12. Blurred boundaries

I gulp hard and turn around to face Cindy. The moans on the other side of the door have now stopped. Thankfully, I instinctively take a few steps towards the 13 year old so I get as far as possible from the bedroom door.

"Hi Cind!" I say awkwardly, still not entirely processing what I just heard, but mainly hoping she didn't hear any of it.

"Why are you here?" She asks

"Well I was actually going to take you to the record store like I promised you!" I smile at her and she smiles back

"Really?? That's so nice!! Thank you!" She says excitedly

I chuckle "Of course! I'll meet you downstairs tell your parents- oh wait don't, I'll text them" I say and cringe

At this moment, we hear the bedroom door unlocking and I turn around as I see Harvey coming out in only a tank and sweatpants. This is probably the first time I am not seeing him in a suit. I curse myself, hoping I hadn't had to see him.

"Alex?" He says confused

"Hi" I reply, not as embarrassed as I thought I would be

"What are you doing here?" He asks

"Your door was unlocked. I was going to take Cindy out to a store" I say

"Oh okay. Have fun. Dinners at 8." He says and goes back to the bedroom

"Where's mom?" Cindy interrupts as her dad looks around

"Uh she's napping right now" he says and I cringe as I go downstairs

"Bye" I quickly say and Cindy follows me

Once we're inside the car, I turn on the radio and we take off.

"So how was your first day of school?" I ask the pre-teen who looks nervous on the side seat

"T'was nice.. people were nicer than I thought they would be" she laughs

"It's always less scary than you think it will be" I chuckle

"Yeah... I'm really glad it went okay. Maybe it won't be that bad. Anything is better than staying at home anyway" she says and I furrow my eyebrows

"Why's that?" I ask

"Mom and dad are always fighting and it's so annoying and.. I can tell it makes mom sad. I just don't like seeing her like this. And Cami and Jour have started to notice it too which angers me a lot because it's okay if I notice it, because I'm the big sister but they deserve to feel protected, in some way. Like we're a happy family you know?" She rambles

"Your maturity is quite impressive." I lighten the atmosphere "You also deserve to feel protected, Cindy. It's really a really hard situation, especially on you, and it's okay to feel sad. I'm sure things will end up being alright." I smile at her while looking at the road. I can see her smiling sadly back from the corner of my eye.

**

Cindy and I ended up going to a few more stores after the record one, where she decided to get a Born to Die vinyl (when I basically forced her to get it because she only knew summertime sadness) and we ended up spending two hours roaming around downtown. She was having a lot of fun and I got us ice cream. It felt like having a little sister. She reminded me so much of myself a few years back. Now my innocence and excitement about the simplest things are long gone.

Once I get to our driveway, I drop her off at her house and lock the door. I still cringe when I remember what I heard Eve and Harvey doing.

Cindy unlocks the door and invites me inside the house. I thank her and step in. I take a deep breath as I realise that this means I'll most likely see Eve soon.

"By the way..." says Cindy as we make our way inside the kitchen and she takes out cokes an dchips from the fridge "Does your friend have a girlfriend" She shyly but jokingly asks

"Neil?" I burst out laughing "No, he doesn't, why" I smirk at her. It would be so adorable if she had a crush on him

"Nothing... he's cute. Why aren't you dating him?" She asks me

"Um... we're very good as friends, trust me" I tell her, smiling. Real reason why I'm not dating Neil? We tried, it didn't work out and now we're never speaking of it again. Oh, and I'm obsessed with her mom.

"But Alex he's HOT" She shouts and then covers her mouth when she realises how loud that was

We both burst out laughing and I tell her to shut up or her family might hear her and think I'm a bad influence. Cindy seems so happy and comfortable with me now, which makes me happy. This evening was lovely, I'm really glad she had fun. At this moment, a familiar figure enters the kitchen.

"Hi girls" Eve says from behind me and I turn around to face her. She looks astonishing. I gulp as I notice her work out shorts and the way her hair is pulled back in a ponytail. It looks like she had just went to work out.

"Hi" I answer back comfortably leaned against the kitchen counter, my eyes roaming down her body just a little bit.

"MOM it was so nice today with Alex" Cindy goes to hug Eve excitedly

"Oh really? What did you guys do?" Eve asks her daughter

"We just walked around downtown and she showed me so so many things and I got a vinyl look!!" She goes to her bag to show her the Lana Del Rey one she bought.

