𝐁𝐑𝐎𝐊𝐄𝐍 𝐇𝐎𝐌𝐄 － 5 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑟

꧁ 𝙴𝙿𝙸𝙻𝙾𝙶𝚄𝙴 ꧂

꧁ 𝟹𝚛𝚍 𝙿𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝙿𝙾𝚅 ꧂

Alyssa stands outside the Diner with sweaty palms. Luke stood next to her, offering comforting looks and his presence, but she barely noticed him, still stuck inside her mind.

She was about to see her brothers for the first time since Luke saved her and since they found out about what had happened to her in what used to be their home. Most would think she was nervous or even excited, but she was neither yet both.

Truthfully, she didn't even know. She was... numb. There was a slight buzz there inside her but she couldn't tell what it was. Her mind, her thoughts, it was all overwhelming her as she stared at the door of the Diner which had a cliche open sign on it.

The longer she stared, the bigger the door seemed to get. Yet, she wanted to stand out there all day, or at least until Luke gave up and took her home, which was stupid because she agreed to this, and she did want this. She wanted to see her brothers, to talk to them, to just be with them, but something so simple was currently terrifying her.

"Alyssa," Luke called, grabbing onto her hand and simultaneously bringing her out of the state of mind she had been stuck in. "We can't stand out here forever." He told her softly, rubbing circles on her hand.

Alyssa took a deep, shaky breath as she nodded. "I know." She responded.

"Are you ready?" Luke asked hesitantly, knowing they really couldn't just stand out there all day.

Alyssa bit her lip as she shook her head, finally looking at her brother. "No." She choked out reluctantly.

Luke sighed, gently guiding her to face him, he pulled her into his arms and held her, and finally, Alyssa allowed her walls to fall. A single tear escaped as she buried her face into his neck as best she could, however with the height difference, she had to stand on her tip-toe to do it, despite the slight platform in her sneakers.

When Alyssa pulled away a minute later, she gave Luke a shaky nod, a weak smile on her face, but it was enough for Luke because it was still a smile and that was an improvement. "I think I'm ready now."

Luke nodded, grabbing onto her hand again, "I'll be here the whole time." He promised her softly, and Alyssa smiled because he wasn't promising things were going to go perfectly, he was just promising he would be there.

As ready as she could be, Alyssa pushed open the Diner door and walked in.

꧁꧂

Even though Luke hadn't promised it, it had gone perfectly.

Ben and Jack told her that they had no idea, they only thought their mom was being harsh because of bad grades or acting up, which as it turned out was her mother's excuse when asked why she was treating her differently. Luke had squeezed her hand in an attempt to comfort her and calm himself upon hearing that admission.

Ben and Jack had then gone on to apologize profusely for everything, swearing up and down that they would have done something had they known. After that, they practically begged her to not only forgive them but to talk to them, even if it was only once every three months, they just want to hear from her sometimes, they had told her. Alyssa had only chuckled, offering a smile and an 'of course,' in response.

When the Hemmings siblings got back to their new home, Alyssa had a smile that didn't seem to be going anywhere and only grew when she saw everyone waiting for them, excited to hear what happened because they cared and always would and that felt really good.

꧁꧂

That summer, once school was over for Alyssa, she went on tour with her family, and she was happy, really happy. Her friends had demanded she call them every day ("If you can." Noah had budged in, shooting his friends stern looks) to update them on all of her crazy tour adventures as Bella put it, Alyssa hates to break it to her but the tour isn't nearly as 'crazy' as she seems to think it is.

Right before the first concert, Luke got some amazing news; He officially had guardianship of Alyssa. Otherwise meaning that their mother could never take her away from them.

So during her summer break, she went on tour, not something every teenage girl could say they did for their break, and it was amazing. The fans had taken to her with ease, in fact, they would even protect her from any paparazzi that went a bit too crazy or close, they seemed to claim her as the little sister of the whole fandom, despite some of them being her age or younger, which was strange but so awesome. She had seen more of the world than she ever had, going on planes and riding the tour bus, and going to every single concert, it was all so amazing, and what made it even better was the fact that she did it all with her family, her chosen family.

When she got back, Noah couldn't hold it back anymore and asked her out on a date, the second she reunited with him. She had laughed at first before realizing he was serious and accepted immediately, and after that, they were named the cutest couple in their school. They were practically inseparable, spending every second they could together even if they were just studying which was somehow better when they did it together. Everything seemed better when they were together.

Their friends hated it or said they did anyway, but they all knew they didn't really feel that way. It was actually funny to Alyssa how they would exaggerate everything, whether they were mocking them teasingly, acting disgusted, or just plain old teasing them.

Alyssa grew closer to them as well, and she could honestly say that they were her best friends.

Alyssa's life had not been easy, but finally, she was getting everything she deserved and more. Finally, she was happy, truly, unbelievably happy. Despite all the horrible things that had happened to her, some of which she still didn't and couldn't talk about, she wouldn't trade the life she had for anything.

Her life wasn't over yet, she still had college and everything beyond, however, with her friends, her family, and her boyfriend, she knew she would get through whatever else life tried to throw at her with one major difference; She was no longer alone, and if they had anything to do with it, she never would be again.

꧁ 𝟷,𝟷𝟷𝟽 𝚆𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜 ꧂