☼ ☾ ✩

𝟏𝟖... 𝐢'𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝟓𝟎𝟎

☼ ☾ ✩

It doesn't take long for my neighbour to answer the front door after I knock, even though the noise is hardly audible over the pounding music from my house next door. Mr. Wallace leans against his door frame as peers outside, his dark eyebrows raising at the sight of me. "Hi, Logan. What can I do for you?" He hesitates for a second, his eyes flickering past me to where a teenage boy is throwing up in my yard. "I assume you're not the culprit for the noise?"

"Hi, Mr. Wallace," I smile weakly, my dogs' leashes clenched tightly in my hands. "I'm really sorry for all that. My sister thought that me being out all day would be the perfect opportunity to throw a party. I'm about to break it up, but I was wondering if you could watch my dogs for maybe half an hour or so? I don't want to leave them in the car and I definitely don't want them around whatever mess is inside my house."

"Yes, yes, of course," Mr. Wallace gushes, reaching out to take the leashes from me. "Are you okay with handling the situation by yourself? I can help if needed."

"I appreciate the offer, but my boyfriend is here, so I think we'll be okay." I gesture over my shoulder to where Matt is waiting on the sidewalk. "But if things get out of hand, I'll let you know. And I'm really sorry for any inconvenience the noise has caused."

"Don't worry about it," Mr. Wallace assures me as he invites my dogs inside, both of them immediately taking off to explore when he unclips their leads. "No inconvenience occurred."

"Thank you," I smile graciously, backing away from the front door. "I'll be back to get Chandler and Joey as soon as possible."

"No rush. You know how much my wife loves them." Mr. Wallace smiles before bidding me goodbye.

I return to Matt's side, fury once again filling my body when I spot a couple making out against the side of my house.

"You okay?" Matt asks gently, brushing his fingers over my forearm.

"I'm ready to raise hell," I mutter, pushing down the tiny part of me that fears how Kaya is going to react. In this moment, I am not Kaya's sister; I am her guardian, and I am in charge. "I'm a badass bitch and I can handle a bunch of hormonal teenage boys," I mumble to myself, hoping my voice is quiet enough that Matt can't hear me.

But alas, he laughs. "Yes, you can. And I'll be here if you need me."

I quickly squeeze his hand to draw comfort before I suck in a deep breath and march up the path to my front porch, knowing Matt will stay close behind me.

"Party's over," I bark at the boys on the porch, grabbing the joint from the nearest one's hand and stomping it out. "Get lost before I call the cops."

"Who the fuck are you?" The boy growls, rising to his full height, which is significantly taller than me.

"Get lost, man," Matt threatens from behind me, his voice low. "This is her house. Scram."

I don't wait for the boys to clear the porch before I storm inside. The foyer is packed with people, and without thinking, I reach behind me, not wanting to lose Matt. His hand slips into mine seconds later, and I lead us through the crowd, not bothering to be careful when pushing through the throngs of teenagers.

I quickly reach the living room, and my eyes narrow at the sight of Kaya making out with some hooligan on the couch. But I don't hesitate, instead continuing my mission of reaching the large speaker sitting beside the tv.

"Hey," a random teenage boy slurs as he stumbles up to me, his eyes scanning my body. "Are you Jamaican? Cause you're Jamaican me horny."

I roll my eyes at the terrible pick up line, but before I can do anything, Matt is stepping closer to my side and shoving the guy away from me. "Fuck off, dude," he sighs, his voice dripping with exasperation. "Find someone your own age."

I send a quick smile of gratitude at Matt before I drop his hand and take the last few steps towards the speaker. Letting the frustration simmering through my veins fuel me, I yank the speaker's plug out of the wall, instantly cutting off the music. Confused voices rise, but I don't let them speak for long. I shove a blonde boy off the edge of the couch and climb onto the armrest, clearing my throat before raising my voice. "Listen up!"

Matt steps closer to me, probably worried about me falling off the couch, but my focus is on the ridiculous number of teenagers filling my home. Every pair of eyes in the room turns to me, and Kaya's eyes widen for a heartbeat when she spots me before a sly smirk settles on her face.

