Path To Restoration (Fighter's Den, #3)

Chapter 14 - Nate

"Are those my boxers?" I yell at the group of teenagers huddled around an article of clothing that look suspiciously like...yup. Definitely my boxers.

They squeal when they've been caught and immediately drop it, running past me and out of my room in a fit of giggles. The girl who had my boxers in her hands—Chelsea, I think her name is—grins up at me with red cheeks.

"You're so hot." She breathes before running off to her group of friends that are cackling at her bravery.

I blink at nothing in particular. What...the fuck?

I slowly bring my hand up to the bridge of my nose before giving it a hard pinch that I hope will distract me from my irritation. I take a deep breath before bellowing out, "Mia!"

There's no mistaking the annoyance in my tone and that's probably why my little sister actually listens to me and comes to my room right away. "Yeah?" She asks, stopping in front of me.

"Keep your friends out of my room." I growl, shooting a look down the hallway where they're peeking around the wall and giggle when they catch me watching. I cringe. "They're fucking creepy, Mia."

She wrinkles her nose. "I know. They think you're hot. It's so gross."

"My room is off limits." I demand and choose to ignore what she just said. It is so wrong in so many ways. I think I shudder a little. "If I catch one more girly ass teenager in there, I'm sending all of them home. I mean it, Mia."

"Okay, okay." She backs away with a grin that makes me wonder if she even heard a word I said. "Chill out, big bro."

She turns around and jogs over to her friends who start whispering feverently to one another. I don't even want to know what they're talking about. Teenage girls are straight up scary. I kind of want to cry at the thought of having to go through this with Eleanor and Harmony, too. But in this moment at least, they're definitely my favourite sisters.

After shutting my door closed I make my way back downstairs and away from the heathens that have taken over the second floor. Only mine and Aria's bedrooms are on the second floor since it's much smaller than the large open space downstairs and Mia wanted the second floor all to herself. If only Aria knew what her little sister was doing in her old bedroom. I walk past the living room where the guest room is tucked away into the corner of the house. Eleanor and Harmony share this room and I'm secretly jealous of the little safe haven they called dibs on. I knock on the door and open it slowly when I hear, "Come in."

"Hey, Elle." I smile at my sister who—no surprise—is sitting crossed-legged on her bed, a book open on her lap. "Mind if I hide out here for a bit?"

"Sure." She grins at me in the carefree way she doesn't share outside of this family. "I heard you yelling something about your boxers?"

"You don't want to know." I wince, earning a laugh from her as I join her on bed. "Where's Harmony?"

"Helping Mom in the kitchen. She wanted to try a new recipe out."

Elle and I share a knowing look. Harmony in the kitchen was always a thing of disaster but she was passionate about baking and Mom believed in her enough to let her practice, even if the kitchen always looked like a food-bomb went off after she was done with it.

"What're you reading?" I ask conversationally as I lay back on her bed.

"Origin. It's the fourth book in a series and it's so good, Nate. It makes me want super powers."

"The characters have super powers?"

"Yeah, they're aliens. But not those weird ones that are green and have antennas or anything. They look just like humans and everything except they're from another planet and have super human strength and speed and can shoot blasts of light."