I spoke too early. Bryan was bossy and somewhat of a jerk whenever he could.

Two days in and one of my obligations was to make coffee. It didn't sound too bad, if I had a freaking normal coffee machine. Instead, I had to deal with an Italian monstrosity that seemed more complicated than every algebra lesson I'd had in high school.

It didn't matter how much time and effort I put into. The stupid machine didn't brew coffee. I'd been struggling with it for the last hour, cursing a million times over and over, grabbing every handle with the utmost care, because to top it all, it was so pretty that looked like a piece of art.

It shone under the lamppost as I rubbed the back of my palm against my forehead. I'd been at this for the last hour. Hour. As in sixty freaking minutes and I couldn't get it to work. I was tired and emotional.

My cheeks felt hot. Two hours ago, I was reading the next set of applications Bryan gave me. The stories were heartbreaking. All of them. Most of the applicants had a rough past. They either moved from one foster home to the other or had some kind of violent past. Most of them had problems with drugs or alcohol, but every person applying wanted more in life. They wanted a job, they wanted to have a better life, to be seen as a normal person, not a pariah.

I didn't notice the tears rolling down my cheeks until Bryan placed a box of tissues in front of me. The stories touched a chord in my heart. I remembered about my father. His screams, how I used to hide under the bed while the house rattled every time he was in a bad mood. Especially when he was drunk. He left the house when Mom announced her pregnancy. I was nine at the time, and when we moved out of the house to live with Juno, it felt as if it was Christmas. I always felt that Seth was the little angel that made him leave.

Talk about being awkward. Obviously, my tears made Bryan uncomfortable. He took away the files and asked me to make coffee. He probably regretted it now.

The coffee machine made a weird noise. Steam burst from within and I started to pull every lever trying to stop the noise.

"You have to be kidding me," Bryan muttered as he took my place in front of the machine and pressed a few buttons. The machine died. His jaw clenched as he turned to glare at me.

"Sorry." I felt small as he kept glaring at me. Slowly, his gaze started to soften until he turned away.

Taking a deep breath, he added, "I should have showed you how to use it first." He gestured to an itsy-bitsy lever on the side of the machine. "This is the start button. You must turn it on and let the machine warm up for a few minutes until you start using it. It's an old-school Italian coffee machine, so you know, try to be more careful the next time you use it, okay?"

"Yes, sir." I wasn't trying to be snappy. It slipped out.

His head snapped to me and his eyes narrowed. "This is the coffee grinder, you place the coffee beans here and you choose how fine you want them..." he kept talking and showing me how to properly use the machine. After his explanation, it didn't seem as hard as I thought.

When I finally made an acceptable black coffee, after several tries, he sent me home. I cleaned the mess I made before saying good bye and grabbing my backpack.

I walked out of the building but I still felt like the world was leaning on me. I stopped for a moment and took a deep breath closing my eyes. Flashes of my father's fist appeared in my head. Fuck. It had been so long ago, I'd completely blocked it out of my mind.

A shaky breath left my mouth as my eyes brimmed with tears. It was in the past. No need to think about it anymore. Truth is, that neither Mom or I talked about it. Not even with June. We were free. There was no need to go back to it, even with our thoughts. However, I had the occasional nightmare here and there, but I always kept it to myself.

My heart leapt as someone grabbed me by the arm. I sucked in a breath when a familiar dark voice asked, "Are you okay?"

Turquoise eyes bored into mine as I swallowed hard. "I'm fine."

"Do you want me to drive you home?" Bryan glanced to the sides, concern etched on his face.

I was used to getting home late, walking alone at night didn't worry me. "No, I'm fine. Thank you."

Bryan looked reluctant as I feebly waved and started to walk away, but he didn't push it. Thank God.

When I got home, I was my usual self, although I had the urgent need to hug Seth. I'll always thank him for just being there and pushing him away, and I was glad he was a normal teen, with no more worries than passing geography or about what team would win the next super bowl or whatever. Just normal stuff.

The first thing I did after unlocking the door, was walking inside our living room where my little brother was watching TV. He had a large bag of chips in his hands.

"Hey," he said through a mouthful. "What's up?" I shook my head as a smile formed on my face. I sat next to him and took the chips away from him. "That's mine!" he protested.

"You eat too much."

"I'm in a growing sprout!" I rolled my eyes and gave him the bag after grabbing a couple for myself.

"I love you, dufus."

Seth looked at me as if I'd grown a second head. "What happened today?"

I shrugged. "Not much." I gazed at the TV. "I almost break an ancient coffee machine."

He sat up and left the chips on the coffee table. "Jessie, what's up?"

I felt a knot down my throat. Swallowing hard, I stayed quiet for a moment before looking down at my hands. "I'm just glad that we have a normal life."

He snorted. "Well, if you forget the fact that I have an abusive sister and a hippie grandmother, then I guess we're normal."

My lips quirked. I glanced at him. "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm really sweet with you."

"You slap, tackle or hit me every single day."

I shrugged. "It's a bit of rough love, but love after all."

He crossed his arms. "And don't get me going in how unfair is everything in this household. I'm the only guy. You two should be taking care of me." Seriously? I rolled my eyes and slapped him on the head. "See?"

"Where's Juno?"

"Upstairs in her room." He rubbed his head and made a show as if I'd hit him hard. Please. Smiling, I walked to the stairs. "Oh, Seth! Guess what? I forgot to tell you that I'm earning twice my salary now, so you don't have to get a job."

