The Darling Boys (Rose Award Winner) (#Wattys2017)

All I Want To Be Is Done

"I've also installed a camera here, so you can see out on to your porch."

I wrapped my blanket tighter around me, watching as Robbie ripped the lens cap from the last camera and shoved it into his pocket.

"Sienna, are you okay?" He stepped up and brushed a strand of my hair out of my eyes, creases of worry on his forehead.

"I'm scared," I admitted, "I want to stop living in constant worry that he's going to come back. I want to go to college too, you know? And I can't let myself believe that Mom and Evie will be okay without Sam or me here, that-"

"Sienna, he's in prison now. He's been taken in and I'll make sure he doesn't get out this time." I stared at him for a second, shaking my head.

"You can't control that." I blinked when he turned his head away, "Can you?"

"Robbie." I whispered, "Can you control whether my father gets out or not? Did you control it?" He started to shake his head, letting out a shaky sigh.

"I didn't do it." He lifted his head and stared at his house with a blank expression.

"Alex did it?" I guessed, my voice barely above a whisper.

And to think I had started to feel bad for him, I-"

"No," Robbie held out a long pause, "Isabelle did."

**

"She's jealous by nature. She hated our Mom, she wanted Alex. . . Peter to herself. My mom continuously got in the way, and when he took us in, so did we. Now that she's seen that you're getting in the way as well, she's trying to get rid of you." I stared at Eliott with an open mouth, setting the controller on the couch beside me.

"No." I shook my head in denial.

"Yeah. I heard her talking to Alex about it." He leaned back into the couch, his eyes on the frozen game on the TV screen. "He told her to just back off, that everything would work itself out. But I guess she was already well on her way with trying to get you out of our lives."

I looked down at my shorts, rubbing my sweaty palm against it as I let what Eliott was explaining sink in.

"What happens next?" I questioned. He shrugged, giving me a sad look.

"I guess we wait and see, right?"

We went back to playing our game for a while, completely ignoring the boys when they walked through the front door. I was seconds away from beating Eliott when I felt Robbie's arms circle around my waist and I dropped the controller to the ground.

"Yes!" Eliott flew off the couch, throwing his hands into the air in victory, "In your face, Sienna! I beat you!" I started laughing, amused.

"Congrats, kid." I responded, patting his shoulder once he had sat back on the couch.

"Want to go another round?" He quirked an eyebrow. Robbie pulled me back against him and kissed my cheek, replying to his younger brother for me.

"You've had your time with her, Eli. She's mine now." I saw the youngest Darling boy's lips curl back in a sneer.

"You get her all the time, Rob. Come on, go study or something." I glanced back and forth between the two boys until Robbie finally sighed and stood up, leaning down to kiss me. I smiled, pulling away and winking.

"I'll see you later." He saluted me before ruffling Eliott's hair and jogging back down the hall.

After starting the game, I could see that Eliott's joking and fun manner had faded, and by the way he was playing, his mind wasn't in the game anymore.