"You're all going to get the fuck out of my house before I call the cops and have you all arrested for underage drinking," I yell, making sure everyone can hear me. "And not only will I call the cops, I will also call each and every one of your parents. I have cameras outside this house, so I can find out exactly who was here tonight, and I have the means to find out your names and your parents' numbers. So I suggest clearing out before I decide to make some calls."

As soon as I finish speaking, voices clash over each other as everyone rushes to find their belongings and flee the house. Kaya stays on the couch even after the guy she hooked up with takes off, and she goes as far as tossing her feet up on the coffee table, crossing her legs at the ankles.

I hop down from the couch, my glare settling on my sister as the last of the teenagers depart. "What the fuck were you thinking?"

Kaya shrugs, reaching forward to pick up a beer off the table and take a sip. "I just wanted to have some fun. But you never have any of that, so I wouldn't expect you to understand."

I force myself to take a deep breath. Matt was right; I won't make anything better by cussing her out. "Kaya, we talked about this last time. I get that you're sixteen and want to have fun with your friends, but you can't be doing it here. Do you know how bad things could get if the party got busted? How much trouble both you and I would be in? Every time you make a bad decision, you're not just making decisions that will reflect poorly on you, but decisions that will reflect poorly on me."

"And how terrible it would be for your good girl image to be ruined." Kaya rolls her eyes, taking another sip of her drink. "Wouldn't want the internet to think you're capable of anything that's not rated PG."

"Kaya, I'm not worried about my image for me!" My voice rises as my frustration increases. "I'm worried about my image for you! And for Cam, and Mason, and Vienna! If I get in trouble, they're going to take my guardianship away. And we don't have any more family that can take you guys in, which means you will all be sent to foster homes. We will be split up, and there will be nothing I can do!" My voice cracks on my last words, fear rising inside of me at the thought of losing my siblings.

A gentle brush of fingers against the inside of my wrist reminds me of Matt's presence, and I suck in a sharp breath, warding away the building pressure under my eyes.

Kaya's gaze flickers over my shoulder and a slow smirk spreads across my face. "You brought your new boyfriend home? Maybe you do know how to have fun."

"Kaya!" I snap, losing my patience. "I don't understand why you're acting like this! Can you please just help me understand? Why are you risking everything for momentary fulfilment?"

Kaya rolls her eyes, her smirk falling as she rises to her feet. "I don't have to explain myself to you. You don't get it."

"Then help me get it!" I beg, my heartbeat increasing speed. "Kaya, please, let me in."

Kaya's expression softens for half a second before it hardens again and she rips her gaze away from mine. "I'm going to Taylor's."

My hand rises to the crown of my head, gripping my hair anxiously. "Kaya, you can't drive if you've been drinking. Please don't go."

"Taylor's sober and she's waiting for me outside," Kaya snaps, moving through the living room to head to the front door.

"Kaya, please, can we just talk?" I follow her, an icy panic washing over me. "Kaya!"

"Fuck off, okay!" Kaya spins around to glare at me, her gaze thunderous. "You're not my fucking mother, so just leave me alone!" With that, she stomps out of the house, slamming the front door behind her.

My feet are frozen to the ground beneath me, my eyes locked on the closed door in front of me. I hear a car pull out of our driveway, and my breath whooshes out of my body as Kaya leaves for God knows how long.

"Logan?" Matt speaks quietly from behind me, his voice cautious.

"I'll take boring for 500, please," I say weakly, locking my hands together to hide their trembling as I turn around to face Matt. "You ready to flee yet?"

Matt shakes his head, reaching out to grab my hand. "There's no place I'd rather be." He tugs me into his chest and wraps his arms around my shoulders.

I let Matt take some of my weight as I lean into his body, twisting my arms around his waist. His now familiar smell washes comfort through me when I breathe in, and my heart rate slows as I let Matt comfort me. "I'm used to doing this on my own," I mumble, my quiet voice sounding loud in the silence of the house. "I'm not very good at asking for help."

"You're not asking. But I'm here anyway, and I'm not going anywhere." Matt presses a gentle kiss to the top of my head, his thumb rubbing a soothing rhythm on my shoulder.

