(2) I Just Need Some Water

Chapter 2 is here! I'm trying to develop an upload schedule to keep me on track.

Enjoy this chapter where Makennah finally meets the Sinclair Brothers!

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Around midnight, after Makennah binge watched a few episodes of Friends, her dry mouth begged for a glass of water, and she simply couldn't push it off any longer. She avoided going downstairs this entire time no matter how loud her stomach growled or how dry her mouth got. Despite how much she wished the Sinclair family would go to sleep, she never heard the boys fumble of the stairs and go to bed. Which meant they were still awake. In the basement. Or somewhere else.

The possibility of a collision between the new foster child and the boys was just too high.

But she was starving.

So she threw on a bralette, a cute t-shirt, and flannel pajama shorts.

With a lot of practice and small feet, Makennah tip toed down the stairs into a dark family room. She wasn't surprised that none of the stairs creaked considering how new the house was. To make sure the boys weren't in the kitchen or anywhere else on the main floor, Makennah paused at the bottom of the stairs and listened for voices. She couldn't hear anything so she proceeded into the kitchen. Tiptoeing across the cold floor, she found the light button on the microwave atop the oven and clicked it on to shine some light in the darkness.

Makennah was so thankful that the Sinclair parents had already gone to sleep. Will and Carolynn were nice enough but she wasn't in the mood to engage in any meaningless conversation as they tried to get to know her.

And she definitely didn't want to answer any intruding questions.

Makennah was digging through the cupboards, shoving her hair out of her eyes, when she heard multiple overlapping footsteps tromping up the stairs in the basement. She panicked and didn't know what to do. It was too late to escape.

Darting back and forth, Makennah was contemplating ditching when all four Sinclair boys piled into the kitchen.

With wide eyes, Makennah froze in the middle of the kitchen.

Four very cute, very attractive, athletic brothers huddled around the kitchen island and looked Makennah up and down like a zoo gorilla had just escaped from its cage.

"Hi," the youngest of the four lifted his hand in a little wave. A big cheesy grin covered his face.

Swallowing roughly, Makennah smiled briefly and clenched the bottom of her t-shirt in her fists. "Hi," she mumbled. "I uh...just need some water."

She was 100% certain that the Sinclair parents had not envisioned that the first sibling meeting would occur like this.

No one moved. Everyone stared at each other. Makennah held her breath.

Finally, one of the boys stepped forward and rounded the kitchen island. He walked over beside the fridge, opened a kitchen cabinet, and pulled out a clear glass which he extended to Makennah like a peace offering. Delicately, Makennah accepted the drinking glass from him without any physical contact of their fingers.

"So you're Makennah?" He asked.

The rest of the boys stared in silence.

Because she knew she couldn't back down, Makennah made eye contact and nodded, tucking her hair behind her ears. "Yeah."

"Well..." The brother glanced back at his siblings, clearing his throat as if to snap them to attention and out of their daydreams. "I'm Matt. The oldest."

"I'm Nick, second oldest." A nearly identical version of Matt stepped a few inches closer but otherwise kept his distance.

"I'm Josh, third oldest." Josh was the first brother to smile endearingly and wave his hand a little at her.

Makennah smiled back.

"I'm Jonah! Proudly the youngest!" As if he knew exactly how cute he was, Jonah grinned from ear to ear and hopped up on the counter top, dangling his legs over the side.

Makennah nervously bit her lip. "Makennah...one and only."

"No brothers or sisters?" Nick asked. Or at least she thought it was Nick. They all looked so much alike.

"Nope," she shook her head and transferred the cup to her other hand.

Matt shimmied out of the way to make a path for her to the fridge to fetch some water.

"Lucky. I wish I was an only brother," Jonah sighed wistfully.

"Shut up, idiot," Matt mumbled.

"You're so dumb." Josh slapped Jonah in the shoulder until Jonah dissolved into giggles.

Makennah ducked her head as she poured some water into her cup from the automatic dispenser in the fridge. Her hair fell over her face so that the Sinclair brothers couldn't see her smile at Jonah's joke.

"Don't mind him," Matt slyly smirked, motioning to Jonah.

Makennah couldn't stop the words that tumbled out of her mouth. "You all look so much alike." Like young, hot...very hot...teenage boy wonder supermodels. She didn't doubt that each and every one of them - well maybe not Jonah - could lift up their shirts and show off all equally impressive sets of abs.

"We get that a lot," Nick said, as if it was something to brag about.

"Except Jonah," Josh teased.

"It's the glasses." Like a proud nerd, Jonah lifted his prescription glasses up onto the bridge of his nose and crossed his eyes.

"You guys want some popcorn?" Matt reemerged from the pantry before Makennah had even realized that he disappeared.

"Heck yeah!" Jonah yelled.

"Shh!! Mom and dad are sleeping," Nick chastised him.

Again, Josh hit Jonah on the shoulder. This time, Jonah hit back. Josh dodged his fist, but Jonah tackled him, slipping off the counter.

"Guys," Matt warned, like the good big older brother.

