34.

"Smiley, Sunshine, Austin wants to talk to you in the living room."

"In the middle of a game," Glen replied, his tongue poking out as he stared intently at the television. He, along with Francis, were playing the newest Call of Duty, courtesy of Austin. The eldest brother had thought Glen could use a pick-me-up after braving the doctors so they did a drive-by to GameStop on the way home.

Funny how he didn't hear Francis complaining about bribes when it benefited him as well. The youngest brothers immediately made it their mission to defeat the whole game in 24 hours, which Austin didn't exactly approve of but he was too tired to care at the moment. It was Friday night, and as long as they kept the noise level down and weren't causing all sorts of ruckus, he didn't feel the need to kill their fun.

"Now," Colton said, plucking the controller straight out of Glen's hands.

Glen turned around where he sat on the floor, his mouth dropped open at the disrespect as Colton went and sat down on the couch, instantly picking up where Glen left off. Though not as nearly obsessed as his younger brothers, Colton enjoyed playing video games every now and then.

It also didn't hurt that he was good at it.

"What?" Colton asked, a smirk playing on his lips as he glanced at Glen. "You can have it back afterwards, don't worry."

"Sure," Glen grumbled, not believing him. He got to his feet, shaking out his legs that currently felt like pins and needles. Besides the mandatory break for dinner and saving his relationship with Hayes, he'd been in that same position for quite a while. Too lazy to wear his glasses, so he sat on the floor to be closer to the television and used the coffee table as a backrest.

Speaking of, their little sister had been been the definition of turmoil, going from all snuggly to a flash of irritability in seconds. And now she was finally asleep...

Francis let out a whoop, high fiving Colton in excitement. They had successfully completed the level that Fran and Glen had been struggling with for some time. A video began playing to set the next stage, so Francis jumped into their conversation.

"It's alright, baby brother. Let the big dogs play for a bit." He rubbed his hands together, the anticipation building for the next level. They were on to something now.

"That doesn't include you," Dakota reminded Francis as he moved his laptop off his lap, placing it next to him on the couch. He stretched his arms up, getting out some of the kinks that built up from sitting in one position for two hours too long. He would of left the room earlier to go hang out in the privacy of his room, but he felt responsible for keeping watch over his sister.

Not to brag or anything, but Dakota was Hayes' favorite at the moment, decided by the fact that he was the last person she had been snuggling with.

Then the dog jumped on the couch and it was all over.

Chubba won, every time.

Damn dog.

"Arooooo," Francis howled, a little loudly earning a smack to the back of the head.

"Keep it down, Fran," Colton reprimanded as he flipped back to his stern nature, looking pointedly at their little sister who was asleep on the couch on Dakota's end. She looked adorable, curled up on her side as she used Chubba for a pillow. It was blatantly obvious to the brothers that the dog chose Hayes as his favorite human.

Maybe because she was the weakest link and would feed him table scraps, or maybe because Chubba just loved the girl.

At some point, one of the brothers laid a blanket on her because as the late evening approached, the temperature dropped outside, creating a nice chill in the house.

Dakota let out a loud, obnoxious yawn earning himself a glare from Colton. "Dude, chill. You said they needed her, too." He reached down and shook Hayes' foot a little in attempt to wake her up.

It was Colton's turn to yawn as he rubbed his face, worn out from another hard day of work. "Oh yeah," he yawned again as exhaustion all of a sudden hit him hard,  "Shit, I'm tired."

"Good," Glen huffed under his breath. That meant he was more likely to get the controller back. It was a two-player game and it wasn't like Francis was going to give up his controller.

"How are you even playing, Glen? You have a broken thumb for Christ's sake," Colton pointed out as his gaze focused on the television. His fingers nimbly moved on the controller like a pro.

"I have other fingers," Glen held up his hands, wiggling all his fingers beside his obvious broken thumb. The cast on his hand kept his thumb from moving but only inhibited his knuckles of the other fingers so he could still bend them, sort of. He probably wasn't suppose to.

"Whatever you say," Colton replied, shaking his head as he watched Glen wince from the corner of his eye. Teenagers.

"My man, Smiley, we're waiting for you, bud," Baker said, stepping into the family room. "Where's Sunshine?" He skimmed over the room, taking count of his siblings, stopping when he got to the little girl. He seemed to have an entire conversation with himself, mumbling under his breath as he debated waking her up or not.

She needed her sleep.

But he and Austin really needed to talk to her and Glen.

But did it have to be right this second?

Yes, he knew that.

Arms crossed, Dakota was amused as he watched his older brother. Dakota had wisely forgone with continuing his attempts in waking her up, deciding it wasn't worth being at the short end of her expectant crankiness. "Make up your mind yet?"

