Welcome to the Family

38

TW: mentions of depression

***

I stirred, groggy, aware the sun had risen. Opening one eye, I noticed Sebastian hovering over my twin, shaking him.

"Hey - wake up, or else-" he trailed off, dodging Ashton's hand as it smacked Sebastian in the forehead.

"What, Sebastian? What are you gonna do, huh?"  Ashton taunted and I reached for the water gun under my pillow.

"Do not test me, Ash," he mumbled, his gaze flicking over to me. I closed my eyes, but it was too late - he knew I was awake too. "Both of you up in the next twenty seconds. I mean it, up, up, up."

"Well, I gave you fair warning," my twin muttered and I hissed as he nudged my leg, signalling it was now or never.

I wielded the water gun, flipping onto my back, my brother doing the same as we dosed Sebastian with water.

His face was priceless.

With the gun emptied of water, I scrambled up and out of Sebastian's reach. He lunched forward, grabbing Ashton in a choke hold. "You little brats," he said, but I noticed his lips lifting in a smile. "You're both grounded."

I snorted, edging towards the bathroom. Sebastian let go of Ashton, who tried to slip away but was grabbed by the back of his t-shirt, busting with laughter. "Seb, your face ..."

"Maisie, dare to take another step and I will throw you both into the ocean," he warned and narrowed his eyes. The room door clicked open as Cameron walked in.

"I brought coffee and snacks for the road but -" my older brother paused, his eyes widening. "Well, shit, the twins really did a number on you babe."

"I'm thrilled you find this hilarious, Cameron," Sebastian grumbled, releasing Ashton. He pulled at his soaked shirt, huffing. "Damn kids."

The rest of the day passed without any problems. And by problems, I meant no one tried to kill us. Always a good day when that doesn't happen, right?

The four of us left the hotel at check out time, 11 a.m. We loaded the trunk with our bags and drove back up the coastline, stopping for lunch an hour later. Again, it was a fancy restaurant, expensive as hell. How did they have the money to do this?

Not that I complained. I guess I wasn't use to this sort of treatment. Being on the streets ruined me. It made me trust less and developed a tendency to run more. 

Except I didn't have the urge to run from my family anymore, because they gave me hope that everything would be okay. But I knew hope was dangerous, that it could slip through my fingers in a single moment.

"You've been quiet today," Sebastian stated, an observation. I locked eyes with him in the rear view mirror.

I shrugged. "I'm enjoying the moment," because fuck knows how long it'd last.

"Did you want anything before get to the house?" He asked. "Starbucks? McDonalds?"

"No, thanks though." I stared out the window, noticing a woman leaning on the hood of her car - a red, shiny convertible. Her dirty blonde hair was tied in a bun, a purple bandanna keeping stray hair out of her face.

A young girl was with her, playing with a toy horse. The mom didn't seem to have any interest in her, texting on her phone, ignoring everything she said. Until the girl reached over and pulled on the woman's shirt and I heard her say "mom ... mom, I'm hungry."