Charlotte & the Seven Frat Brothers

2

"Put my stuff back." Is he really doing this?

"What are we ten?" I look him in the eyes.

"If we were you would be ignoring me." He snaps.

"What is that supposed to mean," I question, if anything at ten years old it was the other way around.

"Nothing. Just put my stuff back."

"Then go get cleaned up and I will." I yank again and he lets me go. I stumble a bit but quickly regain my balance. He stands up slowly, never taking his eyes off of me. "Th-thank you."

He grunts and walks out of the room, leaving me to my thoughts. What the hell did he mean by that? I quickly placed his plate back once I heard the footsteps more like a stampede headed my way. I stood out the way as the guys rushed back into the dining room taking their seats.

"Damn, this looks good," Austin speaks and he has a lovely Irish accent. He rubs his hands reaching for the chicken.

"No," I shout. Everyone looks at me confused. "We have to wait for Chase to come down before we can eat."

"Uhhh," Miguel's eyes meet mine. "Chase isn't coming down; he said he has a lot of studying to do."

"Unbelievable," I mutter. I take a quick pause calculating my next move. I don't want to overstep my boundaries but come on; he really is going to the extreme not to do as I say, just once. I storm out of the dining room, taking the steps two at a time. I stand in front of his door, knocking. He swings the door open, folding his arms at his chest. "How can I he-"

"Since I told you to clean yourself up, you decide not to eat? I think that is a bit childish of you. Everyone else is waiting downstairs to eat and they can't." I'm starting to sound like my mother. I'm reprimanding him. Raven is so right.

"Why is that?" he asks leaning on the door frame. "I'm not stopping anyone from eating."

"Uh, yeah you are. This is our first dinner as a house family." I want you guys to like me. Why are you making it so hard? I want to scream at him, can't he take my welcoming dinner and be nice.

He pushes himself off the doorframe and steps closer to me. Too close for comfort. "Let's get this one thing straight Charlotte Withers, you are not family. You're someone who accidentally got placed in here. It's not your fault, but hey there is nothing we can do about it now. I've been with these guys since day one, not you. You make one dinner and expect everyone to follow your rules. I told you once already I'm the head of the household and I don't like to repeat myself." He clears his throat leaning down to my ear. "Don't push me; things could get really ugly around here if you do." He takes a step back into his room slamming the door in my face. I jump back, tears of anger forming in my eyes. I want everyone to be happy. I turn to head downstairs and I see the guys peeking around the corner before dashing downstairs, great they saw and heard everything.

"So can we eat? We've been patiently sitting down here waiting." Everett lies, did they really think I didn't see or hear them eavesdropping?

"Sure, dig in," I say taking my seat at the other end of the table.

"Hey, I wouldn't take whatever Chase says to heart. He has a lot going on and anything ticks him off," Vincent reaches over patting my hand. I give him a weak smile nodding my head.

"Seriously Charles don't sweat it." Darren looks at me smiling before shoving chicken into his mouth. "Oh god, this is so good. Tastes better than Brooke and she tastes good."

The table groans, telling him to shut up. Well if Brooke tastes of chicken I would tell her she needs to go to the hospital to make sure everything is alright down there. The dinner went well, but I couldn't help but stare at Chase's empty chair and think that he was right, yet an asshole at the same time. These guys chatted like one big family and here I was sitting quietly watching them as if I was looking at them from the outside. They tried to pull me into their conversations, but my head wasn't in it. I wanted to know why Chase was such an asshole and what did he mean by I would be ignoring him.

Dinner was over and I told the guys I would clean up the mess, not like I had a choice because they were already climbing the stairs closing their bedrooms. After twenty minutes of cleaning and the kitchen and dining room were spotless. I lean against the kitchen island, staring down at my drink. I hear footsteps and turn around. Chase walks into the kitchen. We stay silent and stare at each other.

"I made you a plate." I look over at the aluminum-covered plate on the counter. "I figured after all that studying you might get hungry." He doesn't say anything and heads for the refrigerator. "Well, goodnight." I exit the kitchen and lean against the wall. I hear the aluminum foil and then a fork scrape against the plate. He is eating the food-the next sound shatters me, the garbage disposal comes on and the plate hits the sink. He threw the food away. I hang my head and walk up the stairs in defeat.

I hope the school finds an empty room and fast.