His eyes narrowed "I'm not giving it up."

"But you don't need to─"

"I do." He averted his eyes and his cheeks flushed. "I want to ask a girl out."

My grin widened. "Oh my Gosh! My little brother is growing up!" He rolled his eyes as I had the best idea. "I think Juno should have the bees and birds talk with you."

Seth's eyes cut to me. They were wide and panicked as he started to shake his head. "No. Please don't."

I wriggled my eyebrows as I ran across the stairs. I heard him right behind me and before I reached Juno's door, he tackled me to the floor.

"Juno!" I screamed from the top of my lungs.

My grandmother opened her door while Seth clasped a hand on my mouth. She frowned at us. She had the phone in her right hand. "Does pizza sound good?" Seth nodded while I tried to tell her to get him away from me but my voice came out as muffled noises. "Okay. Seth, you set the table and Jessie you make the salad, all right? I'll be down in a minute." Then, she got inside her room again and closed the door. I can't believe it!

Seth was going to tickle me to death, so I did what every girl would do in a situation like this, I licked his palm. He took it away and stood up in a flash. "Ewww!" he rubbed his hand on his jeans as I smirked at him.

An evil glint flashed through his eyes. "I wouldn't look so happy. You don't know where my hand has been!"

My eyes widened. "Oh my God, Seth! What the fuck did you do before?" I gagged as I walked to the bathroom and started brushing my teeth and scrubbing my tongue.

Seth laughed evilly.

I glared at him as he crossed his arms and leaned on the door watching me. His smirk morphed into a smile as I finished.

"Jess? I love you, too," he said softly before walking away. A warm feeling burst from my chest. My jaw quivered as a half a smile formed in my face. I love you too dufus.

We ate dinner talking about everything and anything. Well, Seth devoured three-thirds of the pizza while Juno and I talked about our days. After cleaning up the kitchen, she made coffee while Seth slouched in front of the TV again.

"Did you hear that Seth wants to take a girl out?"

Juno smiled. "He's growing up."

I sighed. "I know." I played with my spoon for a while, as I gathered the courage to tell her about what had troubled me at the school. "I had to read some applications today, from the people that want to get in and I remembered about my father."

She was sitting across me, listening intently to anything I had to say, much like she always did. Her easy grin faded and she reached out for me. Her warm hand encased mine. "Your mother never admitted anything but I had my suspicions." Her tone was soft, laced with bitterness. It was unusual to hear Juno like that. "I guess I always hoped to be wrong. I'm so sorry."

"Don't be. It wasn't your fault." I shook my head.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No. I just thought I forgot about it." I took a sip of my coffee as I gazed at her. "Have you ever heard of him?"

Juno's eyes were teary. Her hold tightened. "No. I'm really sorry, honey."

"It's okay. It was a long time ago. I'm just glad we're over it, you know?"

She smiled. "Yes, your brother is growing up and you're finally in a cooking school." She raised an eyebrow, "Surrounded by handsome chefs and mysterious bad-boys."

I laughed awkwardly at that. "Yeah..."

She stood up and hugged me for a moment. She kissed me on the top of my head, before saying, "I'm going to bed now, Jess. You should do the same, honey."

"I will. Thank you."

I watched TV with Seth for a while before calling it a night. As I walked upstairs, he called me. "Jess, are you really okay?"

"Yes. Why?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. You're not being violent or pushing the whole big-sister act. Hell, you haven't even told me to go study." He raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not telling you to go study all the time!" He watched me with an are-you-freaking-kidding-me expression on his face. I averted my eyes, "I'm just tired, Seth."

He looked disappointed and I felt guilty for not telling him how I felt. With a heavy heart, I sat next to him. The TV lights glinted across the floor as I took a deep breath. "I read some files, and these kids have it really tough, Seth." His gaze softened.

I bit my lip and averted my eyes. "It also reminded me about our father."

Seth's whole body tensed. I didn't have to see him to know it. For whatever reason, our father was one of those topics that we never approached. Ever.

"I was so happy the day we moved out of that house."

He glanced at me. "You never talk about him. Was he─? He never hurt you, did he?"

My lips parted. "You knew?"

"I figured it out, and Mom talked to me about it when she was sick. I think she wanted to let it out of her chest."

I noticed how his hands had formed fists. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

I shrugged. "For not telling you?"

"You don't have to apologize, Jess." He glanced down for a moment before meeting my stare, "Did he ever hit you?"

"Only when I stepped in the middle between Mom and him." I shook my head. "Most of the times, I hid in my room."

Seth looked angry and tense. Still frowning, he reached up for me and pulled me to him. "You were nine Jess. You couldn't do much. However, you've done so much for me. Thank you."

I hugged him back swallowing my tears. "You deserve the best, Seth." I pulled away and ruffled his hair. He groaned as always, and a teary smile played on my face.

"I'm glad you got in," he said a moment later.

A wobbly smile drew on my lips. "Okay. Enough with the emotional shit." He shook his head grinning as I added, "and you should go to sleep, it's getting late and you have school tomorrow."

He burst out laughing. "And there's the sister I know."

I rubbed the back of my palm on my eyes. "Good night, Seth"

"Good night, Jess."

Sorry for the late update! You might not know but I'm a cake decorator and last weekend was full with cakes and cupcakes orders, so I didn't get a minute :)

Thanks!