58.

Tell me you love meeeeee

It's long, btw. Don't feel the need to read all at once, or not at all.  Whichever :p

If you hate it, LMK.

If you love it --> sweet. You are awesome.

Either way, probably won't change a thing because no go-backs hahaha

~~

Baker didn't linger on the phone, so after Glen heard the three consecutive disconnected beeps, the boy silently handed Dakota back his phone.

Dakota silently took it, pocketing it in his black sweatpants. He returned to the position of arms crossed at the wrists, resting them on his knees. His inquisitive blue eyes danced over his kid brother, who was staring pointedly at a dead brown leaf on the garage floor.

The circle of death.

Dakota ran his tongue over his two front teeth, the tiniest bit of regret slipping into his mind. A little late for that. He hoped to hell he had just done the right thing, otherwise he probably just jeopardized any remaining chance of having any sort of relationship with the kid.

Was this life punishing him for his poor choices in life?

It was quite possible that Glen would want nothing to do with him. May never trust him again for anything.

Fuck.

The older brother needed to break the silence, before his dangerous thoughts overpowered him. He cleared his throat, having trouble swallowing from nerves. "So... you gonna murder me in my sleep tonight or are we cool?"

Without moving his head, Glen lifted his gaze upward from the leaf to look at Kota. He didn't hold the eye contact for longer than a quick second, averting his gaze back to the ground, but at least he spoke. "Debatable."

That single word made it a whole lot easier for Dakota to take his next breath.

Now the silence didn't bother him as much. He shifted his weight a little, as sitting on the hard, cold cement floor hurt his ass, but he didn't take his eyes of his little brother.

Kota wouldn't put it past Smiley to do a runner, as their sister often did, but he didn't think the kid was up to it. Dakota refused to look away because it gave him self-assurance that Glen was okay.

He was here, right in front of him. He was alive. He was breathing.

That's all Dakota could ask for.

Asking for anything more would be hypocritical, as Dakota surely been in Glen's shoes before.

Said boy forgone the leaf and began tracing the dirt on the ground, making random swirls and shapes.

Three minutes had passed before there was another sound daring to disturb the brothers.

Dakota felt his phone vibrate in his pocket as the ringtone blasted. He already knew who it was, considering only his siblings could bypass the DND, and did not even bother to glance at the caller ID before answering without a proper greeting.

"What."

Glen's ears perked up at his brother's flat voice, but he only heard the one side of the conversation, if you could even call it that. Short and blunt responses. Unlike Dakota, he wasn't too sure who was on the receiving end of the call. Six possibilities.

"In the garage."

Dakota rolled his eyes. "No."

"Yes."

"Baker is coming."

Well that crossed Baker off the list of siblings.

And Kota wouldn't dare talk to Hayes like that, not without the threat of any of their three older brothers having a word with him.

Glen didn't even want to think about Colton right now, so that left Austin.

In proper grump fashion, Dakota didn't bother saying goodbye, just straight up ending the phone call. He scrolled for a second, briefly checking his messages that he didn't bother responding to. Then he slid his phone back into his pocket and climbed to his feet. He brushed off his hands then made himself busy by tinkering with the gym equipment.

More like, pretend tinkering.

His OCD that made rare appearances didn't let him leave the garage in much disarray after his afternoon workout. He only was able to straighten out the box jumps before running out of things to do. He was going to sweep the floor later.

So then Dakota walked over to the green garbage can that was kept in the far front corner of the garage and began rolling it down the driveway. It made a lot of ruckus, running over all the dirt, rocks, and cracks in the driveway. Tomorrow was Thursday and Thursday was collection day. He made it all the way to where the driveway met road before realizing that the trash can in the kitchen still needed to be taken out this evening.

Ah, oh well. Not his problem.

When he turned around and walked back up the driveway, Dakota wasn't surprised to see that Glen still hadn't moved. The only change was that his finger stopped his artistic drawing, his palm firmly planted against the ground.

Truth was, Glen may have been sitting there, but mentally he was gone. The kid was replaying the past 10 minutes in his head and how quick things escalated then relaxed.

And after replaying the conversation 3824238 times, there was just one thing that didn't quite make sense to him.

The boy glanced around, looking to see where his brother went, finding him standing at the entrance of the garage. Voice full of suspicion, Glen stated, "I didn't tell you about school."

Someone snitched.

Dakota's footsteps halted for half a second before he could walk by him, which the brother covered the hesitation by scratching his chest. "No?"

"No," Glen was absolutely certain. "Why the hell would I tell you?"

The older brother was unable to play off the hurt that flitted across his face.

Okay, ouch.

Catching this, the boy rushed to add on, explaining in quieter voice, "It's embarrassing as heck. I had a fricking panic attack because my brother has a girlfriend. What the hell is wrong with me?" He trailed off, the latter part almost a whisper to himself.

Dakota turned fully around and stared down at the blonde baby.

Glen was alive. Glen was breathing.

Before Dakota could say anything, which was probably better since he for sure would have said something wrong, an unmarked, black SUV swung into their driveway.

The car low beams lit up the garage, momentarily blinding the two brothers until the lights were gracefully shut off.

Glen scampered off the ground, shoving his hands under his armpits as a wave of nerves hit him.

The driver's and passenger door opened and two familiar, muscled men got out. If either of the younger brothers were keeping track, they would note that Baker made the trip in 14 minutes, beating his arrival time of 20, for sure breaking speeding laws along the way.

The accompanying gentleman was no other than Lindsey, the brother in blue.

Baker greeted his siblings, going to Glen first and clapping him on the shoulder with a firm grip and his other hand sneaking up to mess up his blonde hair. "Hey Smiley."

The kid managed a weak, rueful smile.

Head nod to Dakota, "Dick."

"Bitch," Dakota returned, rolling his eyes with a smirk.

"Bro, such crude language, Jesus Christ," Baker ironically chastised. Good thing none of his brothers took him seriously.

