Unexpected

Chapter 1. A Not So Happy Homecoming

I'm lost as to what I should title this so as I go in up for suggestions :)

Sofiah

I felt numb, lost even though I new exactly where I was. I looked at the casket sudden anger growing with in me. It felt like a dream, a really really bad dream, I felt like any minute I would wake up to the smell of dad cooking breakfast down the hall.

This couldn't be true, I felt like a piece of me was missing. My father was gone, he was never coming back... I was pulled back to reality and out of my thoughts when my twin brother Stefan wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

I looked up to him because his fingers began dig into my shoulder. I followed his gaze until I met the eyes of my two older brothers and another man as they walked towards us wearing marine blue dress uniforms.

I began to sink to the ground as my tears finally began to fall realization hitting me like a ton of bricks. I had never seen Steven or Sebastian in uniform. Another set of arms went around my waist to steady me before I actually fell taking Stef with me.

I began to sob silently as tears streaked down my face I felt my cheeks lose color. Marco began to whisper that I was going to be okay.

And with that I began to get my bearings once more as I ran out of the arms of my twin and his best friend and into the arms of the brothers who left five years ago feeling obligated to their country to serve. I felt safer with all my brothers home.

Jack

I had no where to go so when Steven and Sebastian offered for me to stay with them when we went home after out tour in Afghanistan I accepted.

Saying the it would only be for a week or two. The day before we were set to leave the base Sergeant Major Hardy came into our barracks handing Steven and his brother an envelope. Something was wrong I could see it in the sergeant's eyes.

I watched as my two best friends opened the envelope reading the contents an then looking to me. Steven then said "Jack we need to leave now. If you still want to stay with us we will need to leave right a way. . . We have to attend my fathers funeral in the morning."

I could see that they were trying to process what they had just been informed of. "You two go, it's a very personal and familial matter. I shouldn't -" I was cut of by Bass as he stated as if on auto-pilot

"As long as we have served together Jack you have become family. My father liked you and so did Stefan. You may be the only one who can help us get a grip on Sofiah she was very close to our father and although she is close to us she won't be able to process this with out outside help and she may be more open to letting you in because we all trust you. She's a good kid you need to meet her." They trusted me. Really and truly trusted me.

It didn't matter that before the marine corps I was a very delinquent type guy. I joined at sixteen determined to get a way from shit at home. My mother was with husband number four I was product of husband number two.

I had six other brothers and sisters (she kinda started early) so when I got in I met the Lennox boys they were a few years older than I, and lucky for them the three of us were in the same unit. Their mother had died a few years back of cancer.

They always talked about their parents and the twins everything I heard about the family made me long for a family like that. In the five years we had served together I had gone home with them for the holidays a handful of times.

The Lennox family didn't celebrate the holidays rather they celebrated the family's migration to Santa Barbara from Miami eight generations earlier, expressing thanks that they had each other and their health.

The first time I went I met only Mr. Lennox and one of the twins; Stefan. I knew from the guys that Stefan's twin was a girl. And she was beautiful too, two years younger than I and certainly very very gorgeous.

I knew this only from pictures since each time I visited she was visiting the side of the family that stayed in Miami. I grew to love this family that in a sense adopted me as their own. A family that was broken but by some gift of god still functioning.

I had no idea why Steven and Sebastian trusted me with their baby sister but they did. Silently we made a pact that if they couldn't watch over her I would do everything in my power to do so.

And for once I really meant it. I felt more love for this family that I'd known for all of five years than the family I knew all my life. An I thanked them for that. They saved me.

I only wish I knew that Sofiah the dark haired, tan, green eyed girl, would be saving me in a much different sense.......

"Okay let's get go. If we want to make in time we have to leave in exactly five minutes. Sergeant Hardy has arranged for us to be flown to the base in Santa Barbara tonight it's a cargo flight so brace yourselves."

Stefan

My poor baby sister. She hasn't seen them in five years. Leaving every time they joined us on a holiday they were able to come home for.

They always brought a guy from their unit who dad and I always got a long with him his name was Jack Miller and he became part of our little family. He was very much like my baby sister.

He liked most of the things she did and It sucked that Sofi never wanted to stick around when they came to visit. Still harboring resentment against our big brothers for choosing to leave us instead of sticking around.

She could be so stubborn some times. But right now she looked so fragile, so small, I had braced my self by wrapping an arm around my twin sister because I felt light headed but I also wanted to console her in some way.

I had looked up from the ground when I seen them coming, involuntarily I had dug my fingers into Sofi's shoulder, looking up she seen what I had and began to sink in my arms finally letting go of her tough girl persona and sobbing silently.

Marco grabbed her around the waist to help me hold her up as she silently and violently sobbed.

I think it finally set in that my father was gone as much as non of us wanted to believe it the man who did all he could for us was gone and it was to early, he was a health fit man who loved his children. He also worked as CEO of Lennox Enterprise my sister was very close to him, we all were, and now he was gone.

Sofi stood up straight regaining balance as Marco whispered something in audible, and with that she broke free of our hold and into the arms of my two eldest brothers.

Sofiah

I stood in between Steven and Sebastian as the service began. The priest began to speak and I began to zone out looking at the boy who had arrived with my brothers.

He was about the same height as Bass, he was tanned and muscular, his hair was buzzed, just like the rest of the marines at my fathers service, he looked at me and noticed his eyes were a blueish grey color that was absolutely breath taking.

Coming out of my day dream I vaguely remember Steven and Sebastian walking over to the casket with my sandwiched in between them. They laid white Calla Lily's on my fathers closed casket.

Walking away I heard Sebastian say that he missed me and Steven held on to my arm tighter and as I looked up at him he was trying to keep his tears from falling down his cheeks.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lindsey Morgan- Sofiah Lennox