Makennah's stomach growled as if on cue to bring on the popcorn. She slapped her hand over her belly, hoping that none of the boys heard it.

"Hungry, Makennah? Yo, Matt, I think Makennah here needs something a little more filling than popcorn," Josh piped in.

"No, no!" Makennah insisted. "I'm fine. Popcorn is fine."

"Don't be silly." Nick rolled his eyes. "I heard your stomach growl all the way over here." Nick sat on a bar stool behind the counter and rolled his sparkling chocolate eyes. He pulled out his phone and unlocked the screen.

Matt ripped the plastic off of a popcorn bag and tossed it in the microwave. He pressed the automatic popcorn button and rubbed his hands together as if cooking up a plan in his head. "Alright, let's see what we've got."

"I'm kinda hungry too," Josh added. He peered into the fridge with Matt while Makennah slinked away out of their area to avoid any accidental physical contact that was bound to occur with five people huddled in one kitchen.

Matt and Josh dug around in the fridge, pulling out tuberware containers and peering inside. Makennah swallowed roughly and remembered the untouched glass of water in her hand. She gulped it down thirstily. The cool refreshing water rehydrated her tongue and throat. She licked her lips and took another sip.

Jonah climbed back up on the counter and slid over to Nick to bother him while he texted someone. Jonah teased him mercilessly, mentioning a female which grabbed his other brother's attention.

A smile lingered on Makennah's lips. So the Sinclair brothers weren't so bad. First of all, she could look at them all day long. They all had perfectly straight white teeth, full lips and nice smiles. Each sported dirty blonde locks like their father probably had in his younger years. By far, Matt was the strongest with incomparable toned forearms and noticeable bulging biceps. Nick was a close second, but Josh needed some work. However, she could already see that he was toned underneath his t-shirt and shorts. As he grew older, he would definitely fill out like his brothers.

There wasn't a doubt in her mind that all of the Sinclair boys were the heartthrobs of their school. Beyond their looks, they all treated her immediately with kindness and acceptance which was more than she could ask for as a foster child....an intruder in their home.

"Yo, Mack, you like pasta?" Josh asked over his shoulder, holding a container from the fridge that was full of spaghetti and sauce.

"Popcorn is fine," she insisted. She really didn't want to eat their food in front of them. In fact, her bedroom was calling her name.

"You gotta stop saying 'yo,' Josh." Matt rolled his eyes and squeezed his brother's shoulder. Josh laughed and rolled his shoulder away from Matt so that his hand fell back to his side.

"She doesn't like pasta. We might have to send her back," Josh joked with his back turned.

The blood rushed to Makennah's head and her cheeks flamed with heat. With wide eyes, she expected everyone to turn to her and agree that not liking pasta was the biggest sin in the Sinclair household, and they couldn't accept her as an honorary temporary member.

But no one did anything. No one looked at her. No one acted like Josh said anything at all.

"I kinda like her. Maybe she just doesn't like spaghetti," Jonah mentioned, shrugging his shoulders. "To be honest, mom's spaghetti isn't very good anyways."

"Yeah, you could have offered something better," Nick piped in, sliding his phone back into his pocket and joining the conversation.

Stunned that they hadn't all agreed to throw her out, Makennah stepped back again, retreating into the shadows until her back hit the counter behind her and she couldn't slip away any more. To occupy her hands, she lifted the glass to her lips and drank again.

"I kinda like her spaghetti," Josh admitted shamefully.

"Of course you do. You eat anything," Matt said.

"You'd eat your fist if you got hungry enough," Nick joked.

"Only my left one. I need my right one for football," Josh stated in all seriousness. Matt merely shook his head, and Jonah nodded as if he understood.

At the topic of football, Makennah wondered if they all played. And how good they were. Probably stars.

The microwave sounded the alarm that the popcorn was done. Immediately, Matt swung the door open, dropped the bag on the counter top, and slid another unpopped bag into the microwave. He started it up again, before he reached into a cupboard at his knees and withdrew a large red bowl. As quickly as possible because the bag was hot, Matt ripped open the seam and dumped the contents into the bowl.

"Yummy!" Jonah hoarded the bowl into his lap and dove in.

"How about ice cream?" Josh threw out there, turning towards Makennah.

"Popcorn is good," she insisted again. Did they not believe her?

With a mind of its own, her stomach growled again.

"Hey, share, kiddo." Nick poked Jonah in the back until Jonah slid over next to his brother and shared the bowl of buttery popcorn. The lingering smell of salty buttery goodness made Makennah salivate.

"Mack, ice cream?" Matt extended his arm in her direction, holding out a tub of cookies and cream ice cream.

She shook her head, unable to form words.

"She wants ice cream," Matt told Josh who nodded, pretending they hadn't seen or heard her say no at all.

For the first time, it hit her that they already coined a nickname for her - Mack. She kind of liked it. She was also extremely surprised they already felt comfortable enough to give her a nickname. They had just met....like seven minutes ago.

