Before The Storm...

Little Brother

Miley..

"Did you find him?" I ask Kevin as he and Nick walks through the front door.

"No," Kevin shook his head nervously. "Did anyone see him leave? You think maybe he is in the house somewhere?"

Dani shook her head. "He can't be, Miley and I searched everywhere."

"Where would he go?" I rub my temples. "How long have we've been searching?"

Kevin looks down at his watch. "For an hour, and a half." Kevin walk over to the house phone. "I'm calling the cops." At the same time as he reaches down for the house phone, it rings.

"Hello?" Kevin picks it up. "Demi?" Confusion spreads across his face. "He is? Oh thank God." He took a breath of relief. "Why not?"

Kevin looks at me with a worrying look. "Okay. I'll come by and grab him in the morning. Just let him sleep for tonight. Okay thank you Demi, goodnight." He hung up the phone. "Demi found Frankie, in Maddison's room."

I took a breath of relief.

"But," he continues. "When she tried to take him home, he claimed he didn't want to comeback."

"Why not?" Nick threw an confused look at both me and Kevin.

Kevin shrugs. "I just told Demi to let him stay the night and I'll grab him in the morning."

"Well," Dani combs the end of her hair with her fingers. "At least we know were he is."

"Yeah..."

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Nick..

"Do you want anything else?" I asked Miley, taking away her empty plate of pancakes.

"No, I'm fine." She half smiles.

"Are you sure?" Dani ask wiping down the table.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She rested her chin in her hand, and looked down at the table. I could tell what she was thinking about by the look on her face. Frankie.

She's been thinking about Frankie all night. I rested my hand on her head, and leaned down

to kiss her hair. "Kevin is on his way, with Frankie right now. There is nothing to worry

about."

She nods.

"I'm starving.." Joe's voice came from the dining room. Then he pushed his way into the kitchen. "What's for breakfast?"

"Joe?" Dani asked while going to the kitchen to give him a plate.

"Do you have a key, or something?"

Joe shook his head and took the plate.

Just then we heard the front door open. Frankie walked past the kitchen, and up the stairs. I glance at Miley. Her eyes were fixed on him, then Kevin walks into the kitchen.

"Well," he sat down at the table. "He told me everything." He looks up at both me and Miley.

"What did he say?" I as him.

"I think, you should find out for yourself." He looks at Miley.

Miley nods, then proceeds to stand from the table.

"Don't worry," Joe said with a mouthful of pancakes. "Everything will be fine."

"You invited Joe over?" Kevin asked me, while still staring Joe down.

"No, he invited himself over." I say.

Joe smiles. "Can you pass the syrup, Kev?"

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Miley..

I knock on the room door, to both mine and Frankie's room.

"Kevin I don't want to talk about it anymore..." Frankie says on the other side.

I push the door open, and slide my head in. "Can we talk?" I ask.

Frankie sat on his bed, with a pillow resting on his lap. He thought for a minute, then nods slowly. I let myself in and closed the door.

I walk over to his bed and sit right next to him. "So, are you mad at me?" I ask him.

He shrugs, "Yeah I guess."

"Frankie, don't start with that." I say impatient. "Why are you acting like this?"

"Why do you care?" His voice raised. "You haven't been paying any attention to me before."

My shoulder flinches back. "So that's what this is about?"

"Miley, I don't want to stay here anymore." He looked up at me with glossy eyes. "Since we've been here, you don't pay any attention to me anymore. At first, it was just you and me hanging out all the time, now, all you do is hang out with Nick."

I rest my arm around his neck. "Frankie, if you were feeling left out, you could of just came to me. You shouldn't have left."

"Well it isn't like your gonna have time for me now, with a new baby. Your just going to forget about me."

"Frank, I could never forget about you. You are my baby brother." I ruffle his hair. "There's no one in this entire world, that could replace you. Got it?"

He nods, then buries his head into neck as I wrap around him for a hug. "Now," I pull away. "Let's play a game together."

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Nick..

I slowly push open the room door and peek in. Miley and Frankie were on the floor solving a jigsaw puzzle.

"Hi," I say when they look up at me. "Everything okay in here?"

"Yeah, I guess." Frankie shrugs.

I look over at Miley, who

was staring at him wide eyed.

"I'm just kidding." Frankie looks at both me and Miley with a smile. "We're trying to finsh this puzzle." He said to me.

"Oh cool," I say. "Can I help?"

"Well," he says. "It's kind of a brother, sister thing."

"Oh, yeah cool. I

understand." I walk out and close the door. Then I hear Frankie call out to me again.

"Yeah?" I open the door again.

"You can stay." He says.

"I can? What about your brother, sister time?"

"You are my brother." He smiles at me.

I walk into the room. "You're my brother too." I hug him, squeezing all the life out of him. "You are the greatest kid ever."

He chuckles. "Alright enough hugging." He tried to push me off.

"No. I'm not done." I say and squeeze harder. Miley crawls over to us to join.

Frankie lets out a frustrated yell as he tried to break free.