Great, now we have Hunter as our den mother because our parents can't trust us enough to be on our own. It's not like we don't have enough adults running around this god-forsaken place as it is. Now we have a damn babysitter on top of it.
I had to clean up the bowl of crunchy goodness I dropped when they told us Hunter was going to be around to monitor us. Like I said, babysitter. After I finished cleaning up my mess, I talked to Dad about this situation.
"It's already decided, Liam," Dad said.
"Aw, come on, Dad. We're adults. Why do we need a damn babysitter?" I snapped, feeling annoyed.
"Maybe because we can't trust you not to destroy things," Dad said to me with a glare.
"Well, this is fucking great!" I shouted.
"Well, get used to it because Hunter isn't going anywhere," Dad shrugged.
"This is such bullshit," I yelled as I stomped up the stairs and slammed my door shut.
Ryan walked in with Frazier. "I take it Liam isn't happy about the living arrangements?" Ryan asked.
"Eh, he'll get over it," Dad said.
"Did they honestly think we would give them a key to Mason's place and say be free little birdies?" Frazier asked, making a fluttering sound with his mouth and flapping his hands.
"Apparently," Dad said.
"All I can say is good luck to Hunter. He needs it," Frazier grinned.
"Luck has nothing to do with it," Hunter said, walking up to them. "They'll either get in line, or they'll have hard labor. It pisses Mason off if something happens to his house while they're here. I still can't believe he even agreed to this."
"Well, he did after I talked to Luci first," Ryan smirked.
"That was low, Ryan," Hunter said.
"Yeah, maybe, but at least we know they're in expert hands. The last thing I need to worry about is our kids getting hurt while making sure Alex is safe," Ryan said.
"Is Alex still worried there is a threat out there?" Dad asked.
"Yeah, her anxiety has been through the roof, and with RJ gone now, she feels unsettled," Ryan said, running his hand through his hair.
"Well, she still has us close if something happens," Frazier said.
"I know, but it's not the same. Alex constantly worries about the kids. You know what we went through with the twins. Then she had a hard time during her pregnancy with RJ. It almost killed her to carry him to term," Ryan said to Frazier. "If something ever happened to her, I don't know what I would do."
"We know Ryan, but she's fine, and she's here," Dad said.
Ryan felt someone slide their arm around his waist, and he looked down as Alex smiles up at him. He wrapped an arm around her and kissed the top of her head.
Marissa and Mom walked in afterward. Mom looked at Dad and asked, "I take it Liam isn't happy?"
"Nope, but it doesn't matter. Their safety comes first," Dad told Mom.
"Well, you better talk to Shawn," Mom mentioned.
"What's wrong with Shawn?" Dad asked.
"He's freaking out a bit," Mom answered.
"Did you talk to him?" Dad asked Mom.
"Shawn won't listen to me; you know that," Mom said, then they heard a crash. JJ and Elijah came running into the kitchen.
"What the fuck was that?" Dad asked.
"Dad, Shawn is flipping the fuck out," JJ said. Dad ran out of the kitchen and up the stairs, taking two steps before heading to Shawn's room. He found him throwing stuff as Mack and I were trying to calm him down.
"Shawn! Stop!" I yelled as Shawn flipped over a dresser.
Dad walked in and looked at Ryan. "I'll take him from the back; you grab his legs."
Ryan nodded, and they both tackled Shawn to the ground. Dad yelled, "Frazier, grab my bag!"
Shawn struggled while Dad and Ryan held him down, and Frazier returned with the black leather doctor's bag. He opened it up, and Dad told him what he needed. Frazier and Dad switched spots so he could fill the needle with medicine.
Dad stuck the needle into Shawn's upper arm swiftly and injected the anti-anxiety medicine into him. He struggled a few minutes, then he closed his eyes and fell asleep. Dad got up and picked up Shawn, then carried him to another room.
There goes so much for not destroying things. We hadn't even been here a few hours, and one room was a train wrecked. Ryan called Mason to let him know what happened. Mason didn't care about the place; he wanted to know if Shawn was okay.
A bunch of us cleaned up the room and anything broken, putting it back to how it looked. Then once we finished, Dad pulled Elijah, JJ, and me aside. "Listen, boys, I know this is a hard change for all of you, but it's ten times worse for your brother. That was one reason he stayed with Frazier even after we adopted him. Look, I get it. You're not happy about having Hunter here, Liam, but we need someone here for your protection."
I shoved my hands in my front pockets. "I get it."
"Good, now I need you to make sure you look out for each other and call me if something happens," Dad said to us.
