SEBASTIAN PARKS THE car in front of my house, rubbing his hand along my knee in order to calm me. It wasn't working—not in the slightest. I glance over at him, widening my eyes like a kid asking for the last chocolate chip cookie. "Please don't make me go," I whisper, fear evident in my voice. "I've spent my entire life trying to ignore my father's second family. This kind of makes it a tad bit hard."
"You can do this, baby," Sebastian murmurs back, turning off the car completely.
I huff a breath. "Remember this morning? The cuddling, hugging, kissing." I sit up in my seat and press my lips against his jaw, working my way down to his neck. "Wouldn't you rather go back to that?"
Sebastian lets me kiss his skin softly, melting into my touch with ease. A low sound emits from his lips and it sends goosebumps down my back. It's when my hands burrow their way underneath his tan sweater that he stops me. Sebastian places his hands on my hips, pushing me back down. "Nice try, Brayls. Let's go."
I groan vehemently as he gets out of the car, jogging over and opening my door for me. I climb out with a grimace that only seems to make him laugh. Sebastian loops his fingers with mine and even though I'm annoyed, I lean into his touch. "Thanks for being here," I whisper to him.
Sebastian squeezes my hand and winks at me. "Always."
I take a deep breath as we reach the door, pulling out my key and unlocking it.
It was nearing noon, so I had half a mind to assume that Oba would be at work. She's not, however. She's sitting in the kitchen, clutching her phone and tapping her nails nervously. When she sees me, her eyes light up. "Braylen! I've been calling you all night! What happened to your phone?"
"I turned it off," I whisper sheepishly. She stands up and crosses over to me quickly, wrapping me in a huge hug. I glance over at Sebastian, eyes wide in shock before I return the hug.
She clutches the back of my head, sighing deeply. "I was so worried about you," she admits, sounding close to tears.
I pull away from my aunt, suddenly feeling awfully guilty. "I was with Sebastian. I'm sorry; I should've called you."
Aunt Amanda purses her lips. "Yes, you should've. But I'm just happy you're all right. Thank you, Sebastian."
Sebastian waves her off. "My pleasure."
I could hardly fight the blush that appears on my cheeks. Oba shoots me a knowing grin. "Oh, um, is Hiro here?"
"Shower upstairs," Oba responds, eyebrows scrunching up. "He's gonna go home, he said. Didn't want to make you feel like you couldn't be here."
My heart drops to my stomach as guilt seeps through. "Crap," I hiss, crossing my arms. "Well, we've just got to figure out how to get him to stay."
"You mean that?" a shaky voice asks. I look up and see Hiro sitting at the very top of the stairs, black hair still wet. "You don't mind if I stay?"
I smile softly. "I want you to stay. I was unfair to you yesterday; I'm sorry. I'm hoping we can start over."
Hiro smiles gingerly, standing up and walking over to me. To my surprise, he holds out his hand. "I'd like that, too."
I blush softly, feeling uncomfortable. I glance over at Sebastian and he shoots me a reassuring grin. After only a moment's hesitation, I shake Hiro's hand once. "Who is this?" he asks, pulling his hand from mine and sliding it easily into Sebastian's.
"Oh, um, that's—"
"Ash," he finishes, shaking Hiro's hand as well. "I'm Braylen's boyfriend."
If Hiro is surprised, he doesn't show it. I decide I kind of like him. "Great to meet you."
"You too, little man," Sebastian responds with a cheeky grin. "I should go. Let you two catch up."
I turn to Sebastian, cheeks flushed as I walk up to him. "You don't have to," I whisper to him.
Sebastian loops his fingers through my hair, fingers probing my scalp in a way that made it hard to stand. "I do. This is between you and your family; you've got this. Call me when you're done, okay?"
I nod once before he leans down and kisses me. This time my knees really do begin to buckle underneath me, but he holds me up by my forearm and I lean into his touch. Sebastian pulls away all too soon, leaving me breathless and wanting more. "Hey," I whisper, clutching onto his shirt. "I love you."
He knows I don't expect him to say it back. He just kisses my forehead and let's go of me. "I'll see you, Ms. Adams. Hiro, great meeting you."
My aunt and Hiro echo their goodbyes as he walks out the door, waving back at me once more. I huff a breath and turn to Hiro.
"So...do you like burgers?"
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I watch as Hiro takes a huge bite of his hamburger, mustard sticking itself to the side of his lip. He licks it off quickly before reaching down for another bite, barely even chewing his first bite. He's on his way to do this a third time when he notices my eyes on him. "Sorry," Hiro mutters with a mouth full of food. "My mom is really into healthy foods and stuff. I haven't had a burger in, like, forever."
"All good," I respond back, taking an awkward bite of my fry. Heaving a sigh, I decide to stop beating around the bush. "Why did you come here?"
Hiro stops eating altogether. I watch as he swallows the food in his mouth and takes a long sip of his Diet Coke. "My dad died in November, you know? Car crash. He was on the way to something for his job and the roads were slippery and...well, you know the rest."
I remember that night for more reasons than just his father's death. I nod my head slowly as I feel the first wave of sadness since I'd learned about it wash over me, if not for our father then for the kids he left behind. "I'm so sorry."
Hiro chuckles humorlessly. "My mom doesn't like to talk about it. She just keeps it moving. Go to school, do homework, play football. My dad died and she's the one who can't even talk about it."
