57.

Wazzup, Halloween Eve Eve peeps.

I just watched Hocus Pocus 2.

Slowly drowning, but trying my best to update sooner than once a month.

Love/hate relationship with the chapter.

*****

*****

Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.

-Carl Bard-

~~

"Come again?"

"Colton has a-"

Glen shook his head, interrupting Francis. "No, I know what you said. I just... what?"

His hands laced together atop of his head as he could feel his heart beating overtime. The sound clogged up to his ears and blocked out his surroundings. He knew this was an impending sign of a panic attack, and needed to abort before it was full blown.

Snap out of it.

But the boy was simply not able to wrap his head around this new piece of information. Something so trivial but yet, a trigger nonetheless. Therefore, he could not focus his mind enough to catch a breath. It was a dangerous whirl pool he couldn't break free from.

"I know, right?" Francis wouldn't believe the news himself if he didn't have his version of proof.

Glen began pacing in a circle, pulling on the collar of his uniform shirt as he tried to calm himself. At first, neither sibling noticed the tic, oblivious to their brother struggling, as he was an anxious pacer so it wasn't unusual for him.

Hayes was too busy looking absolutely gobsmacked at Francis' announcement.

But unlike her brother, the instinct to push the knowledge to the deep corners of her brain was activated, as her subconscious knew she was not capable of maturely handling this blindsiding.

So as the shock slowly disappeared from her face, the girl became predictably preoccupied by the wind blowing hard around them, making their uniforms compress against their bodies. Chills encompassed her, making her shiver with goosebumps, so Hayes then hurried to put her brother's sweatshirt over the one she was already wearing. Another layer wouldn't hurt.

The only problem was, the sweatshirt was too too large so she got lost underneath all the fabric. Hayes heard Francis chuckling at her mishap before he decided to help her out, giving the bottom part of the sweatshirt a hard tug downward.

When the little girl's head was finally free, she had transformed into the scary hair monster. Hayes grinned in thanks as her fingers brushed the wild strands of hair out of her face. She reached behind her head and slid the ponytail holder out to redo her messy ponytail.

Amused by their sister's antics, Francis glanced in Glen's direction, wondering why Smiley didn't find it as funny as he did. But any lingering laughter on his face quickly morphed into worry.

That's when he realized, Glen was in trouble.

"Glen, you alright my dude?"

Hayes lowered her chin from where she was facing up at the sky, the concern in her brother's voice putting her on alert. Her long hair blew freely behind her as the strands slipped through her fingers. She didn't seem to notice, her attention now solely locked on her brother, Glen, taking in his panicked expression. He wasn't in good shape, bent over with his hands resting on his knees as he was trying to get air into his lungs.

Either that or he was about to vomit.

"Glen?" Hayes fearfully called his name, her hands lowering to her sides.

In a honest attempt to help, Francis walked over and put his hand on Glen's back to let him know he was there. But the touch only made it worse, causing the boy to flinch away.

"Don't touch me," Glen rasped, the feeling of lack of oxygen becoming problematic. They may have been outdoors, but it felt like the invisible walls were caving in on him.

"Okay, okay," Francis held up his hands, "Just take it easy."

The older brother and younger sister briefly glanced at each other, neither needing to point out that their brother was in obvious distress. Francis desperately wanted to do something, anything, to help, but he was floundering.

What to do? What to do?

"I'll go get Cole," The older teen decided, and took a step back in the direction of the building they had just exited. Colton could help their brother, Francis was certain.

When in doubt, get a teacher.

The teen stopped walking though when Hayes approached Glen. She had experience with this, more so than Francis could ever imagine and Glen would ever want to admit.

For the longest time, it was Smiley and Sunshine against the world.

They did what they had to do to survive.

Hayes tilted her head to the side as she was calculating something in her head. Then Francis watched as she cocked her right arm back, fingers curled in a fist, before she socked him in the arm.

That was certainly going to leave a mark.

Glen gasped, caught off-guard from the sudden assault, and stumbled off the concrete sidewalk and into the grass. Fortunately for all of them, he didn't fall to the ground.

As brute as Hayes' idea was, it did have a positive affect on her brother's breathing.

He was no longer trying to force air down his lungs, so the natural breathing phenomenon began working again when Glen's eyes settled on his sister. He recognized her.

Breathless, he spoke, "HayHay."

As soon as Glen stood up straighter, with cheeks flushed and his hands rubbing against his eyes from the stress, Hayes attacked him with an unrelenting hug. "I'm here, G. You can lean on me."

She knew exactly when her whispered voice reached Glen's ears, as Glen tensed up before taking a deep inhale and slowly released it. His arms wrapped around her back and he rested his cheek on top of her head.

The boy squeezed his eyes shut, as his body flooded with utter embarrassment. He didn't know what overtook him, how scary that switch flipped and within seconds he lost control.

Of Colton possibly having a girlfriend.

As soon as Francis had opened his mouth to repeat the supposed harmless words, Glen had seen his life flash. It was his own mind that spooked him, as the image of Colton suddenly being absent from his life appeared in front of him. His haunted past pulling together a false reality of what this meant.

He panicked.

The boy felt himself falling frightening fast right back down the same path of anxiety attack, just thinking about what had transpired was still too fresh.

Glen felt like he took a punch to his gut, this time not from Hayes' doing. He knew what that meant. He relied on Colton for too much. It was dangerous. He couldn't do that.

