What we've always been.

16. Kek and Anna Marie

CHAPTER SONG: Coast- Hailee Stienfeld

............
Corey

When I was younger it took me a while to really understand the unsual home situation I was living in. I had two parents and two brothers, but my brothers had their own mom and even though we shared a dad he lived with them and their mom, not with me and my mom. It didn't feel wierd to me in the beginning, but then people started to talk and ask questions and that changed immediately.

My parents stayed married for years, dispite living apart and my dad being with another woman. Mom likes to say that she stayed married to him for me, but I was a kid who didn't even understand what being married was. I still wonder about it, the real reason she hung on to him so tight.

My mom is my world, she gave me everything I could ever need and want...except my dad. He always favoured his other family, I hated him for it...maybe a part of me still does.

The sun pours into the room I slept in, I've been awake for hours, I never sleep well when I'm away from home. In this particular house more especially. The bedroom was my dads idea, when they first bought the house he took me and my brothers out to buy all the decorations we wanted. A giant buzz lightyear wall clock, a life size stuffed Pikachu doll and Superman drapes.

Conner andCalebs rooms are across the hall from mine so we would run in and out of each others rooms comparing decor. But that was years ago and I haven't been back in this house since. The room is the same, untouched, or they fixed it up before you arrived to make it look that way. Either way it feels wierd being in it when it looks like this, frozen in time, mocking me with how little it's changed.

I throw on a shirt and open the door, laughter echoes through the doorway. Alec, I would recognise it anywhere. He's talking to them, all of them by the sound of it. He fell in love with this place the moment he saw it, I could see it in his eyes. Why wouldn't he? The house is huge and expensive with two swimming pools and an indoor theatre. Money, another thing my dads preferred family had that I didn't.

Shaking off my thoughts I make my way to the kitchen and find, to no surprise, my brothers gathered around a smiling Alec. His eyes sparkle when he sees me and it helps curb some of my anger.

"Geez finally." He says. "You sleep like the dead."

A lie, it just took me a long time to gather the courage to come down here.

"Jet lagged." I tell him and take a seat on the breakfast bar.

The red and white colours in the kitchen capture the light and spread it around the room. The door leading outside is open letting in a cool breeze. Conner is whispering something to Alec again who laughs and shoves him playfully. The sick feeling returns and I ignore it.

"So, what do we have planned today?" Caleb asks handing me a mug of coffee.

"I was kinda hoping you guys had some ideas." I confess.

He smiles at me like a cartoon villain.

"We could go mountain biking down the crooked trail or go to the fireworks party tomorrow night." Caleb says.

"I did hear that Kyle Briggs got some old fireworks from his dads store." Conner says.

"Sounds like a plan." I agree, Conner smiles just as crazily as Caleb and tackles me in a hug.