Ewan's Pov
"Either we're getting a cat or I'm getting a new boyfriend." Kaito snaps from the other side of the phone.
I gasp dramatically and lower my voice, looking around to see if anyone saw me behaving like a fucking child.
"After all these years, you want a pussy now?"
I peal open the pack of vegan chips my adorable boyfriend got me addicted to. It's still twenty minutes for dinner so I might as well munch on something till then.
He scoffs and I can imagine him rolling his eyes. "Babe, we could have our cute little family. You, me and our little kitten."
I sigh. "We'll talk about it when you're back."
It's still a year till he moves back in with us as his father will take some time to recover. I hope he changes his mind till then.
"No, you-" He goes on to argue when there's a faint bark of a dog.
He'll obviously want one for himself when he's always surrounded by animals. I should've dated someone who's not a vet cause I don't wanna get scratched my whole life.
"Hey, I gotta go. I'll call you after the shift." He tells me hurriedly and I end the call mumbling a 'love you'.
He just left yesterday morning and is already on work now. Despite my constant persuasion he hasn't quit his internship.
I just don't want him overworking himself. He has such ridiculous hours.
He knows I have more money than what a thousand people would need for the rest of their lives. I can get him whatever he wants.
But he want to earn for himself and I do admire that immensely.
He knows about the Mafia and shit and although he likes to keep his distance, he doesn't judge me for it. He likes me the way I am.
He did infuriate me the whole weekend when he refused to let me fuck him just because I was avoiding my own sister but I love him regardless.
To be fair, I have been giving her time. I can't expect her to adjust in a life without her mother in a country she's never ever been to, in a blink of an eye.
So I wanted her to take some time and get familiarized with us and all the changes in her life. But Kaito thinks I should also put in efforts to let her know I care for her and not just sit back wanting her to like me one day.
"Adeline!" The moment she hears my voice, she halts and turns around.
There's a pack of biscuits and some candy in her hand. Ofcourse she only left her room to get some food and is now on her way back to hide from us.
She looks at me weirdly and I realize I'm supposed to say something now. Shit! I should've thought this through.
Should I just ask what's her favorite Disney movie. But that seems like an important question for a teenager. What if she doesn't wanna discuss that so casually?
I should just ask her how's her day going. "What's up?" I fucked up. I don't fucking know how to talk to girls.
Her eyebrows furrow and she looks at me as if she can't believe I'm talking to her. It take her a good few seconds before she finally answers.
"I was just going to my room. Kinda hungry." She gestures to the stuff in her hand. "You want something?"
I shake my head at her question and forward the pack of chips I'm eating. "Try these. It's Kaito's favorite. Something about this being Vegan or some shit." Fuck! I should learn how to speak without swearing. She looks hesitant but takes two chips anyway.
"You're not allergic to anything else but lobster, right?" I ask just to be sure.
If she was, we would've known by now as I'm pretty sure dad went through all of her records but it doesn't hurt to be sure. Maybe she'll understand it as my effort to get to know her.
"No, I'm not." She chuckles before tossing the chips in her mouth.
"What're you two doing?" We turn to Rhyett who's stepping out of his new room next to Adeline's.
I'm so relieved he's here because I'm doing a terrible job at this bonding time. He apparently knows how to do it because our sister seems more comfortable with him than anyone else at home.
"We were just-" I stop mid sentence when I hear our eldest brother breaking his own rule and muttering a 'fuck' before rushing towards Adeline.
He gets to her in such rapid steps that I consider if there's been an attack on our home —one of the most safest place in the country.
The moment he's close to her, he shots up his hand in front of her mouth. "Spit it out!" He orders her to practically spit on his palm.
She stops chewing but doesn't make a move to take it out. She kept looking at him confused and slightly scared at the anger in his voice.
"Now!" He nearly shouts and she does as told. "Are you stupid? It's papaya chips. Did you even read the list I sent you two days ago? It had all the things that you should avoid." He scolds her taking out his napkin and cleaning the two half chewed up chips from his hand.
She just said she isn't even allergic to anything other than lobster then why would he react like that? He and dad are making random rules for her, restricting her from having pineapple and now papaya.
For God's sake we eat organic. What's the fucking matter with them? When did they become so controlling?
Her eyes widen as a panic set on her face. "I'm sorry, I didn't know. I thought it was potato... I didn't eat any-"
"What the fuck, man?" I yell in pure rage.
"Ewan." He warns now acknowledging my presence.
"What? You can't just go around doing whatever you want. She's as much as your sister as she is mine."
"You won't talk to me like that." He gritted through his teeth.
"Seriously? You still want me to behave when you literally thought I was about to poison her?" I've had anger issues since I was a kid and right now it's getting the best of me.
