Miserably Delightful

chapter 12

It had been a week since the boys' old friend, Volto, had left the note for me on my car. It had been peaceful since then, and I craved it, finding comfort in it. Even though the boys and I hadn't known each other long, after the events that had happened, we had gotten closer. I was enjoying my small break from Momster, though I knew that I would eventually have to return home to the house that I considered hell.

The week had passed by slowly and uneventfully, except for the few times I hung out with the boys after school. We had lot's of laughs over the course of the week, and even though the week hadn't been horrible, I was looking forward to the weekend for two reasons: I was having a sleepover with the boys and it was North's birthday. I had only been informed of it on Wednesday and I was still upset with North for not telling me sooner.

I had scrambled to figure out the right gift for him, and was rather worried about what I had finally settled on. I wasn't very familiar with giving gifts, considering the only times that I had was for my family, and they were easy to please. They had mostly everything they wanted, and if they didn't like what I had purchased for them, they could easily discard it or exchange it.

I didn't want North to discard or exchange my gift, though, I wanted him to like it.

The only nuisance throughout my week had been Zain. After the last time I had saw him, he had been pestering not only me but the rest of our siblings as well. Knox had spread the news of what happened to Marie and Micah, as well as their group of friends, resulting in almost all of us icing him out. I felt bad, knowing that he had an issue and that he needed help, but I wasn't going to allow him to harass me any longer. As far as I knew, Knox and Axel were working together to get Zain back on the right track, but neither were willing to give up where I was staying, even though Zain had been pleading for them to tell him.

Late Saturday morning, I was on my way out of Knox's apartment door, about to be picked up by Victor, when Knox stopped me. It wasn't often that he was home since he decided to help Zain, not that I minded much. We still saw each other often, and he texted me a lot throughout the day, to check in on me. Ever since I had began staying with him, his protective brother instincts had heightened. It was a little annoying, but it was also nice, knowing that he cared so much.

"Sang," he said, setting down his cup of coffee on the side table near his couch. He wasn't yet dressed for the day, though I knew he had plans with Zain and Marie in an hour. Marie had very reluctantly agreed to meeting with them for lunch, but after both Knox and Zain had pleaded with her she had caved. They'd asked Micah and I, as well, but I already had plans, and Micah wasn't all that fond of Zain at the moment and since they didn't want any dead bodies, they didn't push the matter. "Come here for a moment."

I shifted from foot to foot, gripping my keys tightly, looking between my brother and the door. "Knox," I sighed, tugging on a strand of hair nervously. "I don't have time. Victor is outside waiting for me."

He frowned at me and I rolled my eyes. If he was going to be that way. I walked over and settled onto the arm of the couch, glaring at him, not bothering to hide the fact that I was less than pleased with his timing. He ignored my glare and leaned back, a concerned look forming in his eyes. I almost groaned, but knew better. I would just have to listen to whatever lecture he had prepared for me and apologize profusely to both Victor and Gabriel, who Victor had informed me was in the car as well.

After a long moment of silence, my older brother seemed to crumple in on himself and whisper, "Just be careful, okay, kiddo? I love you, and I'll see you later."

I blinked several times, staring at Knox, confused. I wanted to envelope him in a hug and ask what was wrong, but before I could, he had composed himself again and was drinking his coffee, watching TV. I shook my head, clearing my head of the thoughts drifting through it and muttered a small goodbye to my brother before exiting the apartment and hurrying down to the parking lot.