Not A Finch

Chapter 2: Dinner

Helloooo!!! In celebration of finally finishing Augustus' backstory (13,000 words~woof) I thought I would offer up chapter 2 of the rewrite for free. 

I will be publishing chapter 9 of the story on patreon soon. Calloway's backstory can also be found there. I'll end up going through all the boys.

For now, I am stopping my charges for Patreon user because of some personal issues that have made me quite busy.  I don't think it's fair to receive money when I'm not able to holding up my end. 

I'll still be posting exclusively on patreon, but for the foreseeable future (until October at the latest) I won't be charging. Because Patreon is stupid that means new people cannot join. Thus, if you are really interested in joining the patreon let me know and I can put you on a waitlist for when I start charging again! If you really really can't wait maybe we can work something out. 

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Dinner

Dinner is like an unhinged orchestra. Too many people play their own solos for it to sound symphonic.

I watch in annoyance as Rue slips his hand under the table, a smirk pulling at his freckled cheeks as he grips Augustus' thigh. The white haired man jumps in surprise and the spoon that is halfway to his lips freezes in midair.

"Sorry for earlier." Reuben apologizes, poking out his bottom lip and leaning in close to Augustus. His auburn curls dance like fire in front of his dark blue eyes. The older man's gaze drops to Rueben's hand underneath the table and I don't have to try very hard to imagine what he's doing.

I angrily stab at my food on my plate. Gross. No one wants to see that. I keep my eyes on them as the roast beef turns sour in my mouth. I shoot them both glares. My harsh stare seems to go unnoticed as Augustus chuckles. His eyes flicker back up to Rueben.

The anger from earlier seems to have melted away and he regards the man carefully.

"What are you going to do to make me forgive you?" He questions, dragging his tongue across his bottom lip. He flicks his lip ring and my own lips burn with curiosity.

I sigh, loudly forcing irritation to run curiosity from my mind as I stare at the obnoxious men in front of me.

"Hunter!" I whine, my eyes moving to the wavy haired brunette who holds a hand under Grandma's chin as he presses a fork to her lips. She chews slowly at the roast beef.

His eyes meet mine and he raises an eyebrow at me. I jerk my head towards Rue and Augustus, but Hunter only laughs, a deep rumble of a thing that sets butterflies off in my heart. I give another irritated sigh so no one recognizes the fluttering of wings. Hunter's eyes flicker away from me as his attention goes back to Grandma. "He's only apologizing, Ash. Let them work it out." Hunter drawls and I roll my eyes at his response.

If only Grandma wasn't blind. Everything in this house would be so much easier.

I sigh even louder as I stab my fork into a carrot.

"What? You wanted to apologize to Augustus first?" Rue calls cheekily to me and my eyes jump up to see him biting back a smile. "Come do it then." Rue murmurs with a smirk. His hand still moves under the table and Augustus bites his lip. My face heats as I take in the foreign expression of pleasure on Augustus' face. It changes his usual angry features into a rugged look. Reuben continues to stare at me as he massages Augustus and I have to remind myself he'd said something to me.

"No." I finally spit, but there is no venom behind the words. It sounds more like a pathetic wheeze and I can't tell if my face is red from being flustered or embarrassed at this point.