Nicotine | Ashton Irwin ✔

0.2

word count; 1236

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Ara made her way down the hall, and stopped outside the last door on the right side of the hall. Her new room.

Taking a deep breath she turned the door nob, and pushed open the door. For an unknown reason, the room made Ara quite relaxed, and maybe that was because her room wouldn't be a prison to her. It wouldn't be the one place she'd have to run and hide. She tossed her duffle bag on the bed, and pulled her suitcase over to the dresser. She started pulling out clothes and stuffing the into the drawers as neatly as possible knowing she'd just throw them on the floor later on during the week.

After putting away her clothes, Ara made her bed. Liam had left the covers by the bed so she had them. They were black, making Ara love them even more. He didn't know what her favourite colour was so he just got black.

When she was done, she went back into the hall, and made her way to Teddy's room. She knocked on the door. "Come in." Teddy called. Ara pushed open the door slightly, and stuck her head in.

"Hey." she smiled. Teddy smiled back. "You alright?" she asked, moving into the room and shutting the door. Teddy sighed.

"You'd think that because he's behind bars I would be." he muttered. "But I'm not. I lost the one parent that actually cared about me, and now she's gone." he said. Ara sat down next to him, and wrapped her arms around him.

"I know. I miss her." Ara whispered. Tears were threating to fall, but she didn't dare let them.

"Me too." he whispered back. "You can cry if you want." her brother added quietly. "No one here will judge."

"I'll be fine Teddy. Don't worry about me. I can take care of myself."

"I know you can." Teddy chuckled. "You're my sister. But that doesn't mean I don't care about you just as much as you do for me." he said. Ara smiled, and kissed her brother's forehead.

"Come on. Let's go see if dinner's here."

Liam paced nervously back in forth in the kitchen. He had kids now, and honestly, he wasn't sure if he was ready to be a father. Especially to two teens. 16 years was how long it'd been since he'd seen Dana, and now, her two kids were staying with him because she was dead. Liam shuddered at the thought. He'd loved Dana. He always had, but he let her slip away. His life was dangerous, and he didn't want the one thing he cared about to be in danger, so they split. Dana going one way and him another. And now . . .

Two teens walking into the kitchen broke Liam from his gaze. Ara seemed to me in a good mood, for she had a smile on her face, and Teddy was laughing. When she caught sight of Liam, she nodded her head to acknowledge him.

Dinner was a silent event for the most part. Liam watched in amusement as the two ate slice after slice of pizza. Finally, they looked up at him, who smiled. "What?" Teddy mumbled, stuffing his face with pizza.

"Nothing. I'm just wondering who would win in a food eating contest. You or your sister." Ara muffled a laugh and Teddy rolled his eyes.

"Ara. Whenever we did get food, she gave all of it to me. So when she eats, she eats for the week. I don't know where she puts it all though." Ara glared at him.

"I'm sorry if I enjoy food." she sassed.

"You should challenge Aaron or Harry. They are the food champs at the station. You could give them a run for their money." Liam mused. Ara raised a brow, and took a swift glance at her younger brother, before turning back to Liam. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No." Ara began, "But a cop . . ."

"Encouraging gambling." Teddy said.

"Now that's weird." Liam nodded his head.

"Ah, well, I play the odd game of poker here and there. And beside. Betting on who would win a food competion, there's no harm to it." Liam said. "Beside. How else are we supposed to stay entertained down at the station? Twiddle our thumbs?" Ara and Teddy, noted with much suprise, how easy a man he was to talk to. They found themselves quite enjoying his company. "So," Liam began after a few moments of silence. "You don't have to answer, but on a scale of one to ten, how are you both doing?" he asked. Ara sat up straighter in her seat, and Teddy looked away.

"Four." Teddy murmured.

"Two." Ara sighed.

"Got anything you want to just say? To get off your chest?" Liam said.

"Is it messed up that I feel sorry for the bastard?" Teddy said, turning to Liam. "He hurt me, and my sister and my mother, and yet I can't help but feel sorry for his stupid ass? He was fucked up in the head, did some stupid things, and yet we haven't the slightist bit of pity for him because he wronged us, and yes he deserved it, but I still feel bad for him! WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME?!"

"Nothing." Ara snapped. "There's nothing wrong with you. You couldn't do anything wrong Teddy! He favoured you! Yes he might of hurt you here and there, but you were his son! His flesh and blood. I was nothing but a punching bag to him. As was my mother. But no, little Teddy was perfect. Perfect perfect perfect!" Ara growled. Liam sat there, shocked at the harshness between the two, but didn't intervene. Not unless he had to. "He loved you Teddy, which is more that I could ever ask for. He nover once loved me, tucked me into bed at night, or told me a bedtime story. He hit me! He never laid a hand on you. the most you got was a good lecture. So don't you dare say there's anything wrong with you!" she huffed, and slumped back down in her seat.

"Feel better?" Liam asked. Ara nodded, and sighed. He turned to Teddy. "And you?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry Ara." Teddy said.

"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped." She hugged her bother tightly. "We're going to be okay."

Ara made her way tiredly up the stairs later that evening, and flopped down on her bed. She was so tired. It'd been a long day. Before she could fall asleep though, there was a knock on her door. "What?" she grumbled. The door opened, and her brother walked in. "Oh. Hey." she said softly.

"Can I crash in here with you?" he asked. "It's weird being somewhere new." Ara nodded, and made room on the bed for him.

"Yeah it is." she agreed. "But tomorrow, things we'll go a little bit back to normal. We start a new school. That means a whole new world. A fresh start."

"Please." Teddy said. "Name one school that hasn't heard my name."

"This one." Ara giggled. "We're three hours from our old home." Ara added. "Nobody here knows us."

"Yet," Teddy added. "One week, and the whole school will know you're name."

"Yes. And they will bow down to me, because I'm the almighty queen." Ara joked.

"They won't wanna mess with you." Teddy said.

"No they won't."