"Don't you ever grow up
It could stay this simple"

"What did we miss?" Xander bounds through the library door, I follow closely behind. "You haven't missed anything at all," Grayson tells him. "And Ms. Grambs was just leaving." He adds.

"I'm sure you want to get settled."

"Wait a second." Xander frowns, taking in the state of the room at the same time as me. "Were you guys brawling in here without us?" 

I sigh and turn to him. "This is what we get for being the ones who don't skip school."

I take a seat on the bottom few steps of the spiral staircase. Picking up a random book from the shelf on my way. I flip through it as I watch everything unfold.

At the simple mention of school, Nash turns from me to Jameson. "No uniform," he comments. "Playing hooky, Jamie? Two ass-kickings it is." Xander grins at the mention of ass kicking.

He pounces and tackles Nash to the ground. "A hundred on Xander." I smirk, Jameson shakes my hand, "My bets on Nash." He tuts. We shake hands and watch as the impromptu wrestling begins. 

"Pinned you!" Xander declares proudly. I grin and look up to Jameson who still seems pretty confident in his guess. Nash hooks his ankle around Xander's leg and flips him, now being the one pinning him to the ground.

"Not today, little brother." Nash grins. Nash turns to Jameson and I, "Not today."

I groan and take out a hundred dollar bill and pass it to the noble looking boy beside me. "Careful Spence, you don't seem to be in any place to be gambling your remaining money away." Grayson says pointedly.

"Yeah all thanks to her." I clench my jaw and direct all the attention in the room to Avery. "I should go," she says sheepishly. "You shouldn't be here at all." I raise my voice, standing up from the staircase and getting ready to pounce.

"Stuff a sock in it, Spence," Nash says. "What's done is done, and you know as well as I do that if the old man did it, there's no undoing it." Nash whips his head toward Jameson. "And as for you: Self-destructive tendencies aren't nearly adorable as you think they are."

Nash instructs Xander and I to direct Avery to her wing however I promptly refuse. Once my younger brother and her have sauntered out Nash begins to lecture Jameson on the importance of school.

"She's got you wrapped around her dainty little finger already." I comment, still having not looked up from the book. 

"You don't even know her." Jameson replies dryly. 

"And you do? You've known her all of two days and all I've heard from your yappy little mouth is 'Oh Avery, come into my bedroom and we can solve mysteries together. Oh Avery come solve the mystery of how far my dick can fit down your throat-" I mock disgustedly in a high pitched voice.

I'm cut off by Nash raising his voice, "Enough." 

I throw the book back down on a pile once again. "Oh please we all know it's true. If I don't catch them necking it in the next week then we should throw a party because Jamie has clearly broken his slutty ways and broken free of the curse that causes him to shag every girl within a ten mile radius." I speak quickly as I stand up and approach him slowly. 

"You're gonna slut shame me? If I had a dollar for every guy I've caught sneaking out of your bedroom i wouldn't need the old man's inheritance cause i would be just as rich as Avery." Jameson snaps.

I reach my hand out and slap him across his smug face. He pushes me away from him and I punch him as hard as I can. We start pushing each other around without fully hitting each other too aggressively until Nash grabs Jameson back and Grayson grabs me. 

Jameson shrugs Nash off quite easily. I readjust my school skirt and stare daggers into him, Grayson still holding me knowing if he didn't I would probably jump straight back at Jameson to hit him again. 

"You're almost an adult Spencer. And Jameson you are an adult. You can't get in fist fights and slut shame each other. It's immature and what if one of you actually got hurt, then how bad would the other feel?" Nash lectures. 

"I've got five more months before I need to start acting like an adult. For now I can still pray that I do punch you hard enough to knock some sense into the Dick Goblin." I sneer. 

I push Grayson off me and walk out with a huff. 

I get to my bedroom and call one of my usual hookups. He rushes here like a desperate puppy and I tell him to climb up to my balcony which he doesn't even hesitate to do.

He undresses himself eagerly and I let him undress me. I kiss him unbothered and once I'm finished with him he's whimpering and moaning. When we're both finished I put my lingerie back on again before a knock on the door grabs my attention. 

I open the door up and see Avery on the other side, she looks a little shocked at first. "Sorry, wrong room." She mumbles about to walk away. 

Her eyes try not to look down at me but she fails. "Eyes are up here sweetheart." I tut at her wandering eyes. I'm sure it's more to do with my confidence to answer the door in only underwear than anything sexual but I still take the opportunity to tease her.

"You can go." I look back to the excited boy looking at my ass from the end of my bed. He doesn't make any moves to leave. "Now!" I raise my voice and he quickly fumbles around putting his shoes on.

He tries to leave out the door past Avery but I place a hand on his chest. "No. Same way you came in." I order and he runs back out the balcony and struggles to climb back down. 

"Was that your boyfriend?" She asks me. I scoff a laugh, "God no. I don't even know that guys name." 

She looks at me with bug eyes, "Who was it then?" She asks me. "Just a hookup." I shrug nonchalant.

"Lovely." She starts to walk away. I follow her out into the empty hallway. 

"Avery." I call her back, she turns back around. "I just wanted to let you know I don't care what kind of weird seduction you had over my grandfather but I assure you I will get to the bottom of it and in your short time here, if you so much as touch anyone in my family I will not hesitate to take a butter knife and cut out your heart slowly as you scream in pain." I say calmly with a kind smile on my face.

"Yeah. Nice to meet you too"

And just like that she's gone.

I enter my bedroom and redress myself into a cropped and tight black tank with some denim shorts.

I head into the parlour where I suspect to find Jameson. Just as I knew he would be, he is draped across the large leather couch with a bottle of whiskey in hand.  

I sigh and walk towards him, "Jay, you need to stop drinking your sorrows away." I smile sympathetically and take the bottle from him. "You need to stop fucking your sorrows away." He replies, slurring some words together.

"I'll quit if you do?" I suggest. We both smirk then laugh at the thought. 

I look down at him. A drunk mess. His eyes closing with need for sleep. 

I exasperate then stand up. I help him up with his arm and wrap it over my shoulder, i wrap my arm around his waist then help guide him back to his bedroom. 

When we get there I lay him down on his bed and pull his shoes off, I cover his already dozing off body with the sheets.

"Thanks." He mumbles half asleep. "That's okay." I reply with a small smile as I pull the cigarette from his lips. I take a small puff and let it blow out slowly. 

"You shouldn't be smoking Spence, you're still just a baby." He mumbles. 

"Not a baby anymore Jamie." I tut. He reaches out and grabs my hand, "You'll always just be a little kid to all of us." 

I take another toke of the cigarette as I squeeze his hand, "The same little kid you were slut shaming only a couple hours ago?" I tease. 

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it." He mumbles sadly. 

"I know." I frown as I turn the lamp off and separate our hands. 

"I love you." He calls through the door as I shut up, "You too." I holler back.

At dinner he's still sleeping it off, I walk into the large room. "Kids table." Zara warns before I can even try to sit with the adults. 

"Where's Jameson?" Skye asks me. "He's studying. Got a huge text tommorow and I made him just get his head down and work." I lie. I can't snitch to our mother that he is collapsed drunk in bed, not that she'd care.

I reach the kids table and scowl at the sight of Avery and her sister. 

"You're in my seat." I hiss from behind her. She quickly stands up but Nash immediately stops her. "No. She can sit somewhere else like the well mannered girl I know she is." He instructs.

I glare at him but do as he says and take a seat in Jameson's usual seat instead. 

I keep my head down for the awkwardly quiet dinner, i don't eat much and don't need to make up an excuse knowing nobody will question it with guests at the table.

I untuck my chair to exit the room and am immediately sent a deadly stare from Grayson, one that says 'sit the fuck down'.

So I sigh and do so. He gestures subtly to my plate, his eyes yelling at me to eat more. I catch Avery's eyes watching the interaction carefully.

"What you looking at bitch?" I snap. "Spencer!" Nash warns. "Sorry." I mumble. "Louder." He instructs. "I am so very sorry dearest Avery." I smile.

She looks at me sceptically and continues eating. I eat a little more until I get away with slipping away from the table and checking on Jameson. 

As much as I pretend to hate my brother, I love him a lot. And I care about him. Jameson used to be my favourite sibling when we were younger, before I realised it was wrong to pick favourites. 

"You okay?" He asks, apparently having arisen from his slumber. "Mhm" i reply quietly. 

"C'mere." He mumbles. I walk over tiredly and he pulls his covers down for me to lie at the other side of his bed. I roll in and almost fall asleep the second my head hits the pillows.

"Night." I murmur, I'm not awake long enough to even hear him replying it back to me.