"Fuck off," Baker replied as he realized Dakota saw the whole thing. When Dakota's smirk got bigger, Baker rolled his eyes. He walked over to where Hayes was laying, which also happened to be where Dakota was standing.

The smirk turned into a mocking grin as Dakota condescendingly patted Baker's shoulder. "No worries, big bro. We all knew you were fucking crazy."

"I'll remember that next time you want something," Baker said, squatting down to be eyelevel with his sister. He softly brushed away the various strands of hair that had escaped her ponytail, whispering, "Hey Sunshine, I need you to wake up."

Hayes slowly blinked, but the power of sleep was too strong.

"Come on, pretty girl. It won't take long." Baker coaxed her awake, reaching over to scratch behind Chubba's ear as the dog also woke up. At the sight of his owner, his tail starting wagging, inadvertently hitting Hayes on the back. Smack, smack, smack.

Hayes whined as she rubbed her eyes. It was a bit disorienting as she had been knocked out in deep sleep prior to being disturbed by her wonderful brothers. As she glanced around, everything appeared blurry and sounded weird. She flinched back when Baker's face appeared in her vision. She didn't expect him to be so close.

"There she is," Baker hummed, his thumb brushing her cheek. "Good morning," He added with a cheesy smile.

"My stomach hurts," Hayes moaned, turning her face further into the couch, away from Baker's touch. His hand gently scratched her scalp instead.

"I'm sorry, Sunshine," Baker said softly, "You can go back to bed after, I promise."

A loud noise came from the television, a blast that sounded like a bomb went off, making Hayes flinch and cover her ears. It was followed by Francis and Colton groaning and Dakota laughing at their misery. "Good job, Francesca."

"I didn't see it," Francis complained, frustration clear in his voice.

"What do you mean you didn't see it? It was blinking bright red like a fucking stop sign right in front of your face!" Colton exclaimed. "How could you not see it?"

The brothers were starting to get fired up, which in a way was helpful because it prevented Hayes from falling back to sleep.

Glen groaned, seeing all his hard work slowly being destroyed in front of his very eyes as his brothers continued playing the game. "Y'all suck."

"The fucking noob is better than you," Dakota continued laughing, "God, this is too great. Aw man. Keep going, I'm gonna go take a piss." Patting Baker on the back one more time for his superior work at waking up Hayes, Dakota left the family room.

Accepting that she either had to go upstairs to where it was quiet or obey Baker, Hayes' clenched fist rubbed her eye clearing away the blurriness as she pushed into a seated position. Her arms crossed against her stomach as she let the dizziness pass before standing up. She briefly leaned against Baker as she caught her balance, a small smile on her lips as she caught Chubba stretching next to her before jumping off the couch to stand with her. Big stretch. Then slowly but surely Hayes staggered out of the room with her brother by her side and the loyal dog at her feet.

"Come on, Smiley," Baker called over his shoulder as he led the way to the living room where Austin awaited.

"Are we in trouble?" Glen asked as he trailed behind.

"Depends, should you be?" Baker tossed the question back at him, sending Glen an inquisitive look.

Glen's eyebrows furrowed, "No?" As far as he knew, he had been well behaved, not even firing back when Hayes accidently shot him in the face, twice, with the nerf gun.

Twice, she did it, before Colton confiscated the nerf gun.

"Then you're not in trouble."

They entered the living room, finding Austin sitting on one of the nice chairs. One hand cupped his elbow while his other palm was laying against his cheek. He appeared relaxed, his shoulders slouched as he sat comfortably. But as the kids knew, looks were deceiving.

Hayes wasted no time laying back down on the couch. For such a small girl, she took up most of the space on the couch.

"Hey Austin, what happened to that stupid little gnome Emerson got you for Christmas that one year?" Baker asked. Just now, he noticed that it was no longer sitting on the fireplace mantle in the family room. It was very much so an attention-grabber gnome, so Emerson was bound to notice it missing when he came home for a visit.

Hayes thankfully had her face turned away from her brothers in that moment as guilt engulfed her. She could feel Austin's piercing gaze directed at her back as he put two-and-two together.

"Not sure," Austin replied coolly. He'd let his sister off the hook for now.

"Weird," Baker hummed, tapping Hayes' leg to get her to make some room on the couch for someone else to sit. Hayes complied, scooting to the corner and tucking her knees to her chest. But as soon as the space was free, Chubba jumped up, stealing Baker's seat.

"Damn dog," Baker groaned, "I was going to sit there."

Glen chuckled, plopping down on the other end of the couch, leaving no room for Baker to sit. So with a frown on his face he took a seat in the chair and ottoman. It wasn't as comfy as the couch, though.

