𝐂𝐎𝐖𝐁𝐎𝐘 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐌𝐄 • 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐝

꧁ 10 ꧂

꧁☘︎︎𖢻☘︎︎꧂

𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐲

"That looked good." I say to Ross as he strides towards the exit of the arena after riding. "You're getting way better."

"Thanks, man." He pants - I worked him hard today but it's paying off. "You're riding tonight, right?"

"Yeah." I nod, following him. "You coming?"

"Yep. Mom and Dad and real excited. They like you a lot."

Cool. Don't care about them. "Marley coming?"

"She is. ...Speaking of..." Ross looks at me somewhat skeptically. He trails off and I frown at him, halting my steps.

"What?"

"Rusty said that in the kitchen this morning you and Mar were acting really... close."

"Close?"

"Yeah. I- I guess." Ross stutters and I scoff.

"There an issue if we're close?"

"No! Well, I- no!"

"Good." I say and continue walking. "Because I plan on getting a lot closer."

꧁ 𝐚 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 ꧂

"Billy!" Four voices all screech at the same time.

My girls.

For the first time, I willingly cut off my conversation with Marley and get off of the stool at the island, jogging out into the hallway.

Once my sisters and Ma see me they're all smiles and 'aw's'. "Billy!"

Mr and Mrs Jack kept on insisting that they'd be happy for my family to come down and stay. The only issue with that is that it means Rusty now has to stay in the main house while my family have the spare villa to themselves. The arrangement makes a lot of sense but it pisses me off. I don't want him near Marley.

Charlotte looks the exact same as the last time I saw her, Megan the same but she has these long fake nails on when she always said she hated them. Alla's started wearing trainers instead of heels and sandals she used to wear to try and look more grown up. Trixie has dyed her hair, the brunette now decorated with blonde streaks. Then there's Annie.

Annie doesn't look any different as she remains asleep in Charlotte's arms. Maybe she's gotten a bit taller but I won't know until she's standing up.

The five awake voices are all chattering like crazy except for Ma who tries quieting her children down. My sisters are all talking to me, trying to hug and make any contact with me they can.

I can hear footsteps behind me and look over my shoulder to see Marley. The sight makes my sisters quieten down a bit, looking sheepish about their loud behaviour.

I scoff and meet Marley's eyes. "Sweetness, these are my sisters and my mama."

I give her a dramatic roll of the eyes as she timidly stands a few metres away. She glares at me but it's not sincere - damn girl never is - and walks down the hall. Immediately, my Mom, Char, Megan, Alla and Trixie are bombarding her with greetings and questions. The conversations continue on but Alla turns and looks at me, a quizzical brow raised.