Exposed (#wattys2016)

chapter thirty

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What felt like a lifetime was finally happening. I had so many emotions pent up inside of me - anger, fear, sadness. The anxious feeling in my stomach was pooling there all night, almost to the point where I thought I was going to get sick if I thought about it one more time.

My cousins were prepared to get separated from Levi and I, but I don't know if Levi and I were ready to get separated from them. For three years, I've been their older brother along with Levi. It's hard to let something go after three years.

Caspian was wearing his "dad" clothes as he watched baseball on our TV, Lilly reluctantly curled up next to him. He gave me an annoyed look, like this was all nonsense.
"When is this rugrat gonna get off of me?"
I ignored his comment and fixed the collar on my shirt in the mirror next to the staircase in the living room. Through the mirror I saw Lilly crinkle her eyebrows at Casp's comment, shifting away from him slightly. I saw Casp turn around, rolling his eyes when he saw me fixing my outfit. "Pretty boy," He mumbled with a grin curling onto his lips. I smiled back through the mirror, raising my eyebrows to make sure my collar was perfectly folded.

Danny and the other two girls were sitting on the floor building a puzzle. "I stole this all by myself," Danny kept saying about the puzzle. Levi quickly scurried over and explained to Danny that he shouldn't say that anymore. I watched the whole conversation and laughed, watching Gina roll her eyes as she reclined on a chair, her stomach almost swallowing up her whole body.

"This is so nice, we're all together!" I said, turning from the mirror to look at my family, confined into the small space of our living room. Levi shrugged and looked around, too.
"It could be the last time," He said while leaning against the wall. I loved his realistic attitude.

The doorbell rang and all of us jumped, I think, besides Caspian who just sat there. Levi's eyes bulged out of his head and he slowly paced over to the door. I couldn't see who was at the door until Levi let him inside.

Lo and behold, it was the same old man Levi was talking about. He had a hunchback and a maroon sweater on that looked a size too small. His head was balding with frizzy grey hair, a matching mustache and a trembling lip. His wrinkles and moles crowded his frail, old face.

"Hello. Is Wade and/or Melissa Malister here today?" The old man spoke with a lisp, probably from his trembling lip. We all turned our attention to Caspian, who looked around a few times before jolting his posture up.
"That's me," Caspian said like a lightbulb turned on in his head. I watched the old man study his face, slowly beginning to wobble over to Caspian. In the man's right hand was a clipboard, which he extended as he moved like a snail to Casp.

I gulped quietly as the man began to speak again, my heart thumping into my ears, my palms drenched in sweat. "Sign here," The old man shakily said, pointing the attached pen to the spot on the paper.
"Oh, uh, okay," Caspian said as he took the clipboard from the man, giving Levi and I a death glare as he signed what looked like a scribble.
"Thank you," the old man said, "We will make sure this signature matches court records."

I could feel the anxiety floating off my body, uncomfortably shifting in my own skin. The old man smiled and started shuffling towards the door. "That's all?" Caspian mouthed to Levi, and he responded with a silent nod and a simple, "I think."

The old man stood at the door and smiled with his trembling lip, scanning over all of our heads. "I am glad your family was able to finally pull together, you're all clear," The bald mad said with a smile still curled around his lips. He grabbed the doorknob next and twisted it with a slight shake, letting himself out the door.

I was preparing myself for much worse, just waiting for that older woman to burst through and take us all away. Once the door was fully shut, Caspian twisted around to look at me, glaring slightly, "What the fuck, now you're all screwed because you didn't tell me I had to forge a signature!"

Levi shook his hands and his head, walking over to Casp. "No, no, no, that's exactly what my dad did. Scribble. You did it right, I think." I rolled my eyes as my arms crossed tightly against my chest, opening my mouth a few seconds before I decided to speak, "But we're all here now. We're safe for now."

Caspian and Levi shot me the same confused look, Levi's eyebrows narrowing slightly before he took a seat across the room. "Yeah, he's right. We're okay for now."

I heard the recliner click down, noticing Gina standing up with her protruding belly. "You're all stupid," She said while wobbling into the kitchen. Casp rolled his eyes and mocked her voice with his mouth, her back turned to him. "Go ahead, say it, pussy," Gina now said from inside the kitchen like she knew Caspian was imitating her. Caspian's eye twitched and he looked into the kitchen, lowly speaking, "Shut up."

I rushed to stand in front of Caspian, pressing both of my palms against his cheeks. I turned his face to look up at me, smiling before I spoke. "Hey, we can leave now. Don't get angry because of her. We can finally leave, do something together, go on a date."

Casp half smiled, and I leaned forward to kiss his forehead. I let go of his cheeks and sat down between him and Lilly, surprised nobody was starting at me. I felt his head rest against my shoulder, a few small words whispering past his lips, "We'll leave tomorrow."

I felt Lilly's small hand rest against my wrist, her tiny body curling up against me while she yawned. Maybe it was going to be harder to leave then I thought, even if it's only for a few days.