"Thank you," I whisper, squeezing Matt's waist before stepping out of his hold. "But seriously, do you want me to take you home super quick? We won't really be able to hang out now. I need to clean everything up before the twins get home."

"Lucky for you, I'm a neat freak." Matt winks at me before spinning on his heel to head back to the living room. "Come on. We'll work together."

With Matt helping, the house is cleaned in record time. I retrieve the dogs from Mr. Wallace, again expressing my utmost gratitude, and return home to find Matt combing through my pantry.

"What are you doing?" I laugh as I step around him to get Chandler and Joey's dinner. Both dogs circle around my legs as I walk towards their dishes and immediately dive in as soon as I dump the food out.

"We need dinner," Matt announces, emerging from the pantry with a box of pasta. "I have zero cooking abilities, but I can make pasta."

I giggle at Matt's enthusiasm and follow him into the kitchen. "Well lucky for you, I do have cooking abilities. You can cook the pasta and I'll make the sauce."

"Aye aye, captain!" Matt playfully saulates me, a brilliant smile blooming on his face when I groan.

"I hate myself for that," I grumble as I pull open the fridge door to dig out some veggies and ground beef for the sauce.

"What the fuck?" Matt gasps, peering over my shoulder into the fridge. "There's so much food in here! Where's all your soda?"

"You're an idiot," I laugh, nudging past Matt to drop the food I collected on the counter. "I have a family to feed. And we have a separate fridge outside that has soda."

"I feel like I'm dating a single mother." Matt gapes at the fully packed fridge for another moment before a squeal escapes his lips. "Cheese strings!"

I pat Matt's shoulder as I pass him to grab pots from the cupboard beside the fridge. "Help yourself, buddy. The garage is over there if you want soda. There's popsicles out there too."

Matt beams at me before bolting out of the kitchen, his socks sliding on the floor as he darts towards the garage door.

"Don't fall!" I yell, but the garage door slamming shut behind him cuts off my voice. I roll my eyes in amusement. Matt's definitely a mystery, but every piece I uncover just makes him more intriguing.

When Matt returns inside with a root beer and a dr. pepper, I have set up both pots on the stove, one filled with water for the pasta, and the other cooking the meat for the sauce.

"Get away from my pasta!" he barks, dropping the drinks on the counter. "Stick to your own job."

"Who made you the pasta police?" I laugh when Matt scowls at me.

"And to think that I brought you a drink." Matt shakes his head in disappointment, but his smile reemerges as he pushes the item in question towards me.

"Thanks, Bernard." I grin when Matt's smile drops.

"No!" he whines, his eyes widening. "That cannot be my nickname!"

"It's cute!" I chuckle at Matt's deadpan expression. "Or we could go with something similar. Maybe Barney? You do kind of look like a purple dinosaur, so it fits."

"I hate you," Matt grumbles as he focuses his attention on dumping the bow tie pasta in the boiling water. "I come up with a cute as fuck nickname for you, but you think it's funny to refer to me as a purple dinosaur."

I grin as I crack open my dr. pepper to take a quick sip before I move to start cutting up veggies. "Would you prefer Clifford the big red dog? Actually, you kind of give Austin vibes. You know, the purple kangaroo from the backyardigans?"

"You're insane," Matt sighs as he grabs another knife and cutting board, setting them up beside me to help cut the veggies.

"But I can't call you Austin because that's my brother's name." My mood darkens slightly at the mention of the sibling closest to my age.

"Can you tell me more about your siblings?" Matt asks cautiously, picking up on my mood shift.

"Well, you've met Mason and Kaya." I pass Matt a carrot to cut and grab a zucchini for myself. "Kaya has always been unapologetically bold and is very driven. She has two jobs and is incredibly dedicated to her schoolwork. She's in her junior year right now, and she wants to be a marine biologist. How much did Mason tell you about himself?"

"Not too much." Matt slices into the carrot, his actions sure and confident. "He mentioned he plays baseball, but didn't seem too excited about it. But he was very into talking about video games."

I chuckle, stepping around Matt to stir the ground beef and the pasta. "He's big on gaming. Other than that, he's been on countless sports teams, but nothing ever seems to stick. He likes biking and enjoyed dirt biking a few years ago, but he has refused to touch a dirt bike since Austin left."

