Basketball, War, and... Love?

Ch. 16~ How are you?

Stacey's P.O.V.

"You better back off," Kyle said.

Jake smirked, looking at me.

"Ooh, got a bodyguard huh? What about your other boy?" he asked.

"Right here, and ready to take you down quicker than he is," Ashton's voice came behind me, causing me to jump.

"My sister's getting around," he snarked.

I inwardly groaned, remembering the last time someone said that, but in this case I knew I would not end up with a black eye. Jake may be the worst person in my life, but even he knows you never hit a girl. However, his thoughts on punching guys is not as stable and I was not so sure that fists would not fly.

"Listen, before this turns into a brawl of fists instead of a brawl of words," I began, taking a step forward so that I was standing in between them. "Jake you need to walk away, right now. When mom wakes up, I might tell her you stopped by depending on how she feels. And, only because I know it would make her happy if she saw you, you can come by tomorrow while I am at school to see her. I want this clear, though, if I see so much as a single tear roll down her face when I ask her about it, I will never let you in this house again. You already ruined us once before."

By the end, I had gotten right up against him and poked him in the chest for emphasize, knowing I could never match his height. He looked as though he might argue, but huffed before making a minor noise that someone might consider an agreement and walking away. My hands dropped to my sides, and I felt the burning in my eyes.

"I-I'm going to go check the food," Ky said, sounding unsure of what to actually do.

I wanted to stop him but I couldn't get the words out before he was out of the entry way.

"Stace, it's okay. I know its hard to see him again, but breathe," Ash said, pulling me into him.

I followed his instructions, feeling myself relax. He kissed my head and threw his head towards the direction of the kitchen. Biting my lip, I nodded and walked through the living room into the kitchen. Upon entering, I saw Kyle standing at the sink with his back facing me. Looking over, I saw the pan of pizza rolls on the stove so they could cool off. Taking a deep breath, I walked up behind him allowing my footsteps to fall a bit heavier, just enough that he would know I was there. Once I reached him, settling the thoughts in my mind in the short distance to him, I wrapped my arms around him from behind and allowed my cheek to rest on his back.

"Hey," I mumbled, unsure of how he would react.

He raised his left hand so that it fell over mine on his abdomen and I felt his body shudder as he let a breath out.

"Hi," he responded, not turning to look at me.

We stood their in silence for a minute before I could not take it anymore and began to remove my arms from his body. He quickly grabbed my hands with his and pulled my arms back around him.

"Please don't let go," he all but pleaded.

I could not find my voice as he had never sounded so vulnerable with me, but I did as he told and held him a bit longer. After a few more minutes had passed and I heard a commercial for a Barbie movie coming on, he released my hands and turned to face me.

"I'm sorry, you are the one who just saw their brother after so long, it's just," he began, getting choked up. I reached up and wiped away his tears with my thumbs as his tears fell. "It's just that, something about the way he talked and acted reminded me of the way my dad is with my mom. I'm not saying he is abusive or anything, it was just a moment."