31.

Would of been posted yesterday but the site didn't want to work on my laptop and then I forgot my password and I couldn't publish the chapter without adding a gif first to convey my thoughts. But we made it!

Diamond in the rough.

Read at your own risk.

🙂

"Can this day get any worse?"

Hayes flinched, banging her knee against the table as Johnna dramatically flung her backpack onto the cafeteria table, moaning and groaning as she sat down on the bench besides her friend.

"You say that every week. Was that a rhetorical question?" Hayes asked dryly, rubbing her sore knee. That was probably going to leave a bruise. She had been slouched over, resting her head on her arms as she waited for her lunch group to join her. They had a substitute in Italian class, so Francis and Hayes got released right at the dismissal bell for lunch. She had been first to the table for once, and only once. It was lonely sitting by herself.

"I think I failed my Spanish test," Johnna continued on as if Hayes didn't even speak, grumbling very unhappily, "But I had a soccer tournament this weekend, which we came in fricking second place, and didn't have time to study. What am I going to dooooooo?" she dragged out, letting her head drop against her backpack in distress.

"Sorry," Hayes replied sympathetically, giving Johnna an awkward pat on the shoulder. She still wasn't very good at this friendship thing and had never failed a test before either so she didn't really know what to say. Sergeant Stephan Rayon made sure that Hayes and Glen understood school came first. Obviously, Johnna didn't get that memo.

"When my parents find out, I'm as good as dead." Johnna turned to Hayes, laying her cheek on her bag, "dead, I tell you."

"Good riddance, Johnny." Abe said to his sister, as him, Glen, and Theo joined the girls at the table. Coming from PE, their faces remained a little flushed as they recovered from running around outside. Except, Glen's expression was different, something extra seen in his eyes. Hayes squinted her eyes as she scrutinized him.

Was he hurt?

Glen caught her staring and quickly dropped his gaze as he took a seat across from her. Well that's not suspicious at all. She briefly scanned his body, not finding any obvious injuries. But when the boys' uniform consisted of pants and a collar shirt, not a lot of skin was left to be seen.

What was he hiding?

Hayes chewed on her lip as she tried to figure it out. The only thing she could think of was yesterday. It had been a boring and rainy week since the funeral occurred, so when the sun finally made an appearance on Sunday, the Powers siblings took full advantage and played soccer at the park for hours. It may have turned into more rough-housing amongst the brothers than an actual soccer game, so she wouldn't have been surprised if he got banged up a bit. But did he actually get hurt? Like truly? If so, why didn't he say anything last night?

That was a stupid question, she knew why.

Once upon a time, Glen went skateboarding... it didn't end well.

She was only a little bitter that he kept her in the dark with this. How rude.

"Screw you, Abraham," Hayes blinked back to earth as Johnna sassed her brother back. She grabbed Hayes' shoulders to convey the importance of her next words, forcing the girl to look at her. "Promise me, you won't let my ugly twin near my grave. He'd probably do something stupid like pee on it."

Having been lost in his own realm of thoughts, Glen's concerned gaze darted to Hayes as he realized what the twins were arguing about. Now, the kids had a good sense of humor; they had too, it was their defense mechanism growing up; how they learned to cope with their fate, but even for them, it was still just a little too soon to joke about this.

To joke about Death and Dying. Not when their family just experienced it. Sunday was the first day that Hayes and Glen agreed that things were back to normal.

So, safe to say the twins' quarrel made them feel a teensy bit uncomfortable.

"Sure, Johnna," Hayes replied, loyal to her friend. But she kept twirling her fingers together to distract her from the rising voices. She didn't like confrontation, no matter how playful it may be amongst the friend group.

Abe sounded offended, "is that how little you think of me?"

"Yes," Johnna replied with no hesitation.

"Then I'll help kill you myself." Abe rolled his eyes as the twins escalated in their bickering with each other. It was not not an uncommon occurrence, but this time the subject hit too close to home. It had only been a week.

"Hey, shut the fuck up," Theo spoke, ever the voice of reason, as he observed the discomfort in Hayes and Glen. Taking out his lunch, his eyes flickered over to the twins, "Wrong time, wrong place, guys."

