Her big brothers

Chapter 74: trip

"Em, should I get this?" Holly asks me, opening the door of the changing room.
I gasp. "Is that even a question? You look gorgeous!" I gush.
She grins, twirling around in the dress. "I love it too."

Me and Holly were shopping, in celebration of mine and Cole's grounding finally ending. It honestly felt like an eternity, especially considering the fact I got my cable taken away when Alex got pissy that me and Cole were watching TV when he hadn't completed his lines.

We looked around more, and picked up a few more things before leaving, happy with what we had found. I got a new swimsuit, some leggings, a couple of hoodies, a pair of jeans, and a few tops too. We stopped for some boba before we went back to our houses.

Once I entered the house, I looked around the living room, expecting to see one of my brothers, but no one was there.
I walked to Alex's office and knocked on the door, wanting to tell him I was home.

He tells me to come in, so I open the door. Alex, Noah and Liam were inside, seemingly discussing something important.
"Did you have fun?" Alex asks me with a smile as I walk in.

I nod eagerly. "It was really fun to hang out with Holly again."
Noah snorts. "You act as if you've been grounded for years."
"Well, it felt like that, okay?" I say with a huff, and my brothers laugh.

"What did you get?'' Liam asks me.
"Just some leggings and hoodies," I say vaguely, lifting some of the stuff out of the bag. They nod in approval, and I cross my fingers behind my back, hoping they don't ask to see everything. I had bought a crop top which I knew they definitely wouldn't approve of, especially Noah. Luckily they didn't, so I left to put my new clothes in my closet.

Later that day, Alex asked us to gather in the living room after we had finished dinner.
"Did you do something?" I whisper to Cole as we go sit down.
He shakes his head.

Alex overhears us and chuckles. "No one's in trouble, we just want to talk to you," He says, sitting next to Liam on the couch. Aiden and Noah are sitting on the one adjacent to me and Cole.

"So you know how we've been wanting to expand our business and make it better, right?" Alex asks us, and we nod.
"Things are finally panning out, but the three of us need to go on a short out-of-state trip to sort everything out,"

"All of you?" I ask, and Alex nods. "Me, Noah and Liam are going together, for a couple of weeks. Aiden will be in charge of you two while we're gone."

"Okay," Cole says.
"When are you going?" I ask.
"The day after tomorrow, before the both of you go to school," Liam tells me.

Even though they owned a business, my brothers were able to work from home most of the time. They went to meetings and conferences quite often, but it was never for long. This was the first time I was going to be away from so many of my brothers for more than a day. I was slightly nervous, especially since Aiden has never been in charge for this long either.

"Now just because we'll be gone, doesn't mean you don't need to behave and follow the rules," Noah tells us sternly, and I resist the urge to roll my eyes.
"We know," I say dully.

"Don't worry Em, we can have more fun without these goons,'' Aiden tells me with a wink.

The six of us talk for a while longer, then we go to the home theatre and watch a movie. It was fun, all of us hanging out. I tried not to dwell on the fact that they were leaving, but there was an empty feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Once I went to bed, I just couldn't fall asleep. I was tossing and turning for what felt like hours. I finally gave up and went to Alex's room. I'm not sure why, but I wanted to. I knocked on the door, and he didn't respond so I just opened the door.

"Emma? What's wrong?" Alex says worriedly, turning on his lamp and sitting up straight.
I shake my head. "Nothing's wrong... I just can't fall asleep." I mumble.

"Wanna lie with me?" He asks sleepily, patting the space next to him.
I nod and climb into his bed. I get under the covers and he puts his arm around me and kisses my forehead.
"You're worried that we're leaving, aren't you love?" He asks softly, and I nod.

He holds me tighter. "It'll go by fast, I promise. We'll be back before you know it." He whispers.
"I know, but I'll still miss you," I say quietly, a tear slipping down my cheek. I felt stupid for feeling upset that my brothers were leaving. But I still was.

"You'll have fun with Cole and Aiden. We'll call you every day, too." He reassures me.
"Promise?" I squeak.
He chuckles slightly. "I promise."

Content in my brother's arms, I quickly fell asleep.

The next day I woke up feeling much better. I tried to guilt Alex into letting me stay home, giving him my best puppy dog eyes and saying I'd feel much better if I stayed home with them. He actually almost let me, but Noah butted in and said that we all could spend time together after school.

So that's what we did. Once me and Cole got home, the six of us spent what was left of the day together. We made popcorn, got a bunch of candy and snacks, and played a few board games. Usually, board games bore me, but we had a blast. Once we got tired of the never-ending game of Monopoly; the only entertainment being Cole throwing popcorn at Noah, insisting he was cheating, we decided to wrap the board games up and go to the game room. We had a video game marathon, first starting with a cooperative game, before we transitioned to some competitive games, trying to outdo each other. After that, we ordered pizza for dinner and finished the day with another movie.

"One more," I mumble sleepily into Noah's shoulder as the end credits of The Parent Trap starts playing.
He chuckles. "It's late, and you have school tomorrow. You're half asleep, anyway."

I fall asleep easily that night, happy that me and my brothers could spend time together before they left. I was still sad about them leaving, but I felt better.

Authors note: I apologise for the shorter chapter, I promise the next one will be longer! I hope you all enjoyed nonetheless ❤️