Read Authors Note at the end? Thanks guys! And in case anyone wanted to know what my writing space looks like before I move -

*Chapter is partially unedited*

- Tuesday -

     THE HILARITY OF THE SITUATION finally hit me when I sat down in the kitchen three hours later. Here I was, alone in a trillion dollar mansion with a girl that was all manner of hot, and I wasn't making a move on her.

Not that I could, even if I wanted to. There were certain lines even I wouldn't cross, and seeing the kind of reaction Elias had to that so called crime I didn't commit three months ago, I couldn't risk wrecking whatever bridge he was rebuilding between us for the moment.

Elias Pennington demanded respect in every sense of the word, it's just the kind of man he was; and looking at how I'd been acting as of late, he didn't see it fit that I gained his admiration in return. My father's own personal form of punishment made what happened back at UPenn look like a slap on the wrist. The way he would eek out whatever sliver of pride I had left and toss it into the garbage can left me wondering just what kind of hell was in store during this little internship he'd thrown together at last minute.

His fiancé however, saw this as an opportunity and ended up casting her own daughter into the fire along with me. Angel Blaine was naive when it came to matters of the heart; Elias had been smart enough to clue me in on Scarlett's little predicament that forced her to come running back to mommy. Angel looked at Scarlett like she was the gorgeous moon, when in actuality, I could see the bright burning rays of the sun glowing off her that prickled my skin. She had the same agenda as I did when it came to our parents. They didn't understand, and they never would.

Scarlett was only doing what was absolutely necessary to get the hell out of here and back to her old life in Cali. She didn't give a rats ass about what her mother thought was best; just like I didn't when it came to Elias.

Though I doubted anything would come of this internship, Scarlett and I would both play our parts like Oscar winning actors. My not so secret trust fund and her name getting written into the Pennington family will depended on it.

Us humans, we were greedy at the end of the day.

"Hayden?" The name shot from the front door, around the corner and back again like a boomerang.

"What?" I practically mumbled out the simple word. I couldn't muster up the strength to deal with anyone at the moment, especially not him.

Jay stalked into the kitchen with a look of utter distaste. He shrugged his fifty pound football gear onto the clean white tile with a loud thump, rolling his slender shoulders in an attempt to ease the aching in his muscles after a long, hard day at practice. With each movement he made his white v-neck only clung to his sweat soaked torso further.

"Dad upstairs?" Jay's words hung in the already stif and awkward air between us. When he spun around the grab a bottle of water from the fridge it exposed the green and brown stains covering the back of his shirt, and his ass to boot. He'd gotten slaughtered today.

I had to fight to keep the smile off my face.

"Elias is dead," I said, not moving my eyes from the chips and dip I was snacking on. "But he left you the Lincoln and his prized coin collection. I got stuck with the maid and whatever was left in his bank account."

"Shut up," Jay hissed. "Is he still in Richmond with Angel?"

I shrugged, "hasn't called to tell me otherwise."

My older brother took it as a win, hopping up on the granite countertop behind me. His black shoes scuffed against the tile on his ascent, leaving dirt behind on the previously sparkling flooring. I sat, listened as he chugged back as much water as he could swallow in one go. The sound made the chips and dip lying in wait just inches from me less than appetizing, but they tasted too good for me to give up now. "You know the case dad's working on? They're trying to get the death penalty for that guy. I don't even think it's legal anymore."

"What?"

"Yeah," Jay laughed, like it was funny. "Dad's prosecuting this guy. They thought he was the zodiac killer or something-"

"Why the hell would they think he was the zodiac killer?"

"Because he confessed," he said. Jay's tone was lighter than I thought it should have been when he spoke, "dude's literally crazy. He had an ass ton of heroine in his place. Then he tried to slit his own throat, you know, with like a Japanese sword he bought off eBay. His wife stopped him, and he stabbed her in the chest. I think he killed his kids, too."

The frown on my face had to have looked as comical as Jay sounded. "Why do you know all this?"

Jay choked on his water.

The coughing fit that followed left him hunching over, spewing water all over the place, or so I assumed. I didn't feel like turning around to help him. Out of the corner of my eyes I could see the droplets accumulating on the floor with every cough that ended just a bit shorter than the last. He fought with his airways, straining for a quick breath every few seconds before he finally gulped in the air, and thus, he finally shut the hell up.

"Sorry," his voice was gravelly. "I heard dad talking about it. He's been on and off the phone for weeks."

I could literally feel my eyes roll to the back of my head. He'd always been a slut for gossip, even when we were kids. He'd follow me around, asking again and again who'd beat me up at school just so he could spread the rumor. He didn't give two shits if I had a black eye because of it, he just wanted the attention.

Looks like nothing had changed since I'd last seen him.