Abraham and Johnna immediately stopped and turned their attention to their friends, both wearing matching guilty expressions.

"Oh shit, sorry" Abe frantically apologized, "I forgot about your sister. That wasn't funny, my bad." He kicked Johnna's shin under the table, "say sorry."

"No worries," Glen brushed aside the unnecessary apologies. He knew they didn't mean any harm. It was all just fun and games.

Still though, he risked a glance at Hayes who was more sensitive in nature. She was beginning to subconsciously frown, but whether it was because of their lunch talk or her detective skills running rampant, he didn't know.

"I'm sorry, Hayes! New topic, please," Johnna nervously braided her loose hair, feeling so bad. She was such an idiot. "Theo? Your turn."

"Uh, I saw that the county Haunted House opens this weekend?" Theo somewhat answered, his sandwich paused halfway to his mouth.

"Oh yeah! I saw that on Instagram. We should totally go!" Johnna excitedly said, her leg starting to bounce in anticipation. The whole bench shook with the motion.

Hayes didn't share the excitement.

Not even a little bit.

Hayes shuffled in her seat, not wanting to stick around for any more chit chat. That's what she did best, keep quiet and run for cover when things got uncomfortable and boy was she ever. She took a glance around the cafeteria, looking for someone in particular.

Glen was cutting it for comfort. She was still peeved at him.

"That'd be fun," Abe agreed, "you guys in?" He playfully pushed Glen by the shoulder who shoved him back just as hard.

Hayes glanced at Glen as she tried to convey her thoughts to him, which was a big fat No.

"We'll have to ask Austin," Glen did a half-shoulder shrug, not giving them a commitment. Truthfully, he wasn't really feeling the Haunted House, either.

Purposely getting scared shitless didn't sound all that fun. Not when they lived most of their life in constant fear of the Bear.

"I can't believe it's October already," Theo said thoughtfully, "it's practically Christmas!"

Johnna cheered, "You know what that means, Christmas music!"

"Not until after Thanksgiving," Abe groaned, "I can feel my ears bleeding already."

Having found a safer topic, the conversation continued to lightly flow around her, but Hayes wasn't listening anymore. She had been so consumed in her own little world that she didn't even realize it was October!

It was her birthday month, but it didn't seem to light up her eyes like it used to. Back when they lived with the Bear, the Rayon family always strived to make the month special for the young girl. For Glen's birthday, too. Mama Deja used to tell Hayes that during the month of October, each day leading up to her birthday she could make a wish.

Only Glen knew of what she wished for.

It was an easy guess.

A puppy!

Just kidding, the Bear made her well-aware early on that no pets of any kind were welcomed in his house.

She had wished a simple wish, for her and Glen to finally be free and safe from all distress. To be loved and protected. Sometimes when the nightmares would get real bad, she use to imagine her and Glen being part of the Rayon family. She knew it was never a possibility, but it got her through the tough times. They made it out alright.

Which meant now, she didn't need a birthday to celebrate another year of life around the sun. She didn't need to make her 13 birthday wishes anymore. Plus one for good luck.

October 13th.

Her wish finally came true, in the form of 6 brothers. Her own team for Family Feud.

Jeez, she sounded so cheesy, just like Emerson. Wait a second...

Hayes abruptly swung her legs over the bench and stood up.

"Hey, where are you going?" Johnna asked, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion at the sudden departure.

Hayes didn't seem to hear her, leaving her backpack and lunch behind as she strolled off on a mission

"I think Francis texted her," Glen gave a white lie as he watched his sister walk away. It was a lucky guess.

Francis felt Hayes' presence before he heard her, his head twisting around to look at her. "Hey, Sissy," He shot her a boyish grin that slowly slipped when he saw the wrinkles on Hayes' forehead. She was thinking too much.

He instantly grabbed her arm, tugging her onto the bench next to her as his friends greeted her with some 'hello's'. He slung his arm around her shoulder, knocking their heads together. "Wassup Buttercup?"

"Hay is for horses," Hayes very belatedly responded, a bit dazed from being jostled around so much by Francis. He was such a brute sometimes.

