear him. "Are you even old enough to be PMSing yet?"

The answer was apparently yes as Hayes flushed red with embarrassment, "I hate you." She gathered her textbook and notebook and made to stand up but a pillow smacked her in the face.

"Sit your ass back down and do your fucking work, kid." He was thankful Hayes did as told, because he wouldn't have been able to stop her if she kept moving. Austin had ordered her to the living room away from everyone else when he found out she didn't finish her homework. Out of the kindness of his heart, Dakota agreed to 'Hayes sitting' duty while he iced his knee. Family fun day at the soccer field gave him a run for his money. He may have slightly overdone it, straining his bad knee.

It was worth it.

He couldn't resist showing off his skills, not realizing how much he missed the sport until then. It had been almost 8 years since he stopped playing. And now, with Sunshine's interest, he got to play again, creating happy memories once more on the field. Dakota wouldn't say it aloud, but he secretly hoped Hayes would want to play with him again. He had so much he wanted to teach her. Maybe he could even convince her to switch to the superior sport. She had the knack for it.

Dakota kept his eye on Hayes, smirking as he watched her grumble to herself, probably cursing him out in his head. The two were more alike than Austin probably preferred. But nevertheless, she took back the pencil that Dakota kindly handed her and focused on her textbook, finishing up the last set of problems. He didn't know why she procrastinated for so long when the homework seemed to be no problem for her.

He overheard Austin and Colton chatting about their young siblings' grades one day and apparently they were high academic achievers. Apparently Colton had been worried because he didn't know if their grades would drop now that they were living a new life. Perhaps not put as much effort in.

So far, that wasn't the case. These kids had the smarticles and even with the bit of procrastination, they continued to excel in school. Like little blonde baby geniuses. They took after him.

"Done," Hayes declared 10 minutes later, slamming her textbook shut to emphasize her point.

Dakota raised his eyebrows at her, "That was fast."

"Austin said I could have ice cream when I finished my homework." She crossed her fingers underneath her textbook.

"Why don't I believe you?"

"Because she's lying," Colton walked into the room, taking the spot right next to Hayes. He wrapped an arm around her waist, sliding her even closer to him. "And liars get tickled," his fingers dug into her side as he spoke, making her squeal with laughter. Colton knew for a fact that Austin did not want Hayes having ice cream tonight. It was already late and he didn't need her bouncing off the walls again right before bed. Saturday's energy was enough for the week.

"I'm not!" She gasped, completely out of breath. When Colton didn't let up, she relented, "Fine! No ice cream, happy?"

"No." Colton replied, pulling her sideways onto his lap. Hayes frowned, she didn't think her offense was that serious. Colton poked her bottom lip with his finger, "Don't look so sad, Sunshine. You're not in trouble. I just need to talk to you about something."

"What do you want?"

"Have you thought anymore about Coach Gordon's offer?"

Her eyebrows scrunched together. "Who?"

"I'm going to take that as a no. He's the girls basketball coach." Colton reminded her as he rubbed his thumb over her forehead, smoothing out the wrinkles.

"Oh, yeah him," Hayes bit her lip. She actually had thought about it.  After listening to Johnna talk about her soccer team last week, Hayes started to want to be part of a team herself. She didn't know if it'd work out but she was close to talking herself into giving it a try. "Do you think I should do it?" Her bright blue eyes met Colton's, mirror images of each other.

"I think it'd be a good opportunity for you."

"Just fucking do it," Dakota said, point blank.

Hayes glanced at Dakota, studying his face for any signs of teasing. But he was serious. All the brothers thought she should do it.

"What if I don't like it?" Hayes asked, "what if they don't like me? I've never played on a team before." Her hands fumbled with Colton's fingers as she shared her vulnerability.

"Then you stop and come practice with the boys again. That simple."

Hayes thought it over before slowly nodding, "okay."

Colton kissed the side of her head. "Good choice, baby cakes. Why don't you go let Austin know?"

Hayes mood dropped back down. "I don't think he wants to see me right now."

Dakota snorted. "Because he banished you to the living room? Please, he's probably upstairs in his room waiting for you to finish your homework so he can smoother you with snuggles."

Hayes looked up at Colton to see if he agreed.

"Better go see," Colton flicked her forehead earning himself a scowl, before gently pushing her off of him so she was standing.

"But what if he..."