Lindsey came ambling up the driveway behind Baker, extending his fist around Baker to reach the kid for a quick fist bump, before greeting Dakota in a bro-hug. The beast of a man grinned, transforming his resting stony glare into a friendly face. "What's for dinner?"

"Austin made Chicken," Dakota replied, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Sweet, I'm starved," Lindsey responded, keeping the mood light. He rubbed his hands together for extra emphasis, knowing that good food awaited him.

"Help yourself," Dakota grunted, stepping back so Lindsey could pass him. It wasn't an unusual scene for the man to invite himself into the Powers' home. Honestly, he was privy to a standing open-door policy, and didn't even need permission to enter.

On that note, Lindsey wasted no time strolling past Dakota to the garage door. He twisted the door knob and pushed the door open a crack before turning his head and making eye contact with Baker. He wanted to ensure the brother had things under his control. Satisfied by Baker's upward tilt of his chin, the man further pushed the door open.

"You coming?" He addressed Dakota who shook his head.

Not yet.

Lindsey nodded then disappeared inside the home.

Baker looked at Glen, "I need to stretch my legs. Been sitting on my ass too long today. Wanna take a walk?"

"Sure," Glen muttered, keeping his gaze downward, away from the prying eyes of his brothers. The embarrassed feeling was quickly returning, how he made his older brother come all the way here from work. He was seconds away from backtracking his request and saying the magic words of 'I'm fine.'

But something told the boy not to waste his breath, that Baker most definitely wasn't going to buy that.

Baker did a once-over, catching something his brother might appreciate. "Hey, Dakota, can you bring us some shoes?"

Glen stared at his feet, his breath catching as he felt his cheeks warm up with no battle from the cold weather.

He could just imagine his grandfather saying, 'Stupid little shit.'

He forgot he was barefoot.

Dakota snipped, "Anything else, your highness?"

Baker grinned. "Nope, that'll be all."

It didn't take long for Dakota to retrieve a pair of sneakers, as the shoe bin that was situated by the front door was always overflowing with their shoes. When Dakota returned, the older brother met him by the door.

"You good?" He whispered, waiting for Dakota to acknowledge him. Only when the younger brother finally made eye contact did Baker take the shoes out of his hand.

Dakota nodded before mumbling. "Watch him."

Baker stared at him for an extra beat, taking note of the seriousness that Dakota displayed. Then he lightly punched Dakota in the middle of his chest with his knuckles. "You did the right thing."

Dakota nodded again, this time Baker relinquishing and taking the couple steps back to Glen and passing him the shoes to slip on. The brother was satisfied that Dakota was alright to be left alone with his own thoughts for the time being.

Once Glen successfully jammed his heels into the sneakers, and retied the laces after that effort, the two brothers made their way down the driveway and onto the road. There were no sidewalks in the cul-de-sac.

Kota stood in the doorway, his feet balancing on the edge of the threshold, remaining there long after his brothers entered the realm of darkness. He didn't know how much time had passed as he had gotten lost deep in his head until Austin came and found him.

The two brothers were nimble on their feet, creating distance fast between them and the home. Unless someone knew to look for them as they passed by, the siblings easily blended into the nighttime. Baker's uniform didn't make it any better, as his black tactical pants, dark grey t-shirt, and the Glock that was secure in his leg holster didn't offer any contrasting color.

Though nothing could hide their blonde hair, the family trait - a beacon in the night.

They left the cul-de-sac in relative silence, no small talk attempts made. Baker was just taking in his younger brother's presence, trying to gage the situation based on his brother's body posture. He was going into this blind, not having any clue about what happened this evening, therefore having to rely on his instincts to guide their way through the troubles. The only thinly veiled hint he got was that Dakota was obviously worried, which put Baker on red alert immediately.

Baker steered the boy to his left, for no other reason than Baker didn't want to have to interact with the neighbors walking their dog coming from the other direction.

The two crossed the street at the next stop sign, finding themselves a quiet road to walk, lined by homes on one side and a lake on the other.

Baker suddenly reached out and grabbed Glen's arm, pulling him to a halt. A sound of confusion left Glen's lips before he was crushed into Baker's embrace.

A hug.

"I'm so proud of you," Baker murmured, his arms wrapped tightly around the boy's shoulder, his hand bracing Glen's head against his chest. He didn't care that his brother was 16 and he might consider this to be highly uncool.

Glen stilled, remaining tense until his senses identified no threats. Then he slowly melted into the comforting embrace. It was a hug he has been needing for a long time it seemed. His arms wrapped around Baker's waist and clung onto the back of his T-shirt.

"The rest we can figure out later." Baker nuzzled his chin atop the boy's head, still tall enough to do so. "All that matters is your safe. I got you now."

The first tear, Glen blinked away rapidly. But to hear those words, after the day he suffered excruciatingly through, it just broke him down.

So by the 6th tear, Glen accepted it, silently crying with his older brother's shirt soaking it up. His shoulders shook with all the emotion that had built up.

"So fucking proud."

————

THAT SUNDAY.

(16 days until Emerson is home for Turkey break)

:)

(:

"Smiley, wake up."

The boy in question turned his head away from the pestering voice, pressing further into his pillow. If he ignored the voice, maybe it would go away.

His unruly blonde hair was splayed out over the navy blue pillow case, which if Baker knew anything over the years of his brothers attending Catholic school, he was certain his hair was too long to meet school rules.

"Come on, Buddy," Baker chuckled, scratching the boy's head before giving his shoulder a good shake. "Let's get a move on."

"Go away," he grumbled. Glen wasn't feeling the morning wakeup, but that was the teenager in him. He was actually excited for the reason why Baker was waking him up at such an ungodly hour on the only day he could actually sleep in.

Baker was on a time-sensitive mission so he simply reached over and ripped the comforter off his brother's back so it laid at the end of the bed by his feet.