"Austin's the brother directly after you, right?" Matt questions, tossing his finished carrot into the bowl before grabbing the onion I set out to dice.

"Yeah. We were both born in the same year, me in January and him in December." I drop the cut zucchini into the bowl and grab the garlic to mince. "We were super tight when we were young. We played sports together, had all the same friends, and were always together. But he was never the same after our parents died. He stopped hanging out with me and the rest of our friends, and made new friends who always got him into trouble. He quit sports, started getting in trouble at school, and got mixed up in some shitty stuff in high school. He never spent much time at home, but when he was, he was always fighting with our uncle, who was our guardian until I gained custody. He picked on Cam and Kaya relentlessly, and outright ignored Vi and I. But he always had a soft spot for Mason. He's the one that got Mas into dirt biking."

As I'm talking, I pour some oil into the bowl of cut up veggies and mix them together before adding them to the meat mixture. Matt cracks open the can of tomato sauce and dumps them into the mixture, his nose wrinkling in disgust, which makes me laugh. "Anyways, Mason split town the second we graduated high school, and we haven't heard from him since. He and Sydney had a fling in high school and he dumped her the day he left, but she still hears from him sometimes. Last I heard, he was living in Arizona working at a car garage and is apparently doing well."

"Damn," Matt whistles lowly, sparing a glance at me as he mixes the pasta. "That's kinda shitty."

"Yeah," I exhale slowly, my mood lifting when I glance at Matt. "Fuck, I just told you all that really easily."

Matt grins and lifts his hand to ruffle my hair. "We're making progress!"

I swat his hand away, but I can't stop the laugh that escapes my lungs.

"And your last two siblings?" Matt encourages me to continue, taking the spoon from me to stir the sauce so I can add spices.

"Cam's in his senior year and is obsessed with hockey. His coach expects that he will get an offer to head straight into the NHL, but Cam wants to go to university, so he is waiting to see what schools offer him spots on their hockey teams. He's not home very often either, between school, hockey, work, and his girlfriend." I dump a variety of spices into the sauce, sneezing when the garlic drifts up my nose. "And Vi, Mason's twin, is a bundle of energy. She has a million friends and anyone who meets her immediately loves her. She's a happy kid, but she struggles with her mental health, and sometimes I think the problem is worse than she makes it out to be."

"You're doing a good job with them." Matt's crystal clear eyes focus on me, and the intensity of his gaze surprises me. "I know you want to be perfect for them and to give them the world, but, unfortunately, you can't. But you can support them through their trials and be a good sister, and it sounds to me like you're doing that."

I smile softly, once again shocked by how Matt knows exactly what I need to hear.

Matt grabs a spoon from the cutlery drawer and scoops a piece of pasta out of the pot, blowing on it to cool it down before popping it in his mouth. "Pasta's done," he declares.

I check to make sure the meat is fully cooked and taste the sauce to check that the flavour isn't off before grinning at Matt. "And so is the sauce. Let's eat."

As if on cue, the sound of the front door opening reaches my ears, and Chandler and Joey take off from where they were hovering at the edge of the kitchen hoping for fallen scraps.

"Chandler! Joey!" Vi's high pitched voice squeals. "Did you miss me? I missed you! Do you smell other animals? We were at the zoo!"

"I'm hungry as fuck!" Mason shouts, skipping into the kitchen. His jaw drops when he spots Matt and his face lights up in a smile. "Matt!"

"Hey, man," Matt grins at my younger brother, stepping away from the stove to dap him up.

"Matt's here?" Vi shrieks, scampering into the kitchen, the dogs close on her heels. Her gaze narrows as she takes in Matt before she grins and looks at me. "You were right. He is hot."

"Vienna!" I scold, but Matt just laughs.

"I appreciate the compliment," Matt smiles at her, his face soft with kindness. "How did you guys enjoy the zoo?"

"It was awesome!" Vi gushes, her face lighting up in a huge smile. "We got to ride elephants!"

"I liked the lions," Mason chimes in, crouching down to pet Joey. Chandler is hovering by Vi's side, his front paws jumping off the floor every time Vi bounces on the balls of her feet in excitement. "Me and Noah thought it would be funny to throw Vi and Sadie over the fence and see what would happen, but they both flipped out and yelled at us and we got in trouble."

