Running Towards the Light

Chapter 24 - Ben

"Who wants pizza?!" West shouted through the house the second we got through the front door.

Sam and Spencer whooped and hollered, taking off their coats and shoes and throwing them all over the entryway.

Chris was a little behind us so he isn't seeing this right now. But I just know the twins are going to be in big trouble when our oldest brother sees the mess they're making. Chris was always getting super agitated by how much my brothers (and a little bit of me) just throw stuff around the house or don't care to clean things up.

Ben came in behind me laughing at West and the twins' antics. He was still in his whole baseball uniform so he had to go up to his room to get changed. Which he did a second later, jogging up the stairs.

"Aw, gross!" I complained as the smell of smoke and weed made their way to my nostrils. "Not in the house, Cameron!" I scolded him, holding one of my hands over my face.

Cameron wiggled his eyebrows, smirking at me but didn't drop his cigarette. Instead he ruffled my hair, and continued onto the kitchen where it seemed most of my brothers were headed.

"Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!" My brothers (not Cameron) chorused from the kitchen.

West was leading the pack and made his way over to the home telephone, dancing around while chanting along with his younger brothers.

I laughed at the sight of all of my brothers dancing and laughing. This is what it was most of the time like in my home. It was either, loud and full of laughter and fun. Or it was loud and full of anger and yelling. The key component of both of these is that it is loud! If my home is quiet you know there's something bad going on. Such as someone getting hurt. I definitely like my peace and quiet which is why I love to draw so much, but I also love my loud and fun family.

"Stop!" Chris boomed from the doorway, taking off his denim jacket and setting it on one of the coat hooks. The twins and West looked like deers caught in headlights as their eyes all zoomed in on Chris, their bodies not moving even an itch. "Inside voices for one, and come back here and pick up your shit Sam and Spencer Anderson! ... oh, and we're not getting pizza."

C'mon Chris, we were having fun!

Sometimes Chris needs to know that he can be a "brother" sometimes and not the "oldest brother". He takes his job of keeping us all safe and making us good human-beings to the extreme and it has got to stop!

Sam and Spencer groaned, turning around to head back and start picking up all of their shoes and coats; hanging them up or placing them nicely next to the wall. But that wouldn't stop them from complaining about the no pizza rule...

"What? Why not?" West countered.

"Yeah! Ben won his game," — Spencer

"That's a cause for celebration," — Sam

I looked from my younger brothers to my oldest one with my lip caught in between my two rows of teeth, deciding what side I was gonna pick.

"I agree!" I told Chris as well. Guess I choose the kid siblings side!

Spencer's heavy arm draped itself around my neck, pulling me into him and backward a little so it really was divided between us four and Chris, a clear line drawn. Cameron seemed like he wasn't going to take a side because he was just sitting in the living room smoking and doing something on his phone.

"Ugh!" Chris ran a hand down his face, taking extra time to rub his jaw. "Must you guys always gang up against big brother Chris?" He mocked complained.

"Yep!" West grinned. "Cam. Whose side are you takin'?"

Cameron just grunted, not even sparing his little brother a flick of his gaze.