"Oh wow that sure sounds nice, did you say thanks to Alex for taking you?" Eve asks

"Yes but thank you again Alex" Cindy comes to give me a hug and I let out a laugh

"Anytime" I say and look up, seeing Eve with a very soft look splatered across her face. I blush and look away, wondering what she is thinking. I suddenly think back to what I heard today coming from her bedroom and feel a warm ball of anger form inside of me.

"Alex!" I hear a little voice say and turn around. Cami and Jour come to us

"Hi little ones" I smile down at them

"We're not little" Cami rolls her eyes "What are you doing here? Oh are you staying for dinner?" She asks innocently with hopeful eyes

"Oh I-" I say but am cut off

"She's staying for dinner, yes" Eve says and looks over at me, a smile crooked on the side of her lips. I smile back.

"Cool!!"

After a while, Eve Cindy and I are preparing the table quietly while Cami and Jour are playing in the living room. I wonder where Harvey is and why he is not here to help. I dont want to ask Eve about his whereabouts, fearing that may be innapropriate.

"Is dad eating with us?" Cindy asks her mom while putting the last plate and big bowl of salad on the dining table.

"I'll go get him" I see Eve say, her smile from before being long gone.

Once she disappears from our sight, Cindy sits at the table and sighs "I fucking hate dad" She says

I sit down facing her, not knowing what to reply. Not wanting to let her know that I know what has been going on between her parents, and not wanting to sound too-against her dad as well.

"He's not treating mom the way he should be and I hate that" Cindy continues and I let her express herself.

"Like, who does he think he is?? Not only does he not love her anymore, he's loosing me as well. I feel like I'm carrying this constant weight because of him. And it's so unfair Alex because I should be able to enjoy my life but he's making it too hard sometimes. I just have to be so careful around him and I hate him. He makes me cry so much." She rambles on

I sit there and listen. I can't even imagine what she is going through. Being the eldest daugher, so young and yet feeling like the weight of her entire family is on her shoulders is something that I wish she didn't have to go through.

"It's not your fault nor responsibility, Cind. It's going to be okay. Your mom is strong and she'll figure it out. And well, you're even stronger. Promise me to enjoy your upcoming teenage years as much as you can, okay?" I say, feeling it with my full heart.

She seems to give my answer some thought and nods "Okay, I promise" She smiles sadly

Suddenly, I hear Eve and Harvey's voices coming from upstairs. Cindy hears them too. They are arguing about something, but we cant make out what.

"I"ll go check okay? Call your brother and sister for dinner" I say and she nods

It feels extremely inappropriate to interrupt their argument but I'm hoping that they won't take it badly if I try stopping them for the sake of the kids.

I go up the stairs and feel my heart beating faster and faster, hating that I have to do this. Feeling like a scared kid who has no place in an adult world.

I get closer to their bedroom door and can suddenly make out their words

"You fucking.. I can't believe you would fucking do that Eve" Harvey breathes out, seemingly very upset

"I had to know. Now I do. I want you to get out of the house." Eve says coldly

"You can't kick me out of MY fucking house Eve" He laughs out angrily

"But I can. I want you to get out. There's kids in the house and I don't want them to see you like this. Go to her." Eve says

"You'd love that wouldn't you? Is that what you want, to see me screw her?" He says, to which Eve doesn't reply.

"Cause she's been a better fuck than you ever have Eve" He says, drawing the last straw.

"Fuck you" Eve says. The calmness and lack of anger is intimidating.

"Fuck you, fuck you fuck you" She repeats over and over again until I hear something break and shatter into pieces. Not know what happened, I assume the worst. What if he just threw a vase at her head? Did she get hurt? My heart races as I decide to risk it and come closer to the door.

Unfortunately, Harvey was faster than me. Opening the door and seeing me, directly knowing that I have been listening to them. He throws me a black stare.

Hi guys!! I know, it's been 4 months.... I honestly understand if all of you hate me by now, I'm the most awful wattpad writer.

But hey, to defend myself, I started studying law in september and things were just really busy and crazy from there... I promise I will try updating as soon as I can. Love you all and thank you for staying updated and reading my stories so much! I see all the comments and they make me so happy

Bye for now,

Alix