Deon

"So you're going to Pesley's house? I wanna go too," Brianna whines.

She barged into my room wearing a bunny costume after Mom told her I was going over to Presley's. "I'm only going there to do some school work," I tell my little sister.

"But I wanna see her. I haven't seen her in a while." She starts tearing up.

I sigh. Even though I try not to care so much, she always gets to me. Like right now, when her tears are just a form of manipulation. "She'll be coming over when we're done with the homework."

"You promise?" Bree pouts.

I suddenly remember that Pres told me she wanted to show me her...hiding place. "Yeah, but it's gonna take some time to finish the homework."

"That's okay." She beams at me before hopping out of the room.

When I go over to Pres's she opens the front door for me and we get to work as soon as I get there.

She has her books and stationary scattered all over her study table. She clears half of it for me to work on, but being the neat freak that I am, I arrange all her things in order and clear her table. I have no idea how she can study when her room's a mess. I, for one, find it extremely hard.

She's wearing a pale yellow sundress with thin straps and a V-neck, which stops mid-thigh. Its front gives me a clear view of her amazingly full tits when she bends forward on the desk to write.

"Here's the structure. You just need to follow it and write the answers for all five topics." Pres places the paper she was writing on in front of me.

"That's it? It's that simple?" I ask, surprised.

"Yep." She grins.

In less than an hour, we finish the assignment and submit it online.

"In the morning, Bree was being demanding as always. She wanted to come see you, but I told her no, and promised her you'd come over later," I say, nervous she'd say she won't be able to come.

When she says, "She's so cute. How could you ever turn her down?" I internally sigh in relief. I do not want to disappoint Bree.

I chuckle. "Oh, well. I've gotten used to her manipulating and demanding ways."

Pres laughs. "Let's go now."

"Not just yet. I want to see your hiding place first." I smirk at her.

"Okay. Come on," she chirps, clearing the tables while I pack up my books. By clearing the table, I mean carelessly piling up the books on a corner of the table and stuffing stationary in a drawer. I bite back a chuckle at my girlfriend's messiness.

We head downstairs to find Jennet and Leonard watching the news on tv in their living room. "Gramma, Grandpa, were going for an afternoon stroll. I'm going over to Deon's later, so I won't be back until late in the evening," she announces.

"Okay, sweetheart. Be safe," Jennet says.

"I'm always safe," Pres says, then takes my hand and drags me outside.

* * *

"This is it." Presley gestures at the huge clearing of grass. Starting at my feet, there's a pathway of small tree stumps leading to the bottom of a tree house. "My dad built this for me and my sister to play when we came here every weekend to visit Gramma and Grandpa.

On our walk here she told me how she sold her old house and moved some of her stuff here after her parents and sister died, with her cousin, Luke's help. She shouldn't have had to go through all that. For fuck's sake, she was only fourteen.

She told me she used to come here a lot after her family died, and even when she wanted a break from reality. Apparently, she hasn't told anyone else about her hideout. I'm shocked she hasn't even told Maddy. My girlfriend is so full of surprises.

After everything she's been through; losing her family, being cheated on, and on top of all that, she still stands stubbornly tall, facing life and taking whatever it sends her way.

She's a badass.

"Has anyone ever told you how beautiful and amazing you are?" I ask Pres as she hops from stump to stump while I walk beside her on the grass.

My question seems to catch her off guard because she gasps, then blushes a soft pink before replying, "Ryan did once. But, I don't think he truly meant it." She frowns, lowering herself onto a rung of the narrow wooden ladder.

I lower myself down beside her, making a mental note to teach that motherfucker a thing or two if we cross paths. "You are kind...caring...gorgeous...sexy...stubborn...bossy..." I say, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

She lets out a giggle, blushing once again.

"You're incredible, Presley Jones."

And then I kiss her.

I kiss her, pouring out all my emotions towards her that I've been holding back. I know I'm going to sound crazy and insane, but I wish I could change everything for her, and make her the happiest girl on earth.

However, as that is impossible to do, I just settle for kissing all the self doubt and sadness out of her.

Presley

"Pesley!" Brianna comes running towards us in a cute little bunny suit and hugs my waist just as Deon and I enter his house. "Do you like my costume?" She says, taking a step back.

"Wow. It looks really cute on you." I grin at Deon's cute little sister who's standing in front of me, hopping up and down.

"Do you wanna see my other costumes?" Bree asks.

"Of course. Lead the way." She takes my hand and leads me towards the stairs. Deon starts to protest, but Bree's already dragging me up the stairs.

She opens the door right in front of Deon's room, which is next to the twins' room, and pulls me inside.

I'm suddenly blinded by the afternoon sunlight. When my eyes adjust to the bright light flooding in through the pretty, royal-themed purple and gold curtains I feel like I've just entered the room full of Disney princesses in 'Ralph breaks the internet.' Also, what's even more impressive is that this room is humongous. And I'm not even exaggerating.

