Playing Poker [BEING REWRITTEN]

21| Friends

Third Person

The car ride to the hospital was brutally silent. After the prior argument with the elders, everybody was on edge and the circumstances only made it worse. Liam was already at the hospital while the boys had to walk all the way home only to be met with a livid Micheal.

"Do you know how stupid that was of you guys? You could've gotten hurt or worse, ended up dead. You're lucky no one was hurt or you guys would be in big trouble."

"Well..."

When he heard the news, saying he wasn't happy was an understatement. He didn't have time to lecture them as he was worried about the health of his sister.

After the time she spent there, he couldn't see her as anything less of a sister. She was kind to him and his brothers even though they didn't deserve it and she always looked out for them. Whether that was making sure his tie was on correctly or making sure his baby brother wasn't bullied at school.

He called Liam to inform him of the situation and that he was to drive straight to the hospital. Liam was the most motherly figure that the boys had after their mother died but Rayland helped somewhat fill that role. She always knew the right words to say and made people think before they spoke. As soon as he heard the news he felt... guilty. He knew it wasn't his fault but maybe if he was nice to her from the start, she would've trusted him enough to tell him.

As soon as Rayland walked into the Brown house, Jayden hated her. Why? He couldn't even tell you. He tried to convince himself that it was because she was tearing the family apart, now realizing she was bringing it closer. Without her, he wouldn't have realized how bad of a brother he really was, he put his older and younger siblings through hell without even realizing and she had to pay the price.

Jaxon was indifferent about her joining the family but after he was convinced she was the bad guy, he hated her to the point he wanted to get rid of her. Once he realized she was the victim, he didn't make much of an effort to her, more to fix his family. Now that she was closer to him he couldn't lose her, first his mother and he was not gonna lose his sister too.

Jaylen was excited to have Rayland there, someone that didn't think of him as a puppet. He was excited to have somebody that looked up to him but he let his manipulative brother control how he thinks. He tried to be mean to her but he didn't want to. He really enjoyed having her in the house, getting to know her, and she finally gave him the courage to stand up to Jayden.

Hayden loved Rayland as soon as she stepped foot in the house. He finally had a big sister that he could look up to. Don't get him wrong, he loved his big brothers but they could be rude, judgmental, and devious, his big sister was none of those. She was a role model for him, he admired her.

Paul knew that he wasn't the best father to his boys, he wanted to change for Rayland, he wanted to be a better father for her and his sons. After his wife died, he shut himself from his family which only made his sons become more isolated in their unhealthy coping methods. He was not going to make that same mistake with his daughter.

When Rayland walked in, Blake's whole world changed. He hated how his older brothers loved her and her little brother looked up to her. He hated that someone took his place and he was just a figment of the past, just a memory that was slowly diminishing. And he hated that his bestfriend that left with no explanation and pretended not to know him.

He was hurt, five years of friendship down the drain. He considered asking her multiple times whether she remembered him or not but he chickened out everytime. Their friendship obviously didn't mean anything to her or she would have tried to salvage the little friendship they had left. He considered the fact that they might be in the same position but neither have the courage to talk. And that courage could've saved their friendship.