I put on minimal makeup and started the process of drying my long, dark hair. This usually took up to twenty minutes and that’s only if I didn’t dry it completely. “Alex, what the hell is taking so long,” Jasper groaned. I looked at my watch. The ceremony didn’t start for another two hours yet. They are so impatient. I sighed and put down my hairdryer. Curly and damp is what I would be going for today. I pulled the sides up into a waterfall braid to at least keep it out of my face and threw some mousse in to tame the frizz and curls. I ran back to my room for my purse and shoes and then met the boys in the living room.
“It took you that long to look like that?” Jasper said, arching his brow. I charged for him when Jack stopped me.
“You look fine,” Jack said, trying to hide his annoyance.
I straightened myself out and smoothed down my hair. “Let’s go.”
All the boys piled into Jasper’s pickup while Declan and I followed behind in her Ford Focus. It was an hour drive to Jacob’s school so I settled in after Declan found a station she liked. On the way there we passed my old house – a house that should have been burned down years ago. Too many memories flooded my head and I suddenly felt claustrophobic. Sensing my unease, Declan reached over and took my hand. She was the only one who knew what happened in that house. My aunt, her mom, had let her spend the summer with us while her and her husband at the time went backpacking through Europe. They lived two states away so the summer was the only time we got to see each other. Declan and I spent every summer together up until the incident, forcing my aunt to move back to her home town that she tried so hard to escape from.
She bought a house in the surrounding neighborhood so she would be close if we needed her, but she was never really around. We’d see her once a month if that. She was either traveling for work or off on some retreat with her latest boy-toy. Declan went to boarding school so I only saw her on holidays or vacations. We never grew apart though, and as promised, we applied to the same college prompting us to get our own apartment together after I graduated and started my freshman year.
Declan was always there when I needed her and I couldn’t imagine my life without her.
I smiled back at her and rested my head back against the seat. Only another thirty minutes and we would be there. Jacob went to a local private school, thanks to my aunt. I was glad he had this opportunity. Jacob was a smart kid and deserved the best. I was surprised when my aunt presented us with this offer to put Jacob in the pristine school. She always seemed to make it clear how dysfunctional our little family was. I figured she felt Jacob was young enough that she could still mold him into a better version of us. I let her insults slide so Jacob could have a better education. My aunt always harbored negative feelings toward us. She blamed my mom for what happened. I couldn’t blame her though, it was her brother that died, but she wasn’t there, she didn’t know the whole story.
“We’re here,” Declan cheered, bringing my head out of the clouds. “Hey, you okay?”
“Yeah, just daydreaming.”
“Are you excited?” Her voice squeaked.
“I’m more excited to see the look on Jacob’s face when he sees Jack.” Jacob and Jack were the closest. He spent most of his attention on Jacob because he was the youngest. He knew Jaxson and I had each other and Jasper was old enough that Jack didn’t have to worry about him so much. I can’t even imagine how thrilled Jacob is going be when he sees Jack.
“What about the look on your face when you see who’s making their way over to Jasper?”
“Huh?” I scrunched my brow in confusion and followed the direction of Declan’s stare. “Holy shit!” I heard a click and turned to see Declan taking a picture of my jaw dropped expression.
“Priceless,” she giggled. I frowned at her. “Is it me or did he get hotter?”
“I think I just wet myself,” I admitted, making Declan laugh even harder. I pulled down the visor and quickly checked myself out in the mirror.
“You look fine and stop fussing. He’s seen you in all your pimply glory and not to mention the year of the bad haircut. You could be wearing a trash bag and that boy would fall to his knees kissing your feet.”
“Stop exaggerating. It’s not like that. I was the one who went after him.”
“And he took the risk of committing the ultimate betrayal. Either he’s the biggest dick head alive and doesn’t care, or that boy is in love and you and I both know it’s the latter.”
“Declan, he is not in love me,” I said, rolling my eyes at her.
