Catching Charlie

4

Atlas stared down at his little sister, his expression emotionless.

She had grown a bit.

There was no denying that.

It had been two years after all, but Charlie still held that same innocent look in her eyes.

The look that made him want to keep her tiny body in his arms and shield her from the dangers of the world.

Despite this feeling, he couldn't bring himself to speak to her, to open his mouth and let the words he wanted to say spill out.

But he just stared down at his little sister, ignoring his oldest brother who darkly glared at him, probably due to the slammed door that announced his arrival.

Leo always had a thing about slamming doors.

"So, she's here." Atlas' low voice grumbled, addressing Leo, but could not take his eyes off of the little girl in front of him.

"H-hi" Charlie squeaked in confusion as she wondered why her brother had spoken of her as if she wasn't there.

If it weren't for Atlas' piercing dark brown eyes, the five-year-old wouldn't have been able to recognise her older brother.

Out of all her brothers, he had undoubtedly changed the most.

The last time they had been in each other's presence, Atlas was fifteen. His hair was now darker, his fame bigger, and his eyes held a newfound darkness.

Pain even.

Furthermore, like her other brothers, his arms were now littered with ink, even peeking out of his shirt and onto his neck.

Ouchie.

One of his tattoos stood out to the little girl, though, instantly catching her attention out of the hundreds that had to be on Atlas' body.

Along his muscular right arm laid a calligraphic letter 'c,' however, the rest of the art seemed to be hidden under the rolled-up sleeve of his tight fitted black shirt.

Following the gaze of his little sister, Atlas instantly pulled his sleeve down, completely hiding whatever laid underneath it.

The awkward silence in the room was interrupted by a ringtone.

Leo looked down at his vibrating phone and sighed deeply. Whoever was calling Leo clearly didn't impress the twenty-five year old.

"Excuse me, darling. I have to take this." The brother mumbled, gently stroking Charlie's little cheek with his thumb.

He moved his sister from his lap to the empty seat beside him and turned to his youngest brother, giving him a stern look. "Don't do anything stupid," Leo warned.

"Me? Never." Atlas sneered amused. He loved the fact that he got under his brothers skin.

Saying nothing more, Leo walked out of the living room, immediately answering the call with a not so polite "what."

"Your arm." A little voice spoke, making Atlas look down. Somehow, the little minx had moved from the sofa to stand right next to him, smiling softly.

Charlie was tiny compared to her brothers, not even reaching past their thighs, and somehow enabled her to sneak around like a little ninja.

"What about it?" Atlas muttered, not being able to keep the corners of his lips from rising, forming a semblance of a little smile.

"What does it say?" Charlie asked, rolling back and forth on the flats of her feet.

Atlas rolled his eyes at her curiosity. His little sister was always the one to catch the tiniest of things.

God damn five-year-olds.

The eighteen-year-old kneeled closer to match her height somewhat, carefully moving a strand of hair out of her baby face, not wanting to startle her.

"That, little one, is none of your concern," Atlas spoke slowly, moving his lips to her forehead and placing a gentle kiss on her skin.

He pulled back and looked carefully at her, staring into her big doe eyes as if he was searching for something.

After a few more seconds, the boy got up and gently patted the soft curls on the little girl's head before leaving without another word.

-Edited 14/04/2020 with the help of the amazing MsFishyLee  x