Bad Boy Good Heart

Chapter 10

Alice's POV
I burst out into tears before she could even finish. Conner strides through to console his sister while I'm left crying by the door. He sits on her bed and pulls her small body into his arms.

"Shh don't cry." He smooths the hair from her face and kisses her cheek. "It's going to be okay."

I sink down to the floor and cover my face with my hands. I can't believe this right now, poor little Marlo. But she is a little girl, and having a puppy is quite the responsibility.

So all I can do is sob.

"Come here." Conner says

"Alice, come here."

I try to pull myself together as I stand. I shuffle over to Conner and look down at him with a sad face. He holds out an arm telling me to sit down near him. I sit and he forces me to lean over on his shoulder. He strokes my hair and tells me that it will be okay.

"But-t w-what am I suppose to tell the a-animal shelter."

"Don't tell them anything...yet. Just...c'mere. " he sighs and caresses my hair. I try to quiet my sniffling and after a while my eyes get heavy. Before I know it I'm asleep.

I wake with my head rising and falling to the rhythm of Conners breathing. Blinking the sleep away, afraid to move, I  open my eyes to a lightly snoring Sophie. Her face a rosey red from the tears she's cried. Drawing my attention to Conner, I can't help but to notice the similarities. They have the same eye brows cheek structure, both gorgeous.

"Conner." I whisper gently in his ear.

"Hmm."

Is he even sleeping?

"What is it?" He asks in a clear voice.

He's definitely not sleeping.

"Having fun staring at me?" He peaks open an eye.

"...Yea."

"Good. Now be quiet before you wake up my sister."

I'm not sure if I should lay my head back on his chest. He probably didn't want to be rude and just toss me off of him after I fell asleep. But I don't want to push my boundaries.

I attempt to roll over off of his chest and onto the mattress but wraps his arm around my waste to hold me there.

"What are you doing?" I whisper to chim.

"Shut up you'll wake my sister up. Just lay down." He whispers back.

I lay my head back on his chest and his sister stirs, beginning to wake.

"Pretend to be sleep." He whispers so quietly I almost didn't hear.

He starts to fake snore and so do I.

"Conner?" Cassidy says with a sleepy voice.

Conner grunts as if he's actually sleeping.

I wait in silence. Why isn't he going to answer her? A few minutes later she's sleeping again and snoring lightly.

"Conner." I whisper after about ten minutes of silence and light fake snoring.

"Shh. Don't wake her up."

I don't know how long we've been laying here, but it's been quite a long time. Us laying near each other, is this going to be our thing?

Waiting and listening?

Cassidy yawns and stretches out. "Conner? Alice?"

Fully waking, she grabs my hair and starts to twist it. Does this mean that I can talk? Conner stirs beneath us both and yawns as if he is just now waking up. Or maybe he really was sleeping. I 'wake' in the same fashion that he did.

"Good morning Cassidy." He says kissing her hair. "Good morning Alice." He smoothes the hair from my face.

"Good morning Conner." I say as Cassidy and I both sit up.

"Did you sleep well?"

"I always sleep well when your here." She climbs into his lap.

Her statement softens my heart.

"Did you sleep well?" She asks him with a huge smile.

"Of course I did. And I dreamt about you." He pokes her nose, eliciting a giggle. "I have to get Alice home soon though." He says with a slight flint of sadness. He's sad to leave his sister, that's so sweet. "After breakfast." She objects, shaking her head. The small girl stands on his lap, balancing herself, and he holds her hands to steady her.

"Okay." He says.

                                             ....

"Toss me an egg." Conner says smiling at his sister.
She tosses him an egg and it lands on the ground with a splat. "That's okay Cassidy, just toss me another. "She throws over hand this time and it lands perfectly into his hands.

"Good job!" We both hoot at the girl. I can't help but pay attention to how I love the way he treats his sister.

"May I have a spoon?" I ask Cassidy.

I'm preparing the pancakes while Conner makes the eggs. There's sausage already in the skillet cooking.
"Heeeereee you go." She tosses the spoon to me and I catch it with ease. "We need blue berries! And chocolate chips!" She says pulling her brothers swim trunk shorts he never changed from.

"Okay. Get them."

She runs to the fridge and knocks all the condiments off the the fridge shelf to get the chocolate chips.
"Here you go." She gives me the items with a face splitting grin. Her excitement palpable before frowning. She snatches the bag and the container from my hands. "Can I do it?"

I laugh. "Sure."

Taking the bowl and spoon from the counter I place it her small outstretched hand. She takes her seat cross legged on the ground, handing me the bag of chocolate chips to open along with some puppy dog eyes. Opening it and handing it back to her, she pours the entire bag of chocolate into the bowl with a huge smile. I can't contain my laughter. Pancakes with a side of diabetes, anyone?

Despite the amount of added sugar from the chocolate and blueberries, breakfast was great. There's not a complaint I could have in the world, as I ride stuffed back home in the passenger seat of Conners car. The morning has been great. One of the best in a while.

The ride is silent all the way there, mostly due to me drifting back off. The only thing said is "okay" as Conner pulls into my driveway. "We're here." He says smiling at me.

I grin at him through lazy eyes. Happy that today happened, though my heart is saddened over Milo. My smile falling upon remembering. "Thank you. I had a lot of fun. I'll see you soon?" I stretch, take off my seat belt, and brush my hair out of my eyes. "...Yes." he grins a secret grin that tells me he knows something that I don't.

Leaving, I enter the house to the smell of pancakes. I really can't eat anymore food. I follow the smell to greet my mother anyway. "Hey honey, I made you pancakes." My mom says with a bright smile, as I walk toward her. "I've already eaten. Like a lot..." She puts the plate she's holding down and embraces me in a hug. "Conner took you out for breakfast? I just got home."

"No. Conner took me out last night to go to the beach." I start explaining as she sits down at the table.

"Oh okay. So you took Marlo back?"

And let tears start...