The massively tall glass windows half-covered by the curtains overlook the street and the forest. My house is visible from up here, too. The floor is carpeted with a really soft material that matches the curtain color. There's a very comfy looking bed with baby pink sheets, pillows and dozens of colorful soft toys. The headboard is built in the shape of a tiara with two fancy bedside cupboards placed on either side of it. Facing the bed is a big mirror with a dresser containing toy makeup sets, hair brushes, perfumes and a few other trinkets. Did I mention the beautifully carved double-doored cupboard on the side? In one corner is a tiny study-desk along with a couple of chairs and a bookshelf. Another corner of the room holds a small couch with a coffee table to match it placed in front of it.

Bree walks over to the cupboard and swings its doors open, revealing countless tiny dresses and costumes. I spot a couple of tutus, Ariel's mermaid costume and a Snow White's dress among them.

"They are very pretty," I say, eyeing them.

"Thank you, Pesley." She smiles at me sweetly. "Can I braid your hair? And then can we go to the park?"

"Sure, you can braid my hair, but we're gonna have to ask Dee Dee about going to the park," I reply.

"Okay." She pouts.

"Don't worry. I'll convince him." I grin at her. Like Deon said, she sure has a way of manipulating, but I don't mind at all.

"Yay!" Bree pulls me by the hand towards the dressing table and tells me to sit on the tiny stool in front of it.

At first, I'm afraid it'll break, but when I realize it's firm and strong enough to hold me, I sit properly.

Brianna pulls out an iPad from a drawer and goes to the YouTube tab as I stare at her in shock.

I had no idea six-year-olds knew how to operate iPads, because I could barely read and write when I was six. I smile amusedly as I watch her swiping and tapping the screen.

A fishtail braid tutorial that has been watched halfway through pops up on the screen.

"Who taught you to use the iPad?"

"I learned by myself," she answers. "I found this in Daddy's study and I sneaked it into my room to watch some hairstyle tutorials on YouToob."

"Ohh." I bite back a smile at her pronunciation of 'YouTube'. She's so damn cute.

Wow. I already have a feeling that the Martinez family is going to have a little rebel on their hands once this little girl grows up.

I stay quiet and let Bree do her job.

"All done," she says once she finishes and steps away from me to admire her work. She even pinned a tiny yellow butterfly clip to my hair that matches my dress, asking me to keep it because she has a lot of them.

I turn sideways, and look at myself in the tall mirror. My hair is in two fishtail plaits, each draped down the front of my shoulders. I look younger than seventeen, and I take a moment to absorb the new look. Even though the plaits are a little messy, it's pretty impressive for a six-year-old.

Bree has got skills. Who's to say, maybe she'll become one of those crazy viral, super rich teenagers on the internet... or maybe even a fashionista or a model, when she grows up. "It's beautiful," I say, and that makes her beam and giggle in glee.

"I know right?" Bree exclaims. "You look like a princess!"

She tells me that she'll change into something else to go to the park so I thank her for plaiting my hair before going downstairs in search of Deon.

I hear the sound of a guitar strumming when I get to the bottom step. Trying to find its source, I follow it. It leads me to the backyard where Deon is sitting on a stainless-steel chair, singing 'Let it go' by James Bay while playing the guitar. I lean against the open French door, listening quietly. His smooth, deep voice sounds sweet like honey to my ears. He has such a beautiful voice. I'm drawn to it like bees to honey.

I wonder if he sings at home often. If he does, the people in this house are so damn lucky. Getting to hear this every day is just... wow.

The song ends and he starts another one. It's by Jason Maraz, but I can't really remember its name.

I don't dare interrupt him. If someone's going to, it's not going to be me.

Deon

I get lost in the words as I sing 'I'm yours' by Jason Mraz. The music takes over me, making me forget my surroundings.

"Pesley, what are you doing?" Bree's voice startles me, making me stop mid song. Pres yelps and jumps out from where she seems to have been...hiding? I think.

My little sister has her hands on her hips with a confused look on her face. My eyes land on Pres's perfect figure. Her brunette hair is in two messy plaits and in her hair I spot one of those yellow butterfly thingies Bree never lets anyone touch. My little sister seems to really like my girlfriend. I see she has convinced Pres to let her style her hair.

Pres laughs nervously. "Oh, I was just gonna ask your brother..."

Oh, sure...Wait. "Ask me what?" I smirk at her.

She suddenly turns around, flushed. "If we um...if we can go to the park." She shrugs.

"What? No. I'm too lazy to drive right now."

"Pretty please?" Bree whines as Pres comes up to me. "I even got changed."

"Please, Dee Dee," she purrs in my ear, hugging me around the waist. Then she pulls back a little, pouting. I'm tempted to pull that bottom lip into my mouth, so I do.