A painful pressure stomped down on top of his foot, dragging him back to the present again. "Glen, you're scaring me," a young girl's voice tore through his thoughts.

Hayes.

The tables had turned as it was Glen's turn to take his sister by surprise when he wrenched himself out of her embrace. He saw the hurt flash in her blue eyes, which pained him even more.

"I'm sorry, bro," Francis sincerely apologized, "I didn't think before speaking." Fran felt immense guilt, how he had been selfishly proud of himself for figuring out Colton's secret rather than how his words could affect his baby siblings.

Austin had warned him many times before to think before he spoke, his big mouth likely to get him in trouble. Obviously that wise advice went in one ear and out the other for the teen.

The boy pulled his gaze from Hayes to his brother, subconsciously taking a step back again to create distance from his siblings. The uncomfortable feeling was creeping back up his neck and that spurred him to leave.

The school bell rang, a prewarning for all students to stop loitering after lunch and head to their next periods. Glen took this as his means of escape.

"Glen, wait." Hayes' desperate cry fell on deaf ears as did her outstretched arms.

"Can't be late for class," Glen grunted, backing up a couple more steps like a wounded animal before turning his back to his sister. He was going to cut across the grass to reach the other sidewalk, rather than touch elbows with the other students as they bustled on by.

He needed some air.

Hayes watched Glen storm off, unable to move.

He just

left

her.

That hurt.

"Come on, Sissy." Fingers wrapped around her wrist, gently pulling her to start walking in another direction. Hayes quietly followed Francis' hurried stroll down the sidewalk, not even bothering to ask where they were going. "What class do you have now? I'll walk you."

"PE," Hayes gave the answer without having to think about it.

It was only when they made it to open gate by the hallway entrance that led to the locker rooms, did Hayes finally gather her thoughts.

"Later, Sissy," Francis made to turn around to head back in the general direction that they just came from.

"Wait, wait!" Hayes exclaimed, quickly gripping onto Francis' shirt sleeve to stop him from leaving. "We have to go find Glen. He's not okay, Francis."

Francis shook his head, his hands landing on her shoulders, keeping his sister right where she was standing. "You need to go to class so Austin won't be mad."

"Screw Austin," Hayes impulsively blurted out, eyes bright with boldness, "Glen needs me!"

"Shhhh," Francis gently squeezed her shoulders, trying not to get her anymore rowdy. He lowered his head to meet her eyes, the seriousness reflecting in the identical blue. He urgently whispered, "Don't say that about Austin. This is my fault and I'm going to fix it, alright? I'm going to go find Glen right now and I'll fix it. Trust me."

Uneasiness shown on Hayes' face as she teetered between her answers.

She loved Francis and she did trust him, for the most part.

But this was Glen they were talking about.

He was her most important best friend in the whole world. Without him, there was no her. She couldn't risk Francis messing that up.

As she was stuck in her indecisiveness, she felt Francis play with her wrist before spinning her around. He gathered her probably very knotty, messy blonde hair as best he could into his hands before wrapping the hairband around three times to create a ponytail. It was lumpy and bumpy but much better than the lion's mane she was currently rocking.

When he was done, Francis turned her back around and laid his cold palms on her cheeks. "Trust me, Sissy. I got this."

Then with a chaste kiss to her forehead, Francis was gone.

Hayes watched her brother disappear amidst the crowd of high schoolers, his tall height and blonde hair holding her gaze until he turned the corner.

She let out a breath of air she didn't know she was holding on to, with one treacherous thought running on a loop in her head.

This was sooooo not going to end well.

————

Sweat dripped into Dakota's eyes, the brother muttering a string of curse words as the stinging sensation worsened. So that's the punishment he gets for working out, for fuck's sake.

There was no winning, apparently.

Dakota reracked the squat bar, the stainless steel bar clanging against the black metal frame. Hands empty, he went to wipe his eyes with his fingers, only to introduce more sweat into his eyes.

God damn.

Torn down, full of aching

Somehow our youth would take the blame

Worn out, the way we let it stay

Kota blinked away the burning pain, and looked around for where he had mindlessly abandoned his shirt. He scratched the back of his head, catching sight of the piece of clothing tossed over one of the folding chairs that lined the wall. Snatching the shirt, Kota dragged it along his face, wiping away the sweat before using the fabric to cover his flushed face.

It may be cold outside, the breeze reaching inside the garage thanks to having the garage door wide open, but Dakota's workout kept him running warm.

Taught how to celebrate it

All out, I'd replicate your pain

Climb down, if only for a taste

The lyrics died out, leaving behind an instrumental chorus. The blasting music in his ears only blocked his hearing, but his vision was still working just fine. He removed the shirt from his face and lazily chucked it back towards the chair. He wanted to finish his workout before any siblings returned home and ruined his peace and quiet.

Dakota was embracing being home alone, a rare luxury to have, but that's his reward for only working a half day at the construction site. Wasn't his fault someone else screwed up with their equipment plans, he simply reaped the benefits of their stupidity.

Hallowed, but hesitated

Shallow, but full in all your veins

Shadowed by every other weight

Damn, spoke too soon.

In his periphery, Dakota saw a car turning into their driveway. He acted as if he didn't see it, dropping to the floor to crank out a round of push-ups. Maybe if he was lucky, the new arrival would simply ignore him and go inside the home.