“Whatever, you can deny it all you want, but mark my words; you will not be going home alone tonight.”
“Declan, that was a one-time thing.”
“Uh-huh. You got a little drool right there.” She tapped her lip. I smacked her and got out of the car. I took a deep breath and then let it out as I walked over to join my brothers and their guest.
“Alex, hey,” Colby said, giving me an awkward hug.
“Hi Colby, how you been? Haven’t seen you in a while.” One year, five months, and three weeks to be exact. “Looks like L.A. has been treating you well.”
“Yes it has. How about you? You look like you’re doing well,” he smiled coyly, making my heart melt. Colby was handsome. Like movie star handsome. He had blonde hair that was cut short on the sides and spiked sporadically on the top, dreamy blue eyes and the body of an athlete. He stood about a few inches taller than me and had a smile that burned so bright it hurt to look directly at him. He got an offer to tattoo at some high end tattoo shop in L.A. So that’s where’s he been. He was the only tattoo artist I knew who wasn’t covered head to toe in tattoos. He had a few here and there but he showed more skin then artwork.
“I’m good, just finished my sophomore year of college, and got a job for the summer.” Declan cleared her throat. “You remember Declan, right?”
“How could I forget Deflating D-cup Declan?” Declan’s face turned bright red. I covered my mouth to hide my laugh. I forgot about the nickname they gave her junior year of high school. While I blossomed pretty quickly, Declan was a late bloomer. One night while my brothers were having a party, Declan thought it would be a good idea to stuff her bra. She went a little overboard using almost a whole box of tissues. What she didn’t anticipate was getting a drink spilled on her and deflating her sudden d-cup when the tissues soaked up all the moisture. My brothers, including Colby, teased her for a whole year about it.
“Now I remember why I don’t like you,” she pouted.
“I was just messin’.” Colby nudged her playfully and flashed his ever impressive smile. Declan tried hard to stay mad, but with a smile like that he was sure to have any girl throw their underwear at him. She caved, hugging his waist as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
“We should get seated,” Jack said a little impatiently. The ceremony was being held outside on the football field to accommodate the large group of families that had showed up. Colby held out his hand to help me up the bleacher steps and then sat on my left next to Jasper while Declan sat on my right and Jack and Jaxson behind us. Declan nudged me in the ribs and wiggled her brows in Colby’s direction. I rolled my eyes and faced forward.
As we waited for the ceremony to begin, I could feel Jack’s leg bouncing behind me. I turned around and shielded my eyes from the bright sun. “You okay?”
“Yeah, just excited to see Jacob.” He gave me a forced smile and squeezed my shoulder. Something told me he was hiding something, but now was not the time to ask. He made us sit in the front and on the end. He wore his uniform so no one complained when we asked them to scoot down. I was so happy to be here to see my baby brother graduate that I could barely contain my excitement. Another ten minutes later and the ceremony began. We sat through about forty-five minutes of boring speeches and then finally they began to call the names of all the students. I was practically jumping out of my seat in anticipation of them calling Jacob’s name. They were only on the C’s so we had a bit, but when they reached
the N’s I couldn’t take it anymore and I stood up. My brothers followed suit when they reached the R’s.
“Jacob Radcliff.” We all roared and clapped when they called Jacob’s name. His cheeks blushed slightly from embarrassment. He gave us a slight wave and then stopped dead center in the middle of the stage. All the teachers looked a little puzzled as to what the holdup was, but when I saw his face, I knew. I looked over to Jack who was standing tall and proud on the bleacher steps. Jacob ran and jumped off the stage, getting a collective gasp from the audience. The teachers stood frozen, unsure of what was going on. All his classmates turned to watch as Jacob ran across the field.
Jack flew down the steps. We all followed and watched as Jacob hopped the fence and jumped into Jack’s arms. Jack picked him up as we joined them on the track. We all piled in for a group hug. There was an explosion of applause and I turned my head enough to see the entire bleachers were standing and clapping along with all of Jacob’s classmates. I let the tears of joy fall down my cheek as I watched Jasper and Jaxson try to hide theirs by quickly wiping them away before any one saw. It felt like an eternity before we all finally let go.