Glen folded in on himself, curling his knees up towards his chest when the cold air hit his skin. He had on sweatpants and a t-shirt, but made a rookie mistake to forget socks. If Dakota was here, he'd call him out for being a little bitch.

Baker clapped his hands loudly a couple times, the sound echoing around the bedroom walls. "Let's go, let's go, lets go. Time for Church!"

The Holy Church of CrossFit, that is.

The brothers had an early morning workout scheduled at the gym Baker and Peyton belonged to, part of the deal they had come up with on Wednesday night right before the SWAT men had to leave for a call.

They hadn't actually shared much words during the walk, but it was a comfortable silence. Baker's presence allowed Glen to relax and decompress from everything that happened that day. The older brother would never take for granted the power of a hug again.

Again - Glen had been all for the CrossFit idea, was still all for it, he just sincerely wished that didn't mean 6am on a Sunday morning. He should have known it was a trap when Baker conveniently forgot to tell him the time to be ready, just saying he'd wake him up.

The one morning all week that he could actually sleep-in like the lazy teen he strived to be  but never had a chance to become.

Glen knew it was a quick 10 minute drive to the warehouse that hosted the CrossFit crazies so it probably was around 5:40am. He called them crazies because what else would Glen call someone who religiously got up for a 6am workout besides crazy?

Six in the fricking morning.

Baker was certifiably insane.

"I'm going to kill you," Francis grumbled unhappily from his bed. He pulled a pillow atop of his head to block out his brothers' voices.

"Big words coming from someone sleeping with a plush turtle," Baker taunted, turning around to look at the drama queen. In two large steps, he crossed the bedroom to Francis' side. In the span of seconds, he roughly ruffled the teen's hair before leaning down and pressing a hard kiss to the back of his head, followed by a hard slap to his bare upper back. Then Baker readjusted the comforter from where it was sliding off the bed and covered Francis back up with it.

All in the name of brotherly love.

A groan of pain let Francis' lips before he reached out and blindly attempted to smack Baker. It was a fail, and Francis was tired so after he flailed around for three seconds, he gave up and turned onto his side so he face the wall. He grabbed the stuffed animal and hugged it to his chest. "Speedy is mine. Sissy gave him to me," Francis claimed with a yawn.

Hayes had given it to him the day prior as an apology for all the mean thoughts she had of him on Wednesday. Of course, she didn't say any of that, instead, remembering Francis' love for turtles. Either way, Fran showed gratitude for the present.

It was his now.

"Oh, well in that case," Baker acted like he was going to grab the turtle but Francis took no chances and flopped back over on to his stomach so the stuffy was squished between his chest and the bed.

"Mine," Francis huffed, incapable of producing other words so early in the morning.

Baker laughed, but stopped antagonizing Francis and spun back around to Glen. The boy was sitting up in bed now, tiredly rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

Making progress!

"Goooooood morning!" Baker sung, bounding back across the room. Glen dropped his hands to the mattress, and blankly stared back at his older brother.

Smiley just had one thought.

What had he gotten himself into?

"I swear to God," Francis grumbled, "Lose your housekey, please and thank you."

Baker ignored him and clapped his hands together again before snapping finger guns at Glen with both hands. "Okay, good you're up. We leave in 10 minutes so let's get moving, Smiley."

"Uh huh." Glen nodded and yawned at the same time, his eyes squinting shut. Then he pushed himself to the edge of the bed and swung his legs off so his feet hit the carpeted floor. "10 minutes, got it."

Satisfied that the kid was truly up and not going to roll back into bed as soon as he left the room like a certain - Francis - would do, Baker strolled to the open bedroom door. He had been using the dim hallway light to illuminate the room so he could see shapes and not trip over the teens' messy floor.

"Chop, Chop!" The older brother proclaimed.

And just because he could, right before he completely left the bedroom, Baker smirked and flung the light switch up, the bedroom instantly 20 times brighter.

"Oh my fricking God," The teen groaned.

Poor Francis.

————

Fortunately for Francis, the rude wake-up call did not ruin the rest of his day. He was thankfully able to fall back asleep for another couple hours until the more appropriate time of 10am.

Perfect for a lazy Sunday morning in which he was technically grounded for the duration of.

Though, he could have easily slept until noon if Austin would ever let him.

But alas, the eldest brother did not roll that way, and so that is how the teen found himself where he currently was. It was either here or stuck at home with nothing to do.

And where was here, exactly?

Well... Where else... but the bookstore?

Don't worry, it wasn't Francis' choice. He can't focus long enough to read a single paragraph, nevertheless a whole book. He was certainly not interested in buying a book.

Could you imagine?

Bahahahahaha.

Good one.

Honestly, he was only here because of his little sister. That, and Austin told him they could go to the turtle rehabilitation center afterwards, if he didn't mind Hayes coming with, which he did not, at least not this time. Turtles deserved all the love.

So really, Francis was patiently waiting to see the turtles.

He was a sucker for those adorable green creatures.

Maybe this would be the day when he could finally convince Austin to let him have a pet turtle. Combine forces with his favorite Sissy, and their eldest brother won't be able to say no.

The air conditioner hit full blast as soon as the doors magically slid open, revealing to the new-comers' a brilliance of books. Francis felt it in his bones, questioning the sensical decision of having the air condition on instead of heat when it was already cold outside.

The teen quickly stopped walking right before he ran over Hayes. The little girl stopped right inside, just beyond the sliding doors, blocking the middle of the walkway. Not her best idea.

She was in shock of sorts, having only previously been inside Barnes n' Noble maybe once or twice before as far as she could remember. Both times because of Mama Deja Rayon, God bless that wonderful woman, though the adventures didn't end so well.

When the Rayon family had embraced the kids into their family, Mama Deja looked to have all their necessities covered without crossing the invisible line and incidentally irking their grandfather. She had to get rather creative at times, as sometimes the kids themselves were hesitant about accepting her help.

And one of those necessities included the summer reading books for school.

