Tied Up

Chapter Six

"Hey baby girl," Tyler spoke as he snuck up on his little sister.

Once again, she was playing with Rylan but he had noticed a new girl next to them. Logan had told him about the concerns Mrs. Walker had expressed. So Tyler was glad to see her with a different kid, too.

Avery turned around, sending her hair flying over at the abrupt move. "Hi, Tyler! Look, this is Emmy. She shared her Princess Belle doll with me."

Tyler looked at the girl next to her. Emmy's light brown hair that reached her shoulders grazed Avery's blonde hair as they played with the doll. Her hazel eyes were different from Avery's eyes in every way possible.

Emmy looked up at Tyler, her lips spreading into a smile. "Hi! Do you like Princess Belle?"

Tyler couldn't help but smile. "I sure do." This child sure was full of energy.

"Me too! Cause she looks like me."

Rylan suddenly slammed his dinosaur toy into the doll, causing the little girls to gasp dramatically.

Tyler decided to intervene before the toy wars started. "It was nice meeting you, Emmy. We gotta go pick up her big brother now. Say thank you for sharing Emmy," Tyler reminded Avery.

"Thank you for sharing, Emmy! Tomorrow I'll bring Mr. Bear so they can be friends."

Tyler tickled her little belly. "I think that's a great idea, babe." He collected Avery's matching princess backpack and lunch box.

Tyler was about to walk out the door but Avery insisted on hugging her two friends goodbye. He reluctantly put her down. He had to admit, it was the cutest sight. Rylan was slightly annoyed, and Emmy returned the biggest hug with a smile.

Avery skipped back to her brother a grin on her cute little face.

After they walked out the door, and Avery made sure to point at every picture on the hall and explain it, Tyler was now buckling Avery in her pink car seat. "You made a new friend, didn't you?"

"Uhuh! But Rylan is still my favorite friend," she let him know, swinging her legs back and forth in her car seat.

"That's fine by me, cutie." Tyler buckled his own seatbelt before turning on the radio to one of his favorite songs. And Avery's too, apparently.

Tyler couldn't stop the smile dancing on his lips as she sang along to the words wrong and bopped her head from side to side. Sometimes taking care of his siblings instead of his mom was overwhelming and a struggle. But in moments like this, he was reminded how much he loved taking care of them.

Right now was one of those times when their mom simply needed a break to clear her head. They understood and let her be. They would never stop understanding as long as Tobias Rayne was trying to gain custody of their little sister.

A few minutes later, Sam joined them in the car. Tyler looked at his arms to see no new scrapes.

"That kid leave you alone?" Tyler pulled his jeans, looking for a sign of a kid falling down. Sam gave him a look and he put his hands up in surrender.

Sam shrugged, pulling his jeans down. "I guess. At least for now."

"Tyler?"

Tyler started the car and looked back at Avery through the rearview mirror. "Yeah, munchkin?"

She was fiddling with her car seat belt. "When are we gonna go back home? With mommy."

Tyler noticed that Sam was now staring too. He swallowed hard. "Soon. Mommy just needs to take care of things." He shot them both a little smile. "Let's forget about that for now, there's no need to worry."