Jacob had a harder time pulling away. “Go,” Jack pushed. “I’ll be here when you’re done.” Jacob gave him another quick hug before he rejoined his classmates.
“That’s my brother!” Jacob yelled. I let out a small laugh and watched as he stood proudly with the other students, unable to take his eyes off of Jack.
We stayed where we were to watch the rest of the ceremony. I took Jack’s hand and looked up to see tears in his eyes. I have never seen Jack cry before. It was amazing to see someone as strong as him to show his emotions. He didn’t dare wipe away one single tear. I gave his hand a light squeeze and he smiled down at me before he pulled me closer and latched on to Jasper with his other arm. I grabbed Jaxson, tugging him closer to me while he threw his arm over Declan. We were a mixed bunch of crazies. All different shapes, sizes, and colorings, but we were family, and we had a family bond that no one could break.
At dinner, Jacob couldn’t stop smiling. He was so happy that Jack was able to make it home for his graduation. He told us it was the best present anyone could have given him. He even said he would skip the graduation party he was invited to just to spend the time with Jack, but Jack wouldn’t hear it. He told him to go and have fun and he would see him tomorrow. He made Jacob promise him if he was going to drink, do it responsibly, and to call for a ride.
Jacob rolled his eyes. “There will be adult supervision and no booze.”
“Jake, I’m not stupid. Just be smart.”
“Yes, dad,” he joked. He hugged him for what was the fifth time today, along with the rest of us and then took off with his friends.
“Alright Jack, I think it’s time you, Colby, and I hit the bars tonight and leave the kiddies to go nightie night.”
“Hey,” Jaxson and I complained together. We were the only two who weren’t twenty-one yet.
“I’m kind of beat. How about we just grab something to go so we can all hang out,” Jack suggested.
“Come on, my big brother is finally home. I want to take you out and I know the perfect place too,” he wiggled his brows. “There’s this sweet little joint where all the bartenders are women who walk around in little to nothing uniforms.”
My head shot up. “What’s this place called?” Jack asked.
“Angels and Demons.”
“Don’t go there,” I blurted out. Declan pinched my leg under the table as Jack and Jasper turned to me with suspicious looks on their faces.
“Why not?” Jack asked.
“I just heard that place isn’t all that great.” Jasper waved me off like I was crazy and making up some bullshit excuse. “Besides, I like the idea of all of us hanging out. It’s not like you and Jasper can’t go out another night.”
“She’s right. I’ll swing by the liquor store on the way to your house.”
I smiled at my small victory while Jasper glared at me. “And I’ll bring the cards.”
“Whoa…whoa,” Jax and Jasper chimed in. “Who said you were invited?”
“Jack just said he rather get stuff so we can ALL be together.” I narrowed my eyes at them, especially my twin who was siding with Jasper at the moment.
“Whatever, I’ll meet you guys in the truck.” Jasper huffed, throwing some money on the table before taking off with Colby.
“Oh come on Jas, you know it will be fun.” He waved me off and kept walking. “You two might want to hurry up before he leaves without you.”
“He wouldn’t do that,” Jack said confident. I raised my brow at him just as Jax took off. “Shit.” Jack hurried to get his wallet out of his pocket to pay for dinner.
“I got it.” I told him and watched him run out the door. Jasper was that big-of-a-dick to leave their asses here, but I was hoping he was smart enough to know better. Otherwise he was in for a severe beating.
We paid the bill and I told Declan to swing by our place so I could change and grab the cards.
Once back at the apartment, I changed out of my dress and into some shorts and tank top. Then I brushed through my matted hair and pulled it up into a ponytail. I washed off the little makeup I had on and brushed my teeth. I grabbed the small supply of liquor we had – knowing the boys wouldn’t get us anything – and met Declan down at the car.