Yeah right.

He recognized the car right away. This was Austin, it wasn't in his nature to 'simply ignore' his siblings. Especially not when Dakota had been camping out at Baker's house the past two nights.

Like a little chicken shit.

Sure, Dakota was an adult and could make his own decisions and all, but Kota didn't exactly give a reason for his actions, not to mention Austin still preferred having his siblings under his roof.

So yeah, there was no shot Austin was not about to pass on by without a word or two.

Hollow, a doubt can make it

Borrowed a love that never came

Followed in every other shade

Dakota knew Austin was probably trying to initiate conversation, but that was the best part of headphones. Noise reduction. Kota couldn't hear him.

But Austin was also persistent, and soon enough, the younger brother felt an annoying nudge against his side, courtesy of the eldest brother's dress shoe.

And there goes the peace.

Dakota pulled his legs under him and shifted into a crouched position before standing up. As he guessed, Austin stood there with a plain black backpack slung over his right shoulder, his hands casually propped on his hips. Rather than extending the little staring game, Dakota cut it short as he slid his headphones off his head to around his neck. He could still hear the lyrics faintly floating up to his ears.

"Hey." Austin spoke first.

"Yo."

Austin raised his eyebrows. "Yo? That's all you have to say?"

"All you said was 'hey'," Dakota returned, tugging his shorts up a bit from where they had fallen from his waist. He then crossed his arms over his chest, giving his muscles a good stretch.

"Haven't seen you in two days," Austin continued, "You okay?"

"Fine."

"How's Baker?"

Dakota shrugged, kicking at the small layer of dirt on the floor that was blown into the garage. "Fuck if I know. Haven't seen him. He's been working nights this week."

"Right, I forgot," Austin said, nodding. It was like pulling teeth trying to talk with his brother sometimes. He decided to switch tactics, trying to get Dakota to respond to anything. He picked a safer topic, one that didn't feel like he was questioning Dakota's every move. "So what TV shows did Peyton force you to watch with her?"

Kota glanced upward at Austin, staring blankly as he tried to figure out his brother's angle. Coming up with nothing, his hard-shell cracked some. "That shitty dancing show on Monday and that Bachelor porn shit last night."

That translated to Dancing with the Stars and the Bachelorette. Throw in Gilmore Girls and it would be the trifecta. Their sister-in-law's guilty pleasure.

Let it lead your love away

I never strayed

Let it bury you away

In all your blame, in all your pain

I will carry you always

Austin studied his younger brother, watching as Kota now averted his eyes towards the outdoors. The leaves on the trees were changing colors from green to brown, the last bits of summer gone. Fall was in full bloom and the temperatures were already dropping into winter season.

20 days until Emerson was home for Thanksgiving break.

20 days until Dakota had to share his room again. Fan-fucking-tastic.

"I'm worried about you."

Dakota's shoulders tensed as he completely turned away from Austin, busying himself with undoing the clamp so he could take the weights off the metal bar and put them away. In his opinion, Austin was wasting his time worrying about the wrong brother.

"Don't be." Dakota muttered.

Let it lead your love away

I never strayed

Let it bury you away

"Well, I am," Austin replied as he walked to where the folded chairs were and bent to pick up Dakota's t-shirt off the floor before putting both the tshirt and his backpack down on chair. No need to risk ruining his laptop or business papers if things got messy.

He moved to the squat bar, helping out Dakota by returning the weights on the other side.

"No Mabel today?" Austin asked, referring to the loud bluetooth speaker that Dakota often utilized.

"No."

Austin nodded his head towards Dakota's headphones still around his neck. "What are you listening to?"

Dakota internally rolled his eyes, slightly frustrated but also the teeniest bit appreciating his eldest brother's stubbornness. Austin was not giving up because he loved his brother. Persistence paid off.

So Kota gave in and unplugged his headphones from his phone, allowing the phone speakers to reveal the depressing music he had been listening to.

That was why he wasn't using Mabel as his sound system. Dakota was just in one of those moods. If Austin had come home an hour earlier, it would have been a different story. But all his frustrations dissipated by the time he was done beating the crap out of the punching bag and moved on with his regular workout routine.

Fade me away, I won't ever be the same

Fade me away, I won't ever be the same

Fade me away, I won't ever be the same

"Kota..."

"I'm fine." Dakota tersely stated again. He wasn't lying.

"Why were you hiding at Baker's?"

"I wasn't-"

Dakota didn't bother finishing with the denial, cutting himself off as he watched Austin walk around to stand in front of him.

"Dakota, I know you. What's going on?"

"Nothing is fucking going on." Dakota's voice rose in a yell as he finally snapped. "I'm tired of this fucking shit of keeping secrets. So I didn't want to be around when Colton's mess blows up in his face."

Austin frowned at the sudden rush of anger. "He didn't tell them the news yet."

"Of course not." Dakota scoffed.

"But yet, here you are."

Dakota spread his arms out wide before letting them drop to his sides, "Yep."

Austin wasn't stupid. "So what aren't you saying?"

"They did learn something today."

Austin shifted, crossing his arms over his chest. He grew wary at the smirk on his brother's face. "I'm afraid to ask."

"You should be. Francis has more brain cells than I thought." Dakota said, coming off more harshly then he meant. "Guess who texted me today."

