Oh Brother (Completed)

All Is Fair

My brother's loud chatter drew me downstairs a little after nine the next morning. Buckley, Damien, and Sam all had a controller between their hands, my brothers off the edge of the couch, Damien on the floor between them. Their fingers slammed the buttons so hard it was a miracle they hadn't broke yet. Nix and Phil were on the loveseat, watching the TV with as much intensity as the players themselves.

"No!" Buck threw the remote at the couch behind him, nearly nicking Nix in the side of the head. "I had that! What the hell, Damien!"

"You didn't have that, Buck." Phil commented. "Damien was way closer and had the kill. Stop being a sore loser."

Buck glared at our older brother, then glanced up, as always the first person to notice my entrance. His anger dissipated when he saw the amused look I'm sure lit up my face.

"You find this funny?" Buckley questioned, but a hint of a smile had replaced his scowl.

I stepped off the last stair, pinching my fingers in front of me until they were only about an inch apart. "Maybe a little."

Nix threw his head back so he was staring back at me upside down, a grin stretching across his face. "You're brothers are really competitive."

"I see that." I answered with a quiet chuckle. Just as I made the move toward the kitchen, I rammed into Hudson's arm. It was such a sudden impact that I fell backwards and hit the floor with a quiet grunt. Surprisingly, he extended his hand and helped me to my feet.

"Sorry, I should pay more attention to my surroundings." He muttered. "I needed to talk to you anyway though, so I guess it works out."

Being this close, able to get a clear view of him, the only Bennett thing about my half brother was his sharp jawline and lips. Our father's genes had forgotten to give him his height and stature. Where our other brother's were all over six foot with biceps bigger than my head, Hudson's frame was not quite frail, but nowhere near as brawny as the rest of the Bennett clan.

"I know your mom didn't really take money from Dad." Hudson continued once he came to the realization I wasn't going to respond. "I thought maybe you'd want to work with me down on the beach for the summer. Get some money. Save it or whatever."

There was so much hostility and irritation radiating off Hudson that I had no doubt one of my brothers or possibly Nix had put him up to this. He, like Aden, seemed to have no desire to be within a hundred feet of me, let alone work together.

"I think it's a good idea." Nix piped in from the couch behind me. "Get you out of the house and away from this sausage fest."

Phil and Buckley laughed and pitched in with agreements of their own. Damien didn't seem interested in the conversation until the match ended and the green grew dark. His eyes finally found mine and he shrugged, not either agreeing or disagreeing with my brothers.

Hudson reached behind his head and rubbed his neck, "If you're coming, go grab your bathing suit and meet me out by my Jeep. If you're not out there in ten minutes I'll assume you don't want the job."

Then he walked out the door, thankfully leaving without ramming into me this time. I found my eyes wandering to Phil, and I must have looked a little hurt, because the right side of Buckley's mouth curled into a half smile as he answered my unspoken question.

"He's just a little cold." Buck said. "You should feel honored he even acknowledged your existence."

*

The tension in Hudson's Jeep was so heavy that a eight minute ride felt like an eternity. His eyes remained trained on the dirt path down the side of the beach, lips pursed. One of his hands was on his lap, the other grasping the steering wheel. He hadn't said a word to me since I'd left the house and got in the car.