I lean in to kiss her, but she stops me and whispers, "Bree's here."

"She wouldn't mind. Trust me."

I kiss her. Pulling her bottom lip into my mouth, I nibble on it.

"So, can we go?" She asks, pulling back once again.

"Fine. Let's go," I groan.

"We're going to the park, Bree," Pres announces, and Bree shrieks, "Yay!"

* * *

"Bree's made a friend," I observe my sister with another little girl as I take a seat on the park bench next to Pres.

The park isn't very crowded. This place looks newly renovated. The mat slides, swings, see-saws and monkey bars all seem new.

"Yeah." She grins at me. Taking the cotton candy waffle cone ice cream from my hand which I bought from the truck parked nearby, she eyes it.

"Did you eat from mine?" Pres narrows her eyes at me.

"No, I didn't," I lie.

"Yes, you did. Look." She shows me a spot where someone has clearly licked the ice cream. "I wanna taste yours now."

"No way," I say, which causes her to huff out a breath in defeat.

After a moment I feel her hand sneak up my shirt. It trails over my abs softly before moving a little lower. I'm glad the park isn't very crowded. There's no one close by to notice what Pres is doing to me right now. I groan softly, my eyelids getting heavy. After closing them for a tiny sensual moment, I open them back up to catch Pres licking my chocolate and mint ice cream. "Hey!"

She giggles before licking her lips and leaning back against the bench again. "That's for licking my ice cream."

"You won't be giggling when I lick you after we get back home."

"Mmm," she hums softly and swallows visibly, blushing.

"Dee Dee! Pesley! This is my friend, Nick." Brianna runs over to us holding hands with a boy about the same age as her, with shaggy sandy brown hair. I notice he is a couple inches taller than her. "He lives in our lane. Isn't that really cool? Now we can play all the time!"

I tense up, my blood starting to boil.

A boy. Around her age. Living close to us. And he is holding her hand right now.

Fuck no.

"No—" I start to say, but Pres interrupts me.

"Hello, Nick. I'm Presley. It's nice to meet you."

I have the urge to step forward and break the hold this boy has on my little sister's hand.

"Hello, Presley. You can call me Nicholas. Or Josh. Joshua's my second name, and that's what everyone else calls me. Only Brianna can call me Nick." The little boy replies, beaming at my girlfriend.

"Oh, okay. That's sweet." Pres smiles too sweetly at him, then turns to me and frowns for a moment. "Um, this is Deon, Brianna's brother," Pres explains when I don't say anything.

"Hi," the boy says, eyeing me, but I simply nod, repressing the urge to punch the little fucker in the face.

"We're just gonna sit here and wait," Pres says, smiling warmly at them. "You guys go have fun."

I start to say no, but Pres pinches my arm and I wince.

"Okay," Bree squeals before pulling the boy away from us and towards the huge red, blue and yellow mat slide.

"What was that for?" I demand once they are out of sight.

"What's up with you?" Pres looks a little mad.

Why is she mad? I'm not the one who pinched her.

"What's up with me? My little sister just ran off with a boy, and they were holding hands."

She starts laughing at me? What the fuck?

"What's so funny?" I demand.

"Your sister didn't run off with a boy, Deon. She's just having some fun—"

"What kind of fun? I know where that's headed." I point at where Bree and the boy are swinging back and forth on the swing set.

"Well... let's just hope it's not headed where you assume it's headed." She tries to bite back a smile, but fails.

I turn to see Bree and the other kid laughing. "That's it. We're going home."

I stand up, but Pres does too before shoving me back down on the bench with unpredicted strength. She sits on my lap sideways, facing me. "Stop it, Deon. They're just kids. It's not like they're gonna do... anything."

Well, let's hope to God they don't.

I sigh, giving in reluctantly. "I guess you're right."

A few minutes pass before Nicholas...Joshua...or whatever his name is runs up to us, panting. "Brianna's over at the small mat slide there," he announces, pointing at a green mat slide, further away from us. "She says she can't breathe. I think she's wheezing—"

"Fuck!" I react on instinct. I push Pres off my lap and stand up in a flash without thinking. My heart starts palpitating before my breath comes out in short puffs. My eyes get all blurry as I start to sweat, shaking violently from head to toe.

Her asthma.

I hear Presley's distant voice asking if I'm okay. I can't respond, but I manage to give her my car keys and yell at her to get my car out to the entrance. After she nods and hurries away without question, I run in the direction of the green mat slide.

Bree's curled up on the sponge carpet, definitely wheezing. "Bree?"

"Dee Dee," she puffs out. "I can't breathe."

Gathering her up in my arms, I rush to the park's entrance, my heart hammering in my chest so hard I hear it in my ears.