"By the surprise in your voice, I'm going to go with Hayes?"

"Yep," Dakota casually confirmed before dropping the bomb. "She wanted to know if Colton's girlfriend was going to move into the house now."

"What the fuck?" Bewildered, the words slipped out before Austin could catch himself.

First of all, the fact that Hayes even used her phone was a marvel, and for that to be what she had to say, was absolutely mind-boggling. Where did she even come up with that?

"Yeah, my thoughts exactly." Dakota condescendingly patted Austin on the shoulder before moving past him to grab a sip of water. All this excitement was leaving him a bit parched.

"God, how the hell did they even find out?"

The question he really wanted to ask was how did they react? He was not expecting a good report, that's for sure.

"I don't know, she didn't say, but isn't that wonderful?"

Austin rubbed the heel of his hand against his forehead, not appreciating Dakota's mock enthusiasm. He inhaled deeply before exhaling, having to remind himself that they didn't know what had happened when the kids lived in Florida. For all he knew, this is what happened on the daily, making it appear as normal circumstances to them.

Was it Jane bringing home men or their grandfather bringing home ladies? Was it a revolving door of strangers or a genuine relationship?

He prayed for none of those options.

"You told her no, correct?" Austin waited for Dakota's affirmative nod as that wasn't how this household was run.

None of the brothers really spoke of it, but they all had some level of trust issues residing deep within them against the opposite sex. Not to the extent that the two kids had, as their mother done a number on them and the older siblings as well, but Charlotte's manipulative ways growing up also snuck into the brothers' twisted outlooks.

If they had no faith in their own sister, then why would another girl be any different?

Besides Peyton who was truly a wonderful sister-in-law that they all loved, there were never any other serious girlfriends, certainly not serious enough for consecutive sleepovers. Definitely not serious enough to move in.

Austin knew that Colton had fancied Stella since he first started at teaching at the school. Her father, Joe the barber, was spot on with trying to set up his daughter and Colton. But it still took Cole almost three years to make a move.

The eldest brother definitely had a suspicion that Charlotte's death is what gave Colton the push to make their relationship official.

"What else did Hayes have to say?" Austin cautiously asked.

Dakota shrugged. "Nothing, just asked if I'd be home tonight."

He figured his little sister was on her PMS shit or whatever, as he left out the part where the bugger asked if he'd watch a movie with her tonight. It had become their special thing when she wasn't particularly feeling well, such as with cramps.

Nothing more magical then falling asleep snuggled with your brother and waking up the next morning tucked back in bed.

It was for the better that Austin didn't know about their late night plans yet, considering he'd find out eventually. But Austin would obviously inquire which movie they were going to watch and it just so happened that the agreed upon pick wasn't quite age appropriate for Sunshine. Dakota was well aware of the R rating and was certain Austin would not approve.

But also...

The first rule of Fight Club is: you do not talk about Fight Club.

Austin hummed in acknowledgement, still a bit distracted by the whole girlfriend-move-into-their-home thing. Maybe more than a bit distracted, as he let Dakota off the hook with no more questioning, missing the glint of relief that flitted across his brother's face when Austin started to head inside.

Omission of the truth or a straight-out lie, Dakota wasn't sure which one made him feel better.

Hayes indeed had texted him one more thing, though making him promise he wouldn't share with anyone. Dakota agreed, obviously, with the quiet stipulation that he'd keep his mouth shut just until he had a chance to talk to Smiley first himself.

Leading to the true reason Dakota came home that afternoon, though Sunshine was a very close second.

Then he'd tell Austin.

Torn down, full of aching...

————

"How was everyone's day?"

And there it was, the most annoyingest question ever to be asked at a dinner table full of unwilling participants.

Austin glanced around the table, deciding which sibling would be his first victim of the evening. He liked to switch it up, keep everyone on their toes. He picked up his knife and fork, and began to cut the chicken on his plate. "Dakota? Why don't you start?"

Fuck. The brother cringed at being called out before he gave a curt answer. "Fine."

Always the same cranky answer from him, but Austin, God bless him, never gave up.

This evening though, Dakota was being curt for an additional reason. He was very patiently waiting for someone to address the giant fucking elephant in the room.

Francis snickered before he ducked his head, avoiding making accidental eye contact with his eldest brother.

Austin moved on to the next sibling in line, setting his sights on the little girl who sat next to Kota.  "Sunshine, sit up and eat your dinner before it gets cold."

It was one of her favorite meals - chicken - plus a side of vegetables which she did not appreciate as much. In this case, it was broccoli and cheese.

Gross.

Usually, she ate all the chicken and left behind the veggies. But tonight, she wasn't eating anything. No appetite. Much tired.

Hayes wasn't listening, as her eyes were closed and her head being held up by the power of her palm that her cheek was resting on. The girl had a busy day today, including a full day of school, basketball practice, and sibling drama.

No melodrama llama from her though, she left it all up to Francis and Glen. She hadn't talked to either up them since lunch ended, still feeling slightly miffed about how Glen left her when she was the one who helped him get past the panic attack. They were suppose to stick together always but now all of a sudden, Glen decided to go rogue.

Fine then.

From what she saw, whatever Francis did to calm Glen down off a cliff had worked, so the girl let it be.

Whatever.