"I mean, if the shoe fits," Francis cheekily responded.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Hayes questioned, glancing up at him.

"That you look like a horse."

Hayes wrinkled her nose, "That doesn't even make sense, Stupid."

"Yes, it does, Stupid."

"You're stupid," Hayes huffed in annoyance.

"No, you're stupid." Francis copied her, poking her in the cheek.

Hayes had all the intention to push away from him, questioning her decision for coming over to him in the first place; but instead, she leaned her head against his side, comforted by his secure embrace. Funny how that worked.

Picking up the brotherly gut feeling that something wasn't right with Hayes, Francis lowered his voice to a whisper for privacy, "You okay, Sissy?"

"Yeah," she replied using the same soft voice as him. She stared at the blue pen mark on his pant leg, avoiding his piercing gaze.

"Try again."

Hayes craned her neck up to take a peek at him. "I think I just needed a hug," She admitted, appreciative of how easily her brother managed to calm the storm in her head.

His grinned returned, "Well, Sissy, you came to the right place."

————

"Could you go any slower, Cole?" Francis complained from the passenger seat. "I got to poop."

"I know, Francis, you've only been saying it for the past 10 minutes," Colton replied, briefly glancing at his brother in irritation before returning his eyes to the road. Thankfully, they were almost home.

"I have to pee," Hayes notified the car, lifting her forehead off the window. She grinned at the smudge marks she made and decided to draw a smiley face. Perfecto.

"We know that too," Glen remarked, quickly blocking Hayes' attempt at smacking him in the stomach. He snickered when Hayes failed at breaking free from his grasp, but grunted at the kick she landed against his shin.

"We're literally pulling into the neighborhood right now," Colton said, eyeing Hayes in the rearview mirror. "Hands to yourself, Sunshine." She grinned innocently at him, knowing he'd probably make her clean the window if he saw the mess.

"A little bit faster, please," Francis unbuckled his seatbelt, "Starting to prairie-dog over here."

"Really, Fran?" Colton didn't get enough credit for dealing with his brothers.

Glen burst out laughing, as Hayes wrinkled her nose in confusion. "What's that mean?"

"Nothing, Sunshine" Colton replied, turning onto their road. "Smiley, stop laughing."

Hayes didn't relent. "What's prairie-dog mean?" Glen bent over, clutching his stomach as his laughter increased.

"Colton, I swear..." Francis ignored his sister, feeling stressed as he swore Colton was purposefully driving slower. His leg bounced up and down as he got anxious.

"Calm down, we're home." Colton said, pulling into their driveway next to Emerson's car. Now, one may be wondering why Emerson was still at home when he should be far away at College, getting that higher education.

Three words. Fall break.

Hayes and Glen had never heard of such a thing but alas it was true. He was returning to school on Wednesday, a bittersweet day. Bitter, because Hayes hated having to say goodbye. Sweet, because one less brother around to join in on teasing her.

It seemed that Emerson and Dakota had just returned home from somewhere as well, since they were both hanging out in the driveway. Austin's car was no where to be seen, so Hayes deduced that Emerson probably picked up Dakota from work. Hayes' lips tilted upwards in a smile. She loved watching her brothers interact with each other. All of them were BFFLs, no doubt.

Best friends for life.

No surprise, Francis was the first one out of the car, his door open before Colton even had a chance to put the car into park.

"Move bitches, I'm prairie-dogging," Francis said in greeting as he awkwardly half-ran, half-waddled past them and into the garage.

"No shame, that boy has," Colton muttered to himself as he rubbed his forehead.

Then the most unfortunate thing happened for the young lady of the house. Her brothers, minus Colton, all seemed to think this was a challenge and started running after Francis into the house, each trying to call dibs on a bathroom.

Why?

Apparently everyone had to use the bathroom all of a sudden, whether to pee, poop, or in Dakota's case, the perfect time to take a shower.

So rude.

The only problem... There were only three bathrooms in the house.

"Noooo," Hayes groaned as the sound of slamming doors reverberated throughout the house. Once again she was too late as always, "This isn't fair! I have to pee!" She ended up alone on the staircase, her legs crossed tight with a slight bounce to her stance. Her hand gripped onto the railing to keep from falling.

