1.

Present day - Hayes, age 13:

Tap.

"Hayes."

Tap. Tap.

"Hayes I swear."

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Suddenly the pencil was no longer in Hayes' hand but chucked across the room, curtesy of Glen. Hayes watched it bounce against the wall before landing somewhere behind the couch where it was now destined to collect dust for eternity.

She rounded on Glen, "What the heck!"

She had been minding her business, fully engaged in taking notes from her biology textbook and now her concentration had been broken.

"Shut up," Glen hissed back. "No need to yell, don't wake the Bear."

"You stole my pencil!"

"Well don't tap your pencil! I couldn't concentrate!" Ignoring his own warning, Glen and Hayes' voices continued to rise in frustration.

"Don't tap your pencil, blah blah blah." Hayes mimicked Glen. "You could have just told me to stop."

"I did!"

"No you didn't!"

"Yes I did! Oh my God, you're so annoying!"

"Well you're an idiot!" Hayes reached across the table, snagged the book he was previously trying to read, and dropped it onto the floor beside her. Of course she wasn't that cruel of a sister and had doggy-eared the page he was on before closing it.

Before Glen could open his mouth to retaliate, one of the bedroom doors slammed open. Hayes flinched back into her chair, instantly regretting yelling at Glen. She looked over at Glen and could see the flash of  momentary panic reflecting in his eyes.

They had awoken the Bear.

"How many times do I have to tell you to be quiet!" The Bear yelled at them, breathing heavily. "You little ungrateful shits. I feed you and provide you a home to live in and you can't keep fucking quiet! God, didn't your deadbeat mother teach you any manners?" He ran out of steam after a moment, taking in puffs of air to normalize his breathing.

Then the weirdest thing happened. The Bear started chuckling and a tiny smirk appeared on his face. He couldn't help but enjoy the feeling of power when seeing the panic on their faces. "Oh don't get your panties in a twist. I'm just messing with y'all. Did you have dinner yet?"

"No, sir." Glen responded for both of them as Hayes also shook her head no. It had been raining all day so they had come home straight after school and got started on their homework. They didn't want to risk losing power due to the storm and not have any light to work with.  They lived in an old temperamental townhouse that was easily angered by storms. And believe it or not, before that little episode, they had been quite productive with their work and the time had flew by. Glen and Hayes did not mess around with their school work, a message Glen reminded Hayes of on a weekly basis.

Hayes stole a quick glance at the clock hanging on the wall in the kitchen and let out a tiny sigh of relief. It was already 6pm which means they didn't wake him up because he had to leave for work in a few moments. He just wanted to play the drama queen role. Good, they wouldn't face anymore consequences of having been too loud. The Bear's favorite punishment to enforce was loss of phone privileges. And because it seemed that Glen and Hayes couldn't control the volume of their voices, that was a privilege they lost more often than not, including currently. On a positive note though, the kids didn't grow attached to their phones and therefore paid attention enough to tell the difference between their head and their ass, as the Bear would chuckle.

Hayes didn't really understand his sense of humor.

They followed the Bear's movements with their eyes as he strolled into the kitchen. He opened the fridge and then the freezer, scoping out the food options, which were not many. "Hmm." He shut the door and turned to face the kids. "Guess I got to go food shopping tomorrow. All we got are pizza rolls."

Glen pumped his fist, "Yes, my favorite food group."

The Bear rolled his eyes and grabbed his keys out of his pocket. "Dial down the enthusiasm. Don't burn the house down. I'll be back in the morning." That was his routine speech before leaving for work. Over the years, the kids had learned to take it as a sign of his love, if he even loved them.

"Yes Grandpa," Hayes replied quietly. "Have a good night at work."

"Yeah, be careful! Heard mopping floors could be dangerous." Glen added, enjoying the satisfaction he got from riling up the Bear. Their grandfather was on the night janitorial staff for the local elementary school and so he worked throughout the night while the rest of the world slept.

Although there was a smirk on Glen's face, Hayes was able to detect the underlying tone of concern in his voice. Their grandfather was all they had and although their dysfunctional little family related more to Hell than Heaven, if something did happen to him, Hayes could only imagine how much more worse life could get. Sometimes she'd get caught up with playing the "what if" game about getting sent into foster care and becoming separated from Glen, her protector. Glen just always happened to notice when it happens and punch her in the arm. It was his way of snapping her out of the depressing dangerous thoughts.

Hayes rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands, clearing her mind. By now, the Bear had opened the front door, but he stopped at Glen's comment. He briefly looked back over at Glen and Hayes before deciding it wasn't worth his time to respond. Shaking his head, he continued to walk out the door muttering under his breath.  "Little Shits."

Glen laughed, turning back around in his chair to face Hayes again. Hayes wondered how Glen never seemed to be bothered by their grandfather's offputting attitude. Everything seemed to bounce right off of him and stick to her. She learned to grow thicker skin over the years but she was still sensitive. "Have a good night at work, Grandpa."

"I don't sound like that."

"I don't sound like that." Glen copied her. It sounded so ridiculous that Hayes couldn't help but laugh. Caught by the laughter bug, soon both Hayes and Glen were belly-laughing.

Until someone's stomach growled.

Hayes grinned sheepishly, patting her stomach with one hand. "I think Tommy's a little hungry."

