I grabbed my book from my bedside table, but I just kept rereading the same sentence over and over again. I heard noises from a room next to mine. I'm guessing it was Sam's room.
"So, how're you holding up, Sam?" Julie asked. "What do you mean?" Sam responded.
"Y'know, it can't be easy having him come back."
"Yeah, but we'll get through it. He's my brother."
"He sure knows how to hide that."
"What?"
"I mean, come on. He clearly doesn't like you guys."
"Why would you think that?"
"I mean, the way he acts... it's like he's going to jump you any second."
"Jules... why would you say something like that? You're being weird."
"I'm just looking out for you, Sammy. I really don't trust that Danny guy."
"'That Danny guy' is my brother, Julie."
"Since when? Like three hours ago?"
"No. Since I had pictures of me holding him as a newborn. We were living together for five years before-"
"Before what, Sam? Huh? Before putting him in foster care-"
"Talking about that shit is not in your place, Jules. What's gotten into you?"
"I'm just saying... maybe he was given up for a reason..."
"You have no fucking idea what my family's been through."
"I didn't mean to upset you, Sammy-"
"Get out."
A new voice interrupted. "Shh, Danny's in the other room. I'm pretty sure he can hear you two talking about him." James said.
"It doesn't matter, Julie's leaving anyway."
"Don't be like that, Sammy-"
"Get. Out."
"Fine."
I turned my attention back to my book, trying my hardest to stop the tears from forming. Julie was completely right. I was a stranger to them. I couldn't be trusted around them. But, I mean, what's a scrawny 15 year old going to do to a bunch of older, stronger guys?
I held my knees to my chest, and sat in the middle of the huge bed feeling so small. For the first time, I had actual living relatives. But I've never felt so alone. Once I hear the front door closing, I get up from my bed and go over to the bathroom. I look at my reflection, feeling nothing but disgust.
I put on a pair of socks and then my shoes. I walked around, looking for Michael. Maybe his office was upstairs. Just when I was about to get majorly lost, I heard a door click open. I turned around, and I saw Sam's blond head peeking out from his bedroom. "Hey, Danny!" He smiled, then walked out into the hallway. I waved awkwardly. "Looking for something?" He asked. "Um, yeah, actually. I was wondering if I could speak to Michael."
"He's busy with work. Hates being interrupted while he's in his office. Something wrong?" He asked, tilting his head and frowning. I shook my head. "Well, is there anything I can help you with?" Sam asked. "I'm not sure. I was thinking, maybe I-I could go out for a walk." I fidgeted with the zipper of my jacket anxiously.
"Ah, right. Rule number 2." Sam said, nodding thoughtfully. "Well, that's simple. Just text him that you're going out." He smiled cheerily, happy to have solved my problem.
"Well, the thing is..." I pulled out my phone. My ancient phone. "I can only use this for phone calls." I blushed. Something about being so clearly lower class while being surrounded by rich people was very embarrassing.
Sam stared at the phone for a few seconds, dumbfounded. "That won't do." He muttered. "No, that won't do at all." He said to himself. Then, his face lit up, like he had just discovered something brilliant. "I'm taking you out with me. We're getting you a new phone."
"There's nothing wrong with this phone-" I started, very unconvincingly. "Yeah, if we lived in the 19th century. I'm getting you a new phone. End of discussion." Sam said, walking past me and down the stairs. When I didn't follow, he looked back at me and frowned. "Come on, this is a very important mission."
I chuckled and followed him down the stairs. He texted someone, probably Michael. "Just informed dad of our whereabouts." He said, stuffing his phone back inside his pocket. I nodded, and we left through the front door.
Sam completely ignored the gate and walked around the house to the garage. I raised my eyebrows at the scene. Eight cars. They owned eight cars. "This one's mine." Sam said, gesturing to the red convertible and dangling its keys. He unlocked it, and climbed inside. Following him, I walked to the other side and seated myself in the passenger's seat.
5 minutes in the car with him, and I could tell that Sam was a horrible driver. He drove past the speed limit, and kept looking at his phone. I was holding on to the seat for dear life as the wind aggressively disheveled my slightly wet hair. Sam blasted a random pop song, and started singing along.
I started having fun when I stopped thinking back to the conversation he had had with Julie. "I don't trust that Danny guy." I shook her voice from my head and smiled while Sam drove like he had nothing to live for. Even with my heart lodged in my throat, I was having a good time. I was letting my guard down. My grin flickered when that thought entered my head. I was just being polite, that's all.
A few minutes later, Sam stopped at an electronics store. He parked in two spaces instead of one. He practically skipped towards the door. I followed him, feeling out of place. I would never even dream of affording any of this shit. He walked straight to the counter. The clerk smiled robotically and asked, "hello! How may I help you today?"