Deja Rayon, out of the absolute goodness of her heart, brought Glen and Hayes along with her and Patrick to go shopping at the bookstore, but the two kids had gotten overwhelmed and did not want her to purchase anything on their behalf.

So since then, the required books had always appeared in her son, Patrick's bedroom, usually brand new though the children weren't aware of that fact, and they were able to borrow them for the summer and onward. Not once did the Rayon family ever ask for the books to be returned, though without fail, each time the books would end up in their mailbox when Glen and Hayes were done with their assignments.

But now, the times had changed immensely. Hayes never ever wanted to leave this place, home to so many books.

Sooooooo many.

And Austin told her she could get whatever she wanted, since Hayes read through all the books on Colton's bookshelf.

She was only planning on one or maybe two, but that was it.

The young girl was noticeably jaw-slacked, only moving again when she was propelled forward by her eldest brother gently tugging her along by the wrist. Francis trotted along right behind his siblings, unable to wipe the grin off his face as he watched his little sister take in the magnificence of the store.

And to think, it was books!

Imagine if she was surrounded by puppies.

"The teen section is over here," Austin explained to his little sister as they walked through what seemed like a never-ending maze. He'd been to Barnes N' Noble a couple times before for Christmas or birthdays. There was always someone to be shopping for, whether that be Colton, Emerson, or even Dakota a few times.

Francis just typically used the same books Emerson needed for school. Bonus points if Sonny annotated the book already so Fran didn't have to. Teamwork makes the dream work.

"Okay," Hayes replied, her head nonstop on a swivel as she looked all around. It was a lot, a lot for the girl to take in.

The trio ended up in the back left corner of the store, surrounded by a generous section with four walls of books to shuffle through.

"Have at it, Sunshine," Austin encouraged, releasing Hayes' hand with a squeeze. He was ready to spoil the little girl with as many books as she wanted. Whether he bought them today, or if Santa Claus delivered on Christmas. It didn't matter to him, as long as Sunshine was happy.

Francis furrowed his eyebrows, glancing between his sister and brother in confusion when Hayes didn't make a move to explore. All he did was blink, and the girl has resorted back into a shell of herself, overwhelmed by what she was seeing.

Live time, they could see her shoulders curl in as she tried to shrink back to Austin's side. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and brought her closer for a hug.

"You're okay, Sunshine," he murmured, taking her emotions in stride. "Take your time. The books aren't going anywhere."

The eldest brother had no problem standing there until Hayes was comfortable, in no rush to hurry this experience for her. Austin knew she had been really excited about coming here, when he suggested the trip.

She had been grumbling about Colton's obsession with history books for a while now, and this provided the perfect opportunity as to distract her from not hanging out with Baker and Glen today. Not to mention, again, he really did need Christmas gift ideas for the girl.

Austin comfortingly rubbed his hand up and down Hayes' arm. "I know you have a book in mind already," He said, "Why don't we start with that?"

While that was true, she certainly did have a book she really, really wanted, Hayes was being too shy to admit it. "You don't have to buy me anything," Hayes mumbled, leaning more against her brother's chest than before.

"How about one thing?" Austin compromised, poking her in the side. "Pretty please?"

Hayes snickered, whether from being ticklish or that her brother just said 'pretty please' was undecided.

Austin hid his smile by pressing a kiss to the top of her head. His eyebrows rose with intrigue when he caught sight over her head of Francis walking back over to them, unsure of what section he had briefly disappeared to. There was a stack of books in his hands, but Austin had no way of telling what shenanigans the teen was up to.

This ought to be good.

"Hey, Sissy," Fran called out when he got closer, "I got some books for you to look at."

Hayes turned her head to look at him, watching cautiously as he dropped his collection on the nearby table.

Her nose scrunched up in silent laughter as she caught sight of the cover of the book on top.

I Need a New Butt!

Francis held up the first book, looking quite proud of himself for what he grabbed. "Now, this book is four out five stars. Totally a laugh-out-loud book, ya know? Definitely one of my favs. What do you think? You want?"

Hayes immediately shook her head no, tilting her head back to glance at Austin. She saw the amusement on his face, entertained as ever by his younger brother's quick wit and quick thinking.

Francis pursed his lips in mock disappointment as he tossed the children's book aside. He picked up the next book in the stack, this time offering it to Hayes to take in her hands.

She did so, albeit reluctantly, her laughter nearly audible this time. Austin could feel her shoulders loosen up, as she was returning to her Sunshine self.

The girl read the title aloud, "No One Likes a Fart."

"Eh? Eh?" Francis wiggled his eyebrows. "How about this one? I think it has some real potential."

"Maybe not," Hayes declined, not sold, and gave him back the book. She puffed her cheeks out with air, lowkey eager to see what else he had. This was actually kind of fun.

"Tough crowd," Francis huffed. He searched through his dwindling stack, looking for a specific book, sure to be a crowd pleaser. He hid the cover of the book against his chest. "I don't think you're ready for this."

Hayes crossed her arms over her chest, maintaining the chipmunk look as she waited in anticipation. She felt Austin lay his hands on her shoulders, as if bracing himself for whatever Francis showed them next.

"You ready?" Francis double checked.

The girl exaggerated her head nod.

"You sure?" He teased, pretending to flip the book over before pressing it against his stomach.

"Francis," Hayes groaned with impatience, making her brother grin.

"Alright, alright. Just saying this now, we're definitely getting this book." Francis declared, before finally turning the book around. He watched his siblings skim the cover, his grin widening as he took in their reactions.

Austin's lips twitched into a brief smirk, though he managed to withhold his laugh. He shook his head, trying to convey some level of disappointment but only spurring him on instead. "Francis, come on."

How does he even come up with this stuff?

Their little sister, on the other hand, burst out in loud, contagious laughter. Every time she looked back at the book, she just about died in snorts again.

"What?" Francis asked innocently, "You don't like it? I think it sounds pretty amazing. Even kinda looks like someone we know, don't you think?"

Hayes could not stop laughing.

