Quiet vs. Loud

Normal vs. Crazy (part 2)

At the top of the stairs, I took a deep breath and turned towards Rydel's room.  Rocky was standing in the hallway trying to get to Rydel's door, but she was standing in front of it.  Evidently, Ratliff was holding the door shut from the inside so it wouldn't open.  I heard Rocky say "Just let me at him.  Once I dye his hair pink, he will think twice about ever touching my mac & cheese again."  Rydel screamed at Rocky "He didn't take your mac & cheese, and you are NOT dying his hair pink.  So just go away!"

As funny as I though everything was, I knew I had to put a stop to it before someone, probably Rocky, got hurt.  So I walked up to Rocky and Rydel and said "Hey guys.  What's going on?  I heard you screaming when I walked in the door."

"Well," Rocky started "Ratliff and Ross took my mac & cheese, and you know how much I love my mac & cheese.  So I'm gonna dye Ratliff's hair pink and as soon as I find Ross, his hair is gonna be purple.  Then they will know not to mess with my mac & cheese."

"Rocky, calm down man. Nobody took your mac & cheese." I told him while I tried not to laugh.  "Don't you remember, you hid it in your old guitar case so no one would steal it?

He looked at me and I could tell he was trying to remember hiding it.  After a few seconds, he smiled and said "Yeah, now I remember.  Thanks.  I'm gonna go make some for my dinner."  As he took off running down the hallway, I shouted "Ross when to pick up dinner.  He should be back soon."  "OK.  I'll only make one box" Rocky replied and ran down the stairs.

I turned and looked at Rydel, who was still standing in front of her door.  "Well, that was insane." I said to her with a grin.  "Yeah, it was" she replied.  " I didn't think I was gonna be able to save Ratliff's hair.  Don't get me wrong, I love pink, but not on my boyfriend's hair."

I put my arm around Rydel's shoulder and gave her a slight hug.  "Well, now that the drama is over, why don't you and Ratliff come downstairs and meet our new neighbor.  She is in the office with Mom and Dad."

Rydel's eyes got wide and she shrugged my arm off of her.  "A girl neighbor?  Why didn't you tell me about her when you came upstairs?  You could have saved Ratliff yourself, and if not, I'm sure the pink wouldn't have been that noticeable."  She started running for the steps, and at the top, she turned around and asked "I forgot, what's our neighbor's name?"  "Her name is Rayne," I replied.  " and please don't scare her.  She already met Ross when he was running from Rocky.  I don't want her to think that all my siblings are lunatics."

"I'll be fine.  Don't worry.  Please let Ratliff out of my room.  See you downstairs." and with that Rydel took off down the stairs.

I turned around just as Ratliff came out of Rydel's room.  "Is it safe? he asked.  "Yeah, it's fine.  Rocky is getting his mac & cheese fix, and Rydel is downstairs meeting the new neighbor.  So come on so you can meet her too."

When Ratliff and I got downstairs, everyone had moved to the living room.  Mom, Rydel and Rayne were one the couch and Dad, Ryland and Rocky were playing video games.  Actually, Dad and Ryland were playing, but Rocky was in the chair pouting.  Evidently, Mom wouldn't let him fix his mac & cheese.

I walked over and sat down on the floor in front of Rayne.  "So, did you meet everyone?" I asked her.  "Yes I did." she replied.  "Your mom introduced your brothers and Rydel introduced herself."  "Well then, that just leaves Rydel's boyfriend and our best friend Ellington Ratliff." I told her.  "That's him behind Rydel.  Ratliff, this is our neighbor Rayne."

"Nice to meet you" Ratliff said.  "Sorry we were crazy today."

"No big deal" Rayne replied.  "I've seen crazy before.  We thrive on it at my house.  If things get too quiet, my mom comes looking to see what my brothers and I are up to."

"Brothers?" Ryland asked.  "How many and how old.  I need new guys to hang out with."

"Well, my brother Jackson will be 19 in two weeks, and Whit and Jayce are 16.  But before you get too excited, there are a few things you need to know about my brothers.  But I would rather wait for Ross to get back so I only have to go over it once." Rayne answered Ryland with a smile.

"OK, no problem." Ryland responded and went back to the game.

I looked at Rayne and smiled.  "How about I show you the backyard while we wait for Ross to get back." I grabbed her hand and led her out the door to the backyard.  "As you can see, that's our pool.  Over to the left is the hot tub.  To the right of the pool is the grill and outdoor kitchen area.  In the side yard, we have an in-ground trampoline and a basketball court."

"It's so big." Rayne said as she looked at everything.  "I'm gonna try and talk my mom into putting in a pool.  We all love to swim, so it should 't be too hard to convince her."

Rayne and I walked over to the outdoor kitchen, and after I grabbed two water bottles from the mini-fridge, we sat down in two of the chairs.  We just sat and looked at the sky until Mom came out and said that Ross was back with dinner.  As we stood up, I looked at Rayne and asked "Are you sure you are ready for this?"  "Sure," she replied.  "It's the best way.  Now I can explain about my brothers and answer any questions you have, so when you finally meet them, you won't have to worry about it and neither will they.  Trust me, I will be telling by brothers about all of you tonight when I get home."  With that, we went in to eat dinner.

Sorry.  I know this wasn't the best chapter, but I haven't updated in a while, and I rewrote this twice, so I just posted it.  Please, let me know what you think of the story so far.  And thanks to everyone who is reading this.