"Dad, you know we look out for each other. We always do," Elijah said.
"I know," Dad said as he grabbed the three of us and hugged us tightly. My dad may seem like a badass to most, but to us, he was and always be our dad. We all checked on Shawn. He was sitting on the side of my bed with Mom.
"I'm sorry, guys," Shawn apologized to us.
"Why are you, sorry?" I asked.
"Liam!" Dad snapped.
"No, Dad. Why should he be sorry for having an anxiety attack? It's not like he can control it. Look, Shawn, no matter what, never apologize for something that is out of your control. Shit, JJ, and I did a lot worst," I said.
"Like what?" Dad asked.
"Nothing that needs to concern you and nothing anyone can prove," I said.
"Great, our kids might land in jail one day," Dad said with an exasperated tone.
"Not if we don't get caught," JJ smirked.
"Not helping JJ," Dad snapped, glaring at JJ.
Elijah facepalmed himself as Mom shook her head. Yeah, we were a piece of work, but we didn't care. Life is too short to be a bunch of pansies.
Later on, while the parents were hanging out, and everyone consumed sucking face with their significant others, I grabbed RJ, Nik, and Leo to explore the town. It surprised me that Nik and Leo came since they were as busy as the others, but I guess you have to come up for air sometime.
Plus, out of all of us, RJ and Nik were the most level-headed out of everyone. I'm close to JJ because he's my twin and great for whatever crazy prank we came up with, but ever since he hooked up with Lydia, we don't hang as much.
After roaming the town, we ended up at Kate's bakery. Thank God because I could go for a pastry or two or ten. Any place that serves food is my kind of place.
Kate greeted each of us with a hug. We found a table and sat down while she brought out food and beverages. I got down to business while we visited.
"Does Liam always eat like that?" Leo asked, pointing to me stuffing my face with food. Yeah, I have no shame.
"All the time," RJ said.
"Enough about Liam's eating habits, why haven't your parents came by to see me?" Kate asked us. I was too busy with a mouthful of tasty goodness to answer her.
"They're coming by tomorrow. Our parents wanted to get everyone settled," Nik said.
"Well, Nikolaus, you seem much better than when I saw you," Kate mentioned.
"Yeah, it was a rough time," Nik said. "But Leo helped me a lot." He slid his hand into Leo's hand.
"I'm glad. You two look good together. What about you, RJ? Is there anyone special in your life?" Kate asked RJ.
"Nope, just taking it day by day," RJ said.
"You're like your father. I never thought he would ever settle down until I met your mother," Kate said, giving him a soft smile.
"It's all good. I'm in no rush," RJ said, leaning back in his chair.
"Liam put that sandwich down for a minute," Kate scolded me.
"Aunt Kate, the deliciousness of one's sandwich, doesn't compare to inquiring about a lack of one's love life," I said, taking another bite.
"Well, except the girl you were making out with at prom," Nik said.
"Girl? What, girl?" Kate asked, looking at the others.
I dropped my sandwich onto the plate. "Do you mean the crazy nut who thought RJ and I were a couple?"
"Eh, semantics, but yeah that one," Nik said.
"There is no us. There is only me and my sandwich, which I have a lovely relationship with at the moment," I said, picking up my sandwich and continued eating.
"Oh, Liam, some things never changed," Kate laughed.
As we sat there, the bell rang, signaling a customer. She got up and greeted said customer until I realized who it was. I dropped my sandwich on my plate as they all turned to look.
"I guess she is crazy," Leo said.
I gave Leo a look, and he shrugged. She turned and saw us.
"You better hide. It looks like hot lips are coming this way," RJ said.
"Say no more," I said as I slid out of my chair and under the table. I saw Mel's shoes along with everyone else's. Maybe if I'm quiet, she goes away. As I stayed there, the next thing I knew, the table cloth lifted, and I stared into her ocean blue eyes with my icy blue ones.
"Hi, Liam," Mel grinned.
Well, damn, I wasn't expecting that.
"Mel," I said.
"Is this an additional thing you do? Play, hide, and seek?" Mel teased.
"Only when it's necessary, and today, it's necessary," I said with a smirk.
"Uh, huh, sure. I have to go, but I'll see you around," Mel said with a wink.
I climbed out from under the table as they all stared at me while I picked up my sandwich.
"Ooh, it looks like someone has a hottie after him," Leo said in his gayest voice ever.
"Leo?" I said with a look.
"Yesssss," Leo answered.
"Please never do that again," I said to him as I took a bite out of my sandwich, making them all laugh.
Yep, this was going to be an exciting year yet.