Austin's lips thinned into a straight line but he withheld his complaint. Chubba was well-aware he wasn't allowed on the nice couch in the living room, but by the way his tongue happily hung out of his mouth and his tail wagged, the dog didn't give two shits what Austin's rule was.

"Sooooooo," Glen didn't waste a second, eagerly wanting to get back to his video game. If he was in trouble, there was nothing he could do about it so might as well get it over with.

"How's your arm?" Austin asked, letting his arm slip down so now they are crossed against his chest. Intentionally or not, he became ten times more intimidating just by that one move.

Glen faltered, his quick response dying before his mouth could open.

Austin looked at him expectantly, a slight raise of the eyebrows as he waited for Glen to answer.

"It's throbbing a little," Glen reluctantly admitted.

Austin nodded, the doctor had warned them it might happen. And with pain medications out of the equation, it'd probably be sore for a lot longer.

"We'll get you some ice to put on it. That should help," Austin replied. It was what the doctor advised them to do.

"Okay," Glen easily agreed, knowing he should do something. He was tough with a very high pain tolerance, but his eldest brother kept reminding him that he didn't have to be so strong all the time. It was okay to accept help.

"You're avoiding," Baker hummed under his breath, putting Austin on the spot.

"I know," Austin groaned, but sat up straight nonetheless.

"Avoiding what?" Glen asked, dread in his voice.

"It's not a big deal," Austin held his hands up, placating his little brother, "but we have to tell you some news about your grandfather."

That got Glen's attention, putting him on high alert. "What about him?"

Austin glanced at his little sister who was intently staring at Chubba as she scratched his head. He assumed she was listening though if her fisted hand was anything to go by.

"Well, remember how a couple weeks ago we talked about how he had to go to court?" Glen slowly nodded. "And he was going to plead 'not guilty' so it would go trial," Austin continued.

Glen nodded again, before his gaze flickered over to Hayes as she yawned.

"Sorry," her apology was muffled as she covered her mouth with the sweatshirt sleeves. Baker grinned at her in amusement before covering his own mouth with his hand. Yawning was contagious.

"Well, I talked to Stephen Rayon..."

"Really?" Glen excitedly asked before frowning, "wait, when did you talk to him?" Nobody ever told Glen anything.

"It was a week ago, Bud. He called to update me about the case." Austin held up his hand, "hold on, let me finish." Glen settled back against the couch, his leg bouncing from all the anxiety running through him. "He said the trial starts next Monday. It's taking place at the county courthouse near Live Oak and shouldn't last more than a few days. At least that's what he thinks."

Hayes' hand shot straight up, "I wanna go!"

"Oh-kay," Austin said, taken off guard by her, for lack of better term, sudden enthusiasm. "Way to beat me to the punch, Sunshine. Glen, do you want to go?"

Glen shrugged, truthfully not really interested in attending. In his mind, he had already moved on. He didn't want to look back.

Hayes' bottom lip wobbled as she took his lack of answer for a 'no'. Her hand flopped down to her lap.

"You said you'd go!" She cried, making Austin and Baker stare at her in confusion. She'd been fine literally seconds ago.

Talk about whiplash.

Glen looked at her confused, "when did I say that?"

"You promised!"

"No I didn't," Glen honestly had no recollection of this. He remembered that she wanted to go, but he never committed. Did he?

"Yes you did," the tears picked up speed. Her sniffling put Chubba on high alert, the dog scooting closer to lick her face.

"Why are you crying, babe?" Baker calmly asked.

"Because he doesn't want to go which means I can't go," Hayes wailed. She pushed Chubba's head away from her, hiding her face in her arms as she cried.

"What?" Glen scrunched his nose as Baker and Austin both shook their head. "I didn't even give my answer yet."

Hayes' head lifted up so her eyes were visible, "You said no!"

"Hayes, Sunshine, you're freaking out for no reason," Baker said, "if you want to go, we'll go."

Hayes paused, sniffling as she glanced between Austin and Baker. She messily wiped away the tears on her cheeks with the sweatshirt sleeves. "Really?"

"Yeah," Baker replied, adding, "just because Glen doesn't want to go, doesn't mean we can't."

Apparently that was the wrong answer as Hayes started crying again, ducking her head back down. Chubba was very alarmed at her distress and began licking her hands, ear, whatever he could reach. The dog let out a low whine as he tried to squeeze his head past her arms.

Austin was a little out of his element as he had to determine how much of this was Hayes and how much of this was the hormones. At the same time, Baker was getting a kick out of it. He remained calm and cool under the pressure of the rising emotions. But then again, he had the most experience when it came to a girl's emotional state considering he was married and all.