"Why didn't you go at the gym?" Colton asked, dropping Francis' forgotten backpack at the bottom of the stairs. He joined Glen for a moment, the two staring up at Hayes, before Colton continued on to the kitchen. Nothing he hadn't seen before in this crazy house.

Since Austin wasn't home yet, he took the initiative to start making dinner.

Colton was hungry.

And if he was hungry, then the boys were probably starving.

Ravenous animals, the bunch of them.

"I didn't have to go then," Hayes replied with a whine. This was torture. Her bladder was literally about to explode.

"Snooze you lose," Glen teased, laughing more at the glare Hayes sent his way. "Dude, just go in the pool."

Hayes' facial expression turned to one of disgust. "You're nasty."

"Or, use a bucket."

"That's not funny." Hayes snapped. She was starting to get desperate now. All the excitement of the situation wasn't helping, either. She quite actually may pee her pants.

"Dakota's in the shower, just use that bathroom." Glen kept trying, the mischievous grin on his face counteracting the 'helpful' advice he gave. He was full of ideas.

Not going to lie, the thought had briefly crossed Hayes' mind but she ignored it. "No, I have boundaries."

Glen barked out a laugh, "What boundaries?"

"Glen, that's enough," Colton cut in, not wanting a fight to break out amongst the two.

Hayes quietly cursed Glen under her breath. "Can someone hurry up? I'm going to pee my pants!"

"Don't shout, Sunshine. They're just doing it to torment you." Colton moved efficiently around the kitchen, prepping to make pasta and meatballs, the Monday night specialty. Austin made the meatballs the night before so all he had to do was warm them up.

"Colton, do something," Hayes whined.

"Bathroom is all yours, Sunshine," Emerson saved the day. Guess it was a good thing he was home after all. He deserved the 'Nicest Brother' award.

"Thank you, finally," Hayes exclaimed, wasting no time in dashing up the stairs past her brother.

"I'd hold your breath if I was you, Sunshine," Emerson called after her with a smirk.

Hayes ignored him, time was ticking. She didn't even bother shutting the door all the way, immediately sitting down to relieve her bladder.

Feeling so much better now, Hayes washed her hands, taking note of her twinkling eyes in the mirror. A balanced mixture of mischief and annoyance stared back in her reflection. She had a bone to pick with her dear brother Emerson.

Revenge on her mind, Hayes skipped back down the stairs and rejoined some of her siblings in the kitchen. It seemed to have become their natural congregating space. Food and family, what more could a person desire.

Hayes marched right up to where Emerson was leaning casually against the counter as he conversed with Colton. She leveled him with a glare, her arms crossed in a serious matter.

"What?" Emerson asked, a playful glint in his eyes.

Hayes' eyes narrowed even more. He knew what. "You didn't flush the toilet."

She took back the award. He was most certainly not her nicest brother.

"I'm pretty sure I did." Emerson disagreed.

"No, you didn't." Hayes saw what she saw.

"Alright, you got me," He broke character, grinning shamelessly as Glen laugh. Emerson swiped a hand through his hair before crossing his arms, holding Hayes' eye contact, instigating her. Challenging her.

The brothers knew she could hold her own, it was almost like a game to push her buttons.

"This isn't funny!" Hayes exclaimed, dropping her arms as her fists clenched in frustration, "it's gross! And very inconsiderate," she added in afterthought.

"Sunshine, don't yell in the house, please," Austin commented, not missing a beat as he walked into the kitchen. His voice was music to her ears but she worked hard to not be deterred. Having just gotten home from a long day of work, his tie was loosely knotted around his neck, the stress lines still visible on is forehead. There had been no time to decompress as he spent the whole drive home worrying about a new problem. Or, better thought of as another complication that the siblings certainly didn't need.

Turning over a new leaf did not go quite as Austin planned. God must be laughing up a storm right about now.

Austin pressed a hard kiss to the top of Glen's head and then Hayes' head as he passed by, heading to the sink to wash his hands. Even though his work job was done, being a brother was a 24/7 task.