Vi huffs, shooting a glare at her twin brother. "Well, I thought it would be funny to shove a rattlesnake down your pants, but you didn't think that was a good idea either, did you?"

"Come get your dinner, guys," I interrupt the twins' arguing, moving out of the way when they bound over the stove to scoop out their food.

"Matt, do you like the zoo?" Mason asks as him and Vi sit in their usual spots at the table.

"I love the zoo," Matt answers as he scoops out a bowl of food and passes it to me before getting another one for himself. "I like the (check zoo video lmao)."

Matt and I sit across from Mason and I, and I am suddenly taken aback at how natural this feels. Having Matt in my home, eating dinner with me and my siblings. If I wasn't attached before, I certainly am now.

A sharp kick to my shin yanks me out of my train of thought. "Ow!" I groan, scowling at Mason who smiles innocently at me. "Can I help you?"

"I asked you what your favourite zoo animal is." Vi raises her eyebrows at me.

"I like tigers. Giraffes are fun too." I take a bite of my pasta, the delicious mixture of pasta, meat, veggies, and spices exploding on my tongue. "Matt, you might be the secret ingredient to this pasta because it's never been this good."

"It is very good," Matt agrees, grinning at me. "Good job, chef."

"Don't you usually put tomatoes in it?" Vi questions, peering into her bowl.

"I love tomatoes," Mason grumbles. "This is a tragedy."

"But Matt doesn't like tomatoes. And just how I leave mushrooms out for Vi and peppers out for Mason, I left tomatoes out for Matt."

"Fake-dating my ass," Mason mumbles under his breath, but everyone hears him anyway, and Vi giggles.

I roll my eyes in amusement, not missing the smirk on Matt's face. "Finish your dinner, you goof."

"Where's Kaya?" Vi asks as she shovels another bite of pasta into her food. "I didn't think she was working today."

I resist the urge to grumble my displeasure. I guess I am the only one Kaya told she was working. "She's sleeping over at Taylor's." I notice Matt glance at me, but I don't say another word. Vi has the tendency to take everyone else's problems onto her shoulders, and if she finds out that me and Kaya are fighting, she will make it her personal mission to find a solution. And she has enough going on; she doesn't need to worry about petty drama between her two sisters.

Once dinner is done, the kitchen is cleaned, and the twins vanish upstairs, Matt and I collapse onto the couch in the living room, leaving a respectful foot of space between us.

"Your turn to pick a movie," Matt states, passing me the remote from beside him.

I turn on Netflix and my eyes immediately catch on a movie at the top of my list. "Would you be mad if I picked Oceans 12?"

"Nope." Matt hops up from the couch, heading towards the garage. "Do you want a popsicle?"

"Yes, please!" I call after him, queuing up the movie.

He returns in moments, passing me a popsicle as he sits back down on the couch, a couple inches closer to me than he was before.

"Thank you." I smile at him as I accept the popsicle, my heart fluttering when he smiles back.

"Are you okay?" Matt questions hesitantly as the movie starts. "After everything with Kaya?"

I let his question sit over me for a minute, combing through my feelings to determine how I truly feel. "I'm pissed off that she thinks she can keep getting away with this kind of thing," I say eventually. "I don't understand what's going on with her. I'm hurt that she seems to love taking things out on me. And I'm worried about what she's going to do next." I glance at Matt as I suck in a deep breath. "But I'm okay. Thank you for being here. It means a lot."

"There's no place I'd rather be," Matt repeats his words from earlier.

And strangely enough, I believe him.

𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐚'𝐬 𝐨𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 ♡︎

my friend got stung by a hornet last weekend and i had to yank the stinger out 🫠 bees and etc are one of my biggest fears so i think i panicked more than my friend did! oops!

which leads us to our next question: what are some of your biggest fears? alongside bees, mine are falling (i love heights but i can't do rollercoasters or anything cause my body goes into a literal state of paralysis), small spaces, and blood. i cannot watch any doctor shows or i will throw up.

our final chapter of the night will be uploaded shortly 🥰

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