A World of Silence

Chapter 18

Levi POV
Because the dinner last night was a disaster I tried to make it up to Daniel. I didn't want any more family hating me so I had to fix this quickly.

Carter and Malia went back home that night because their parents found out they were at their boyfriends house. It wasn't pretty. Harry got chased around by Malia's dad with a bat.

They broke a bunch of shit in the house with their little chase which I cleaned up in an attempt to get them to like me. I did all their chores as well and I covered for them when they got high and Mom called.

Today I was going to make dinner. It seemed easy enough to make chicken and mashed potatoes. YouTube made me feel really confident.

So here I was waiting for the chicken in the oven. I got bored after waiting 10 minutes for it so I decided to go watch some Garfield while I wait.

*****
Harry POV

I ran downstairs in a rush after smelling shit burning and hearing the smoke detector go off like crazy. Daniel ran to the kitchen while I ran to turn the thing off. It was killing my ears.

I got a broom quickly and smacked the shit out of the ceiling. Turns out there's an off button I didn't see until I looked down at it on the floor. Whoops.

The smoke all around the house was thick and I could barely breathe let alone see. Daniel took a burnt chicken out of the oven and groaned.

Dad was going to kill us. Our oven looked to be in awful shape and now our smoke detector was gone.

We started looking for Levi who seemed to be the cause of this mess.

I see his small form snoozing quietly on the couch. I shake him awake and start yelling. "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING! YOU COULDVE KILLED US!"

He looks around disoriented and I groan. It was useless yelling at this deaf kid.

He rubs his chest as it dawns on him what I'm talking about when he smells the burnt chicken and sees the smoke.

I remember what that meant from last night. He looked close to tears and his blue eyes killed me. I sigh and open my arms.

He runs into them quickly and I rub his back gently. I keep forgetting he's a little kid. He didn't know better. I glance at the Garfield show he was watching and feel even worse for yelling at him.

He's my little brother now and I have to start treating him like one. I finally soothe his tears and coo at his adorable flushed cheeks. I let him go so he can see me speak better. "It's okay little bud. We're going to clean up and then we can watch your show together. We can just eat snacks for dinner and if you're still hungry we can order takeout."

He looks at me shocked then grins. I've never seen him smile this wide and I feel a little bit of pride. No wonder Dad had a soft spot for him.

Daniel comes in the room with a frown and our stepmom's apron. "Are you guys gonna help or not?" I laugh at his pink apron that says "kiss the chef".

"Nice apron, Mom." I mock. I look down at Levi who giggles as well. Daniel blushes and stomps back to the kitchen.

"Come on buddy. Let's go help him before he makes an even bigger mess." Levi looks at me with his adorable blues with adoration. I grin back and lead him to the kitchen.

As soon as I walk in an egg is thrown at my forehead. I gasp and growl at Daniel. I run towards him and throw an apple at his forehead.

He groans in pain and falls on his ass. I can't stop myself from laughing my ass off. Levi looks at me in shock as Daniel lays there. He rushes towards him and crouches down to his level and touches him as if making sure he wasn't dead. Already seeing the trick before it happens I run.

Daniel drags Levi down and slams an egg on his head. I run to the cabinet and get flour to ambush Daniel. Before I can make it I slip on egg and bust my ass making the flour fly every where. I groan as I look around the dirty kitchen. We can't do anything right. We can't even have a food fight correctly.

Levi giggles as he looks at all the flour. "Snow!" He yells. His voice sounds unnatural, but I still like it. He lays back and starts making a flour angel.

I shrug and decide why not. I join him and so does Daniel.

Hours pass by and we finally start cleaning. I then take Levi up to take a shower. While he showers I get his clothes ready for him on his bed and walk back downstairs to talk to Daniel.

Daniel sits at the counter nursing an ice pack to his bruised forehead. I guess I did throw it a bit hard. "I couldn't fix the smoke detector so I just hope Dad doesn't notice." I nod agreeing.

"I like Levi. He's really cool. He should come to my game tomorrow."

Daniel smirks. "What did you think we were gonna do? Leave him here alone? Of course he's coming. Besides Carter likes him so of course I'm making him come."

"I'm serious though. In the span of a few hours he has me wanting to protect him and care for him like a real big brother." I sigh.

Daniel grins. "Yea he's pretty cool. Plus he doesn't snitch. By the way Dad said he likes ice cream so we're gonna get some after your game." He gets up to throw the ice away.

"Okay." I smile.

Levi walks down with a blanket and pillow and sets up an area in the living room. I playfully jump on him and start tickling him.

He bursts into a fit of laughter and it motivates me to keep going. I'm happy he's my little brother.

Daniel walks in with a bunch of snacks and then tackles me down playfully. "Hey monster don't touch my favorite brother." He jokes and we start fighting on the ground. Levi joins in and they start hitting me with pillows until I surrender.

Tonight was fun. I can't believe I haven't hung out with Levi yet we've been living with each other all this time.

We eventually stop and start watching Garfield. Eventually Levi falls asleep so me and Daniel start watching Final Destination.

After the first person dies we decide that Levi can't be down here while we watch this.

"Rock Paper Scissors to see who takes him up ." I suggest.

"Fine." He agrees.

I lose but I know he somehow cheated and for that I resent him.

I sigh and pick Levi up. He's surprisingly light, I notice.

"Who's the mom now!" He teases. I flip him off and take Levi up as he snoozes peacefully. I drop him down on his bed softly and pull the blanket up before turning off the lights.

I exit the room quietly shamefully because I know I kissed his forehead goodnight like a mother. I groan at my motherly action in disgust. His mom needs to come back to do this stuff cause I don't know if I could do that again. Caring for siblings is hard especially when you resent them, but love them.

I run downstairs when I realize Daniel never paused the movie.