Smiley and Sunshine

17.

"Just walk in, Hayes. He won't hurt you." Though, knocking would probably help.

Hayes stood in front of Dakota's slightly ajar door, trying to find the courage to go in. She hadn't seen him since the horrendous family meeting last night and she couldn't get rid of the nagging thought that he was mad at her. And Glen. But more importantly, her.

Furious was more like it.

She had been standing there for 2 minutes now, making no progress because her little self pep-talk was not working. She was on the clock, and could feel time slipping away. They were leaving for school any moment now. But Hayes couldn't go any longer without talking to him.

Hayes being Hayes, her mind automatically jumped from 'being angry' to 'never speaking to her again', and she wanted to cry at the thought of losing her brother.

Yes, she also still had no control over the rapid cycling of emotions she felt. It was exhausting.

"One knock, that's all," Hayes clenched her fists, "You can do it."

"Who are you talking to?" Hayes' eyes darted up from her feet to the doorway where Dakota was standing, a smirk on his face.

"Dakota," she breathed out. Her feet moved on their own accord, stepping forward the two steps. He stood still as she wrapped her arms around him forcing a hug. Hug me back, please.

"What's wrong?" His eyebrows rose in slight surprise, arms frozen by his side. It was not an every day occurrence for Hayes to randomly hug him. Their other brothers, sure. Hugging Austin was probably her favorite thing in the world. But hugging him, that was out of character. He wasn't exactly screaming 'friendly!' But no brother would be crazy enough to ever turn down a hug from their little Sunshine. His little Sunshine.

Realizing she wasn't going to let go, he returned her hug just as tight. "You gonna say anything?"

"No." her voice was muffled by his shirt. Hayes was too afraid to look up at him. She kept thinking of the new wall décor of the family room courtesy of his knuckles. Speaking of, Hayes briefly looked at his knuckles to see if they were busted. To her relief, only minor abrasions.

"I think you just did," he pointed out sarcastically.

"No, I didn't." she denied.

"Yes, you did." He emphasized each word with a poke to her side. Hayes giggled, squirming around to avoid his fingers but she was trapped in his arms. As per usual, her plan backfired, but at least he was talking to her and didn't just punch her in the face.

"I'm sorry," Hayes blurted out making Dakota's hands freeze their attack.

"What?" he questioned. Hayes kept her head tucked against his chest, avoiding his eyes. He didn't have time for this shyness so Dakota clutched her shoulders and forcefully pushed her back. His hand found her chin, tilting it up to make eye contact.

Hayes blinked at him, tears glistening in her eyes. "I'm sorry," she whispered. Dakota stared at her, not giving any thoughts away. Austin had given the brothers a heads-up that the kids were on an 'apology roll' last night, but he didn't understand why either of them would be apologizing to him. If anything, the roles should be reversed.

He knew he was out of line last night, even without Colton's lecture to him in the garage. He couldn't wait for the drive to work to hear Austin's lecture. Yelling at them like that, being the cause of the fear in her eyes, made him want to die. He never wanted Hayes nor Glen to feel hurt ever again.

Hayes' petite fingers grasped his right hand, bringing it closer to her face so she could examine the damage he'd done. The reminder that he lost his cool last night.