Nola Scott

I've been home for a couple of days now. Since it's winter break, I thought I'd pack a bag and spend at least a week back in Oak Hill. While it's not ideal, my parents have been asking me to come back home. I improvised and told them a week was good enough and luckily, they agreed.

Two days in and my brothers are already making me regret saying a week. Kayce and Brooks sit on the edge of my bed, staring deeply into my soul with their blue eyes for one reason and one reason only.

A couple of months before starting his senior year, my brother Kayce, finally decided what path he wanted to go on after high school. He had the choice of being drafted by the MLB or going to college before entering the MLB. It was a hard decision for my brother, one that he took almost over a year to think about.

Everyone always knew my brother was destined for a professional career in the sport he loved the most. Baseball. Scouts have been looking at him since his freshman year and they haven't gotten less annoying over the years. Kayce didn't know if he wanted to enter that life so quickly hence why college after high school was an option for him.

After careful consideration, he decided to skip the MLB for now and go to school where he can play college ball. My mom and dad were all for it, as long as he was doing what he wanted to do. Plus, they wanted him to get that college education and if he went the MLB path, he probably wouldn't have.

Surprisingly, he chose to stay home in Oak Hill. Many D1 schools offered my brother great things, but he wanted to stay here at my parent's alma mater. It shocked us, especially my parents, but none of us questioned it. We secretly feared that if he were to leave, we'd never hear from him again. I thought with Kayce staying home for another couple of years, it would help get mom and dad off my back a bit.

But today, my dreams were crushed. Knowing Kayce, I should have seen something like this coming.

"Nola, be the best sister we know you are and help us out. Please! You know how cool this will be?" Brooks pleads for the hundredth time. "What makes you think I'm going to help you guys convince mom and dad? You guys see how they are with me!" I retort, looking at them like they're crazy.

Like always, my mastermind of a brother came up with an idea. Even though he's staying in Oak Hill, he doesn't plan on living with my parents a second longer than he needs to. He wants to move out.

And he wants to take Brooks with him.

"From one moved-out kid to two others. All you have to do is convince them that moving out was good for you and all the other positive parts of not living with them in college," Kayce says. I furrow my brows. "I moved out because I go to college in Los Angeles, Kayce. You're going to college here! Stay home, save money, bro." I roll my eyes in annoyance.

"First of all, don't call me bro. Second of all, I'll make all the money mom and dad spend on rent in a year once I get in the league. Not like they need my money anyway. Come on, Nola. I can't stay here another four years," Kayce pleads, but not really. His face doesn't scream 'please help me, sister'. Sadly, I understand where he's coming from. I felt the same way my senior year which is why I picked a school in LA.

"Kayc, I hear you, but you know mom and dad aren't going to let you take our fifteen-year-old brother with you, right? That's a long shot," I tell him. I don't even know why Brooks is involved in this plan. "Well, yeah, I know that. I'm not an idiot. Brooks doesn't have to be involved in the plan as long as I can move out, we'll be good." Kayce nods once firmly.

Brooks's eyes widen as he turns to my brother, placing his hands on Kayce's arm. "What? No! It's the both of us or nothing, Kayc!" Oh, lord. I shake my head, staring at Kayce. He should have never got Brooks involved in this. The thing about my little brother is once he wants something, he'll stop at nothing until he gets it. And by the way, he's looking at Kayce right now? He wants this.

"Why don't you want to live with mom and dad? They give you everything, Brooks. Kayce is growing up, he has at least that excuse," I ask my youngest brother. Brooks turns to me, letting go of our brother. "I'm not going to be stuck in a house with just Foster and Kiersten, nu-uh. I'm also going to be a sophomore next year. That's supposed to be your best year in high school before a shitty junior year. I can't be sneaking out all the time!" Brooks defends.

Both Kayce and I raise our brows at that last sentence. "You're not about to get crazy on me, Brooks. That's not why I want you to live with me," Kayce says first. "Yeah, calm down, little bro," I add. Brooks groans in frustration. "Don't give me this innocent shit, okay? Kayce, you weren't an angel in high school and uncle Rhys taught me how to shotgun a beer so I want to put my talents to use," he says sophisticatedly. My eyes widen but Kayce rolls his.

