A House Full of Brothers

Chapter 32

  A month has passed since the movies. Blake and I both decided that Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays would be used for tutoring, unfortunately it was Friday, so I was stuck for an hour or two trying not to yank my hair out. Over the tutoring sessions I began to understand more and more but I was still confused on just about everything.

  Blake noticed my stressed state and decided we should take a break. Being the teenage boy he is, his stress-relieving solution was food.

  "Food doesn't help everything, Blake." I sighed and leaned on the wall while he rummaged through the fridge.

  "It is when you actually have good food." He grunted more-so to himself.

  "We do have good food." I defended but he froze and stared at me.

  "Vegetables are not good food, Brooklyn." Blake rolled his eyes. It was a wonder how he could eat like a pig and still be as fit as he is.

  "Corn is good, that's a vegetable." 

  "Not good for stress. Who eats corn when they're stressed? No one. Cause it doesn't do anything. Who eats ice cream when they're stressed? Lots of people. Because ice cream is yummy." Blake tried to put up a valid argument but sounded like a child who struggled to make a point. I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

  "Just grab some strawberries." I suggested.

  "Why in the hell would I do that?" He groaned while continuing to search the empty fridge as if food would appear.

  "They release dopamine. It can make you happy." Instead of waiting for him to listen, I lightly shoved him out of the way and grabbed the strawberries before making my way to the living room.

  All of my brothers were piled onto the couches either playing video games and cheering each other on or on their phones. I sat on the ottoman and watched Chase die repetitively on the TV screen.

  "You suck." Blake laughed after settling on an apple.

  "Shut up." Chase snapped and a few of the other boy snickered. "Aren't you supposed to be tutoring?" 

  "Aren't you the one who suggested I stop when she starts continuously tucking her hair behind her ear?" Blake retorted. So that was how he knew I was getting stressed.

  "Whatever, just quit talking."

  For another half hour or so, I just sat there eating strawberries and watch the boys take turns on the game. Chase did the worst out of them all. The fun was interrupted by the door. The childish side of me came out within milliseconds and I was sprinting towards the door.

  I opened the door and the excitement that was once making it's course through my body came to halt when I saw the person on the other side of the door. I hadn't seen him in forever yet I knew the face like the back of my hand.

  The person I hadn't seen in years. The person I didn't want to see for years. The person who destroyed what could have been a happy family. 

  My father.

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