"Listen, I know you're an only child so you won't understand. But in this household, you have to assert yourself over the proverbial dinner table or you'll never get anything to eat. We brothers are wild animals..."

"...not prone to sharing!" Nick interrupted with a mouthful of popcorn.

Matt continued, "...so dig in. Or go hungry."

"Here's your ice cream!" Josh bounded over to her side and shoved a heaping bowl of ice cream into her hands before she could shoot him down.

Makennah fumbled with the bowl and cup until she was forced to set the bowl down on the counter so that she didn't drop the spoon that clanked on the side. Her mind went into a sugar coma just looking at it. She needed food. Desperately.

"So, how old are you?" Nick questioned, digging into the popcorn bowl again.

Nervously, Makennah dug the spoon into a heaping blob of ice cream and contemplated what to do here. She was really hungry, needed to eat, but she was so uncomfortable eating their food. "I'm seventeen."

"Me too!" Nick said. "You a junior?"

"Yeah," she admitted shyly before she finally took a bite of the ice cream. Before she even swallowed, her empty stomach felt better.

"Cool! You coming to school with us?" Josh asked.

She shrugged. "I don't know. Haven't really talked about anything." Not that she wanted to. She had already gone to seven different schools in her life due to her mother's mishaps and her father's absenteeism. Another school wasn't a big deal to her, but she hated getting to know everyone, learning the classes, figuring out who to avoid, and minding her business while still passing her classes. Not to mention, every single time she got settled in at a new school, she almost always had to leave.

"It's a good school. Very sports oriented, but they offer anything and everything. You play sports?" Matt asked, tossing a handful of popcorn into his mouth before retreating to the microwave to grab the second bag.

"I guess," Makennah said.

"You guess?" Josh snickered.

"Mack, I hate to tell you but either you do or you don't," Matt smiled sympathetically, but Makennah knew he had a point.

There they went again with her nickname. Guess she better get used to it.

"I play soccer," she admitted after swallowing some ice cream. She downed it with a swig of water.

"We have a killer girl's soccer team! Won state championship last year and the year before that!" Josh announced.

Okay, so she wouldn't be joining the soccer team. She wasn't good enough for that. Plus, in her experience, really good soccer teams often didn't take kindly to outsiders. They already knew what they were doing and how to play as a cohesive team. Her presence would just throw them off.

Besides, a girl from the hood definitely could not play with the same professionalism and decorum as a rich snooty girl's soccer team. Makennah knew how to throw elbows, pull hair, trip players, and grab jerseys. She did NOT know how to tie ribbons in her braids, she did NOT own name-brand cleats, and she did NOT take directions well from a froo-froo nicey-nicey pretty coach.

"Do you think you'll try out?" Matt asked.

"No," she answered firmly. Not up for discussion.

"What? You have to!" Jonah insisted.

Makennah vehemently shook her head. She should have escaped when she had the chance. They were diving too deep into her personal business.

"We can tell dad. He'll make her try out," Nick suggested.

"No!" Makennah yelled, dropping the spoon in the bowl.

Matt sidled up next to her and threw his arm around her shoulders. Makennah tensed uncomfortably and hugged her arms to her ribs, hiding inside her body if it were possible. "Relax. We won't tell dad. However, you should consider trying out just for the heck of it. Mom and Dad will probably suggest you get involved with the school somehow anyways. Every singe day, we hear..."

"IT LOOKS GOOD ON A COLLEGE APPLICATION," all the brothers finished at the same time.

Glancing down at her, Matt removed his arm and squeezed her shoulder like he did to Josh at the fridge. He slinked away from her, sensing her anxiety.

"You'll hear it too. Just wait," Josh informed her.

With the lingering taste of cookies and cream in her mouth, Makennah swallowed and finished off her ice cream, avoiding any and all eye contact.

"I'm going to Jenna's pool tomorrow. Don't tell mom and dad," Nick whispered to his brothers.

"Jenna?" Matt asked with a weird look on his face.

Instantly, the attention was dismissed from Makennah and returned to other members in the kitchen.

"Can I come?" Josh asked.

"Me too!" Jonah yelled.

"No." Nick rolled his eyes.

"I'll drop you off. I'm going shopping in the afternoon," Matt told Nick.

"Sweet." Finishing off the popcorn, Nick pulled out his phone and got up to leave.

"You going to lifting tomorrow morning?" Matt directed the question to no one in general.

"Definitely," Jonah answered.

"Shut up, bro." Josh pushed Jonah off the counter. "Yeah I was planning on it."

"I'm going to bed," Jonah announced. He left after Nick.

"You wanna watch a movie?" Matt asked Josh.

"No, I think I'm gonna go to bed too."

"Losers," Matt mumbled under his breath. "Night, Mack." The oldest Sinclair placed their bowls in the kitchen sink and exited. Makennah heard his footsteps climb the stairs.

And as soon as the Sinclair brothers came, they went.

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Hope you liked this chapter! I have a lot in store for chapter 3! What do you think of Makennah so far?

Xoxo

W. Carolina