The Sweetest Baker

Chapter Ten--Last Hope

After hearing from Tina that I was officially fired, I didn't know whether to defend my siblings or be angry with them. Until I found that out, I tried not to let my anger out on them or Dad. Instead, I stood with Lorraine watching as Sarah attempted to call Mom. Despite my persistence to put her on speakerphone, she put the phone to her ear.

"Mom? It's Sarah. Come home immediately. It's an---"

"I wanna talk to her!" Mark shouted from behind her tugging onto the phone. My eyes widened at the incident.

"Mark, no!" I ordered trying to grab onto him from the back as Sarah began to tug harder on the other end. "Come on, guys! Just share!"

Right as I said that, the phone cracked. My siblings glared at Mark as if he was the only one involved.

"Now, look what you did, Fed—--"

"Sarah, don't," I said loudly knowing exactly what she was about to say. I guarded Mark so that she couldn't get to him.

"But Hunter! It's all his fault," Sarah complained.

"Sarah, upstairs now!" I ordered not wanting to fight with her. Everyone ran off after her still mumbling about how it wasn't fair that I was defending him. When they all left, I helped my brother up from his spot on the floor.

"Just admit it, Hunter. This is all my fault. If I hadn't—"

"Mark Baker. Are you seriously letting her get to you now? Just ignore her. She only wants to do it for your attention," I told him, raising his glasses. "Besides, she's done much worse." He chuckled at that statement remembering the events just two days before. I kneeled down on both knees so I could hold him for a couple of seconds. Our hug was interrupted, however, by a familiar voice yelling, "Guys?"

"What's Nora doing here?" he asked recognizing the voice. I stood up shrugging.

"Beats me. This has to be Dad's idea," I told him kissing his cheek before letting him run off to meet our sister.

When he saw me not following him though, he stared at me expectantly but I ushered him on. I didn't need Nora to tell me I was being a bad sister to my siblings. Overhearing them run downstairs, I ran upstairs to my room locking the door behind me. These emotions had been bottled up inside me for the past week and a half and I didn't know what to do with them. This was the one moment where I could take a break and I was going to take it.

Getting out my notebook, I wrote down a new entry for the school newspaper. I hadn't gotten to do this much so I was happy with any opportunity to write. I hoped this would impress the senior editors enough to publish it.

Not being concentrated on my sibling's lifestyle felt good, especially hearing how excited they seemed to get to have Nora as a babysitter, just like they wanted. It was easy to see why too. She was a mature babysitter who knew how to lay down the law with our siblings. Plus, I knew she wouldn't hesitate to give me the break that she knew I needed. However, hearing my siblings respect Nora so much, made me envious. At first, I thought they respected me just as much as Mom and Dad. However, after everything they'd put me through, I started to think disrespecting me was a hobby of theirs, particularly Sarah's.

I didn't get much alone time though before I heard a loud banging at my door. With a scoff, I turned to the door.

"Go ask Nora," I shouted knowing someone had to ask me something.

"Not when she's already here," she responded back. I unlocked the door allowing her to come inside. Beside her were Kim and Jessica each holding her hands. They gave me looks of pure concern which reminded me again just how amazing my siblings were.