"Go Hayes." Colton patted her butt, encouraging her to leave. If he didn't push her, she'd talk herself out of it.

"Gosh, if you didn't want to spend time with me you could just say so," she said sarcastically, still not moving.

"Bye Hayes."

"Get the fuck upstairs, little girl."

With one last glare aimed at both brothers, Hayes picked up her books and stomped out of the room and up the stairs. She carelessly dropped her school stuff on her bed before walking across the hall to Austin's room.

His door was open so she quietly peeked around the doorframe to see Austin lying on his bed, his fingers typing away on his laptop. After meeting with Lotte last night, it was the first moment he had alone to do some research. A lot was said and there was still a lot to uncover but the fury he had been feeling slowly gave way to deep sadness.

Charlotte's relationship with her siblings would never be healed, that much was a given. But Austin knew he'd regret it if he at least didn't give her a chance to show them who she had become before time expired. That's right, Colton called it right on the money. Charlotte's cancer returned.

Because Austin had the 6th sense to know when his siblings were around, he suddenly glanced up to see Hayes cautiously standing at his door.

His lips curled up into a smile at the sight of his sister, his distressing thoughts vanished. "Finish your homework, Sunshine?"

"Uh huh."

"Good job. You need something?"

To not be a chicken. "Um, no sorry. Never mind."

Hayes scurried away back to her room. Frustrated at herself, Hayes angrily packed her books into her backpack for school tomorrow.

That's right, kid. Do not bring attention to yourself or you'll be in big trouble. The Bear was playing the role of the devil on her shoulder tonight.

He would be so angry at her right now for even toying with the idea to join the girls' team. They weren't allowed to be involved with anything.

We're safe now Hay Hay. He can't hurt us. Glen was the angel, a part that was now slowly being shared with Austin.

Hayes chewed on her lip. Be brave.

Downstairs, Colton and Dakota had been so sure that Austin would be happy to hear that she wanted to play. Clenching her fists, Hayes walked back to Austin's room. This time she took two steps into the bedroom before freezing.

"What's up, baby?"

"Nothing." Hayes swung her arms, "just saying hi. Okay bye." She spun on her foot and ran back out of the room. She lightly banged her head against the wall next to the bathroom. Why was this so difficult for her?

Hayes knew why. It was because she was finally stepping outside her comfort zone, being able to do something that she exactly wanted to do for once, not because she had to.

This was her time to step out of the shadows and shine.

Like the wise Dakota semi-said, just do it.

Hayes took a deep breath in before letting it out. Turning back around, she headed back to Austin's room for the third time.

Third times the charm, eh?

When she entered the room, Austin was already staring expectantly at the door, as if waiting for his little sister to come back. Which he was.

His laptop was closed and moved to his nightstand.

"Come here, Hayes," he patted the spot next to him on the bed for her to sit. After a brief hesitation, she happily complied, snuggling close to him.

She couldn't help it. Austin was comfort.

"I love you," he placed a kiss on the top of her head. Austin would never tire of saying that nor would Hayes ever be bored of hearing it.

"Love you most," she replied, laying her head on his chest as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. She could hear the rhythmic beating of his heart, just wanting to lull the girl to sleep.

Snuggled together, they sat in the silence of each other, letting the crazy Sunday slowly drift away.

"Anything on your mind?" Austin mindlessly began running his fingers through her hair, combing out some of the stubborn knots. She had washed her hair after playing soccer so it was still flowing loosely down her shoulders as it dried.

"No," Hayes denied, her index finger tracing imaginative designs on his shirt, "I was just wondering if it's okay that I go to the girls' basketball practice tomorrow."

"Of course that's okay," Austin tugged on a strand of hair, changing to running his knuckles over her arm. "It makes me happy to see you trying new things. Takes a lot of courage to do this."

"We'll see," Hayes mumbled, unconvinced this will even go well.

"Hey now, don't be so gloomy." His finger poked her side making her squirm before resuming rubbing along her arm.

"I'm not," she whined. "That's Dakota's job."

Austin chuckled, before turning more serious. "I tell all your brothers this and now I'm telling you and Glen. I don't care if you're the worst player on the team, as long as you try your best, that's all I ever want. You all make me so proud each and every day to be your big brother."

"But what if my best isn't good enough?"

"You'll always be good enough for me, Sunshine."