Chương 14: ~°~Chapter Fourteen~°~

"I still find it weird that you're both carrying a sleeping Hayden." Shana's sassy voice is the first thing I hear as I start to wake. "There's something called a bed."

I slowly process her words, 'both carrying? Two people are carrying me?' I blink open my eyes only to look up and see Virgil looking down at me, I raise my upper body and see that my legs are over Dale's own.

I groan and fall back on Virgil's leg. "Why do I keep waking up like this?" I mumble, covering my face.

My mom bustles over from the kitchen to place a loud, smacking kiss on my exposed cheek. "They said that they didn't want to bother you so they left you to sleep on the couch."

Shana scoffs. "I call bullshit, Hayden sleeps like the dead."

"How would you know?" Virgil drawls, pushing a hand through my hair. "You're worse."

"I still don't understand why I'm over your bodies, why couldn't I just sleep on the couch?" I ask through my hands so it comes out a bit muffled.

"It was either that or we'd give each other black eyes." Dale shrugs like there's nothing strange about his words. "Besides it's way better to watch you sleep."

Shana shivered. "You guys are creepy."

I sit up, very grateful that my butt was resting on the couch in the space between them. I'm pretty sure I would have passed out again if I was sitting on Dale.

"I need to go wash my face and no, no one is allowed to follow me." I mumble, still covering my red and puffy face. Scratching my shoulder, I make my way to my room to pee and splash some water on my face.

I study my expression and sigh at the familiar face that stared back at me, I dry my face and contemplate if I should run a brush through my hair or not, if I don't they will tangle up real bad.

That makes up my mind for me and I take a pastel brush and start on my hair, slowly running the brush through bit by bit. Soon my hair is back to it's curly and shiny self but I start to hear my mom's voice all the way from the sitting room so I hurry back without even having a chance to properly appreciate my handwork.

"What's happening?" I ask as I enter back into the living room.

"You haven't eaten anything all day!" My mom exclaims with wide eyes, looking like she might start hyperventilating.

I rush over to her and hold her hand. "I slept through most of the day and I didn't really have an appetite but I'll eat now okay. You need to calm down." I tell her softly, she rarely gets worked up like this but I know that ever since I got seriously hurt, she's been so worried.

"I'll feed him!" Shana quickly raises her hand up and I groan internally, Shana feeds everyone like they have stomachs the size of a Bear's.

"Fine." I agree, not even batting an eye when my mom piles a huge bowl full with chicken soup. "But go easy on me if you don't want me throwing up all over your hair, again." I remind her.

She hums and we all move to the dining room, my mom serves the chicken soup to everyone and ambidextrous Shana manages to effortlessly feed me and herself at the same time. I wasn't surprised, she's had lots of practice at it.

I'm sitting beside Dale and opposite Virgil and I know the peaceful atmosphere wasn't going too last long, my hands are resting on my lap and I nearly choke on a spoonful of food when another hand slips into mine.

Almost immediately, like Virgil had been scrutinizing him, waiting for him to make a move, a thump resounds under the table and Dale frowns but he doesn't let go of my hand, instead he returns the favor back to Virgil.

Virgil winces and puts even more force into the next kick.

Shana slaps the table at this. "If you two morons flip the table over I. will. stab. you." She bit out at them, pointing a finger in their directions.

I look at my mom who's just watching the entire scene with a twinkle in her eyes, she was obviously enjoying what was unfolding before her.

They both ignore her threat but they stop trying to break the table, settling instead for staring daggers at each other.

"Tch, Alphas." I hear Shana mutter under her breath or at least that's what I think she says.

"Um, do you guys know Dale before now?" I find myself asking, trying my best to dissolve the tension that I created because they act too familiar for people who had just met each other a day before.

Virgil looks away first from their stare down, "Family friends." He mumbled vaguely.

"Like you and Shana?" I perk up at this information.

"No," he frowns. "Shana and I are distant relatives." He explains.

Oh! That explains their mutual get together every month then.

"Don't be formal V, Virgil and I grew up together." Dale says, a smirk lighting up his handsome face.

I gape at this piece of information. "Y-You did?"

"For like four, five years when I was little then we moved to Pine Creek. We were kids Dal, it doesn't count." Virgil returns without emotion.

I just stare speechless at their exchange, if I hadn't asked I would have had no idea that they grew up together as little kids, they acted like total strangers that turned into enemies.

"That's how they've always been." Shana explains, slipping a spoon inside my open mouth. "I told you two dingbats, if you bother Hayden, I'll hurt you."