As much as he wanted to grumble sometimes, he absolutely loved it and wouldn't change it for the world.

Like now, for example, there was a slight grumbling in his mind. Although he wasn't exactly sure of the conversation he walked in on, Austin knew if Hayes was already riled up like this, it might be a very long night. And with the news he had to tell the kids tonight, he did not need his brothers to be adding fuel to the fire.

The only issue was that his brothers weren't aware of what he had to share and he wasn't looking forward to their reactions either. Basically a toss of the coin.

"I'm inconsiderate," Emerson acted offended, touching his chest, "I'm inconsiderate? Francis is the one taking a shit in the Pooperia without the fan on. Now that, is inconsiderate."

"Really, Sonny?" Austin said with a tinge of warning heard in his voice. He didn't want to know where this was heading.

"Don't bother," Colton looked at Austin, "This has been non-stop since we got home."

As if to prove his point, the siblings could hear the toilet flushing in the bathroom that was next to the kitchen. Out walked Francis, waving a hand in front of his face like a fan. "Phew, I feel 10 pounds lighter."

The siblings all turned to stare at him. "What?" Francis asked, stopping in surprise. "By the way, I wouldn't use that bathroom if I were you. Needs to air out a bit."

Hayes' mouth dropped open, "Oh my God. I live with pigs."

"Woah, don't take the Lord's name in vain," Emerson teased, putting on a mock scared expression on his face when Hayes whipped around to glare at him. "Easy tiger."

Those words were enough to push Hayes over the edge.

"Ow!" Emerson suddenly exclaimed through his chortling, "Sunshine, that wasn't very nice."

Hayes was about to stomp on his foot again when Austin suddenly lifted her up by the waist making her squeal in surprise. He dragged a chair away from the table with his foot, and placed Hayes in the seat.

"Don't move," He commanded when she went to stand back up, pushing her back down by her shoulder. Hayes slouched back, crossing her arms as a pout formed on her face. She didn't like being in trouble with Austin and she didn't even do anything wrong.

It wasn't fair.

Stupid Emerson.

"What's wrong, Sissy?" Francis asked, walking over to the fridge for some water. He playfully tugged on her ponytail as he went by, darting out of reach when Hayes tried kick him in the leg.

"Don't touch me," Hayes snapped, settling back down when Austin sent her a stern look. Francis held his hands up in surrender when Austin turned to him as well.

"She's mad Emerson didn't flush the toilet." Glen informed Francis, holding his hands up as he shrugged when Hayes turned to look at him. He was simply an innocent bystander who just happened to be right where the action was.

"Guys, leave Hayes alone," Colton interjected before it got any more out of hand. "Go set the table or something. Make yourselves useful." His maturity didn't settle the crowd.

"Number one or number two?" Francis asked, ignoring his brother.

"Numero uno," Emerson held up his pointer finger.

"Psh, come on Sissy," Francis laughed, "That's no biggie. It's just piss."

"Austin," Hayes whined from her chair, not daring to disobey him by standing up, "Tell them to have some manners!"

"Isn't there a song or something about this?" Emerson asked, having way too much fun teasing his sister right now. It was too great of an opportunity to pass up.

"Oh yeah!" Francis exclaimed, dramatically putting his hands on his hips and swayed side to side like a little dance, "If it's yellow, let it mellow..."

"If it's brown, flush it down!" Emerson finished, the duo dissolving into laughter as they high-fived. Colton quickly turned to hide his laughter, bending his head as he stirred the pasta, his shoulders shaking from the effort. As much as he wanted to remain the peace keeper, even he couldn't deny that his brothers were goofs.

"Ew!" Hayes utterly dumbfounded. Boys were disgusting!

"What the hell?" Glen raised his eyebrows in amusement. He barely managed to hide his grimace as he spun around from gathering utensils, his injured hand bumping against the drawer. His head twisted back and forth between Emerson and Francis.

"Okay that's enough," Austin gripped Emerson and Francis by the shoulders, pushing them out of the kitchen, "Go find something else to do before I send you outside for burpees."

"We're going, we're going," Emerson said, chuckling. He called it mission success. It was just too easy sometimes to mess with her and he only had so much time to do so.