Rhyett exhales closing his eyes for a second and turns to Adeline who's standing there fearful at my outburst. "Go to your room."
She makes a move to turn around but I stand in her way. "Why should she leave?" I peel my eyes from our brother to Adeline. "I don't know what he tells you and why he would ever think that but I would never hurt you, brat."
My voice softens the slightest and I muster my most believable voice so she knows I'm telling the truth.
"He didn't say anything. He's just worried about me." I clench my jaw as she clearly chose him over me. "Actually I...."
"It's ok, Adeline, I'll handle-" She cuts him off.
"No! He thinks you don't trust him. I don't want you two to fight because of me." There's a slight wetness in her eyes and I can tell she's getting emotional now.
"We're not fighting-"
She turns to me and speaks, again cutting off the underboss of USA between his sentence. "Rhyett's worried because I'm pregnant."
I don't even take a second to register her sentence. Her voice is clear and words reach me like a crashing wave.
"But you..." I whisper.
I stay frozen looking at her like I expect her to take the words back. Her eyes shed a single tear as she wait for my reaction but I can't physically move. I can't speak. I can't think.
My brain race with only a single thought, my sister's pregnant at fourteen, my sister's pregnant at fourteen, my sister's pregnant-
She's just fourteen. She's just a kid who unfortunately made a mistake.
Without a second thought I step forward to embrace her but she suddenly moves back while Rhyett steps between us and looks straight at me silently telling me to get myself under control.
For fourteen years of my life, I didn't know I had a sister. I had no idea she existed. And now when I finally got her back, I'm scaring her.
She thinks I'm gonna hurt her. And it's all my fault.
If I hadn't reacted so horribly to the call of that fucker Marcus and if I didn't flare up by a small dig of hers on me being an asshole then she might've trusted me.
"I was gonna hug you." I blurt out, even if my mind tells me to shut up and dash out.
I'm more shocked at my words than Rhyett is. The only people in our family who appreciate physical touch are the twins, Cyrus and dad —they too like it to an extent. But I'm nothing like them.
After mom, no one but Kaito has seen my affection. I don't go around offering hugs and kisses but right now I felt like taking her in my arms.
When I'm about to consider leaving, Adeline side steps Rhyett and rushes to me. She wraps her arms around me and buries her face in my chest.
I cup the back of her head with one hand while the other rests on her back. As I feel her tears wet my shirt I tighten my hold on her.
I needed this more than she ever would.
"You can trust me. I will always protect you and your baby." I've never been so emotional but fuck it's overwhelming.
"Thank you." She mumbles still clinging to me and God forbid me, I don't wanna let go either.
This seems good. I don't know where I'm drawing this feeling from but she hugs just like mom. She has the same warmth and even the same scent.
But she isn't like her. She won't abandon her family like that woman did. She might provide me the same comfort but she won't give me the same pain.
"Have I inadvertently intruded upon an inopportune moment?" And here comes my brother Julian ruining a perfect moment.
That fucker takes pride in showing off his nonchalance.
My instincts are to straighten up immediately but I know I'll be a dick for that. So I wait for her to pull back and she does so taking as long as she could.
Once she's off me, she wipes her face on the back of her sleeve and excuses herself to her room, picking up the biscuits and candies she dropped on the table sometime during the whole scene. She pointedly avoided looking at Julian so he doesn't see her sobbing.
"Was she crying?" He asks when her door shuts at the end of the hallway.
"Just missing her mother."
Rhyett lies swiftly and I realize how good my brother is at it. That's how he kept her pregnancy hidden for all these days. Bet he knew about it the day they went for the drive.
"And she went to Ewan for consolation?"
"Why wouldn't she? I'm not an asshole." I snap at him.
"She said that herself." He chuckles and waits for my reaction.
He loves to provoke us and he knows exactly what to say to accomplish the desired results. But he doesn't know that I'm not in the mood to bicker.
And I can't fucking tell him why my head hurts like never before.
I'm scared of how my sister's life's gonna be now. A kid is a huge commitment. She's barely even started her teenage.
Even I don't think I'm ready to be an uncle.
But one thing's for sure, I can't let her deal with it alone.
She needs me.
Us.
"Fuck off." I mutter and brush past him towards the elevator.
I hear someone approaching behind me but I don't stop. By the sound of the footsteps I can guess it's Rhyett so I slow down a bit.
"Don't tell the twins just yet. They're idiots." Either Cyrus and Julian already know or Rhyett isn't worried about them as they most possibly will have a sane reaction to the news.
I nod and turn to him as I step in the elevator. "Don't do anything stupid." He says knowing well the state of mind I am in.
"I won't." I tell him and press the basement button.
Once I'm there, I grab my car keys and set to a shooting range. I need to blow some steam off and there's nothing better than the smell of gunpowder.