Grumpy Monkey.

It was perfect.

Fran was nearly glowing with satisfaction. "Dakota's Christmas gift is done."

————

"Hey, family!" The unmistakable voice of Baker reached all corners of the cozy home, the sound of the front door being pulled shut also echoing. "Where art thou?"

Hayes lazily lifted her head up at the familiar sound, having been taking a nap on the couch in the family room. She didn't remember agreeing to a nap, as the last thing she was doing was reading one of her new books. But alas, said book was nicely placed on the coffee table and someone had draped a blanket over her.

Francis was also in the room, keeping her company as he somewhat quietly played a video game. The teen was wearing a black gamer headset and completely focused on the television. Either his grounding was over or Austin didn't know or Austin didn't have the energy to mind.

The little girl must have been worn out from the day, from the bookstore shopping spree and then all the running around with Francis at the turtle center.

No little baby turtles went home with them, sadly.

But that was neither here nor there, as the trio of siblings had a truly fun day together.

Once Francis successfully lightened the atmosphere with his book choices, Hayes had a good time picking out books of her own. It didn't take her long to get in the groove once she started and the siblings were out of the store in under an hour. She made out like a bandit too, with a grand total of five books.

And yes, Austin bought the Grumpy Monkey book, too.

"Who's it-what's it?" Francis nudged her foot that was outstretched by his thigh.

"Huh?" Hayes looked at Francis weirdly, wondering if that was even English that he just spoke. She was a bit slow moving since waking up.

Francis mirrored her expression and slid the headphone off his ear. "Did you say something?"

Hayes shifted around, sitting up a little to rest on her elbows. A soft smile appeared on her face as she informed him, "Baker and Glen are home."

"Cool, cool," Francis acknowledge, nodding his head as he fixed his headset again. He adjusted the mic piece by his mouth as he said, "No, I wasn't talking to you, dumbo. You're like the opposite of cool. You're, I don't know, warm. Like warm feet. Ew."

Hayes wrinkled her nose at her brother before shedding the blanket aside, intentionally aiming at his face though the blanket didn't make it anywhere close to the target. A mischievous tingle ran through her as she heard footsteps approaching from outside the family room and scrambled onto her knees, quickly turning around and then getting onto her feet.

She inched toward the armrest of the couch that was next to the entrance, keeping her balance as she waited in quiet anticipation for just the right moment.

"You know it's rude not to greet your elders?" Baker huffed loudly, taking the single step down into the family room. He must have used his good judgement to figure out where his siblings were hanging out.

Hayes watched him walked just a bit further into the room so he would spot her.

"Sneak attack!" She exclaimed, using her vantage point from atop the couch to jump on him. Baker's quick-reflexes kicked in and his arms reached out to catch her. Hayes clung to him like a monkey, her arms looping around his neck and her legs wrapped tightly around his waist. She had all the faith in the world that he would always catch her.

They always said they'd never let her fall, so here's to hoping they meant literally as well as figuratively.

She felt the same with Austin, though he nearly had a heart attack every time she surprised him.

"No ma'am," Baker instantly scolded, fixing his grip under her legs. "Couches are not a jungle gym. Don't do that again."

If Hayes closed her eyes, she would have thought it was Austin chastising her, the two eldest brothers sounding so eerily similar in this moment. This surely backfired on her.

"But-"

"Nope," Baker was not hearing it. He did not like that little stunt at all, God forbid he didn't catch her. One time fooling around was all it took for someone to get hurt. "You owe me 4 burpees."

"What-"

"This isn't up for debate," Baker cut her off again, actually being very serious about this. Gone was his carefree nature that his siblings were used to.

Hayes made a stink face and tightened her grip around his neck so he couldn't put her down.

"Now, Sunshine," Baker ordered when he was unable to pull her off without potentially hurting the girl. He smacked her butt, which didn't hurt her in the slightest but got his point across. "Come on, you should know better than to even be standing on furniture like that. That's an easy way to get hurt."

His little sister certainly wasn't happy about this situation she done did to herself, but she relented and loosened her hold before dropping to the floor.

"Ooooh, you made Sissy mad," Francis accused as he caught sight of Hayes' face, not hearing or seeing any part of what just happened. It was the classic teen trait, getting tunnel vision on the television and blocking out the rest of the universe.

"You can join her," Baker offered his teen brother, sparing a glance at him. "I'm sure you can benefit from burpees too."

"No, thank you. I'd rather not," Francis mimed zipping his lips. When Hayes gave him a nasty glare, Francis simply shrugged and turned back to his video game, minding his own business.

Knowing there was no way out of her punishment, Hayes stomped over to the open floor, more than enough space so she won't bump into anything. Four burpees was child's play, so now she was simply curious to see how far Baker would take this.

She had socks on but no shoes so it was a teensy bit uncomfortable on her toes and she was slipping a little on the carpet. But she knocked the burpees out of the way, one after another after another after another.

Jump up, down, push-up, and back up again.

Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.

Once Hayes was done, she maintained her grumpy facial expression, brushing her wild strands of hair out of her face before crossing her arms very unhappily over her chest. Time to hold a teenage grudge.

Baker couldn't help but chuckle at her, considering his little sister looked as intimidating as a puppy right now.

"Don't laugh at me," Hayes maturely blew a raspberry at him and turned around so she wasn't looking at him. It wasn't the smartest move because she didn't pick up on her older brother sneaking in until it was too late and he trapped her in his arms.

"I was laughing with you, not at you," Baker teasingly replied, smooshing her to his chest. He was back to acting his normal charismatic self. "Now give me a proper hug, Sunshine."

"No," Hayes tried elbowing her way out of the embrace, working hard to stay angry and not let her laughter free. "Go away, you meanie."

"Hug me!" Baker had the nerve to whine, pulling her even closer. He swayed them side-to-side, managing to twirl Hayes around in his arms so they were facing each other.

"Never!" Hayes continued to push against him, making absolutely no progress.