With Dumb and Dumber out of the kitchen, it got significantly quieter.

"Need help?" Austin checked in with Colton who shook his head. He had dinner under control. The water was starting to boil and the meatballs were simmering in the red sauce.

"Thanks, man." Letting out a heavy sigh, Austin dropped into the open seat next to Hayes. "You really got to stop doing that," Austin said, referring to her stomping on their feet. He gently ran his fingers through her hair and down her post-practice messy ponytail, "we talked about this."

"He deserved it," Hayes muttered, still feeling cross. It wasn't very fun being tag-teamed against all of her brothers.

"Hayes."

"Sorry," she automatically replied. Her eyebrows furrowed in thought as she glanced up at her eldest brother. "Austin?"

"Yeah, Sunshine?" He looked down at her, an instinctual small smile forming on his face.

"What's prairie-dogging mean?"

————

Austin chickened out.

He didn't tell them that night or the next night.

He just couldn't find it in him to ruin the kids' night, wanting to keep the smiles on their faces and laughter in the air for just a little bit longer. Of course, after Hayes asked about prairie-dogging, he knew it was going to be an interesting evening to put it nicely, but he'd much rather endure the banter amongst them than bring up a nightmare of a topic.

Austin further justified his decision by the fact that Baker had been working nights so he hadn't had time to stop by to help. He deemed this conversation to be a two-person job.

That was Monday, only a couple days ago, and now Austin was pressed for time. He didn't have a choice, considering the event was in two weeks' time. His back was against the wall.

It was currently Thursday evening, which meant weekly family dinner with Baker and Peyton. The married couple was coming to the siblings' home to change things up a bit. AKA, Austin talked with Baker and they decided it would be best to talk to Glen and Hayes in the comfort of their home rather than at Baker's.

It also meant a slightly later dinner than usual, but this gave the three high schoolers extra time to do their homework and relax after their sports practices. They didn't have to be rushing around.

After putting the chicken in the oven to bake and set the timer, Austin left the kitchen to go finish up some left-over work in the office den. He ruffled Glen's hair as he passed, chuckling softly as Glen groaned. The kids were spread out with their backpacks at the dinner table along with Colton, doing their homework and grading papers, respectively.

They were productive unlike someone else he knew. Francis was supposedly doing his homework in his room but Austin knew he probably fell asleep.

"Dinner is in 30 minutes," Austin announced to the group, "B and Peyton should be here soon."

"Roger, roger," Colton responded, briefly glancing up from the assignment papers he was skimming. "Would you like us to set the table as well?"

"Since you're offering..." Austin replied with a wink towards his sister, making Hayes giggle. She didn't expect anything less of a response, as it was usually her and Colton's assigned task. Their other brothers always seemed to magically disappear around that time. But that was alright because Austin forced the absentees to clear the table after dinner and empty the dishwasher.

Ha.

Hayes thought that was the worse fate. She quickly learned how much she hated doing the dishes when there were 6 people eating. It was a whole lot more to clean up compared to when it was just her and Glen making a mess.

Pizza rolls for dinner made for easy clean-up for the two kids.

"As you wish," Colton said, jokingly but loyal as always. Finding himself at a good stopping point, he laid his green pen down and leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms above his head. He let out a yawn and rubbed his face, already feeling ready for bed. Spending all day teaching 4th graders and then dealing with 10 teenage boys at basketball practice really wiped a person out.

"I didn't know you were a southpaw, Smiley." As he packed up his teacher mess, Colton had been passively watching Glen for the past couple minutes. The teen was so focused on his own homework to notice. Head down, scribbling away in his chemistry notebook.

Hearing Colton's casual comment, Hayes snapped her head up.

This wasn't good.

"I'm not," Glen mindlessly responded without looking up. Hayes quickly kicked his foot underneath the table to catch his attention. She was trying to save him from his own demise. Glen had told her the truth that night when she first noticed he was hurt and he made her promise not to tell.

He was scared about what his brothers would do if they found out.

Past experience haunted him.

And Hayes. She couldn't do anything last time to help Glen, and she wasn't going to let that happen again.

