𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍 𝐖𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐒; jj maybank ² [𝐎𝐍 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐃]

XV. cold cold cold

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   STELLA DOESN'T THINK SHE'LL GET USED to having to sneak her sister into their home. When Oakley had begged her please to throw the rope ladder especially used for JJ down to her, she'd wondered if it would ever stop being this way eventually. She never thought the same rope she'd seen JJ fall off multiple times, or John B get caught by their father, or Pope fail to hop onto, would be used by the mischief herself trying to avoid the very same person the boys have always tried to. It makes her oddly sad, but she still doesn't hesitate to do so if it means Oakley being in the safety of her perimeter.

So, when the girl finally plops down on the balcony from climbing up the tiring and uneven ladder, panting and sweating, Stella releases a sigh and shakes her head.

"God, now I understand them," she scrunches her eye as she regains her breath and eventually nods at Stella, "Hey, Sis,"

The brunette slaps her sister's arm, making her curse, "Shut up. Shut up and get in the shower until mom and dad leave," she demands, pointing inside the room.

"They're leaving?" She asks, slowly walking inside together.

"Out to dinner. Rowan convinced them so that we can go through his stuff and see what he's hiding. See if he's as evil as he looks," she confesses and Oakley stops and turns towards her.

"It's actually amusing to me how you even doubt that," she chuckles, clenching her hand tighter around the black bag in order to keep attention away from it, "But hey, at least you guys decided to stop pretending," she moves towards her bathroom.

Stella grabs her arm, stopping her, "Okay, listen, I'm sorry. I really am," she huffs through her nose, "Rowan told me about earlier. About the custody papers,"

   Oakley smiles, but it has no positive undertone, "So it took Bug getting involved for you guys to finally open your eyes. . . Okay," she nods, her words mirroring nothing but pent up disappointment.

   Stella vigorously shakes her head, "Red, come on. Of course that's not it. This is as hard to believe for you as it is for all of us,"

   Oakley hums, "Yeah, I gotta give you that one," she uses her shoulder to scratch her cheek, accidentally giving attention to the redness around her jaw.

   Stella's eyebrows furrow at the sight, eyes molding into a softer shape and lips aching to blurt out a culprit, "What's that?"

   The golden-haired teen looks at her sister, not needing glasses to deduce where her gaze is lingering, "I bet Rowan told you already,"

   Anger swirls in the blues inside the older girl's eyes, and her younger sister finds the bittersweet comfort in that gesture, "Fuck," she whispers in a broken measure.