"You already did." Dale half whines, pointing at a red spot on his neck.

Virgil absently rubs a similar spot on his neck as well. "You have a monster's grip." He mumbles.

"That's what you two morons get for arguing when Hay was hurt and nearly putting him in danger." She tells them seriously. "And I'll give you a matching one on the other side of your necks as soon as I'm done eating, you think I don't know that you two idiots made Hayden pass out?" She threatens them, her pink hair waving."

"It's been over 13 years and you can't even be nice to me Ana." Dale says and I'm fishmouthing again. "Is that anyway to treat your cousin?"

"Don't call me that and you're both idiots." Shana repeats huffily, "For that, Hayden and I will share his room and you two morons can take the airbeds."

"You know she used to call me by my name before you came." Virgil says, a hard look on his face, he obviously still hasn't forgotten about the fact that Dale is still holding onto my hand.

"It's good to know you haven't changed." He grins like a child, white teeth flashing.

I'm suddenly very confused so I tell them. "I'm confused, you are all related somehow and you didn't say anything?"

"They told me but we didn't want to overwhelm you." My mom speaks up.

"Of course." I eye roll. "And the best way to let me know is to have a familial conversation over my head."

My mom just shrugs, getting up to clear the plates. "It's not like it changes anything, they're more friends than relatives anyway. Who wants dessert?" She asks excitedly.

Everyone answers enthusiastically and even though my stomach is about to pop, another big bowl of sliced up fruits is in front of me. I look up and see them sharing an ice-cream cake.

"Hey! How come I'm not getting any cake?" I exclaim, feeling affronted.

"Because the doctor said so, now eat up, Maggie wants to see you tomorrow so you need to get enough rest."

My eyes light up at this information. "Grammy wants to see me?" I ask even though it's unnecessary.

"Yes." My mom sighs like she'd rather do anything than take me to see her mother. "It's either that or she makes you come live with them so that she can put you in some stuck up private school, which she says 'they have no bullies there Renee'." My mom mimics her own mother savagely.

I smile at this, my mother's love for the tiny Town of Pine Creek was unexplainable but I wasn't complaining, I loved it almost as much as she did.

SUY NGHĨ CỦA NGƯỜI SÁNG TẠO
Aryna_Stan

I'm having so much fun with this story and I hope you are too, share your thoughts with me, I'd love to hear them.

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Chương 15: ~°~Chapter Fifteen~°~

"Hayden darling, you never come to see me anymore." My grandmother's husky voice greets me as I walk in the front door.

Soft hands pull me into a cool hug and my reply comes out muffled. "Hey Grammy."

A sound of mortification floats over to me. "Please Hay, call me Maggie." She says for what must be the hundredth time, I just smile and agree, knowing I was going to forget again.

"Alright Grandma Maggie." I nod.

She just groans letting me go in favor of patting her perfect chignon and smoothening out her peach, silk dress.

"Give up Maggie." My Aunt Candy comes in from the interior, honey blonde hair in a short bob. "You know he'll never remember."

"Aunt Candy!" I squeal, rushing into her open arms. She was a couple years older than my mom and also adopted, I didn't notice it though and if I wasn't told I wouldn't have known.

"My favourite nephew." She hugs me hard, her soft, fluffy sweater tickling my face.

"Your only nephew you mean." I reply, my voice muffled against her ample chest.

"At least you don't have competition." She says, amusement in her voice.

My mom scoffs as we all settle down on the magazine worthy settees. "You're Maggie's favorite Candy, that's old news." She waves a hand. "I mean look at the name she gave you, Candy. While I'm plain old boring Renee."

"You know she only named me that because I was a spitfire when I was brought from the orphanage." Aunt Candy says without a bit of spite.

My Grammy sighs, looking at her daughters with love in her brown eyes. "I was hoping that a sweet name would make you sweeter."

My mom snorts, struggling to hold in her laugh. "Didn't work out though, remember when she filled all your purses with slime?"

My Grammy shudders. "My gloves and purses were all ruined and I kept having nightmares for weeks about drowning in slime."

They all laugh out loud at this. "Hey! Remember now, we're here for Hayden." Aunt Candy finally speaks up still gasping.

"You're not taking him away from me Maggie." My mom says curtly, quickly sobering up.

"I never said I would, Renee, I won't have to because you're coming along too." She says seriously in her high pitched voice, they lived in the city, Reef City and Pine Creek was just one of the small towns on its outskirts.