"You're not?" Colton raised his eyebrows, his tone alerting Glen that he didn't believe him, "You're doing it right now."

"Oh, I mean, I'm ambidextrous." Glen replied trying to cover up his mistake. It was the truth, but it wasn't by choice. "I like to switch it up for practice, you know?"

Colton quit shuffling the papers in his hands and placed them on the table, giving his full undivided attention on Glen. Something smelled awfully fishy.

"Smiley, what's wrong with your hand?"

"Nothing," Glen immediately defended, subconsciously hiding his right hand under the table. Out of sight, out of mind, right?

Wrong.

"Glen." Colton wasn't going to let it go, "let me see your hand."

"Seriously, Cole, stop. My hand is fine." Glen said sharply. That made it worse, instantly setting off all the alarm bells in Colton's head.

Colton studied Glen, fluctuating between which role to play - brother, coach?

"Austin, can you come here?" Colton decided to call their eldest brother. If Glen wasn't going to speak up, then reinforcements were necessary.

Glen froze, panic expressed on his face as his heart starting racing. "Please, don't." The adrenaline was spiking.

"What's up?" Austin asked calmly, walking into the room. He casually rested his hands on top of a free chair, leaving space between him and Glen as to not frighten him. Ears like a hawk, Austin had overheard pieces of their conversation from the other room. Now that he could see for himself, Austin immediately picked up on the boy's body language.

He needed to defuse the situation because when faced with fight or flight... The kids always chose flight.

Glen harshly pushed his chair back and stood up, in case he had to flee. Hayes watched his every move with wide eyes, wanting to step in but having no clue what to do.

"Easy, Buddy. Where are you going? Talk to me," Austin kept cool, briefly frowning at how quickly Glen escalated. He had to get control of his own beating heart as he quickly realized that this was the effect of trauma. Triggers occurred when one least expected it.

"No," Glen shook his head as he took an obvious step back towards the family room. He could escape through the backyard if necessary.

Cautiously curious, Austin barely tilted his head to the side. "Colton?"

"His right hand," Colton replied, mirroring Austin's frown. He felt extremely guilty right now, running a hand through his hair as he stressed. How did he not notice earlier that his brother was hurt? Did it happen under his watch? The kid just had basketball practice!

Colton dropped his hands and took several strides into the kitchen to find an icepack in the freezer. He didn't even bother with the pain medications, remembering how adamant Glen was against taking any when he was having headaches.

"Buddy, if you hurt your hand, tell us so we can fix it." Austin said keeping his tone even, "Did you jam your fingers or something?"

Glen shook his head again, taking another step backwards. His frantic gaze darted to Hayes, hoping she'd divert them. Getting a message, not necessarily the one Glen meant, Hayes stumbled out of her chair, putting herself in the pathway between Glen and their siblings. Her fingers clenched the end of her sleeves, stopping the tremors.

She'd be damned if she didn't try to help him. Last time was out of her control, she was no match for the Bear. But this time, she was ready.

Small but mighty.

They had to get through her first.

Several knocks on the front door provided another distraction that Glen didn't expect, and it didn't exactly work in his favor, either.

That meant more siblings.

"Honey, I'm home!" Baker's usual warm voice filled the house as he let himself into the house with his set of keys, "And I brought Dickota back. I know you missed him oh so much." The two brothers had some bonding time after Dakota got off work that afternoon.

"Asshole," Dakota grumbled, kicking Baker in the back of the knee, giving him a dead leg.

"Oh, you little fucker," Baker cursed, only stopping his retaliation when Peyton stepped in between the two juveniles, pushing them away from each other with a 'Grow up.'

The three of them passed through the foyer, their bickering cutting off when they saw the scene before them. Eyebrows raised in surprise, they could only imagine what led to a stand-off amongst the siblings, with Hayes in a protective stance in front of Glen.

What in the world?

At the sight of two more of his intimidating older brothers, Glen took another step back. He was almost to the sliding glass divider now, separating the dining room from the family room. There was no stopping the rising tension now.

"Everything alright?" Baker asked, his voice turning serious as he scanned the room. His eyes flicked back to his little brother. "Smiley, you okay?"

