What

The

Hell!!

"Hi, Eleanor," Jackson greeted me while I was still reeling under the fact that I was looking at Devon's mischievous eyes.

But I was quick to act.

As soon as the little boy walked inside my house, I tried to slam the door shut in order to block Devon out.

"Hey hey hey! Take it easy, girl,"Devon said, his strong hands making it hard for me to close the door," Is this how you treat your guests? Closing the door on their faces?Call your good manners back, you need them."

"I don't need my good manners to deal with guests who look like you," I smiled a tight lipped smile.

"Your sense of humor is so amazing that I don't even feel the need to laugh," Devon taunted, walking past me inside the mouse.

I smelled like a deep grudge all over. Argg!!

I completely ignored Devon when I settled down in comfy chairs with Jackson to begin reading 'Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator' but--

"Why the living room? Reading should be done in a more intimate place like your room upstairs, Eleanor," Devon opened his big mouth.

"I beg to disagree. The living is just fine," I smiled sweetly.

"No, it's not," said Devon flatly. "What if your Gran wants to watch T.V? She wouldn't be able do so if both of you read out loud here and I'm sure she is too polite to interrupt you."

My grip on the book tightened. It was obvious he was saying all that to annoy me but I was determined enough to not let go of my patience.

"Gran is not at home right now and even if she was, she has no T.V shows to watch at this hour," I said as politely as I could. "Hoping that puts your concerns to rest."

"No. It doesn't. What if your Gran comes home with a mood to catch up on something interesting on TV?" said Devon. Looking at his younger brother, he added, "Jackson, would you want an elderly respectful person to be sad and face problems because of you?"

The little boy looked horrified with the idea. "N-No. Never! I don't want anybody to be hurt because of me."

"Which is exactly why I was telling Eleanor that we read upstairs in her room. By doing that, we will not cause trouble to anybody," said Devon.

"Fine," I said, rising to my feet, unable to tolerate his nonsense anymore. "Jackson and I will move upstairs. You can leave now," I told Devon.

"I cannot leave," he said at once. "I've to be here 'cause my brother is little--"

"and he is perfectly safe with me," I interrupted him sharply, "You don't have to worry about him. I will even drop him back home. You can leave."

A sly smirk made its way to his lips when I said that. "Well, my little brother is definitely not safe with someone who is a trespasser," he said matter-of-factly.

I felt a shot of insane anger climb up my spine. It was an absolute miracle that I wasn't grabbing the flower pot from the mantelpiece and smashing it on his smartass face.

This.

This was the reason why I didn't want Devon anywhere around while reading out to Jackson. Actually, I didn't want Devon to be around ever.

I followed the two brothers upstairs to my room with an only hope that my room was tidy enough and that I just didn't leave any of my bras lying on the bed for them to see.

Thankfully I hadn't. But the next one hour was absolutely terrible to say the least. It wasn't that Devon was being disruptive and wasn't letting me read out to Jackson. Devon was sitting quietly and was at his best behavior but his presence was an absolute distraction to me. I couldn't read properly and everytime I made mistakes, I caught Devon smirking slyly which got me totally annoyed and flustered.

Finally when the two of them left did I breath a sigh of relief. I was going back upstairs to my room when the doorbell rang. It must be Gran. I descended the staircase and strode over to the door once more but when I opened it, I was caught entirely off guard that I walked back a few steps.

It was Devon. Again.

And this time he was alone.

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