"We've been through this over and over again Maggie, I'm happy there, I love Pine Creek and the people there, Hayden does too so I don't see the need why we have to move over here to the city." My mom says with all her heart.

"It doesn't have to be Reef, you could go to Los Angeles or even go outside the country. Britain is a nice place to live or Paris…"

"I don't know French." My mom interrupts coldly.

"All I'm saying is that, don't you think it's high time you left Pine Creek? It would help you get over Alex…"

My mom stands up quickly, her quirky shirt billowing. "I'm over Alex!" She shouts.

"Ren?" My Aunt says in a warning tone, pulling me closer to her which was alright with me. I never see my mom get mad and I have to admit I didn't like it.

"I'm sorry Maggie." She rubs her face. "Why don't you ask Hayden? He's old enough anyway, you can ask him if he wants to stay, I don't want it to seem like I'm keeping him prisoner."

With those words, the three women turn to me. My grandfather was out of the state for some important business, I rarely saw him.

"I love it at Pine Creek, Grammy Maggie." I say earnestly, leaning forward unconsciously.

It is true, I've never even remotely thought of leaving Pine Creek even though I was born in the city, Pine Creek has always been my home and there was no way I was leaving.

My grandmother sighs, patting her blonde chignon again, a habit I know she does whenever she gets upset. "Are you sure, my love?"

"Absolutely Maggie." I grin, making sure not to forget to call her what she preferred, I needed all the help I could get.

"Well there's nothing that can be done about that now." She claps her hands getting up. "I canceled my schedule for the rest of the day, so who wants to go shopping?" She announces.

I smile wider, I am going to get to stay in Pine Creek, for now. I never tell Virgil about this issue, a little worried about his reaction, I have a feeling he already knows though, he just seems to know things.

I don't mind shopping with my mom, Aunt and Grammy which might be a little weird to most people, especially guys but it has always been calming to me.

Maybe because my mom's a 'shopaholic' so when she has mood swings, she just straps 'baby me' to her front and goes wild, I usually sleep while she does this.

So, shopping it was…

Shopping with them went in ways I would have never thought of even though I was a high as a kite and drunk on Sprite.

"So, do you live around here? Are those like your older sisters?" The guy in front of me asks and I'm pep talking myself so I don't lose consciousness.

Let me rewind a bit so you'll know how I met the guy trying to hit on me, his name is Blake by the way.

Shopping was going just fine till my Grammy decided that she needed lingerie, I don't want to imagine what for and so they did the absolutely normal thing, drag a seventeen year old male along on their lingerie hunt, that was sarcasm by the way.

Somehow, I'm not even sure anymore, they all decide to use me as the model, I know it doesn't make any logical sense and I'll tell them this but they brow beat me into trying the garters.

So into the garters I go, basically thigh high socks with a strap around my thighs holding them up.

They ooh and ahh intensely over this so I don't have the heart to rip it off like I wanted to then they bring a shopping helper in and ask her to bring in little dresses and oversized, loose tops for me to go with the garters.

Well long story short, I'm dragged out of the boutique dressed like a seventeen year old girl, it almost like magic, well more like wicked juju.

So, here I am, at an ice cream place, holding a conversation with nineteen year old Blake, I know all this because he told me and who has no idea he's talking to a guy in a dress.

I think he's just really dense, because even though I'm androgynous and a little feminine, but come on, 'don't you have eyes, Blake?'

"Not really," I mumble, fiddling with the neckline of the baggy shirt I had on, there was a long belt wrapped around me to accentuate the fact that I didn't eat much and I'm starting to go insane from the amount of air flowing up my thighs, I don't know how girls stand it.

I don't comment on the questions about my crazy relatives who are trying to end my life because I don't think Blake will take it well that those aren't my elder sisters but my mom, Aunt and grandmother. I'm pretty sure he won't take it very well that he was hitting on a dude in a dress so I find the fastest way to get rid of him. It wasn't easy, trust me but I managed to anyway.

"If you guys make me do that again, I'll poison your tea." I threaten them in a dark voice as I stomp over to the limo in flat shoes, Blake sees me and his open mouthed expression is priceless but it was better I didn't tell him who I was.

The LeBarons are a household name in Reef but there's only a grandson, no granddaughter. It wouldn't help my nonexistent reputation if word got out that I liked to cross dress because my relatives were crazy people who liked to torture me.

"And nobody is telling Virgil about this." I add when we were all settled in the car, shopping bags all around us. "Especially you mom."

My mom gives me a lazy, self assured smile. "I won't have to, we're driving home right now."