When Glen didn't respond, Hayes craned her neck to quickly check on him before facing back around. If he wasn't speaking, she kept her mouth shut, too.

Solidarity. Their bond would never break.

"The fuck is this?" Dakota asked only to get smacked in the arm by Peyton to shut up. They watched as Colton offered Glen the icepack before passing it to Austin with a sigh.

Austin and Baker made eye contact, the two having the same thought process. "Why don't you go upstairs, kiddo? I'll call you down-"

"No," Hayes cut him off in a sudden cry, misconstruing what they meant. "Don't send him away. He didn't do anything wrong." Isolation meant punishment.

They had to stick together. Us against the world. Only they could protect each other.

Austin rubbed a hand over his mouth, masking the immense sadness that he felt. Baker, Colton, and Dakota were in similar positions, also silenced by their sister's outburst.

"We don't hurt our siblings, remember?" Austin said in a gentle, reassuring tone. He held out the icepack as a peace offering, watching with bated breath as Hayes hesitated before taking it. She stretched out her hand behind her, passing it to Glen. He accepted it this time, knowing he needed to ice his hand. He had been doing it each night after everyone had gone to bed.

"Promise?" Hayes asked quietly. She could hear Glen shuffling his feet behind her. A roaring battle was occurring in his mind as he tried to figure out what was the truth.

It felt like a trap.

No.

They were his brothers.

Not him.

Siblings didn't hurt each other. Austin had just said that, like multiple times before.

They also didn't keep secrets.

He had to trust them.

He did trust them.

"Always," Austin replied whole-heartedly, "I'll always promise that."

The brothers began to breathe easier as they felt the atmosphere of the room shift. Glen slowly dropped his guard, his stiff posture loosening up a bit. His right hand slid out from underneath his shirt where he'd been protecting it, holding it against his stomach with the icepack on. His gazed darted around the room to his brothers before landing on Austin.

Glen's mouth parted in anticipation to speak but no words came out. He didn't know how to talk his way out of this spectacle.

But Austin understood.  He always understood.

"Want to go talk outside?" Austin asked, moving at a slow pace towards where the two kids stood. His movements were unhurried to give Glen the opportunity to decline.

When no protest came, Austin slung his arms around his Smiley and Sunshine, lightly tugging on Hayes' pony tail as he did so. Glen leaned against him, his energy deflated, his lips still managing to twitch into a tiny smile when Austin kissed his head.

"Go ahead and eat without us," Austin said over his shoulder, as he escorted the kids to the front door. Baker, Colton, Dakota, and Peyton watched them pass, each with a variety of emotions crossing their faces.

The main emotion expressed titled, what the fuck just happened?

Baker had concern written all over. Debating between getting involved or letting Austin handle it solo. The two eldest brothers supported each other as head of the house but Baker wasn't oblivious to the situation. He didn't want to overstep in the relationship he was building with Glen and he knew the kids held Austin to the highest regard.

Colton felt extremely guilt-ridden. He started this whole thing. If he had just kept his mouth shut then maybe Glen would have told him on his own time. But no, he just had to force it.

Dakota was angry. Rightfully so because he knew someone fucked with his little brother. Traumatized him so badly that he couldn't even ask for help. Even now, almost two months since being removed from that hell hole.

"You sure?" Peyton asked.

Austin briefly dropped one arm to snag his car keys and wallet off the side table, shoving the items in his pocket. "Yeah. We'll be back, just in time for the football game," Austin replied, answering both her questions. He squeezed Glen's shoulder before opening the front door, letting Hayes and Glen walk out a head of time.

Hayes matched Glen's step, their hands bumping against each other as they headed to the car. Hayes fleetingly squeezed his good hand in support before hurrying to jump in the front seat. For once, it was uncontested for the girl.

After ensuring Hayes and Glen were safely in the car, Austin hopped into the front seat. He closed his eyes for a moment of peace before exhaling and starting the car. Time to put his older brother skills to the test and get to the bottom of this.

This called for Operation: ice cream trip.

Everything was made better with ice cream.

~~~~~

Ignore

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#1 in sister 9/24/2021... whatever that's worth. cool beans?