Down the line

18 - Siblings

Clem POV

I had walked Luke back home and I was now relaxing in my house. Just sitting in the couch and thinking. I did that a lot. April came and sat beside me, surprisingly.

She sits in silence. As if she wanted to speak to me about something but she couldn't. I turn my head slightly towards her. Josh always used to comment about how pretty she was, how much she looked like me.

"Something on your mind?" I question my little girl. As much as what my boys say about her she's innocent. Inside she's just as broken as anyone else, April just has a funnier way of expressing it.

"I don't... I don't know." She mumbles under her breath. Obviously upset about something.

"You can tell me whatever you want to, you know this." I sit closer to her on the couch.

"I don't know why he loves me." April sniffles. I suddenly became confused.

"Who?"

"Hendrix...I mean he keeps coming back even after all of the horrible things I do." She takes a deep breath inwards.

I knew that Hendrix and April had been on and off for years. Refusing to accept each other. You could tell that poor boy loved her, but this is April Turner we're talking about. She could have any guy she desired. But none of them loved her. Nobody but Hendrix.

"You cheated on him again, didn't you?" I question softly whilst holding her shoulder.

"It wasn't... I didn't..." Then she began to cry. I pulled her in for a hug.

April had so much to learn. Being 18 she thought she was on top of the world, that she could do anything. But she was growing into a young woman now, she needed to stop acting like a teenager.

"I know, I know." I comfort her as I stroke her long black hair backwards. I remember when she was young and I used to brush it before school.

"He's nice to me mom and I always ruin it."

"You don't have to ruin it. It'll work out, you stick with him and he'll stick with you. I've seen the way he acts around you, he's intelligent. He's happy." I continue to cradle my little girl in my arms.

However old she was she would always be my little girl and hopefully she'd never get too old to want to hug me back either.

She sometimes got upset for strange little reasons. Her brothers always categorise her as a teenager who just sleeps around with guys, which I can't deny. I can't control. But she's so much more, she never shows her full potential.

Me and Josh used to spoil her. Probably more than we did with Lee and Lewis. They got everything they wanted but April was different, she would have everyone's full attention. Nearly all of the time.

Josh adored her, like any father should. They were close once, but I don't think she remembers. She quickly grew out of it.

I mean we had sons but Josh had never had a daughter before. She was special.

There was a few knocks on the door. April lifts her head in the direction of the sound. She slowly sits up and wipes her eyes, I make my way over to the door and open it.

A sweating Lewis was presented in the doorway.

"Can I take a shower here?" He asks me as he brushes his dripping hair backwards. I open the door for him and walk inside.

"Of course, you still have some old clothes here. How come you couldn't shower at home?" I question as I walk through the lounge past April and grab a towel from the laundry room.

Lewis follows me through the room and then stops in his tracks, ignoring my question. He see's April on the couch with red eyes.

"Are you...alright?" He asks her before sitting beside her on the couch. I just stand on the other side of the room and watch.

"Fine, just one of them days" she chuckles with tears in her eyes.

"Well, you know you can talk whenever right? I'm probably the last person you want to discuss your issues with but it's better than Lee." Lewis manages to make her laugh with his comment.

"Thanks, now can you please go take that shower?" She pleads, I had to agree with her there. He stank of...sweat.

"Well that's not very nice." He smirks.

"Seriously Lew, you stink" I laugh at my son. He just grins and peels the T-shirt off of his body and throws it onto April.

They were like children. They were children. April screamed.

"Lewis! What the fuck!" She squealed as he burst out laughing now prancing about my room shirtless.

"That's fucking disgusting Lewis. Pick it up." I command him and he sulks and picks up the T-shirt from the floor.

"Mom swore" April remarks with a little childish grin mocking their past behaviours.

"I always fucking swear." I smirk back, if you can't beat them, join them.

Lewis begins to walk up the stairs to the shower and I shout at him from the bottom of the stairs.

"Is there a reason behind you coming here for a shower?" I quietly ask as April becomes distracted by the older magazine on the desk she could find. 1999 TV drama reviews were the best to read about.

"My dickhead of a brother is most likely in mine." He turns slightly to face me and then disappears upstairs. A towel swung over his left shoulder.

"I understand" I whisper to myself. I wish Lee would just leave him alone.

I wish Lee would just leave us all alone.

I walk back over to April and I hear the shower turn on upstairs. I sit down on the couch beside her.

"See, your brothers not that bad." I smile at her and she smiles back.

"I know, but he's gross." She let's out a little chuckle. I loved it when we were all together only if it was for a minute.

"That's what brothers are for." I smirk.

I think of a plan to get my kids to stay longer. It looked like April was in a better mood and Lewis wanted to do anything to get away from Lee.

"Would you two like to stay for dinner?" I ask as I looked at both of them when Lewis came down the stairs in one of his old t-shirts after about 10 minutes.

Lewis and April both exchange glances and then look back up at me.

"Sure thing, that'll be nice. Thanks." Lewis smiles as he holds the dirty towel and takes it into the laundry room.

April nods confirmation and I walk into the kitchen and begin to cook up something good. Every now and then I looked through the kitchen door and saw Lewis and April sat on the couch together talking calmly about whatever they so desired.

After a little while of cooking there was a sudden knock at the door.

"Do you want me to get it?" Lewis asks, but I was already halfway to the door. "Take that as a no then." He laughs behind me.

I look through the peep hole and see a man holding some flowers. I couldn't see his face cause some of the peephole was broken near the top.

I open up the door and then my jaw drops.

"Mom, who's there?" April asks curiously.

I stay in silence as I look up at the man.

"Hi mom, I brought flowers."