But she still did a little something. In her mind, she went beyond her part. She told Dakota.

Not that she had a chance to talk to Dakota either, because as soon as the siblings returned home from school, Hayes hopped into the shower, using up all the hot water for a change. Subtle payback to her brothers for all the times they had done the same to her.

Petty but gratifying.

The hot water was a miracle worker for her cramps, though, which is why she was practically asleep in her chair at the dinner table currently. Finally at peace from the pain, her body was ready to crash. She may not make it to the late night movie sesh after all.

When Austin called her name again and got no response, Dakota gently nudged her leg with his knee.

Hayes lifted her heavy head off her hand, confusion blatantly written on her face on why someone had disturbed her.

"Sunshine, eat your food and then you can go to bed." Austin drew her attention from the end of the table. He was slightly concerned that Hayes wasn't even eating the BBQ chicken on her plate, leaving behind the broccoli like the picky eater she was.

The little girl yawned powerfully, nearly teetering off her seat onto Dakota before she caught herself with her hands slamming down on the edge of the table. She almost knocked her drink over with the sudden movement, but thankfully Dakota moved the glass of water out of the way just in time.

He didn't say anything about her carelessness, not bothering to waste his breath when he knew his sister wouldn't listen anyways.

"Careful, babe," Austin warned, watching the whole scene happen with concerned eyes. "How was your day at school?"

Hayes turned to look at her eldest brother, an unscary scowl present on her face as she rubbed her left eye with her finger. She had one word to say. "Cold."

Her brothers chuckled at the seriousness in her voice. Their poor baby sister had Florida blood running in her veins. Anything below 65 degrees was freezing for her.

"It's not funny," Hayes whined, "We had to go outside for PE and I could have froze to death, literally, and that's with two sweatshirts!"

"Two? Oh boy," Austin replied teasingly, "I did hear you had a visit to Colton's classroom. That was a nice surprise."

All smatterings of laughter slowly dissolved from the three teens, as their lunch adventure replayed in their heads.

"It was nice," Colton agreed, oblivious to his siblings' quiet disagreement. "I love when you guys come visit."

At that statement, Glen dropped his fork, the utensil clattering against the plate. When everyone looked at him, he muttered "sorry," and picked it back up, stabbing the food that remained on his plate.

"Everything alright, Smiley?" Colton asked, glancing at the boy's fist that rested on the table. They were sitting in their normal seats at the dinner table, so Colton had been calmly catching Glen's piercing stare in his periphery off and on this whole time.

"Fine," Glen copied Dakota's curtness.

"Hey, you skipped me. It's my turn," Francis complained, sitting up in his chair. His sudden zest made Hayes slouch down in her chair. She didn't trust his energy level.

"Nobody skipped you," Colton placated, "You're too obnoxious to be skipped."

Francis' jaw dropped, "Rude."

"How was your day, Francis James," Austin smoothly intervened before more instigating words were exchanged between the brothers.

"Fine," Francis smirked, pretending he was too engaged with cutting up his food to share more.

Austin sighed, "It'd be nice if someone actually engaged here with more than one word. I find it hard to believe that you spent all day at work or school and all you can say is fine."

Dakota shrugged, not really giving a shit since he never participated.

"I said cold," Hayes defended herself, eyeing the fork she reluctantly held in her hand. She still had yet to actually take a bite of the food, but that was because her appetite was nonexistent this evening. Maybe ice cream, but even that was just maybe.

"Fine," Austin said, taking a sip of water from his drink. "We'll do this a different way then. Francis, why did you skip economics class?"

The teen looked like a deer caught in headlights as his eyes darted all over the dining room from Austin to Glen to Colton and back to Austin. He avoided looking at Hayes, as he could feel her curious gaze on him. Talk about hypocritical, telling his sister she had to go to class, but he could miss.

"Uhmmm."

Hell.

Busted.

Francis didn't want to put the spotlight on Glen, so he sat there, molded to his seat as his eldest brother stared at him expectantly.

"I need an answer."

"Well..." Francis stuttered.

"Okay. You're grounded for the weekend. Who's next?"

"Seriously?" Francis groaned, "now you're being unfair."

Austin raised his eyebrows. "I wasn't the one who missed class."

"I already have a scholarship for college, I don't even need to go to school anymore," The disgruntled teen huffed.

"Fran," Colton shook his head, warning him not to start.

A dark chuckle came from Hayes' left side, the girl vigilantly turned her head to look at Dakota. His head was tilted downward as he was looking at his plate of food, but there was no missing the smirk on his face.

She wasn't fearful of him, but that didn't stop her from slouching even further down in her seat. Just in case.

"Hayes, third warning. Eat your dinner."

A frown on her face, their sister tossed her head back against the chair as she pushed herself up, sitting properly once again. "I'm not hungry, Austin."

"I wasn't asking," he replied, pointing at her plate with his fork.

"Since when don't you like chicken?" Colton asked curiously, reading the scowl on her face.

Since when do you have a girlfriend?

Hayes' eyes flicked up to her older brother before submissively returning to her plate. Yet, she made no move to pick up her knife and fork again.

"Okay, that's it." Austin had enough of the moody atmosphere. He laid his utensils down on the napkin next to his plate. "I'll ask again. What is going on with everyone?"

Very uncomfortable silence passed, the teens squirming in their seats which the Austin, Colton, and Dakota all noticed.