"Me too. I'll turn the oven on. Get those pizza rolls cooking. Papa's ready to eat!" Standing up, Glen stretched his arms to the sky before bending down to reach his toes, loosening up his back a little. He sighed with satisfaction of hearing his back crack.

Hayes took this as an indication to start putting her school stuff away. She closed her biology textbook before standing up and placing her backpack on the vacated chair to shove her notebooks and folders into it. Now that their grandfather left for work, they had the freedom to watch television without getting in trouble. No television while he was asleep was another one of his rules.

Over the years, Glen and Hayes created their own little routine to watch Family Feud as they ate dinner. They both loved the show. Hayes especially liked pretending she was a part of the families and was playing along side them. For as long as she could remember, she wished she had more siblings so they could audition for it. But now she was just thankful God had at least given her Glen.

Then after Family Feud ended at 8pm, unbeknownst to their grandfather, they'd head out to the local park for some pick-up basketball games and stay until the lights shut off. Except on rainy days, like today.

"Are you ready for your history test tomorrow?" Glen asked, grabbing the bag of pizza rolls out of the freezer. He started placing them haphazardly on a baking sheet.

Hayes nodded, "Yep. Mr. Simmons did a review session during class today and I was able to look over my notes again when we got home."

"That's good! I expect nothing less than a 103%."

" As realistic as that seems, I don't think there is any extra credit on the exam."

"No free points for writing your name?"

"What? No. That's stupid."

Glen shrugged.

"You are kidding, right?" She leaned her arms against the kitchen counter. "Why would they even do that?"

"Dunno. Motivational points for those non-gunners?"

Hayes scrunched her nose. "You're lying."

Glen shrugged again, enjoying teasing Hayes. He tried to keep things light with laughter as much as possible, doing his best to shelter her from the harsh realities. He had to grow up fast, a sacrifice he'd make 20x over if it meant Hayes was protected.

"Whatever." Hayes pushed off the counter and made her way to the tv. She grabbed the remote to put on their show.

"Dinner is in the oven." Glen announced, setting the microwave timer for 13 minutes. He rinsed off his hands in the sink before joining Hayes by the tv. "But seriously," his voice serious, "Try your best, alright?"

"Always, G."

"That's what I like to hear." He punched her arm. "Aim for the stars, baby!"

"Come on," she groaned, rubbing her shoulder. "And I thought it was 'shoot for the moon'."

"You say tomato, I say tomato."

"Tomato."

"Tomato!"

—————

The next morning, Hayes found herself standing in front of the bathroom mirror, head hanging down with her hands pressed on either side of the sink. Even though she knew she was well prepared for her first history test of the semester, she couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. Growing up, their grandfather didn't pay much attention to them, especially not to their schooling,  but that didn't stop Glen and Hayes from setting their own high expectations for themselves. They had long since figured out that good grades would be what got them out of Dead Oak.

Okay, so maybe it was Live Oak but with the insanely high elderly population, it sure did feel dead to Hayes.

Movement in the mirror caught Hayes' attention, breaking her from her thoughts. A mop of blonde hair appeared from behind the slightly ajar door. "You ready? Patrick will be here in a moment."

Patrick Rayon, High school senior and fellow basketball junkie. He was the superstar athlete for the boys varsity team, on track to play in college. The kids initially met him and his dad almost 5 years ago when Glen and Hayes first got the guts to show up to the nightly pick-up basketball games at the park. Turns out they lived in the nice neighborhood nearby and recognized them walking to school every morning. After they met, his parents refused to let the elementary-aged students walk by themselves anymore and the rest was history.

Glen and Hayes felt like they were forever indebted to the Rayon's family. Stephen and Deja, Patrick's parents, treated them like they were their own kids, between driving them to school, feeding them dinner weekly, and giving them the guidance and structure they desperately needed in life. Patrick didn't mind, being the only child, he liked not having the attention on him all the time. Plus he enjoyed teaching Glen and Hayes all he knew about basketball. He never let them win.

"Ready Teddy." She turned around, following Glen out of the bathroom that was connected to their shared bedroom. "I Was giving myself a last minute pep talk."

Glen abruptly stopped walking and spun to face her. He placed his hands on her shoulders and gently squeezed. "You is smart, you is kind, and you is gonna kick this test's ass."

It was these little moments that reminded Hayes just how much she loved her brother.

Then she felt a strong punch to her arm. "Go get em, Tiger."

Moment ruined.

"Ow, you idiot! What was that for?" Hayes questioned, rubbing her arm. Glen simply smiled at her in response before continuing out of the room.

"Time to go."

Out in the main area was a familiar scene. Their grandfather was parked in front of the tv, an ice-cold beer in one hand and the remote in the other. Hayes could hear the morning news playing as she went to grab her bag from the table. She had forgotten to bring it into their room last night before bed.

"This isn't something we hear everyday. Hot off the press. A woman's body was found early this morning in the woods by a man who was walking his dog. Reports say that..."

"Patrick's here!" Glen was standing at the front door.

Hayes frowned, glancing back at the TV. She was curious to hear what the report had to say.

"We're gonna leave without you!"

"Coming!" Hayes hurriedly slung her backpack onto her shoulder and made her way to the door. Before she could take more than four steps, she hesitated and looked back at her grandfather who remained poised in front of the television, with seemingly not a care in the world. "Bye, Grandpa."

Not expecting a response as per the usual routine, she began walking away.

"Bye, kid."