Gracious

Chapter 26

A/N - 2am but who cares 😍

TW - scenes some may find upsetting

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December 8th.

I swear time was moving disgustingly fast, because how on earth was Prescott eighteen today?

He was no longer the screaming baby that my parents brought home from the hospital, nor was he the fourteen year old who I'd force to babysit multiple times a week.

Nope, now he was an eighteen year old who had been locked in his bedroom all day so far; I knew he was awake because it was Prescott we were talking about here, and it was midday- he never slept at midday. I'd tried to coax him out multiple times now, telling him there was breakfast downstairs, then lunch, then that the others wanted to give him their presents, but he was refusing to budge.

Why he'd shut himself away I wasn't sure, whether he was missing our mother, our sister, or if it was something else bothering him, but he wouldn't talk to me. That seemed like a recurring theme under this roof.

"Why do you think Scott's not coming out?", Xavier asked from his perched position on the kitchen island, he'd told me he was helping Alexander make our brother a birthday cake, but I hadn't seen him do much of that yet.

"Maybe he woke up with grey hair", Caleb joked from the sofa, flicking through Netflix movies, "should I go and drag him out?".

"Cub", Chase shook his head, tearing his attention away from the book in his lap for a moment, "leave him alone".

"I was joking Chasey", he ruffled our brother's blonde hair before fiddling with his own, "I need more hair dye".

"Or you could just go back to blonde?", Chase suggested and Caleb scrunched his face up.

"No thanks", he muttered, "what cake are you making Xan?". He may have only been twelve, but he was navigating the kitchen better than I did, it was embarrassing for me.

"Chocolate", he replied, dusting his apron and turning around, "are you helping or eating the cake batter?".

"Both?", Xavier shrugged, taking his finger out of the bowl and licking it- well then, "I'm helping you figure out if the cake's gonna be good by eating the batter".

"You worry me sometimes Xav", Caleb sighed and I rolled my eyes.

"Leave him alone", I said just as the door knocked, "dare I guess who's on the other side?".

"Is it Marco?", Chase asked and I shook my head, strolling out of the room to answer it, surely enough I was greeted by two blonde teenagers on my doorstep...and Delilah.

"Well isn't this a pleasant surprise", I opened the door wider, making a mental note to tell Caleb to stop inviting his friends over without telling anyone, "what brings you all here?".

"Do we need a reason to see you Zaney?", August grinned, kicking off his shoes, "where's Cub?".

"In here!", my brother called out and August nudged Theo, the pair of them disappearing into the kitchen.

"They told me you knew they were coming", Delilah smiled sheepishly, "sorry honey". I just shook my head dismissively as if to say 'don't worry about it' and she pulled me into a hug, rubbing my back slowly.

Even at twenty-one, I still accepted her hugs like I was a teenager again.

"Theo okay?", I asked her, noting the sixteen year old's silence from the second he entered the house.

"He's had a rough few days", she admitted and I nodded, "he asked me if he could crash here tonight, I told him I'd ask you-".

"It's fine", I insisted, knowing they were inseparable, "he didn't bring a bag".