"Hit him in the jugular, Sissy," Francis encouraged the violence as long as he wasn't on the receiving end, his eyes flicking from the tv to the reality show right in front of him. He settled back on the gaming system, his fingers nimbly moving. "No, no, no, no, nooooooo." His hands flung to his head, distraught, as the words game-over scrolled across the screen. "Freaking Emmy, what the hell was that for?"

"Hey Sonny," Baker called out, spinning himself and Hayes around so he could see Francis. The girl squealed and quickly held onto her brother's shirt as he hoisted her into the air like she weighed nothing so they were now chest to chest. She let her legs hang down, teetering with the dangerous temptation to kick her older brother. He at least deserved a kick to the butt.

"Let me go, Baker!" She exclaimed to deaf ears, her mock outrage not fooling anyone.

Francis relayed the message into his mic, "Bakey boy says hi." He nodded along to whatever Emerson was replying. He flung the controller onto the couch beside him and slouched back, glancing at Baker. "Em requests you buy the powdered donuts holes so he can eat them and then shit them out during Thanksgiving. But," Francis held up his index finger as he made his next point, "I don't think the traitor deserves anything."

"Request noted," Baker said, flinching when two cold little hands suddenly planted against his cheeks. Hayes was giving him such a vexed look, it took all of his self-control not to laugh. "May I help you, Sunshine?"

"Put. Me. Down. Now." With each punctuated word, she got closer and closer until their noses nearly touched.

Baker held her eye contact, the two of them nearly going cross-eyed with their stubbornness until suddenly Hayes was airborne. The older brother playfully tossed her onto the couch, not giving her anytime to breathe before pouncing. He began tickling her to death, starting with her sides and working his way to behind her knees.

"What in the world is going on in here?"

The tickle assault on the little girl miraculously stopped at the strict voice of their eldest brother. Baker jumped back with his hands raised, settling down on the couch between his little sister and teen doofus of a brother. No one was safe from Austin's steely expression, though his eyes remained twinkling with amusement.

"Just catching up," Baker said. His eyes glimmered with mischief as he watched Hayes think through her next move.

Her knee-jerk response was to immediately scramble into the safe arms of her eldest brother and rat out Baker's harassment but doing so would also throw herself under the bus.

She chose the wise decision of not doing that, and slouched down on the couch for another moment of grouchiness before scooting over to Baker. He may be a pain in the buttock, but Hayes wasn't about to give up snuggles for that.

Glen, who appeared beside their eldest brother, snorted. "Sounded more like an animal was dying."

"Baby Broski, it's about time you showed up. Grab your controller already," Francis exclaimed, trying to hustle Smiley up. "You can join this next round."

Glen grinned and side-stepped around Austin and plopped down in a free space on the couch. He leaned forward and picked up a black controller that was laying on the coffee table, turning it on so it would connect to the game system.

Austin raised his eyebrows, very obviously not sold by the performance his siblings put forward, but acquiesced nonetheless. "Don't start that game, Smiley. You're on deck for grilling burgers tonight."

"Oh yeah," Glen said, remembering the conversation he literally just had minutes ago with Austin. The boy knew it was code for wanting to chitchat which didn't sound that appetizing, but with the energizing day he had, Glen was still riding a high. He was about to abandon his controller before pausing and smiling widely at his brother. "Wait, just one game?"

"Sure," Austin agreed to the negotiation and decided to sit down in the la-z boy recliner. He glanced amongst his siblings, a soft grin playing on his lips. It felt nice to be able to sit back and relax on this Sunday afternoon, with no pressing matters to attend to that very second. "Sunshine, how are the books?"

Hayes looked up at her name, putting a stop to trying to maim Baker's arm with indentations from her nail. Her lips automatically curled up at the edges, her gratitude and excitement palpable as she eagerly untangled herself from Baker's clutches.

"Really, really good!" She exclaimed, thanking Austin for the 20th time.

"You're welcome, Sunshine." He replied for the 20th time.

"Books? What books?" Baker questioned, loving how animated Hayes suddenly became as she gathered her new collection of books in her hands. Her face immediately lit up with pure excitement. He shared a conspiracy look with Austin, already knowing that the eldest brother planned to spoil the girl with even more books come Christmas.

Neither of the kids were ready for this Christmas. Not even their other younger brothers could predict the amazingness this Christmas season would bring. He was hoping for snow to stick to the ground. It was time their Florida babies knew what a real winter was.

"Did you get the one that Margot had that you really wanted?" Glen asked, memory as good as ever. He was perched forward on the edge of the couch to look around Francis.

"Uh huh!" Hayes flopped back down on the couch, the 5 books on her lap. She passed Baker the novel on top, switching it out for the next and so forth as he perused each one. Not that he really could appreciate the difference between The Selection and Twilight.

Though he did know Team Jacob, thanks to Peyton's insistence on her husband watching the movies with her. Took a Buzzfeed quiz and everything.

"Noice." Glen approved.

When Baker flipped through the last book, he let out a low whistle in a playful manner. "Damn, girl. Somebody's going to need to get you a library card."

————

The smell of hamburgers cooking appealed to Glen's senses, making his stomach growl in hunger. Outside in the backyard, Smiley was stretched out on a patio chair on the wooden deck, with Austin manning the grill and Baker supervising from the chair beside the teen.

Glen ended up playing several rounds of COD with Francis, Emerson, and Drew who also logged on, before Baker pulled him away for some fresh air. It was like he swapped places with his sister, as Hayes was gently forced inside at the same time.

To add insult to injury, she and Francis were assigned the task of setting the table for dinner. And they were also in charge of watching the french fries bake in the oven.

Tough job.

Austin reveled in the sizzling sound of burgers cooking before laying the spatula to the side and giving his full, undivided attention to his kid brother.

"So, tell me. How was CrossFit?" Austin patiently waited all day, not even pestering Baker more than twice to make sure Smiley was having a good time and that he fed the kid.

