To Belong | Protector 5.25

Chapter 38

Chapter 38

       I had about a week before the court hearing to make the restraining order against my birth parents permanent, so most of my days were just thinking about it. I wasn't too worried about the outcome. They were arrested twice for stuff they had done to me. I was just worried about seeing them again.

       I knew they wouldn't be able to do anything to me since we were going to be in court, but I knew I was still going to struggle just having to look at them. I was probably going to just avoid eye contact the entire time. Find a spot in the room to just stare at.

       At least my dads and siblings were going to be there. The court date was set on a weekday during school, but my dads were always lenient when it came to school. They knew the missing one day, or even half a day, wasn't going to make our grades drastically suffer.

       It was one of the reasons they would always let us take mental health days. Going to school when our mental health wasn't the best would probably yield the same result as not attending at all. Actually, not attending was a lot better so teachers wouldn't be able to get mad at you for not paying attention.

       There was a sudden knock on the door before it bursted open, so I looked over to see Kingsley standing there. He looked at Webster, who was sitting at my desk doing his homework. "Why is he always over here?" Kingsley asked. "Even Calliope isn't over here that much."

       "Why do you always have to barge in my room?" I asked.

       "I didn't barge. I knocked. Papa told me I need to start knocking more."

       "Yeah, and normally after someone knocks, they wait for a reply before opening the door. You're still technically barging in."

       "Semantics."

       "Wow, you actually know what that means?" Webster spoke up.

       "Dude, I highly doubt you know what it means," Kingsley said. "You know, considering I tutored you in English for a bit. Don't make me kick you out of the house."

       "You literally don't have the authority to do that," I said. 

       "Well, I live here, so I should have a say of who comes and goes."

       "If that's the case, then I should have a say too, and I don't want you here, so you can leave."

       "You can leave," Kingsley mocked.

       "Are you going to tell me why you barged into my room, or are you just going to stand there?" I asked.

       "Oh, right," Kingsley said. "Dads are going to order individual pizzas since we always argue on the toppings, and they want to know what you want on yours."

       "Ham, pineapple, and jalapeño."

       "Jalapeño on Hawaiian pizza? That's weird."

       "You dipped your pizza in peanut butter once. You're in no place to judge my palate."

       Kingsley waved me off before he looked at Webster. "My dads said you're probably staying for dinner, so you get your own pizza too. What do you want on yours? And if it's as weird as Arjun's, I'm ignoring you."

       "Okay, peanut butter pizza," I said. Kingsley stuck his tongue out at me in reply.

       "I'll just have a pepperoni pizza," Webster said.

       "Acceptable. I'll let you know when the pizza is here." Kingsley left, closing the door very slowly as if he was doing it to try to get on my nerves. Sure, Kingsley could be annoying at times, but he was the brotherly kind of annoying. If anything, it just made me feel more accepted into the family. The week after Jerome and Nolan started fostering me, Kingsley was already treating me as his brother.

       Makenna, Cerise, and Liberty treated me as their brother as well, but they were definitely not annoying like Kingsley.

       "Do you think he's always going to hate me?" Webster asked.

       "Nah, he doesn't actually hate you," I said. "We just likes teasing you to get your reaction. It's the kind of person Webster is. Really, if he did hate you, he would just ignore you and not give you the time of day. He once got mad at Makenna and didn't acknowledge her existence for two full weeks. So, trust me, he doesn't hate you."

       "I think I would rather him ignore me than pester me." Webster closed his notebook before stretching in his seat. "I'm finally done that cursed schoolwork. I just can't wait until I graduate. Then I won't have to worry about homework at all."

       "Aren't you planning on attending university?"

       "Yeah, but I'm going to take a year off probably. Get a job and work a bit so I can start saving since I don't know if my parents are still willing to pay for my education."

       "Have you talked to them at all since they took your allowance away?" 

       Webster got up from the desk and walked over to my bed, lying down beside it on me. He sighed heavily. "No. I mean, not except them telling me dinner is ready or asking how school is going. And I always just answer them with one word, so I wouldn't really call it talking to them."

       "You should try," I said.

       Webster furrowed his eyebrows as he sat up to look at me. "I should try talking to my parents who took away my allowance because I didn't want my shitty uncle to get away with what he did to your and other foster kids? I thought you would want me to ignore them forever."

       "I think they just need someone to tell them that you don't always have to put family ahead of everything, especially if a family member did something vile," I said. "Some people have just been engrained to believe that family matters the most, but I think it's fair to cut out a family member who did something you don't agree with."

       "They're not going to listen to me," Webster said. "I'm just their troublemaking teenager who does stuff just to spite them. I don't, obviously, but that's how they feel."

       "Have you told them otherwise?"

       "It shouldn't be my responsibility to do so."

       "Yeah, I guess."

       "Besides, it's no big deal if I have to pay for my own education. Not everyone is privileged enough to have their parents pay for them." He laid back down. "At least they wouldn't have a say in what I study if I'm the one paying for it."

       "That's true," I said. "Are you really okay not talking to them, though?"

       Webster gave me a reassuring smile. "I am. Really."

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wattpad is about to go on maintenance for two hours, so i'm glad i was able to finish this in time, especially because i want to go to bed early. (at least earlier than usual since it's almost 2 am here lol)