The anger in his voice surprises me as he continues. "We went to the will reading right after Dad's funeral. Up until then, he'd only mentioned you once or twice. I hardly remembered you even existed up until then so I'm sure my younger siblings didn't either. Oh, I'm the oldest by the way. Two younger sisters."
I try not to let that sting, but it does. I had three half-siblings and none of them really remembered I existed. I'd be lying if I said the same. I knew Hiro had two little sisters before he'd even told me—he posts them endlessly on his public Instagram account. Dai and Emiko. Four and eight.
"But when we read that will...Braylen, he didn't forget about you. He never did," Hiro continues.
I shake my head so quickly my neck hurts. "No, don't do that. Don't make him sound like he cared about me. If he cared, he would've let me know him. He wouldn't have left me. I was a baby, Hiro. A kid!"
"I know how it sounds but it's the truth, Braylen," Hiro answers. "Some part of him cared about you. I know so."
I swallow back a sip of iced tea and sigh. "How?"
Hiro seems to hesitate before reaching into his faded green backpack. He pulls out a black folder and hands it to me. I glance down at it, eyebrows raised. He answers my question before I even ask. "It's all the information you'll need. I-it's what he left you. There's a letter, too. I didn't read it. Boundaries." Hiro chuckles awkwardly and I feel my heart swell. He was just a kid. Why had I freaked out so badly before?
So, I put the folder onto the bench next to me and prop my head upon my hands. "We can talk about our dad later. You're leaving soon and I want the chance to get to know my brother first."
Hiro's eyebrows raise in surprise. "You mean that?"
I nod once, grinning. "Tell me everything."
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By the time Hiro and I finished our meals, we were engrossed in conversation. He was telling me about our little sisters and I realized I didn't want to leave the restaurant. Which is why I ordered two slices of carrot cake, if only to buy more time.
"Dai is the trouble child," he recalls. "She's the youngest and so everybody spoils her. You sort of remind me of Emiko, actually."
I raise an eyebrow and lick frosting from the corner of my lip. "Yeah? How so?"
"I don't know, you two sort of look alike. Also, she's totally sarcastic. Like, all the time. Which is insane because she's only eight," Hiro laughs.
I grin softly, already loving these kids that I'd never met. "Your family doesn't know you're here?"
Hiro shakes his head slightly. "I sort of snuck over. Bought a plane ticket and caught an Uber to your house. My father had the address written down in the will. Honestly, I don't know what I would've done if your aunt hadn't let me in. She's awesome."
"Yeah," I agree. "Yeah, she's the best."
Hiro takes another sip of his drink and smiles. "You have a good life here. I know it may not seem exactly like it, but you're lucky. I don't know who my dad was before, but I can't imagine someone leaving their child behind like that. I'm just happy you have a family that loves you. I think everyone deserves at least that."
I shrug my shoulders. "There's a part of me that will never be able to forgive him for leaving my mother and I. But you're right; I'm lucky. I'm lucky because if he hadn't left me, I wouldn't have known Oba or the twins or Sebastian. I would've lived an entirely different life far away from this place."
"Sebastian, huh? Is that Ash, your boyfriend?" Hiro asks, eyes wide.
I blush profusely, staring down at my cake. "Yeah. That's him."
"You love him?" Hiro asks, curiously.
I nod slowly. "Yeah, I do."
Hiro grins widely. "He loves you, too. I can tell."
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That evening is spent in warm flannels and in front of the TV. I was sitting on the floor beside the couch with the popcorn bowl in my lap as Bridget gave me two french braids. Hiro and Beth were sprawled across the floor, laughing at the cheesy K-Drama we'd turned on. No one was really watching it, though, as we told funny stories.
"Hey, Braylen," Bethany says, a laugh already in her voice. "Remember when Ash pantsed you at your sixth grade spelling bee?"
I chuck a piece of popcorn at her, groaning. "Haha. So funny."
Bridget is giggling by now and I begin to wonder how good these braids will come out with her shaking like this. "I remember that! You were so upset you punched him and then you both got detention."
Hiro make a face. "How did you two even start dating?" he asks, reaching over and grabbing a handful of popcorn and stuffing his face.
I make a face. "It's complicated."
Bridget scoffs. "It's totally not. Basically, Ash and Braylen have had a prank war since, like, ever and they just recently fell in love with each other and are boyfriends now."
I scrunch my nose. "That is not how it happened."
"He's right," Bethany agrees. "They also broke up seven times along the way."
I stick up the middle finger at her. "You're dead!"
Bethany sticks her tongue out at me, narrowly dodging the pillow I'd meticulously aimed at her head. Hiro laughs along with us before turning back to me. "You two are back together for good though, right?"
I nod, grinning. "Um...yeah. Yeah, we are."
Hiro smiles softly. "He seems great."
I don't even have to speak. The blush on my face tells them enough. The twins and Hiro laugh and tease me the rest of the night and I convince Bethany to put on Criminal Minds instead.
I'm not sure how we got to be that way, but pretty soon Hiro is laying in a ball at my feet, Bethany is tucked underneath my arm, and Bridget is laid across Beth's stomach. I glance down at my little brother and my cousins and feel that hole in my heart close up, just a little bit.