Glen couldn't filter himself, sitting up in his chair. "it was fucking awesome."

Baker grinned, proud of himself. "Fuck yeah, it was."

Austin laughed, "Wow. So you're taking after Baker in the crazy department. You know, I kind of expected that."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Baker said, leaning over and patting Glen on the shoulder. "This kid is a beast. Fucking doing everything without hesitation. I'm pretty sure every single person there told me they were impressed."

Glen looked shell-shocked as he turned to Baker. "Really?"

"Yeah. Why do you sound so surprised?" Baker chuckled.

"I never- I don't know, it's just weird." Glen stammered, struggling with his thoughts. Never in a million years could he have seen this coming. No Bear. Living life with his brothers and Hayes. Waking up for a CrossFit workout at 6 in the fricking morning.

Utter Insanity.

"It's weird," Glen restated with finality.

"I know," Austin said, "A lot has changed in such a short amount of time. It's only been three months, Buddy. I'm sure your mind is still catching up with what's happening now."

"Yeah," Glen muttered, his lips twisting to the side, mood dipping. His gaze averted to the spacious yard, looking at anything but his brothers. Like he needed that reminder that he was a weakling all his life.

It wasn't what Austin meant, but the boy was shuffling through his frustrations. A ticking time bomb, able to construe anything as a hit against him.

Austin and Baker exchanged glances before Baker took lead. Their bond flourished today, their brotherly connection better than ever. He perched forward, his elbows resting on his knees and his fingers laced together. "Smiley, that's nothing to be ashamed of."

"You've been making such strides, its unbelievable." Austin added, "From when you and Hayes got here, you look so much healthier, happier."

There it was again, the vexation festering.

Austin was correct, the boy was filling out, gaining healthy weight in muscle. Probably close to 8 pounds by now as the boy was constantly hungry.

And smiling. God, every time the kid smiled, the older brothers wished to save the snapshot forever.

But that meant, Glen had been skin and bones before, pathetic and broken.

Glen scratched the back of his head before hopping to his feet and started pacing. His go-to when uncomfortable or anxious or overwhelmed or all of the above. His arms were crossed firmly over his chest as he walked to the wooden railing at the far end before backtracking.

He mumbled, "I know. I know, I know, I know..." He passed by his brothers before stopping and spinning back around on his heels. He felt his heart drop to his stomach as a thought crossed his mind. What did they know?

"Did Dakota..." Glen didn't have the willpower to finish his question, bracing himself. "Did he say something?"

Austin nodded, "Kota talked to me. He mentioned last Sunday and this past Wednesday were some hard days for you."

The boy thought that was putting it nicely.

"There's nothing wrong with you," Baker said, guessing where Glen's mind went.

Everything was wrong with him.

His mind for one, if that was obvious enough by now.

Smiley just had a really good day, probably the best day he'd had in a while, and here he was, sabotaging it with his own head.

Frustrated with himself, he began pacing again. Baker reached out and grabbed his wrist before he could get anywhere though.

"Hey, look at me," Baker commanded in a low voice. When Glen's eyes reluctantly met his, Baker repeated his statement, "There is absolutely nothing wrong with you."

The kid turned his head away and clenched his fists, waiting for Baker to release him. When he did, Glen immediately walked to the railing.

Pacing, his thoughts ran wild in his head as he tried to sort through them.

The older brothers let it go silent, giving Glen time and space to share his thoughts when he was ready. They felt it in their souls, that this was the turning point. Neither could explain it, but by the glance they shared when Glen's back was turned, they just knew.

Austin turned his attention back to the grill, making sure he was fulfilling everyone's orders. Six medium-ish to medium well burgers to the best of his abilities and one dead, dead.

Or, what a normal person would refer to as well-done.

While Austin was doing that, it was like a movie reel was taking place in Glen's head, a horror film. All the mistakes he had made, the outbursts, the impulsiveness, the anger. He had left without school grounds without permission, dragging Hayes with him as they basically ran away. He had yelled at his brothers more times than he can remember. Colton, Francis, Dakota - he owed them all apologies at this point. And he fought with Hayes. His little sister whom he loved more than anyone else in the world.

Do or die, partners in crime.

HayHay and stupid, stupid Glennard.

How could he ever think to leave her alone to fight her battles?

Us against the world.

And not once was his actions met with anything but love. No heavy hand showing him who was boss.

His brothers had all tried to meet him where he was at, and make him feel safe. Secure. This was his home and no harm would come to him.

Glen didn't realize when he stopped walking again, his hands coming up to his face. His heels pressed against his eyes, the pressure grounding him to reality. The freezing cold air around him only added to the frigidness that he was feeling.

"Don't hold it in, Buddy," Austin's warm voice reached the youngest brother's ears.

Glen took in a wretched breath. He really didn't want to mess up again. Sure, it was probably inevitable, he was still just a teen. Mistakes were bound to happen, it was part of growing up.

But he knew the difference.

And he couldn't do it by himself.

The youngest brother of the Powers family turned to where he felt Austin's presence, gravitating to him. It was instinctual for the oldest brother to open his arms, embracing his kid in a hug.

Forever the lifeline of the family. Their unwavering rock.

Glen couldn't help the fleeting thought that he was weak for being unable to do this on his own. Crawling to his brothers for help when he had taken care of himself all these years. But he screwed up. His mind got so dark that even Dakota got involved.

And that was saying something.

"Austin?" Glen's fearful, boyish voice made him sound so young, as he remained under his brother's wing.

The eldest brother hummed in acknowledgement, his hand pressed firm against the kid's shoulder, preventing him from escaping.

"Baker?" Glen called out unsure, his gaze flickering to the other brother who was still sitting in the patio chair. But at the sound of his name, the older brother hopped to his feet and approached his siblings.

"Right here, Smiley," Baker assured, a gentle look on his face. He came to a stop on the kid's left side, resisting pulling the boy close for his own hug.