Jaxson and Jasper shared a small four bedroom house. Even though it was only the two of them, the plan was to have Jacob move in when he graduated and have a place for Jack to crash when he was home. Jasper made more than enough at the tattoo shop to cover the expenses so cost wasn’t an issue. Plus it was nice to have the room when they needed it. We found the boys in the kitchen. They had already made a dent in the case of beer they bought and I’m sure had a few shots, judging by the dirty glasses sticking on the table. Jack and Jaxson were smoking cigars while Jasper puffed away on a cigarette.
Colby looked up when he heard us enter. “Alright boys, ladies in the room.”
“That ain’t no lady, that’s my sister,” Jasper grunted. I smacked him on the back of the head as I walked past him to the counter. I opened the cabinets to look for a glass. They were empty.
“Don’t you guys have any clean glasses?” Judging by the sink full of dirty dishes I would have to say no.
“Check the dishwasher.” Jaxson pointed behind me. I opened it up – dirty.
“Don’t you guys ever clean?”
“Dish rag is on the sink. Get to work.”
I scoffed. “Knock it off Jas,” Jack warned.
Jasper pointed to the left of me. “There’s some plastic cups back there somewhere.”
I managed to find the cups in all the mess and dug out two to make Declan and myself a drink. Then I pulled over a chair to sit between Jaxson and Jack while Declan sat on Jack’s other side between Jasper. From my position I had a nice view of Colby, which is why I chose to sit where I did. “So what are we playing?”
“We are playing poker and no, you can’t play.” Jas threw down two cards.
“Why not?” I whined.
“Because no matter how many times I explain it to you, you don’t get it,” Jack said, dealing Jasper two.
Jaxson tossed in four red chips. “And because you suck.”
I elbowed Jaxson. “I do not suck.”
“Yes, you do,” all four boys said.
“What am I supposed to do then? Sit here and watch you guys play?”
Jasper growled. “This is why I didn’t want to invite her.”
“You didn’t.”
“Exactly.” Jasper outted his cigarette.
“Enough you two, Christ. I’m not even home twenty-four hours and you two –” Jack took a breath. “Let us finish this hand and then we’ll play something else.” He looked at me and I nodded. He then turned to Jasper and gave him a warning to keep his mouth shut. Jasper and I were the two who argued the most. Sure I got into it with all my brothers, but for some re
ason Jasper and I always seemed to butt heads. I don’t know if it was the age difference or not. He only had five years on me and with Jack being the oldest he had eight. I would expect Jack and me to have more issues but I think maybe because he was forced to become an instant dad to his four siblings he matured a lot quicker than the rest of them and learned to have a lot more patience.
While we waited for them to finish their hand I turned to Jaxson and asked, “So what do you want to do for our birthday?”
“Strip club.”
“Eww, no.”
“Jax, if you want to see half naked ladies that you can actually take home, I’ll take you to Angels and Demons.”
“No!” they all turned to look at me. “I just…don’t want to go there and it’s my birthday too. Don’t I get a say where we go?”
“No,” they all said. I sighed, knowing this was one argument I couldn’t win.
“What’s your big hang up about this place anyways?” Jack asked curiously.
Before I could come up with an excuse Jaxson answered for me. “It’s because she doesn’t want you to know she works there.”
My jaw dropped and I just stared at him wide eyed. “What, you work there?” Jasper asked, stunned.
“Jax doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He’s just making shit up.” I crossed my arms over my chest defensively, hoping they couldn’t tell I was lying.
“No, I’m not. I saw you there.”
“How could you have? They card at the door,” Declan asked.
“I was there to pick up a buddy and I saw you,” he pointed at Declan and then me. “And you, coming out of the bar wearing these costumes. You had on some red leather thing and you were wearing a white dress. I asked my buddy if it was a costume party and he said no, that was the workers uniforms.” I glared at Jaxson for blowing my cover.
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