"Why is Elias prosecuting a criminal when he works in financial law?" I asked, popping another chip into my mouth. The action made this whole conversation a little easier to fathom. Not in my wildest dreams in the days before I left UPenn could I have imagined making small talk with my brother. "He shouldn't have any say in the outcome of any of this."

"I don't know," Jay said. "I think they got the guy on a technicality, or something. Like he was already in court for something dad deals with and then they caught him red handed. Again."

"That's not what a technicality is, Jay."

"Sure it is," he scoffed. "Technicality is-"

"Is what Elias deals with in financial law," I corrected him before he could fuck up the definition again. "Catching some guy who's high off his own supply, confessing to murders and then committing them? That's not a technicality."

"Will you just grow a pair and talk to me like a normal fucking person?" Jay's voice echoed through the halls and up the stairs. I wouldn't be surprised if it woke the precious blonde princess up from her nap. "Or look at me, or something?"

James Pennington and I were only alike in two ways: our brown hair, and our facial features. When looking over his all too lean mean fighting machine type built, you'd start to wonder how a kid who hadn't seen the daylight in years on account of playing video games ended up with the sturdier build of the two brothers.

I was that kid, and when I finally did see the sunlight, my hair was so shocked it was bleached blonde by the oh so gentle rays.

I popped a chip into my mouth, "how about you grow a pair and forget it?" I offered causally. My open-mouth chewing only amplified Jay's hatred of me. "I'm not in the mood to look at you and your ugly face."

"Oh, get off your high horse Hayden," Jay said. "You were the idiot that got caught. Not me, and not any one of the guys. So deal with it. You hated UPenn, anyways. So just let it go already."

"I hated the business lectures and the accounting assignments. I hated having to represent the family at every single one of your stupid fucking football games just because mom and dad couldn't get off their asses long enough to come watch you play fetch," I said. "But I didn't hate UPenn. It got me away from Elias, and sometimes even you."

"Me?" Jay's words scathed through him. "You wanted to get away from me."

"Now I do," I scoffed.

"Well guess what, Hayden? No one's forcing you to be here. You can fucking leave at any fuck-"

"Hello?"

Jay's head practically did a three-sixty with how quick he whipped around.

"In here?" I called back. It sure as hell wasn't Scarlett, I'd know if it was her. No, the voice was feminine in nature, but it wasn't anyone Jay or I knew.

The clicking of heels sounded just after the door closed behind the mystery girl. Apparently, Jay had left the door unlocked on his way in; Like we lived in some rustic old small town where everyone knew everyone, or something.

Idiot.

"Hi," the brunette waved awkwardly before pushing her hands into the pockets of her white washed jean jacket. "I'm a friend of Scarlett's. Assuming you two numskulls are her stepbrothers?"

The girl from the picture looked far better in person.

"You're a friend of Scarlett's?" Jay mirrored her words. "I think she's upstairs."

Jay was mesmerized by her chocolate brown eyes and waves of brown hair that stopped just under her ample chest. Her shorts were a bit longer than he or I would have liked, but those tan legs went on for miles, only stopping when they reached those black high heeled ankle boots that boosted her frame up a few inches higher.

Her smile beamed through that red lipstick she adorned her plump lips with when her eyes locked with Jay's. "Thanks," she paused.

"Jay," he said, reaching over to slap me in the shoulder, "this is Hayden."

"I'm Wren." She smiled again, shrugging off her jacket to reveal the tight black tank top that hugged alluring curves. "Guess I'll see you guys later."

Before she could even make it up the first few steps on the stairwell, Jay turned to look me dead in the eye.

"I call dibs."

. . .

Oh Wren and Jay. Basically our fan favorite couple... Sarcasm intended.

Hey everyone and thank you for being patient. At the moment I am moving (out of town, state, ect) and though my mom and I have been planning this for a while, it only just became real this week. In light of this, I will be posting a new chapter of Something Real every day this week (Monday-Friday), and will be posting 1-2 chapters of The Distance Theory next Tuesday.

For those of you that have been wondering where I've been? Moving and dealing with the photo below:

Basically what we've got here is a cyst sitting under the skin and on top of a major artery / multiple tendons that allow my hands to move - meaning, when that thing blows up like a balloon, I can't feel my dang fingers or move them. After meeting with two doctors (one who did nothing, and the second who *tried* to drain it while nearly giving me an infection from poking the needle in wrong), it looks like I'm living with this for a while. I will go on. Despite this, I am trying my best to get back into writing.

I won't have a job for a few weeks when I move into my new place, so writing will be the game!

ANYONE who is doing Camp NaNoWriMo, drop your user below and we'll start a cabin together!

Next chapter will go up tomorrow! Be sure to let me know what you think of the rewrite! ❤️

. . .