Presley

Worried and impatient, I sit in a chair at St. Barbara's hospital, waiting for Deon to come out of the emergency room.

He was a mess when we arrived at the hospital. From what I saw, he was having a panic attack and I was worried for him as much as I was for Bree. When he got into his car with Bree he was screaming at me to drive them to the nearest hospital before mumbling something about forgetting Brianna's inhaler. I was so afraid that I even drove his Audi without my driver's license.

People hurry from left to right in front of me. The receptionist calls out names and numbers of patients. The sound of an ambulance fills my ears as the smell of hospitals and sanitizer overwhelms me. Goosebumps have formed on my skin due to the air conditioning inside the hospital.

There's a vending machine on my left, and I would've considered getting something from myself, but I don't have any money on me right now. The digital LED clock above the reception reads 6:58 pm.

Deon walks out of the emergency room. I'm out of my chair and walking over to him in less than a second. "How is she? Is she okay?" I bombard him with questions without thinking about how he is. "Are you okay?" I hug him and he lets me.

"Pres, I'm fine, and Bree is too. The doctor said she had a very minor asthma attack."

"Oh, thank god." I let out a breath of relief.

"My parents and my brothers called, and I told them she's fine and we'll be home in a bit. The doctor said he wanted to run a small check up on Bree. Then we're good to go."

"Oh, okay," I say as we both walk over to a stainless steel set of chairs and take a seat.

"I'm sorry you had to stay. I would've dropped you home, but I was terrified of something happening to Bree."

"It's completely fine—" I start to say, but Deon interrupts me.

"I am also very sorry for yelling at you earlier at the park, and in the car. I wasn't in my right mind. I was um...having a..."

"Panic attack?" I offer.

"Yeah," he huffs out a breath.

"Deon, I'm fine, honestly. Also, you don't need to apologize for anything." I grab his hand and run my thumb over his knuckles.

"Brianna caught Pneumonia once when she was three years old, and I was so fucking scared for her. Ever since, every time she starts wheezing I get a panic attack," he confesses.

"I'm so sorry you had to experience that," I say, my heart breaking for him.

He lets out a low, halfhearted chuckle. "Well, you've experienced worse."

I don't say anything to that.

"Do you want to grab something to eat or drink?" Deon asks, breaking the awkward silence. "A nurse said that there's a cafe on this floor next to the elevator."

"I'm good. Thanks." I smile.

"Well, you didn't have lunch either. So, you're going to have to eat something."

"I can't. I'm really not hungry," I counter.

"We'll see." Deon says, then stands up and heads for the vending machine, so I follow him. He picks an item before entering a coin into the coin hole. He bends down to grab the packet of gummy bears from the machine.

"You like gummy bears?" I ask, amused.

"I do, but these are for Bree," he replies, smiling. "Do you need anything?"

I shake my head. "Nope. I'm good."

As we enter, the small hospital cafe is empty except for the person working at the counter. "Pres, what do you want to eat?" Deon asks me, eyeing the array of short-eats lined up behind the glass cubicle.

"I really am not hungry...ooh can I get a macaron? I'll pay you back."

"Of course, but please, you need to eat something else too. You haven't eaten anything since you had breakfast, Pres."

"Okay, fine. I'll get a spring roll too." I sigh before adding, "I'm paying you back."

"Haha. Nice try." Deon chuckles. "I'll make a deal. I'm buying you three macarons if you're going to eat a spring roll along with two other things. And you aren't paying me back."

I end up accepting his offer even though he drove a hard bargain, because who could ever decline an offer of food if there are macarons in it?

We take the food and head back to the emergency room where Brianna's seated on a black leather and steel chair eating a lollipop.

"Don't eat a lot of ice cream, love," the female doctor advises.

Brianna beams at the doctor. "I don't eat ice cream."

"Oh, that's good," the good doctor says. "You're good to go now, kiddo."

"Thank you." Bree jumps down from the chair and hugs me. "Pesley!"

I bend down to hug her back. "Hey, Bree. Are you feeling okay?"

"Yes." She beams at me. "A lot better."

"I'm glad." I say, smiling.

"Bree, do you wanna go get in the car with Presley?" Deon hands me his car keys. She nods, so I take her hand and head over to the car park.

Unlocking the car, I open the back door and secure her into her car seat.

Getting in the front, I ask, "Are you good back there, sweetie?"

"Yep," Bree replies.

A couple seconds pass before Deon opens the driver's side door and gets in. "Do not ever do that to me again, Bree. You almost gave me a fucking heart attack." He gazes at Brianna in the back.

"Okay, but don't say that in front of me, Dee Dee. It's a bad word," Bree counters. Deon grimaces, as if just realizing he swore in front of his sister, and starts the car, muttering, "I'm sorry. And here you go." He passes the packet of gummies to Bree, who squeals and thanks him before tearing into the packet of candy.

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