McKinley and Her Brothers

What Just Happened?

McKinley's POV:

I adjust my sweatshirt sleeve and look around to make sure that Jace and Matthew were still there.

They were walking a few feet behind me, holding hands and talking about something. We have come to the outdoor mall complex in our city just for a fun shopping day.

Griff gave in very quickly when I asked him if I could go because apparently, Tate had gotten in trouble for something and was receiving glares from Griff the whole day.

"Matty, can we go into Claire's? Please?" I ask politely.

"Sure baby, go with Jace, I'll be back soon. I have to go to the bathroom," He says smiling.

Jace and I walk into the store and I immediately rush to the earrings section.

After ten minutes, Matty still hasn't returned and I was having trouble choosing a pair of earrings.

"Hey, Jace, which pair do you think I should get?" I ask while putting both earrings up to my ears to show him.

"I'll get you both if you want, sweetheart," He says with a charming smile.

"Oh, no, that's fine, I have brought the allowance money that I can pay with," I say reassuringly.

"Nope, this is my gift for you, get as much as you want to," He says.

I blush and say "okay."

We check out and I ended up costing thirteen dollars on Jace's credit card account which I feel terribly guilty for.

Matty finally shows up after fifteen minutes and he smells kind of weird. I notice Jace frowning too and he immediately covers it up with a smile. I can't seem to avoid the stench of smoke or like cigarettes and my brother knows how much I dislike cigarettes. And he's nineteen! I shouldn't be making assumptions. The smell is probably from someone else.

"Hey guys, sorry, that lunch we ate wasn't sitting well with my stomach," Matthew says while chuckling.

"Can we go home now, Matty, I'm tired," I say, trying not to sound suspicious.

"Um sure, you ready, Jace?" He asks Jace.

"Yep, let's go," Jace says with a fake smile again.

After dinner, I was sitting at our dining table with Griff and Tate doing homework. I was completing my math worksheet, while Tate was typing something on his computer, while Griff was also typing something on his computer.

Suddenly we hear someone shouting from upstairs and it seems to be Jace, then we hear Matthew's voice raise and a door slam. Startled, I look at Griff and he frowns. Then we hear loud stomping coming down the stairs. It was Jace. He was mad, no, he was furious. His face was red and his lip curled in to mutter incoherent words.

"Griffin, thank you for dinner, I have to go," Jace says abruptly and leaves the house, we hear his car leave the driveway.

Immediately we hear loud noises coming from upstairs and muffled cries. I immediately get up to console Matthew but Tate stops me and shakes his head and says, "He needs some time alone."

After a while, the noises stop and there is complete silence.

Griff gets up and opens one of the kitchen cupboards to get a cup for his daily night soda.

Suddenly his face pales and hardens while he stares at something inside the cupboard. He clenches his fist and turns his back towards me and Tate.

Now I'm getting scared. Something is going on. I scoot closer to Tate while he speaks up cautiously.