That sure sounds like Uncle Rhys. He taught me a couple of party tricks too. Dad would kill him if he found that out though. "Since when did you start drinking?" I question. Kayce and I thought us letting him take shots with us on his fifteenth birthday was his first rodeo. "I'm a freshman, Nola. I party. Ask mom and dad. I've gotten in a bit of trouble with them for coming home past twelve." Brooks shrugs. I turn to my older brother to see if he can confirm this.

"No clue. I'm asleep by nine," Kayce says. I sigh. "Grandpa," Brooks snickers. Kayce smiles a bit, elbowing him in the ribs. "So your fifteenth birthday was a lie? You've gotten drunk before?" I ask. "I had gotten beer drunk before. Not vodka drunk," Brooks replies. Great. My brother is getting drunk at fifteen years old. "If you move out with Kayce, you'll become a goddamn alcoholic by seventeen," I groan.

"He won't."
"I won't!"

"Sister, if you ever do anything for me, do this. If they say no after tonight, then we'll drop it. But help us. Just this once," Kayce adds. Both of my brothers look at me with that sibling pleading look that only my dumbass falls for every single time. After a couple of seconds, I release a frustrated sigh. "Fine. But just tonight! If they don't say yes or even maybe, then you're on your own," I retreat.

My brothers high-five each other and then we hear the front door open. "Dinners here!" My dad's voice booms from downstairs.

Kayce smirks. "Game time, baby."

***

Mom and dad brought home some food from Killian's, a local restaurant. We went through the whole dinner without a mention of my brothers wanting to move out but now that everyone's pretty much done eating, Kayce bumps his knee with mine. I turn to look at him and he nods his head once at me and then at Brooks who sits on the other side of me.

I return the nod, picking at the last of my food while I wait for Kayce to speak up.

"Mom, Dad." Kayce interrupts the conversation my parents were having between themselves. They both give him their complete attention, waiting for him to go on. "So, I've been thinking about college and I know it's a bit soon but, I've been looking at a couple of off-campus apartments to lease in the fall. So far, nothing, but dad, I was wondering if you could help out with that," Kayce declares. Okay, not a bad start.

"Wait, what? I thought you were staying in Oak Hill for college?" Mom questions. "No, I am. But I'm still moving out of the house. And..." Kayce pauses for just a second, turning to look at our younger brother. "I wanted Brooks to join me. You know, be my roommate or whatever." Mom's dark blues widen at this. "I'm sorry?!" Dad sits up straight. "You're not serious, right?" Oh, lord.

"Before you say no, just think about it, okay? I'll be moving out but we'll still be in the same city and Brooks and I will probably be here every day. I just need my own space to start growing and I was going to leave anyway if I decided on the MLB. It'll be good for me, don't you think? I mean, Nola's doing well on her own." Kayce looks at me for help. I look at him shortly before turning to look at my parents who don't seem sold one bit.

"Yeah, I am. Obviously, I miss you guys but that's about it. College has been good to me and like Kayc said, he'll still be in Oak Hill. It'll probably be like they never left with how much they'll still be coming by the house," I hesitate just a bit. Lying to my parents isn't fun. Although I have flourished somewhat in college, life also hasn't been the easiest for me. For my brother's sake, I'll keep that to myself for now.

"And what about Brooks? Why does he have to go too? He's a baby!" Mom stammers. Brooks cringes. "Mom, I'm fifteen! I'm not a baby." Foster drops his fork against his glass plate, causing us all to stare in his direction. "Brooks is leaving already, too?" he questions. My little sister who's always quiet during dinner actually speaks up too. "Wait, he is?"

"No!" Both of my parents say. Brooks groans. "Mom, dad, please! Kayce wants me to go with him. Like he said, I'm still going to be here all the time! You know I don't know how to cook, I'll be over for dinner every single day. Me and Kayc have never been able to be without each other for so long. I'll be good, I promise. You can call, text, email, or whatever you old people do every hour of the day if that's what it takes. Do it!"