"Stella," Dakota coughed into his fist.

Colton snapped his head over to stare at Dakota. "Excuse me?"

"Hmm? What?"

"Grow up, Dakota."

Dakota rolled his eyes, unintimidated by his brother's words. "You grow up. Hiding your girlfriend like a dumb tween."

"Dakota," Austin was not impressed.

"What? You know they fucking know already." Dakota retorted.

"What?" Colton echoed, though he sounded more surprised than annoyed like Kota was. "How? Guys?"

Slowly and with great reluctance, Smiley and Sunshine lifted their eyes up to look at Colton.

"I knew it," Francis exclaimed before calming back down when he glanced at Glen. "Sorry, Glen. I did it again."

Austin keyed in on that. "Sorry, Glen? What does that mean?"

"Nothing," Francis was quick to rush out, still intent on keeping Glen's panic attack under wraps. Smiley could share if he wanted, it was his business.

Colton ran his fingers through his hair, "Wait, can we rewind here?"

"We know you're dating Ms. Miller," Francis took lead.

Colton shared a look with Austin, holding the stare for several seconds before Austin shrugged.

"Okay," Cole spoke unsurely, "Yes, Stella and I are dating. And you guys are okay with this?"

Dakota snorted but said nothing, and reached forward with his left hand to grab his drink. He brought it to his mouth, casually taking a sip as his right arm rested on the top of Hayes' chair. He began twirling her ponytail with his fingers.

"Just spit it out, Dakota," Colton sighed, "You obviously have something to say here."

"Nope," Dakota denied, not lifting his attention from his sister. He was simply here to be a shit stirrer and, of course, to get to the bottom of all the dirty little secrets.

From the end of the table where he sat, Austin glanced over all his siblings before landing on his unusually quiet little brother who was sitting on his right. Now he watched as Smiley stole glances at Colton, both his fists clenched on the table.

The eldest brother was putting two and two together in his head.

"Wait, I take that back," Dakota's hand stilled, letting the girl's ponytail go as Hayes looked over at him. "What about that other thing you were talking about, Cole?"

Francis ate that right up. "What other thing?"

"Not the time, Francis," Austin dismissed with a shake of his head.

Fran didn't take the hint, because if he didn't pursue it right this second, then the older brothers would push it under the rug and blow off his concerns. "I beg to differ."

"Jesus Christ, Dakota." Colton cursed, "Happy now?"

Dakota shrugged, "You did it to yourself."

"May I be excused?" Hayes' voice broke in. All her brothers stared at her, taking in her curled-in shoulders. She didn't know what else Cole had to share, and she didn't want to know. The girl handled the girlfriend thing nicely, but now, it was time to flee.

Before her oldest brothers could grant her request, Glen spoke up. "What other thing?"

Colton pinched his eyes closed for three seconds before he opened them again. He could already imagine the hurt flashing on his brother's face, the exact thing he was trying to avoid by figuring out how to tell him.

"Glen, Fran... Hayes, uhm," he stammered. He really didn't want to see the disappointment that was bound to occur.

Austin cleared his throat. "Your brother got a basketball coaching opportunity and will be gone all summer."

Glen paled.

Wrinkles appeared on Francis' forehead, "I thought you turned down the coaching gig? No, I know you turned it down. You told us that."

"I did, this is different," Colton explained, before faltering. Was it really different? Or was that how he was reasoning out his selfish decision?

"But you're leaving," Glen stated. "You told us you wouldn't leave, but you're going anyways?"

"This was a new offer, and I pushed Colton to say yes," Austin said.

"But it's Coach Gregor, isn't it?" Francis asked, his eyes darting between Austin and Colton. "He still wants you."

Colton nodded. "He didn't want me to throw away this chance. So he suggested I work with him for the summer. That's all the commitment I gave. Just the summer."

Francis digested this, slowly nodding when he came to the realization that he wouldn't be home for the summer either because baseball tournaments, so this shouldn't be bothering him as much. He scratched the back of his head. "Sure, cool."

Glen, on the other hand, felt utterly betrayed. He abruptly stood up, shoving his chair backwards with a grating screech.

Colton was sort of expecting this to happen. He opened his mouth to smooth over Glen's anger, but no words came out.

"So promises mean nothing, huh? Good to know," Glen scoffed. He took one last look at his sister before storming off.

Leaving her, yet again.

The remaining siblings were quiet, listening to the footsteps stomping up the stairs.

Dakota whistled lowly, "Job well done as usual boys." He pressed a kiss to the side of Hayes' head before standing up as well.

He stared at Austin then Colton, daring either of them to say something so Dakota could snap back.

I fucking told you so.

He fucking knew this would blow up in Colton's face. Honestly, how dense were his older brothers that they didn't even see this happening.

Shaking his head, disappointment obvious, Dakota walked out of the dining room, going to hunt down his baby brother and handle this himself.

Austin had one arm resting on the table, the other hand rubbing over his mouth.

Live and learn... Was not an easy route.

He wasn't sure he could have pictured this going any differently. Sighing to himself, Austin looked at Francis and Hayes. He gently addressed his sister, who was silently sitting hunched over, her fingers hidden by the sleeves of her sweatshirt. "Sunshine, do you want to talk about this?"

Without looking up, the young girl shook her head no.