Glen looked between his two eldest brothers, the two men wise beyond their years, who would sacrifice themselves in a heartbeat if it meant their siblings would have the lives they deserved. Who would stop at nothing to protect their siblings, to protect Glen, even if it was from his own self.

"I messed up," Glen couldn't manage louder than a whisper. "I'm sorry. I'll do better."

Austin and Baker were rendered speechless, neither knowing what to say. Glen always ended up apologizing when it wasn't needed. But there was power in silence, which worked in their favor.

"I think-," Glen stammered, ducking his head so he was looking at his feet, "that- that- that I need your help."

Just saying the words lifted a weight off his chest. Not a heavy weight, but some.

"If that's okay," the boy continued, feeling even more uneasy with the vulnerability. "But you don't have too, either. I- I'll do it myself. I just... just please don't send me away. I want to stay here. I won't do anything stupid..."

Before another word could be said, Austin wrapped his other arm around the kid for a complete hug. Protective, as his guardian and as his brother.

Another hand tangled in Glen's messy hair, affectionately ruffling the blonde strands even more.

"We're right here, and nothing you do will ever change that." The words were thick with emotion, depicting exactly each sentiment that crossed Austin's face. "You are a good kid, Smiley James. Not only that, but you're my kid. Our kid. And we are so, so fucking proud of you for asking for help. Baker and I will not let you down. I swear to God, we're in this together and we will get you through this."

"And, again, for what I'm sure will not be the last time," Baker added, "you are never fucking leaving our side. You are stuck with us for the rest of your life."

"I'm okay with that," Glen mumbled, his whole body warming from his brothers' words.

"Good. Because we weren't asking," Baker stated with a good-natured laugh.

Austin let up his hold on Glen as the kid's posture loosened up. The kid turned a little, only to basically dive into Baker's embrace now.

Wednesday night's walk paled in comparison, as Glen had never felt luckier and loved than right now.

"Now what?" Glen asked when he calmed back down to his somewhat normal self.

"Now what?" Baker repeated with a grin, "Now we eat." He referred to the hamburgers that were stacked on the large serving dish. Ready to be served to a bunch of ravenous siblings.

That earned him a boyish high-pitched laugh, which the brothers had never heard anything sweeter from the kid. Sent them a burst of memories from back in the day, when Smiley was a zappy and dashing seven year old.

When Austin's chuckles resided, he gave a more proper answer that Glen was actually looking for. "Actually," he cleared his throat, drawing Glen's attention to him, "We already have a plan in place. I know you are dead-set against therapy-"

"No therapy," Glen wasn't wavering from that. Nor did he want to explain why, Austin would just have to take his decision for what it was.

"I know. I hear you. So, we're not going that route," Austin assured. "What we are going to do, is keep you on a consistent schedule. Baker and I both agreed, school comes first. Then everything else. I know you and Colton are still a bit at odds, but you still have your commitment to the basketball team."

Glen's face saddened as his shoulders curled in. He hadn't spoken much to Colton since Wednesday. Some may say he was avoiding him, but it seemed Cole was doing the same.

Baker dropped his hand on the back of Glen's neck. "One step at a time," he reminded the kid. "I'll see you at Thursday dinners and was hoping you'd want to keep up with CrossFit. How's that sound?"

"Yes!" Glen agreed instantly. Fuck yes. It may have been one session but he has become a CrossFit junkie.

Not quite to the crazy status like his brother.

"Now, you just have to remember, that sometimes Baker will have to work on Sunday, so it might not be every week," Austin said, watching Glen for his reaction. "But that's part of life. It's alright to be disappointed about it, but you can't let it ruin your day. That's one of the things we'll work on some more. Better control over your emotions and giving you a safe outlet when you can't help it."

Glen nodded seriously, "I understand."

"And you can call me any time, like I said. Or text me. I don't care if it's super fucking important or it's a stupid joke that you thought was funny. I wanna hear all about it." Baker insisted.

"No more keeping it all to yourself and bottling up your thoughts." Austin said with a stern-ish look. "For this to work, you got to talk to us. Either of us, both of us, whatever you want."

"Okay, yes. I got it," Glen said, a slight whine slipping in now. His brothers were adamant about drilling this into him.

This was more than just trying to settle his impulsive behavior at times, which he had been doing well with.

This was too close to life or death.

The boy looked between his brothers when silence followed instead of more direction.

Baker was staring at Austin, the eldest brother suddenly unable to meet their gazes. Glen watched Austin briefly cover his eyes with his hand, tilting his head in the opposite direction.

Glen shifted on his feet, his heart plummeting at the sight. Goosebumps lined the skin on his arms, and it had nothing to do with the weather.

Baker's fingers curled around Glen's neck, where his hand still rested. "AJ," he gently murmured, "the kid's alright."

Glen made his brother cry.

Austin took in a deep breath followed by a stuttered exhale. He wiped his eyes with his knuckle before clearing his throat again. He had lost himself for a second, the situation to similar to what they dealt with before with Dakota. It brought back scary memories.

Glen braced himself, his eyes glued to Austin's every move.

"I'm sorry," the boy instinctually apologized.

Austin shook his head accompanied by a weak chuckle. "You don't need to say that. I just...," Austin took another breath. "I can't lose you again. I can't lose you to your own mind."

"You won't," Glen said with whatever confidence he could manage, his own lips curling up into a small grin, though his eyes were glistening like Austin's. "You're stuck with me, remember?"

Austin and Baker both managed to laugh this time, the same idea striking them almost like twin telepathy. The two older brothers converged, bringing their kid brother into a tight hug between them.

Group hug.

"We love you, Smiley. More than you can ever imagine. And we love you just the way you are."

Glen could only manage a nod.

Their love was more than enough.

All his life, they are enough for me.

In every storm, in every battle.

And he loved them too.

~~~~

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Other pointless commentary because I will forever brag about being the favorite child this week for Thanksgiving break!!! In case my sister ever reads this book 😎

**35** Days until Christmas 2022!!