Foster frowns but stays quiet. "Calling us old isn't helping your case, kid," Dad says through clenched teeth. "Dad, I'm not going to corrupt him. If anything, he'll do that to me. We'll be fine and we'll be twenty minutes away. I need this, I want this. I've already done so much staying in Oak Hill for a while longer haven't I? Just let me have this," Kayce inquired. Manipulation? Great tactic, brother.

Mom's face falls at that. "You didn't want to stay here? Baby, we never forced you-"

"No, I know that. I didn't mean it like that. I'm just saying, I stayed here to be close to you guys for a bit longer before I get drafted and move to another state. I just want this little bit of freedom. I need it," Kayce interrupts. "Freedom with me," Brooks adds. Kayce nods, "With my little brother." Mom and dad look at my brothers before looking at each other for a long time.

"You're fifteen. Why do you want to leave us so quickly?" Mom asks Brooks, her voice low. "Mom, with how complicated Kayce is, he can decide he wants to declare to the MLB next year and I'll be right back here with you guys. I just want as much time with him as possible. He's my brother," Brooks says. "Please." Again, my parents look at each other. A disappointed look is etched into moms soft features as she lays her head on dads shoulders.

"We don't know, boys. Kayce, we want to give you what you want, bud. If you want to move out, you can. I'll help you look for something nice but you," he turns to Brooks, "don't think you're going anywhere so soon. We don't know, Brooks. Mom and I have to think about this...insane idea you two have. It's not something we're just going to agree to in a span of fifteen minutes. We'll see," dad explains.

Kayce lets out a sigh next to me but Brooks is clearly upset. "Fine," Brooks murmurs, looking down. "Thanks, dad. But please, think about it. I want Brooks with me. It wouldn't be the same," Kayc adds. Brooks looks up and gives the smallest smile to our brother. "We'll clean up here," I tell mom and dad as they both stand up. "Thanks, guys," dad says, grabbing mom by the hand as he leads her out of the kitchen. "We'll be by your rooms in a bit," mom says, her voice still low.

Kayce tells both Kiersten and Foster to go up to their rooms and we wait until it's just the three of us to talk. "That went better than I imagined. I thought the old man would freak out more at the mention of Brooks following you," I speak first. Kayce starts picking up the trash from the table and shoves it into a plastic bag. "Yeah, same. Thank God, he didn't. I didn't want to have a stand off with the guy."

"No definitive answer though," Brooks says sadly, jumping up on the counter. "If they would have said yes tonight, I would have thought they were having a stroke. You know how mom is, Brooks. She was the same way when I wanted to leave and you're 15, it's a normal reaction. I know it's not what you wanted but...maybe they'll grow fond of the idea. Somehow." I try and give my little brother an inch of hope.

"Be a good boy and come home on time and maybe they'll worry less," Kayce tells him. I smile, turning on the faucet to clean the seven cups we used. Brooks rolls his eyes as he plays with his fingers. "I'll try and be the perfect little boy they think I am just so they'll change their minds," he rants. I giggle. "They do not think you're a perfect little boy, Brooks."

Kayce nods, leaning up against the counter across from Brooks. "More like their worst nightmare," he says. We both laugh, but Brooks stays quiet. "I'm not that bad. But if they think I'm bad, I'll show them just how bad I can be." He shrugs. Oh, no. "Hey, what the hell? Are you trying to move out of here next year or not?" Kayc questions. "Yes, brother. I wasn't talking about now, I meant later. In the future," Brooks assures.

"I will not be taking care of you or covering up your shit," Kayce announces. "He's going to be your roommate so you kind of have to. Ember and I do it for each other all the time," I tell them. "We'll see," Kayce says, looking up and down at Brooks. "Kinda cute, that little speech you both gave about not wanting to be separated because you're so close and love each other so much," I mock them, giggling.

"Shut up!" They both yell at the same time.

I laugh again. God, I love them.