She flinched at the sound of another chair screeching and then Dakota's chair was suddenly occupied by someone else. Francis quickly abandoned his own chair, giving the three siblings privacy and taking his plate to deposit in the kitchen sink. He shall disappear and call Emerson, because he had tea to be spilled.

"Sunshine," Colton's voice was full of emotion, "Please look at me."

Hayes shook her head again, nearly on the verge of tears. She didn't want her weakness to be visible.

"Oh kiddo," Colton laid a hand on her knee, "Please. You can be mad at me all you want, I'll even give you a cape so you can be super mad. But don't shut me out, not again."

His baby sister sniffed, using her sleeve to wipe her nose, but she still didn't look at him. Her voice came out just above a whisper. "I'm not mad, I'm just sad."

"It's okay to be sad, too," Austin gently assured her, moving over to Francis' now-open seat. "You weren't expecting this and it's a change."

"It's just the summer, Sunshine, I promise." Colton cupped the side of her face and lifted her head up.

Hayes' blue eyes were glistening, but no tears escaped yet. "You can't say that."

"Can't say what?" Cole's thumb lightly brushed over her cheek, a soothing notion. "You're gonna be so busy with your own summer plans that you won't even know I'm gone."

Her bottom lip made her frown wobbly. "It won't be just for the summer, Colton. You are the best Coach ever. They're gonna love you and you're gonna love them and you're never gonna want to come home." Her voice cracked.

"Oh, Sunshine," Colton breathed, briefly making eye contact over her head with Austin. Both their hearts slowly chipping as teardrops finally freed themselves down her cheeks.

Having no more words that were going to help the situation right now, Colton moved his hands so he had a grip under her arms. He lifted her up, bringing his little sister onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her in a warm hug.

He may have just broke her heart, and she very well had just done the same to his.

————

Upstairs, the teens' bedroom door slammed shut behind Glen only to be pushed right back open seconds later by Dakota. The boy paid him no attention as he started pacing the length of the bedroom.

"The fuck is wrong with you?" Dakota calmly asked, even though he had a pretty solid understanding of what the fuck was wrong.

"Did you know?"

"Probably," Dakota drawled, his eyes keeping track of Glen's movement. "Be more specific, will you?"

Dakota walked over and grabbed Glen by his upper arm, stopping him in his tracks. The boy laced his fingers in his hair, tugging slightly out of frustration. He couldn't get the words out, he was riddled with stress, anxiety, irritation, and hurt, just to name a few.

He was deeply hurt that Colton was leaving. Glen admired Cole, as his brother, his role model, someone who made him feel safe and loved.

Not that Austin or the other brothers didn't do so, but he and Colton had clicked more. Their love of basketball and being history nerds bonded them quickly.

But now, all Glen could think about was how Colton was just tossing him away. Like trash.

He already was a basketball Coach. A damn good one. He didn't need to go to another team.

And to think that just hours earlier, the teen had been freaking out about his brother having a girlfriend. That sounded so lame now. Pathetic.

A whole summer, Cole would just be gone.

"Glen, what the fuck is going on?"

The boy dropped his hands to his sides, looking just as defeated as he felt. "Before tonight, did you know Colton was going away for the summer?"

He obviously knew about Stella Miller too.

"Yeah." Dakota shrugged, "I only found out a day ago or so."

Glen shook his head, swiping a shakey hand through his blonde hair. "What do I do now?"

Dakota furrowed his eyebrows. "I'm not following."

"I- I-," the boy stuttered, and growing frustrated once more, he sidestepped Dakota and began the long strides from one side of the room to the other. A panic attack was brewing.

"Fuck," Dakota grumbled under his breath. He put himself back in Glen's path, the boy smacking into his chest. "Hey. Focus. Spit it out."

"I can't think."

"Well at least fucking breathe, Jesus." Dakota had a solid grip on Glen's shoulders. The kid was hyperventilating. "I'm going to go get Austin."

"No!" Glen took big gulps of air. "I don't need him." He wasn't going to make the same mistake again. He wasn't going to rely on his brothers again just to be disappointed.

"That's bullshit."

"I'm fine."

"You just told me you can't breathe."

Glen managed to shake his head. His fingers forming fists as he tried not to fidget. He was still breathing way to fast, and if he kept it up he was on the road to passing out.

"Glen. Hey," Dakota roughly patted the kid's cheek. "Fucking look at me or I'm calling Austin."

Glen's blue eyes were pleading. "I'm fine."

Dakota cursed under his breath before tightening his grip on Glen's shoulder. Without warning, he practically dragged his little brother out of the bedroom and down the stairs.

Hearing the thundering noise of the brothers, Austin stood up from his spot at the table only to stop when Dakota sent him a dark glare.

Fuck off, I got this.

But a lot nicer.

Not really.

Dakota pulled him through the laundry room and into the garage, where the garage door was still open. The frigid air slapped them in the faces as soon as they stepped outside.

"Slow down, match my breathing." Dakota stopped walking when they reached the edge of the garage. He held Glen by the shoulders again and took exaggerated breaths, his shoulders heaving up and down, air flowing in and out of his mouth.

It was already making a difference for Smiley, as he felt his lungs fill much easier.

"We need to figure this out because you are not fucking fine. You need help and you can't do it on your own. Trust me, I know, I'm stubborn as fuck, too."

