Me and my Brothers

Chapter 29~Tension

Okay people, I'm sorry this took so long. This is the longest chapter yet (I think), all I got to say is buckle up. 

The ride home doesn't last long enough because we walk through the door and kicking our shoes off before I know it.

"Okay, Den, go change. You better be back down here in ten minutes, or I'll go get you myself, and trust me, you don't want that," Andrew says, raising his eyebrows.

I don't respond; I just start walking up the stairs to my room. Maybe if I jump out my window, I won't have to have this conversation. Sweatpants and a hoodie seems like the appropriate "telling your brothers your bully is in love with you" fit. After I have slipped on my gray "Treat People with Kindness" hoodie and black sweatpants, I walk to my bathroom to try to prepare myself.

When I look in the mirror, I hardly recognize myself. Lately, I have been so used to being happy; I don't know myself with sadness in my eyes. That sadness used to be there all the time, and don't get me wrong, Austin wasn't my magical cure for depression. He has been the light at the end of the tunnel, though; I don't know that I would still be here without him. That's why when I see that same dull look in my eyes, I start to tear up. I'm so tired. I just want to be happy. Why does Finn Hall ruin that for me?

"Denver Blake!" I hear Andrew yell from the stairs.

Well, shit. I guess he's tired of waiting. A mad Andrew is always impatient. Taking one last deep breath, I exit my bathroom, grab my phone from my bed, and head downstairs. Once I get to the bottom, all of my brothers are sitting around the living room, much like they were when I told them about the guy from the mall. Just thinking about him makes my skin crawl. I now wish the floor would just swallow me whole.

"Take a seat, little one," Ryan says with a small smile on his face. I know that the smile is meant to comfort me, but with one look at Andrew with his arms crossed and eyebrows creased, the smile loses its desired effect.

I just silently take a seat on the side of the couch closest to the door and farthest away from Andrew. I start to fiddle with the rings on my fingers, trying to settle the anxiety growing in my stomach. From the look on Jack and Ryan's faces, I'm going to assume Andrew filled them in one the situation while I was fighting off a mental breakdown.

"Explain. I'm tired of you dropping this shit on us without so much as an explanation. That stops now," Andrew orders, making both Jack and Ryan quickly turn their head to him like he's lost his mind.

I keep my face blank, but I can feel the tears threatening to spill over my lashes. Andrew never acts like this, no matter how much we fuck up. He's never short, and he never cusses at us, especially me. He's always comforting. Not this time, though. Maybe I've really done it this time. Perhaps I finally caused him to reach his breaking point, and he's going to realize that it's easier just to throw me into a foster home somewhere.

"Okay," I reply, my voice shaking. This doesn't phase Andrew though, His face is still hard, and his arms are crossed. I look down at my sock feet. They don't match, but they were a gift from Austin. He always comments on the fact that my socks never match because I'm too lazy to match them, so he bought me a pack of mismatched ones because "at least these aren't supposed to match." I can't help but long for him. I wish he were sitting beside me right now. At least then I would have someone to comfort me. Even the other two boys keep their mouths shut; they know better than to challenge Andrew when he's like this. Austin is on house arrest by his mom because of the whole cussing out the principal thing, so he's not going to swoop in and save me anytime soon, no matter how long I look at my cactus-themed socks and wish for him to walk through the door.

"Anytime now, Blake," Andrew cuts in, effectively bringing me from my thoughts. He gets another glare from each of the boys to his left, but they still stay silent.