A chuckle escaped him.

And to think his little sister was only thirteen. They had many more glamorous years of this to look forward too.

May God help Austin.

"Come here, Sunshine," Austin called Hayes over, reaching out a hand towards the couch.

Reluctantly Hayes unfolded herself from the couch, pushing Chubba out of her personal bubble as she got up. She walked the few steps to her brother, letting him pull her down onto his lap. He wrapped his arm around her, as he grabbed a tissue from the box on the side table to wipe her cheeks.

"What's going on? Why are you crying?" He brushed some of her hair back, out of her face so he could see her puffy eyes. Poor girl, she looked beyond worn out.

"Because," she replied, leaning her head against Austin's chest.

"Because why?" He was persistent, not wanting her to clam up. He wanted her to feel comfortable to share her thoughts with them. Her brothers were a safe space.

"Because if Glen doesn't want to go, then I can't go either."

"That's not true, Baker just told you that we'd still go." When Hayes simply shook her head in response, Austin realized there was more to it. It didn't matter what they said, because she wasn't going to go without Glen. Now the question was, why?

Austin ran his knuckles along her arm, up and down in a soothing manner as he glanced at Glen who was intently staring at Hayes. Trying to figure her out.

The two kids knew each other like the back of their hand. Austin recognized the glimmer of understanding as soon as it hit Glen's face.

"I'll go," Glen announced, his hands laying on his lap to stop the nervous tremor. "Okay, Hayes? We're going to the trial." He would do it. He owed her this much, and more.

Hayes nodded, refusing to move away from where her head was buried against Austin's shirt.

"Well that settles that then," Baker said with some gusto. He slapped his thighs before standing up. It was getting late, time to go home to his wife. She had left an hour prior, because unlike Baker who decided to take a quick shower in Francis' bathroom after dinner, Peyton had still been in her work clothes. She had only stopped at home for two seconds to pick up Chubba before heading straight to the siblings' home for pizza.

"Nothing's set in stone yet, but we'll probably drive down on the Sunday and stay a couple nights." Baker added with a confirmatory nod from Austin.

"Wait," Glen said, sitting on the edge of the couch, "I have a question."

"Go for it," Austin replied as Baker nodded. He remained standing.

"Who's we?"

"Myself, Baker, Hayes, and you." Austin answered, giving Hayes a quick squeeze to make sure she hadn't fallen asleep.

"And what's the plan again?"

"Thinking about leaving Sunday morning since the trial starts Monday. Stephen thinks it won't take more than a couple days, so Wednesday we'll head back home. That way you guys won't miss too much school."

"And... we're driving?"

"Yep," Baker replied, taking a seat again. He was getting the feeling that Glen had a lot more questions. "About a 6 hour car ride, give or take."

"We can see the cows," Hayes exclaimed, drowning out Glen's groan. Apparently she was still wide awake, or she was delirious, Austin wasn't sure.

Hayes peeked her head out a little to glance at her brothers, a twinkle in her eyes at the prospect of seeing cows.

"What?" Baker stifled a laugh at her sudden excitement. These mood swings were getting pretty wild. Someone needed to put the kid back to sleep soon for everyone's sanity.

Hayes nodded, "the cows!" She couldn't think of a better explanation.

"There's lots of open fields near Live Oak," Glen added on her behalf, "filled with cows. Sometimes the Rayon's would take us on day trips to a basketball tournament or whatever and we'd pass them on the back roads."

"Sure, we can look for some cows," Austin masked his confusion by leaving a chaste kiss on her head. Anything for his little sister.

"Thanks," Hayes mumbled, much more sedated now. Like a flick of a switch, she yawned.

"You're welcome," he replied.

"What other questions you got for us?" Baker asked Glen.

"Umm, I think that's it." Glen shrugged.

Austin saw right through that response, "you sure? You can ask us anything."

"Well, there is one thing. Just how do they know it'll be quick? Like they think he's guilty even though he said he didn't do it?"

"I'm not sure, Bud," Baker answered, "but I guess whatever evidence the police found doesn't leave much room for saying otherwise. We'll just have to wait and see."

Glen accepted that answer with a nod, though the frown on his face showed he wasn't satisfied.

"I thought he was innocent until proven guilty?" Hayes questioned in an unsure tone.

"That's the point of the trial." Austin explained, "the jury will decide."

"It doesn't seem fair," Hayes replied quietly. The brothers didn't know what to say to that, as they were being reminded that Hayes' image of their grandfather was a grey zone.

Perhaps Dakota wasn't too far off with his comment. Stockholm syndrome.

Possibly a little bit.

Austin hmm'd as he laid his chin on top of her head, acknowledging his sister, "That's the sucky thing about life. It's not always fair."

"It sucks balls," Hayes muttered.

Baker barked out a laugh while Glen snorted. Austin pinched his eyes closed, "please don't say that."

"Sorry." Her cheeks reddened at her brothers' response.

"Ok on that note, I think it's time for bed for you, little lady." Austin moved away from the subject to safer grounds. Bedtime!

Hayes groaned, those were fighting words and she refused to go down without a fight. "But I'm not tired."

"What do you mean you're not tired?" Baker laughed, "you were just yawning like crazy not even five minutes ago."

Hayes unconsciously yawned, proving Baker's point.

"Go on, I'll be right behind you to say goodnight." Austin said, bouncing his knees to jostle her.

"Meanie," Hayes huffed as she got up. "Come on, Chubba," she called the dog's name. He perked up at his name, hopping off the couch to prance after her.

Glen waited for Hayes to leave the room before he asked one last question. It was the question he really wanted to ask, it was what his anxiety was being triggered by. "Hey guys?"

Austin and Baker focused their gaze on their little brother. "What's up, Smiley?"

He stood in front of them, nervously crossing his arms as his foot hooked behind his other ankle. "I know you've said this before but I just want to triple check for my own sanity."

"What is it?" Austin asked, picking up on Glen's nervous tick.

"There's like, no way you'll leave us there, right? Hayes and I won't be left behind? Even if it ends up that the Bear didn't do it, I don't want to live there again."

"No fucking shot," Austin let Baker handle this one. Baker stepped closer and ruffled Glen's hair. His arm draped around Glen's neck to pull him close as his other arm held Glen's head to his chest. Because he couldn't resist messing with him, he roughly rubbed his knuckles against Glen's head, giving him a noogie. "You're stuck with us for life, little brother."

————

The house was possessed.

That was the only appropriate answer for what happened next.

It was certainly weird how Hayes' feet led her to the kitchen instead of up the stairs to her bedroom like Austin told her. How strange that the freezer just magically opened and her hand latched onto the carton of ice cream.

Mhmm, Neapolitan.

Hayes dug a spoon out from the drawer of utensils. Popping off the lid, she left it behind on the counter as she happily walked away with the cartoon in one hand and the spoon in the other. The dog's nails tapped on the tile floor as he trotted behind her.

As soon as she took the first step into the family room, she was busted. Dakota was the first to notice her, his eyes narrowing in on her hands. "What 'cha got there, little girl?" There was a slight challenge in his voice.

"Nothing," came her oblivious reply as she munched on the ice cream. Strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla all at once! Certainly hit the spot.

"Yeah? Did Austin say you could have ice cream?" Dakota purposely raised his voice, successfully catching Colton's attention.

Pausing the game, Colton turned his head to the side to look at Hayes.

"Uh huh," she lied through her teeth, scooping another piece into her mouth. Not even Dakota could frighten her when she had ice cream to munch on.

"He said you could eat straight from the cartoon?" Colton questioned, raising his eyebrows.

The spoon paused mid-scoop as Hayes knew she was being tested.

Okay, maybe her brothers were still a little scary.

But it's not like she could control her cravings.

And it was proven that ice cream cured cramps.

She didn't make the rules.

"Uh huh," another spoonful of ice cream into the mouth.

Colton's tongue kissed his teeth in disappointment. "Try again."

"Okay maybe he didn't say that exactly," Hayes adjusted her response. As long as she could keep eating the ice cream, she didn't mind playing his mental game.

"Alright," Dakota, on the other hand, had a short fuse and snatched the cartoon from her hands.

"Hey," she protested. He slapped her hands away as she attempted to take it back.

"You're not having a fucking sugar high again at 11 o'clock at night."

"And you blatantly lied to our faces, so you don't even deserve it." Colton added, his teacher voice slipping through.

Hayes pouted, "fine, Austin didn't say I could eat from the cartoon."

"What did he say, exactly?" Colton knew her. Austin didn't gave her permission to eat ice cream, period.

"He said, 'go upstairs and get ready for bed,'" speak of the devil, and he shall appear.

"You little liar," Dakota accused, pointing the spoon at her. He had taken over eating the ice cream.

"I didn't lie," Hayes exclaimed, "it was a fib."

Dakota snorted.

"That's the same thing," Francis said. The brothers unofficially teamed up against their little sister.

Hayes argued, "no it's not. I told the truth in less than five minutes."

"The fuck?" Dakota questioned. He truly wondered where she came up with that crap.

"A fib is a lie," Austin declared, making his way over to where Hayes was having a pout fest. When he grabbed her arms, she let her body become dead weight. Unperturbed, Austin just shook his head as he easily lifted her into his arms instead. "Come on, Sunshine. Off to bed."

"Mama Deja says it's okay to fib."

"Well Mama Deja is not here, so Austin says no." Austin retorted. Hayes dramatically dropped her head back against his arm as she groaned.

"Good night, Sissy," Francis said, laughing at her fate. Colton and Dakota said their 'good night' bits as well as Austin carried Hayes out of the family room.

He deposited his sister in the hallway bathroom on the second floor with strict instruction to brush her teeth and wash her face.

Afterwards, Baker ran upstairs for a quick kiss goodbye and to retrieve his dog before Hayes finally made it into her bed for the night. Her attempt of persuading her brothers to let Chubba sleep in her bed that night failed greatly.

Austin pulled the comforter up to her neck, letting her squirm around to get in a comfy position before tucking her in. Once she was settled, he laid next to her, on top of the comforter, his fingers soothingly scratching her back.

This was their bedtime routine, just like when she was a baby.

"Love you, sweet girl," he murmured, kissing her head as she couldn't evade the sleep any longer.

The blissful sleep only lasted 4 hours for the girl before she was awake. A nightmare woke her up, an aftershock from bringing up the topic of their grandfather. But that was to be expected.

She didn't want to talk about it.

Unfortunately though, that meant she was now aware of the cramps. Wave after wave, the pain made her curl in on herself. Hayes clicked her tongue, no no. This wouldn't do.

She shuffled out of bed, her shoulders caved inward so her top half looked like a ball. Her body subconsciously knew where to take her, which is how she ended up at the side of Austin's bed.

"Austin," she whispered, biting her lip. Her knees hit against the bed frame as she swayed forward and backward. "Austin."

His bleary eyes blinked up at her as he ran a hand along the side of his face. "What's wrong, baby?"

"Can I sleep with you?"

"Sure."

Hayes wasted no time getting in his bed. Instead of walking around, she simply crawled over his legs and up to the pillows. She slipped under the covers before shuffling around to where she could feel Austin's body against her back.

Her body was small in comparison, making her look even more like a little kid than normal. But that was alright, she'd always be his little girl anyways.

"Good night, baby. I love you." Austin whispered into the darkness. He dreaded the day his little sister no longer came to him for comfort, even if it was in the dead of night.

"Love you most."

————

Hayes had two options.

One, stop being lazy and leave the confines of Austin's bedroom to hunt for food or two, stay wrapped up in Austin's comforter, continue reading her book, and ignore her growling stomach.

Yes, she had taken over Austin's room for the day. His bed was much more comfier than hers. She also liked the view from his window, seeing the American flag pole in the front yard instead of the pool in their backyard.

It was the little things that made a difference.

Considering she'd chosen the second option of staying bundled up for the past hour, it was officially time to get up. The house was oddly quiet for a Saturday afternoon as half the siblings were out at the moment. Austin had gone into work for a couple hours to make up for the days he was going to miss and as far as she knew, Francis and Dakota were out with their respective friend groups doing who knows what with God knows who.

She didn't want to know.

But that still left Colton and Glen who were meandering around somewhere in the house.

Hayes had heard Colton a little while ago when he had come upstairs to shower after his morning basketball practice. If she had to guess, Glen was probably playing the stupid video game.

Hayes' stomach growled.

Fine, fine.

Tommy the tummy has spoken.

She yawned and dog-eared the page she was on before tossing the book somewhere on the bed. Her plans for the Saturday consisted of reading a book she picked out from Colton's bookshelf, Pride and Prejudice. She had giggled when she found it, unable to picture her giant, muscular, tattooed brother reading such a girly romantic book. But Colton was an avid book reader and had many other classics stacked away on the shelves. Hayes couldn't wait to read them all.

Unraveling herself, she shoved the comforter off her body, rolling until she reached the edge of the bed and was able to swing her legs down. Sitting up, she readjusted the socks that had slipped down before getting up.

Today was definitely a lazy day for the young girl as she was still in the sweatpants and sweatshirt from the previous night. Comfort clothes were a no brainer when one's body felt like crap, revolting against its self. Plus, it's not like Hayes had anyone to impress with her fashion sense. Her brothers certainly didn't care. But, she did change into a fresh pair of underwear that morning so that was a win.

She shut off the light in Austin's room before leaving. Finding a little pep in her step at at the aspect of food in her belly, she held on to the banister as she slid down with her socked feet.

Successful landing!

Hearing noises coming from the living room she popped her head around the corner to check there first.

"Colton," Hayes spotted him, his back to her as he ironed some clothes. A pile of clean laundry had been dumped on the couch waiting to be folded. She wrinkled her nose, she hated folding clothes.

"Colton," she tried again when he didn't respond. Hayes frowned and stepped further into the room, each attempt she shuffled closer and closer.

"Coleeee,

Colton,

Colton- "

"Shit," He startled at he caught sight of her out of the corner of his eye, a gasp escaping him. He put the iron down and pulled the headphones out of his ear. "Sorry Sunshine, I didn't hear you."

"What are you doing?" Hayes asked him, looking up at him with a curious expression.

"Oh, this?" His eyes flickered to where his phone lay with the cord messily dropped on top, "Just listening to a history podcast as I got some ironing done," he shrugged.

"Cool," Hayes giggled, knowing he wouldn't appreciate her real thoughts. How boring! She grinned sweetly at him, really milking the little sister card, "Can you make me some food, please?"

"You're hungry?" He asked, checking his phone for the time. It would be dinner time soon, but he wasn't super positive Hayes even ate today.

Hayes nodded, the wistful smile growing a bit wider, "pretty please?"

"Alright," Colton agreed, "Can you wait five minutes? I'm almost done."

She glanced at the small pile of shirts he had left, recognizing the school polos that the three youngest siblings wore. Hayes nodded, "I can wait."

"Okay, go see what you want. I'll be there in a sec." He replied, readjusting the shirt on the ironing board. He picked up the iron again to continue working.

"Okie dokie," Hayes chirped before going on her merry way. She cut through the living room to get to the empty kitchen. "What to eat, what to eat," she murmured, patting her stomach. She stood in front of the pantry, very intently eyeing each and every item. Meh, nothing good.

Next stop was the fridge. Hayes opened the refrigerator door and then the freezer so she could see all her options at once. She happened to notice a bag of fresh rolls sitting on the counter so she decided to pull out the lunch meat.

"Thank you, Austin," Hayes muttered on her breath. He must have gone to the food store that morning before heading into work. Hayes slept in for one of the few times in her life, so by the time she woke up it was after 10 and Austin was long gone by then.

She grabbed a plate, compiling all the necessary food together for Colton to make her a turkey, ham, and cheese sandwich. No condiments needed.

Now having nothing better to do, her hands laced together in the hoodie pouch as she twirled in a circle. Hayes took a seat at the kitchen nook before hoping back up again. All of a sudden she had so much energy and nothing to do. She walked back to the counter, her fingers dancing along the granite. Spying the fruit bowl, she pulled it closer to take a quick look.

Hayes did a silent cheer as she grabbed a pear. She passed it between her hands, feeling to see if it was ripe enough. Pears were one of her favorite fruits.

"Colton, I'm hungry," Hayes called out, tossing the pear in the air.

"In a minute!"

Hayes huffed. She was hungry now. Taking matters into her own hands, she examined the knives collection before picking one out that looked sharp enough to cut the pear.

"Yo," Glen heard her yelling about food from the family room and wanted to get in on it, "What are you eating?" He swiped a hand through his hair as he took a glimpse around the kitchen.

"A sandwich," Hayes briefly glanced at him before digging around the drawers for a cutting board.

"Oh sweet, I want one." Glen helped himself to the chair Hayes had pulled out, resting his cast on the table. He was a bit bored playing video games by himself and was now looking for something to entertain him.

"Ask Colton," Hayes muttered. She quickly rinsed off the pear before patting it dry with a towel. Now the fun part, slicing it.

"You sure that's a good idea?" Glen asked.

"Shut up."

Glen kept his mouth shut as he watched her figure it out. The kids weren't exactly what one would call chefs, meaning their older brothers should probably be supervising when sharp objects were involved. Like a knife, for example.

It was a tense second before Hayes made the first cut. Then another and soon she made multiple slices. A tiny smirk appeared on her face, proud of herself. She wasn't so bad at this.

"Oh, fuck," Hayes suddenly hissed. She didn't even notice the words slipping out as she dropped the knife on the board. She quickly grabbed her fingers with her other hand, squeezing tight. It wasn't the blood that bothered her, more so the shock of actually cutting herself.

"Cole! Hayes said a bad word!" Glen snitched.

"Hayes," came Colton's warning. He just had one more uniform shirt to finish then he'd go check on them.

When Hayes didn't snap back at Glen, his gaze darted up from his phone to look at her. He frowned and put his phone down on the table as he got up to see what happened. "Oh, fuck," Glen breathed out, "Colton! Hayes is bleeding!"

Colton briefly clenched his fists before relaxing and put the iron down. He just had one more shirt. "What happened?" He asked as he walked to the kitchen. Colton found the two kids huddled at the counter.

"She cut her finger," Glen said, taking a step back so Colton could see. Hayes had yet to reveal said cut site, but there were obvious blood droplets on the counter.

Colton sighed at his luck. Why was Austin never home when shit like this happened?

"Let me see, Sunshine," Colton gently grasped her hands, prying them apart to get a better look.

"Oopsie," Hayes offered a sheepish smile, wincing when Colton squeezed her finger.

"Why didn't you just wait for me?" He questioned as he guided her over to the sink. Colton turned the cold water on, holding her finger under so the blood could be washed off. It didn't look too bad as far as he could tell. Nothing that some applied pressure and a band-aid couldn't fix.

"I was hungry?" Hayes bit her bottom lip as it began to quiver. She tried to pull her hand out of Colton's grasp, away from the stinging water, but his grip was tight. She pinched her eyes closed as she turned her head away.

"Stop moving," Colton ordered. He kept one hand holding Hayes' arm still and grabbed some paper towels with the other.

"Hey bitches," Dakota greeted the bunch as he walked in. He removed his hat from his head as he lifted the bottom of his shirt to wipe his sweaty face.

"When'd you get here?" Colton asked, glancing over his shoulder at their brother before returning his attention to Hayes. He turned off the sink and wrapped Hayes' finger in the paper towels.

"Hey Dakota, nice to see you too. Just in time to have a sandwich if you want one," Dakota mocked, "Awesome, thanks Cole." He put his hat on backwards and crossed his arms as he went to stand next to Colton to see what was happening. He was a nosy fucker, no shame in that.

"Hey Kota," Colton was unamused, "Can you grab some ice? Thanks."

Dakota rolled his eyes but listened, fulfilling his brother's request. "What happened now?"

"Sliced her finger good," Colton replied, briefly removing the paper towels to check if the bleeding slowed. He put them back down, holding pressure. Yep, still bleeding.

"Ouch," Dakota sucked in a breath of air as he passed Colton the bag of ice. He stuck his face closer to Hayes' finger, pretending to get a better view. "looks like it needs to be amputated."

"What?" Hayes gasped, tears instantly forming as she started to struggle in Colton's grip again.

"He's just messing with you," Colton tried to calm her back down as Glen snickered in the background. She was just so gullible sometimes. "Thanks, Dakota. Real helpful."

"No doctors," Hayes pleaded, her bright blue eyes connecting with Colton's.

"You don't need to go to the doctors," Colton reassured his sister. "It's not deep enough to need stitches." He looked at Dakota over her head and mouthed, 'asshole.'

Dakota grinned, unbothered, as he stepped in line beside Glen who looked at him wearily. He didn't want to be his older brother's next target. To his surprise, Dakota draped an arm over Glen's shoulder. "Come on little dipshit, let's go shoot some mother fucking enemies."

"But, I was going to eat- " Glen tried to slip out of Dakota's hold but his arm tightened.

"Don't worry, baby Smiley, I got'chu," Dakota patted Glen's chest hard with his other hand as he practically dragged him out of the kitchen. "Cole, two sandwiches when you're done, por favor!"

Colton rolled his eyes as he easily ignored Dakota's antics. He checked Hayes' finger one more time before directing Hayes to hold pressure on the paper towels herself. Safe to say, she was going to live. Moving about the kitchen, he cleaned up Hayes' messy attempt at cutting a pear. "No more knives for you, Sunshine," He stated, dumping the cutting board and knife in the sink.

"It was an accident," Hayes grumbled, lifting a shoulder to awkwardly wipe the tears off her sticky cheeks with her sweatshirt.

"I just don't think cooking is your forte. Wait for help next time, please?"

"Fine."

"Excellent," Colton ran a loving hand down her messy ponytail, before cupping her chin in his palm. His fingers tickled her, making her squirm back, out of his reach. "Now, what would you like to eat?"

"A sandwich, please," Hayes requested.

Spotting the bread and deli meat already sitting out, Colton shot her a grin, "As you wish, Sunshine."

————

Needless to say, Austin wasn't too thrilled to come home and find out that Hayes earned herself another injury. But like Colton had mentioned, the cut wasn't deep enough to require stitches and was already well into the healing process by that night.

All's well that end's well, so they say.

The rest of the weekend passed in a blink of an eye, with nothing else close to traumatic happening. School work was completed, house chores were done, including the laundry which Hayes reluctantly helped with. At least folding towels weren't as bad as folding everybody's clothes.

It was, dare they admit now that it already happened, a relaxing weekend.

But alas, life as we know it with the Powers' siblings was meant to be anything but relaxing.

~~~~~~~~~

Oh my llama. What's that? Anothaaaa one? Okay, now I really do actually have to study. See you in November!

P.S. ---- ONLY 69 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!!!

Noice.