"I already...," Glen stopped for a purposeful slow breath.

"... told Austin," his mind was calming down.

"...No therapy." His breathing was mellowing out with those final words off his chest.

Dakota weighed his next words, deciding to simply be truthful. Austin might not appreciate it, but Glen would. The kid wanted honesty and bluntness over sugarcoating any time.

"I'm not talking about seeing someone to talk about your feelings and shit. I tried that, because Austin wanted me to and I only went to one session."

Glen was back to shaking his head before Dakota could finish.

"You have a lot of anger in you, kid. And you're stubborn as hell. Which makes you feel extra frustrated because you are absolute shit at explaining what you're feeling."

Just like him.

"I have the right to be angry," Glen defended. "He's just up and leaving, after he swore he wouldn't."

"And Colton has the right to live his life." Dakota threw back at his brother, playing devils advocate. Talk about brutal honesty. "Now will you just listen for fucks sake and let me speak?"

Glen kept his mouth closed, his heart pounding in his chest, the sound traveling to his head.

"You have options, dude."

"What options?"

"For starters, you have brothers besides Cole." Dakota finally dropped his arms from holding Glen still in place. "The obvious being Austin. He would do anything for you but your fucking hardheaded self can't see that."

"I don't need him."

"I know, you've said that already. But he will do anything for you no matter what you think. That man is never letting you go, don't you fucking get that? No, of course not, but fine, next brother. Baker."

Glen crossed his arms, his eyes darting towards the cars in the driveway before tracking back to his brother. "What about you?"

Dakota laughed as if Glen told a funny joke. "Good one."

"I'm serious."

"So am I."

Dakota pinched his eyes closed and took a grounding breath. He reopened his eyes, staring at Glen. "I go in the garage and beat the shit out of the punching bag. Or if I'm desperate enough, I'll go running. And when that doesn't work, I call Baker."

At the honest admission from his toughest brother, any remaining adrenaline was zapped from Glen, the boy crouching to the garage floor before sitting down on the hard, cold ground.

Dakota watched him for a moment, before copying his brother's position on the ground. Knees bent, arms loosely wrapped around his legs. "So, what's it gonna be?"

Glen rested his forehead against his knees, not saying anything.

"Okay, how about this. Either I tell Austin you had a fucking panic attack at school and let him deal with it his way, which would probably be therapy, by the way," Dakota paused, looking for a reaction from Glen. The boy was holding out on him though, which in any other situation Dakota would be proud. "Or you call Baker right now."

Still nothing.

"Here." Something solid tapped against Glen's knee, prompting him to lift his head up and open his eyes.

Kota was offering him his phone, Baker's contact pulled up already. All he had to do was press the call button.

Easy.

Glen stared blankly at the cell phone, not making a move to take it.

"This is me trying to help you if you haven't figured that out."

Glen bit down on his bottom lip, nearly drawing blood. "You didn't tell Austin about... you know?"

Dakota was getting skilled at filling in the blanks from Glen's questions. No way had Kota forgotten about the brother's meltdown on Sunday. "Not yet. You bet your ass I will be though."

"I'm not depressed and I'm not going to kill myself."

Dakota said nothing, just nudged his leg with the phone again, a little more forceful this time.

"I'm fine."

"Cool. Take the damn phone."

Glen reflexively caught the phone before it hit him in the face, Dakota's patience waning. The phone was already dialing and soon enough, connecting the call.

"Hey, Kota. Give me two minutes, my fucking boss can't wipe his own ass."

Baker's vocabulary was something special.

Glen was frozen.

"Dakota? You There?"

Still silence.

"For fuck's sake," Baker muttered on his end. They could hear the brother on the move now, excusing himself from whoever he was with. "Come on, Dakota. Where the fuck are you?" They could hear their brother call out, away from the phone's receiver, looking for his partner, Lindsey.

Dakota heard the franticness now in Baker's voice and leaned forward to smack Glen's knee.

"Baker?" Glen's voice slightly wavered, "It's me."

He then glared at Dakota for putting him on the spot. His brother smirked right back, not feeling threatened at all.

"Glen?" There was a pause on the other line, followed by a static break. Baker instantly stopped rushing around. "Smiley, is that you, buddy? What have you been up to, dude? Haven't heard your voice in a hot minute. Everything alright?"

"Sorry for bothering you at work." Glen immediately apologized.

"Nah. Working hard or hardly working? The answer is yes. So what's up?"

Glen clenched his empty fingers into a fist. "Nothing."

"Huh," Baker obviously didn't believe him but didn't say it flat out. "Well that sounds pretty boring, my man. Where's Dakota?"

"Uhmm, he's sitting right here," Glen glanced at Kota. "He's the one who called you. Here, you can talk to him." Glen went to hold the phone out to Dakota but stopped when Baker spoke some more.

"Oh, fuck no. I'd rather talk to you than that grumpy fart." There was a change in Baker's voice, as he understood what was actually going on. "Are you okay, Smiley?"

The boy gave in to his nervous tendency, anxiously scratching at the arm holding the phone. This was a big step to take. "Do you- ... Can we talk?"

There was more staticky noise from Baker's end before two loud thuds were heard, like two car doors slamming shut. "Any day, any time. I'll be there in 20."

~~~~~~~~~~

:) Okay, I sort of like the ending.

On to the next chapter, coming eventually. (: