5.

"Patrick," Hayes pushed open his bedroom door and peeked around it.

"You can come in," A lamp was on, so Hayes could see that Patrick was laying down in his bed messing around with his phone in the darkened room.

At his invitation, Hayes opened the door more and walked in, leaving the door open. She knew Glen would be coming in behind her any moment. Hayes noticed he had been hovering more than usual, not saying that she wasn't being more clingy either, but once he realizes she hadn't returned from the bathroom after 5 minutes, he'd probably come looking for her. Or, maybe he'll think she's taking a dump. It's a toss up.

"What's up?" Patrick asked when Hayes didn't say anything. He watched her rock back and forth on her toes before deciding to climb onto his bed. "Aye, watch it." She not so gently crawled over his legs to sit against the wall, crisscross applesauce.

"Sorry," she muttered, getting comfortable.

"Hayes." Patrick slapped her leg with the back of his hand, "Speak."

"I'm not a dog."

"Woof." Patrick teased, "But seriously, to what do I owe this visit?" He knew Hayes would never spill her thoughts unless he pressed. He also knew that it was probably way later than Hayes should be up, considering she had a busy past couple of the days. Plus, they had to be up early in the morning to go to the airport.

"Do you think we are a nuisance?" Hayes twiddled her thumbs, unable to look at Patrick.

"What?" He wasn't sure if he heard her correctly. "Where did you even come up with that idea? Puh-lease, the last thing you noobs are, is a nuisance. Is this about your brothers?" Hayes nodded. "Hayes, seriously, don't sweat it. They are going to love you."

"You're just saying that."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"Oh shush. Just let me give you my wisdom. We don't have a lot of time left together."

"Okay." Hayes leaned her head back against the wall and looked at him expectantly.

"When my brother was born, I think it was the best day of my life."

"What?" Hayes scrunched her eyebrows together. Since when did Patrick have a brother?

"Don't talk during story time." He shushed her. "My parents used to say that when I was young, I would literally beg them for a sibling to play with every day. And then finally it happened. Mom was having another baby. He was the cutest little baby I've ever seen and I instantly claimed him as my best friend. But I was just a child myself, ya know? I was only 5. So I didn't realize how weird it was for him to not actually do things. He never learned to walk, didn't really babble. he cried though. Like a lot. But I didn't care, because to me, he was perfect." Patrick sat up, mimicking Hayes' seating position. "Then he got sick. Looking back at it now and being able to understand what was happening, it wasn't unexpected. Everyone knew he wasn't going to live long. Everyone but me I guess. He didn't suffer long, thank God. He wasn't on this earth very long, but for the time I had him, I loved him so much. And I still do. I think about him every day. Hell, my jersey number - 16, is because he was born on January 6th. I play for him."

"What was his name?"

"Zeke. Lil Z man." Patrick smiled, reminiscing about his baby brother. "Anyways," he shook his head, "where was I? Oh, yeah so the point of the story was that even though Zeke isn't here anymore, he's still here with me." He tapped his chest. "He's never left."

"It's been 7 years, though." Hayes mumbled, not sold by his story.

"Dude," Patrick groaned, "you missed the whole point." He gripped Hayes' face, looking her in the eyes to convey his seriousness. "It doesn't matter how long you've been gone for. The truth is, you never left their hearts. Your brothers have just been given the best gift a sibling could only imagine. Another chance. I mean, I know I would give anything to spend one more day with Zeke. And, when they see how awesome you guys are, there is no way they are going to let you go."

"I thought you fell into the toilet." Glen kindly interrupted, finally joining them in the room. He sat down on Patrick's desk chair, using his leg strength to roll the chair closer to the bed. He glanced between Patrick and Hayes, picking up on the somber mood. "What'cha talking about?"

"Just about how much I'm going to miss you noobs." Patrick winked at Hayes. He dropped his hands from holding her face and settled back against his pillows. "Also, how it's way past your bedtime there Glenny boy. We all know you need your beauty sleep."

"Who wouldn't miss this pretty face?" Glen pointed to himself.

"Yeah, that's right. You're just such a damn cutie. Come here, baby." Patrick manhandled Glen so he ended up sprawled on top of him. "Show me some love."

"What the hell, Pat," Glen complained. Hayes thought he looked highly uncomfortable but she wasn't making any moves to help. It was very funny to watch.

"Don't ignore my love." Patrick tightened his hold on Glen so he couldn't escape. They tussled for a few moments before somehow tumbling off the bed. They landed onto the floor with a thud.

"Bro, lay off the chips, would ya?" Glen groaned. Hayes leaned over the edge of the bed to see Glen being crushed by Patrick.

"You wound me." Patrick knocked Glen's arms out of the way and pushed the side of Glen's face to the carpet. Now stuck, Glen could do nothing to stop Patrick from loudly kissing his cheek. "Ha, I win." Satisfied with annoying Glen, Patrick hopped back to his feet giving Glen some space to sit up.

"I hate you." Glen roughly rubbed the side of his cheek as if to rid himself of Patrick's cooties.

"Hate is a strong word, Glen. I think you meant love." Patrick offered his hand to help Glen up.

Glen flicked him off before clambering to his feet on his own. "No, no, I definitely meant hate."

Giggling quietly, Hayes was in much better spirits thanks to the boys playfulness and figured she should actually go to bed now. She slid off the bed and stood next to Patrick. "Thanks Patty. I'm going to miss you."

"I'll miss you too." Patrick responded, pulling her into a hug. "You're the best sib a brother could have, don't ever doubt that."

"Hey!" Glen retorted.

"Oh baby Glen, come here." Patrick opened his arm so Glen could join the hug. He squeezed them tight, bordering on squeezing to death. "Just don't forget about me, now. You hear?"

"Never." Hayes promised.

------

It was Monday! The sun was shining, the birds were chirping. A positive connotation that meant it would be a great day - the start to a new chapter of their childhood. The day that Glen, specifically, had been counting down the minutes for since the nightmare started 3 days ago. Or perhaps, he had been waiting for this moment for 7 years now, from when they first left home.

A reunion. A fresh start.

But in reality, the day didn't actually start fresh and Hayes wished the birds would get chased off by a cat. Neither Glen nor Hayes slept well once again, but each for different reasons. After leaving Patrick's room, they had the well-intentions of going straight to bed but it didn't quite happen. Glen was just too excited and anxious to see his brothers whereas Hayes was a great big ball of nerves and played the 'what if' game all night. There were too many unanswered questions for her to just move on easily and then there was the whole other matter of change. They were moving in with a bunch of strangers! Besides their names, Hayes and Glen knew practically nothing about their brothers.

It also didn't help that Hayes was determined to finish the bag of home-made chocolate chip cookies courtesy of Lewis's mom. She was told she couldn't bring them onto the plane and she didn't want them to go to waste so her and Glen ate them all. Perks of a child's metabolism, the only side-effect they experienced was a sugar rush at 11pm. Earlier on Sunday afternoon, after watching Patrick's championship basketball game, Glen had asked for the chance to say goodbye to Lewis. So on their way home, Deja stopped by Lewis' house. What was suppose to be a quick stop turned into a little surprise gathering of Glen's closest friends and Margot.

Hayes felt bad that the thought of telling Margot she was leaving didn't even cross her mind, but she was happy to have had the chance. It was when Margot hugged her tightly that it finally hit Hayes. This could quite possibly be the last time they ever see each other. Tears clouded Hayes' view as she returned Margot's hug just as fiercely, the hug saying more than words could ever convey.

Anyways, that's the story of how Hayes ended up with a belly full of sugar which played a small role in her lack of sleep.

Brothers.

What a foreign concept to say that they were going home to their brothers. Never in a million years did Hayes think they had more siblings. It was something she dreamed of for forever but didn't think possible. Maybe she'd be able to convince them to audition for Family Feud.

In the morning, Deja made some delicious chocolate chip pancakes and prepared fresh fruit for everyone. It was their last meal together. Then it was off to school for Patrick and everyone else to the airport in order to make their 9am flight. Apparently their brothers lived in South Carolina now, although Hayes wasn't too sure where they lived before. She didn't ask though because Glen was extremely antsy and she didn't want to set him off.

"Oh my babies, one more hug." Deja Rayon wrapped her arms around Glen and Hayes, hugging them tight. She rocked them back and forth for a moment, trying to make this last for a couple more seconds. She had been dreading but also celebrating this moment. Her babies were going home.

"Mama D," Glen whined, "I can't breathe."

"Oh just hush and accept my love." Deja squeezed them one last time before releasing them. Hayes giggled at her words. Patrick didn't fall far from the tree.

"Now boarding for Flight 306." The overhead speaker announced.

"Time to go guys. We got to get through security before the line gets long," Stephen Rayon clasped a hand onto each kid's shoulder. He would be chaperoning them to South Carolina before returning home later that night. "Bye Honey, I'll see you tonight." He dropped his hands from their shoulders, kissed his wife goodbye and picked up his backpack from the floor.

The kids said their final goodbyes then proceeded to walk away with Stephen. Hayes looped her fingers around her backpack straps, hesitation in her steps.

They had made it 10 feet away when Hayes stopped. She felt like she was leaving a piece of herself behind. Mama D meant so much to her and Glen. She had broken through their walls and become a mother figure to them, to Hayes especially. She was who Hayes confided in for help when she got her first period. She was who bought Hayes her first bra. Of course it was a sports bra and more for comfort when playing with the boys rather than necessity, but still. These were moments that helped form a relationship similar to a mother-daughter bond.

Her body acted with a mind of its own and she found herself running back into the arms of Deja for one more hug.

"My sweet Hayes, you are so strong. You know that?" She hugged Hayes tight. "God gives his toughest battles to the strongest people and you are one of them."

Hayes tilted her head up to look at her. "Do you really mean that?" She sniffled.

"Absolutely. Now, I know 6 boys who are just dying to see you again so you better get going, young lady."

"But, but what if they don't like me?"

"Hayes, don't be silly. Of course they'll like you! Heck, they never stopped loving you." Mama D kissed the top of her head, giving her one more big squeeze before pulling back. "And remember, I'm just a phone call away. I'll hop on a plane so fast and be knocking at the door before you could blink."

Nodding, Hayes cracked a smiled as she grabbed her backpack straps and hiked her backpack higher on her shoulders. "Thank you. For everything."

"I Love you, my sweet Hayes."

"Love you, too." Hayes turned and jogged back over to where Stephen and Glen were waiting for her. She looked back, giving one final wave goodbye before following her brother and Stephen to the boarding gate.

———

"I call window seat."

"I'm older."

"So? I called it."

"So? who cares."

Hayes groaned but did not fight back against Glen. It was a lost cause since he would just sit on her until she moved into a different seat. Hayes, being the smallest, was volun-told to sit in the middle of her two companions. It was only a 2 hour flight, nonstop, and the time passed with the kids watching a movie on Stephen's phone. When combing the house for any leads, the officers found the kids' confiscated cell phones but were then instructed to leave their phones behind at the house anyways.

The flight was thankfully uneventful. Considering this was their first flight ever as far as Hayes could remember, Hayes didn't mind it.

They shuffled uniformly out of the plane. "Quick bathroom break before we hit the road?" Stephen suggested, already guiding them towards the restrooms.

A quick pee later they were strolling out of the terminal to the waiting area. Stephen had informed them earlier that their assigned social worker was picking them up from the airport. He said a bunch of other things about it too but Hayes didn't listen. She didn't think Glen listened either because the first thing he asked was who was picking them up.

"Stephen, are we getting food?" Glen looked over Hayes' head to Stephen.

"Glen, buddy," Stephen chuckled, "did you listen to a single word I said?"

"Absolutely not." Glen cheekily replied, "soooo is that a yes?"

"Yes, we're stopping for food -"

"Do they have chicken tenders?" Hayes cut him off excitably. Her stomach had been growling since the plane landed.

"No. well, maybe. We're going to some pizza grill. They may have chicken tenders."

"I like pizza." Hayes was satisfied.

"Is Austin going to be there?" Glen questioned, not wanting to wait a minute longer to see his brother.

"No, we'll meet him at his house afterwards. Ms. Zora wanted to spend some time with you first." Ms. Zora must have been the name of their social worker.

"Why?" Hayes made a face. She wanted nothing to do with their social worker whom they never met.

"Just to check in; see how you're doing. It's routine for when kids change guardianship. Plus, a lot has happened in a short amount of time so she just wants to make sure you're okay."

Hayes kept her snarky response to herself. They are fine, just fine.

"Actually you know what, I'm not really hungry. I think we should just go to Austin's." Glen changed his mind.

Stephen glanced over at Glen, taking note of his clenched fists and the slight frown on his face. If he learned anything over the years, it was that Glen hated when the attention was on him, Hayes too. In fact, they avoided attention to such extremes that Stephen deemed it concerning, but he could never figure out the reason why. The kids also never talked about their home life, other than a few slip-up comments by Glen once in a blue moon. And their mother was definitely a sore topic. Stephen was able to piece together over the years that she was not fit to be a parent but other than that, nada. Except for now she's dead and their grandfather is on the run. Whatever happened before Glen and Hayes appeared in Live Oak was certainly an intriguing mystery.

The trio walked out of the security area, facing the masses of people who were waiting for their respective guests to arrive.

"Aha, there she is." Stephen led them over to a lady carrying a sign that had their first names written on it. "Play nice, will you?" he requested, looking at Glen.

Quick introductions were done by Stephen as the kids stayed pretty quiet besides a simple hello. After collecting their luggage which consisted of a suitcase and duffel bag in addition to their carry-on backpack per kid, they followed obediently to Ms. Zora's car.

Hayes watched Stephen and Glen load the trunk, suddenly very hesitant to get into the car. An adverse childhood experience that she couldn't exactly remember had scarred her from liking car rides, especially when someone new was driving.

She laced her hands together against her stomach to try to hide the shaking. Hayes didn't know why the feelings were hitting her now and she didn't know how to overcome them.

"You okay?" Glen interrupted her frenzied mind. He hadn't seen her distressed like this in a long while. Not even this weekend's events shook her up so physically. On a normal basis, they stuck to routine where the only people really driving them was the school bus driver, the Rayon family, and the rare times the Bear took them somewhere.

"No." She admitted in a whisper. She wrapped her arms around herself as if giving herself a hug.

"Is something wrong?" Ms. Zora was confused on why they hadn't gotten in the car yet.

"No, just stretching our legs a little longer. Long flight and all." Glen bluffed. No need for her to get in their business.

Stephen didn't buy anything Glen said and approached the duo. He was aware of Hayes' dislike for cars and also didn't doubt that exhaustion played a factor in her hesitation. "Hayes, you have been so brave this whole time. I'm so proud of you." He squeezed her shoulder. "I know this has been hard but I just need you to be brave for a little bit longer, okay? Then you'll be home with your brothers. Can you do that for me?"

Hayes kept her head down, shrugging one shoulder. "Alright, how about this. If you get scared, just squeeze Glen's hand really tight, okay? He can handle it, can't you bud?"

"Of course. I'm a strong man." Glen flexed his muscles trying to erase the tension.

"Atta boy." Stephen chuckled. "Hayes? Think you can hang on just a little more? We'll get some hot food in you and then its home."

You're so brave;

Almost home;

just a little longer;

Your brothers love you.

These words ran on replay through her head. She was brave. Just a little bit longer and then she didn't have to be so brave anymore. Mustering up the last of her strength, she stood up straight and nodded her head. She can do this.

"Excellent." Stephen opened the back door for them to get in the car.

Hayes buckled her seatbelt placing her hands in her lap. Her knee bounced with nerves. Glen's hand latched on to hers and laced their fingers together, squeezing them once.

She mentally shook her head. She's been so silly. She wasn't doing this alone. Glen was alongside her this whole time and forever. That's all she needed. They'd get through this, together.

———

After a lunch of 30 minutes of awkwardness spent with Ms. Zora, the time to hit the road for the final leg of the trip to the house could not come soon enough.

Turning into a neighborhood cul-de-sac, Ms. Zora pulled up to a cute 2-story brick home with a roundabout driveway. Hayes had to admit, she was impressed by it. It looked nothing like the pathetic 2 bedroom townhouse they had called home for the past 7 years - though it was a reliable roof over their head. It was just another reminder for Hayes, that she held a lot of confusion for where her grandfather stood. On one had, he had taken them in when it seemed that they had no one and provided them with food, shelter, and clothing. But could she ignore the sense of emotional neglect and sometimes physical punishment that went along with it?

Ms. Zora put the car into park and turned to face the two kids sitting in her back seat. One had a smile on their face, unable to visibly contain their excitement for reuniting with their brothers. The other was the complete opposite, with their knees pulled to their chest and a blank stare on their face, hiding their thoughts from the world.

"Is that Austin?" It was hard to mistake the excitement in Glen's voice.

Looking out the window, Hayes spotted the man Glen was referring too. He looked like an older version of the man from the photograph they had seen and tall. Very tall.

Austin was leaning against one of the two cars parked in the driveway. He must have been waiting for them because as soon as they pulled in, he pushed off the car and began to make his way down the driveway toward them. Hayes watched him before accidently zeroing in on something right behind him. Was that what she thought it was? She squinted a little, her eyesight not exactly 20/20. Able to make out the object, a very minute grin formed on her lips. A basketball hoop! Wow, now she could play whenever she wanted.

"That's Austin." Ms. Zora confirmed, bursting Hayes' inner thoughts.

That's all it took for Glen to open his door and jump out of the car. Hayes thought he looked like a kid in a candy store. His excitement palpable. "Come on, Hayes!" He reached back into the car and tugged on her arm to hurry her. Glen would never leave her behind, but also, couldn't she just hurry up just this one time?

Her grin quickly turned down-side-up into a frown. Hayes did not share the feeling of excitement with Glen. She was a bundle of nerves, afraid that this could go so wrong. She wanted to hide away in the car forever, if it prevented the possible hurt she was about to face. But of course Glen would never let her do that. So she toughened up and tried to channel the bravery that Mama D  and Stephen thought she had.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," she muttered, unbuckling her seatbelt. She scooted over to the open door and stepped out of the car. As soon as Glen saw her feet hit the driveway, he turned and made a beeline to Austin.

"Austin!" He called out, happily greeting him with a hug. Austin took it in stride and hugged him back just as fiercely. They hugged for several moments, Austin kissing the side of his head twice before releasing him.

Hayes watched the interaction from the safety of the open car door. She continued to fight with her inner thoughts of trusting this new situation fully and the idea of it being ripped away from her. She was only a little jealous of Glen's easy acceptance of this whole fiasco.

"Hayes! Hayes!" Glen waved her over to where he and Austin were standing, mirror smiles on their faces.

Hayes clenched her fists and took a deep breathe in and let it out. Now or never. To move forward or to hold onto the past.

It was in this moment that Hayes finally decided, she's all in.

Hayes felt her feet moving before her mind caught on, rushing straight to Austin. Before she knew it, she was being embraced in a tight hug. A hug that portrayed love, comfort, and protection.

"Hey there, little one." She heard him whisper into her hair. "Welcome home, Sunshine."