"Hey, can I have the latest iPhone for my friend over here?" He smiled. "Sure. In what colour?" He asked me. "Uh..." "The alpine green." Sam answered for me. My favourite colour. "Alright. And in what capacity?" The clerk asked. "Does 1TB sound good, Danny?" Sam asked. I nodded hesitantly. "If you'd excuse me for a moment." The clerk walked to the back and emerged with a small box. "That would be $1499."
As I stood there, eyes widened, Sam took out his wallet. Once he took out his credit card and paid like it was nothing, we walked back to the car. Sam handed me the phone and unlocked the car. "T-thank you, so much." I told him, still in disbelief. "No problem." He said, smiling. "Wait, shit. I forgot to get you a SIM card. Can you wait here for a moment?" He asked. "Yeah." I replied.
I opened the box, and it revealed a very expensive block of metal and glass. I held it in my hand like it would break any second. I can't own shit this expensive. I turned it on. I felt like an old man finding out about modern technology. I fixed its settings, after a bit of confusion. Sam came back, holding a plastic bag. "I also got you some headphones and some earphones. And a protection screen."
He was way too excited to be spending so much money. "Thank you, you really didn't have to-"
"It's no biggie. You deserve a good phone. Did you put in your Face ID yet?" He asked. I shook my head. Sam extended his hand, and I handed over the phone. He put it gently on his lap. Then he unpacked the protection screen and with incredible focus, he stuck it on the front and another on the back of the phone. Then, he took out a pin and opened a slot and placed a tiny card in it, then closed it. He seemed to be an expert at this, and I wondered how many new phones he's had in his life.
He then handed me two other boxes. I thanked him again. "Light or dark mode?" He asked. "Dark, I guess." He did something on the phone. "You don't have my phone number, right?" He asked. I shook my head. He added his number, as well as Michael's and James's then Freddie's.
Sam handed me the phone. "Put in a password." He said. I did. He then turned the screen to face me. At a really unflattering angle. The phone instructed me to turn my face in all directions, and I did so, feeling weird. After finally finishing that, he adjusted a few things. "You'll get to download all sorts of apps once we get home." He said, then started the car. We drove back home, My hands considerably holding way more items that before.
Once the car was parked horribly in the garage, Sam and I exited it and went back inside, this time from a door in the garage rather than the front door. I was never going to learn my way around this house.
We made our way to the living room, where Freddie sat with a strange man. They looked up when they saw us come in. "Hey Freddie, hey Blake." Sam smiled. "Hello, Sam." Blake replied. He then turned to me. "And you must be Danny?" He asked. I nodded. "It's very nice to meet you. I've heard so much about you." He extended his hand. I smiled politely and shook his hand, which was surprisingly soft. "It's nice to meet you, too."
"By the way, Sam," Freddie said, "James is pissed at you." "What did I do?!" Sam pouted. "You stole Danny and disappeared. He thought Danny ran away or something. You know how protective that bastard can be." Freddie said, shaking his head softly. I blushed and placed my hands in the pockets of my jacket nervously. You made him worry and now you'll finally see his true colours.
"But I texted dad!" Sam groaned. "Yeah, you failed to text James when he called you 15 times. And you know he will never interrupt dad." Freddie sighed. I looked at Sam's sheepish face. "So, I may or may not have left my phone on silent." He mumbled.
"Samuel Clark." James's cold voice signalled his arrival. "Hey! How's it hanging, big bro?" Sam asked nonchalantly, even when he was clearly nervous. What did James do to him as punishment?
"Don't you 'big bro' me. You scared the living shit out of me, Sam. How many times have I told you to leave your phone on? How else would I have reached you?" James started. Blake looked at Freddie with a raised brow. "Should I be here?" I heard him whisper. Freddie chuckled and grabbed his hand. Both of them left the room quietly. I didn't know what to do. I mean, Sam's only in trouble because of me. I couldn't let James hurt him, I'll stay to protect him.
But Sam didn't look scared. Maybe he was braver than I thought. "You're right. I'm sorry." Sam sighed, seeming genuine. "I-I didn't know what would've happened to Danny, if he had left by himself. I thought that he would've gotten hurt, I-" James started, he seemed more sad than anything. "It's okay, James. Danny's fine." Sam comforted him. James turned to look at me, and he calmed down a bit. He approached me, and I was sure that he would hit me. I stiffened when he wrapped his arms around me gently. I slowly returned the hug, even if it made me slightly uncomfortable and very confused.
My confusion must've appeared on my face, because Sam smiled teasingly at me. James pulled back. "Thank god you're okay." He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "Okay, you're not in trouble this time, Sam. But I swear to god, pull this shit again-"
"Yeah, yeah. You'll beat the shit out me, I know." Sam rolled his eyes. I tensed, then realised they were probably joking. Because normal people don't actually beat the lights out of their younger siblings.