I groaned in annoyance as the feeling of something prodding my cheek woke me up from my deep slumber.

"Go away," I mumbled, hoping the feeling would stop.

"Get up Mar," The deep voice spoke.

"Leave me alone dad," Wrapping the comforter around me tighter, I turned around hoping the voice would go away.

"Fine you asked for it,"

That was the last thing the deep voice said as I was met with a few minutes of silence. Sighing in content I was almost back to sleep, when suddenly I jolted up in a haste when ice cold water made contact with my face. I sat up in shock as my heart was beating out it its chest and I panted heavily trying to catch my breath.

Turning to my left, there stood a smug Aiden who was holding an empty glass in his hand. I all but screamed as I lunged for him. He was quick to react bolting out of the room, being the football player that he is, which left me groaning at my failed attempt.

I huffed up from the bed, now fully awake as my brother popped his head through the door. I sent him the most deadliest glare that I could as he spoke.

"Get ready we're going out,"

My deathly glare morphed into confusion. "Going out where?"

"We're leaving in an hour. And call your boyfriend he's coming too," Ignoring my question, Aiden disappeared and left me stood frozen in even more confusion as his words sunk in.

It had been a week since me and Nixon told Aiden the truth about what happened. He had barely spoken to anyone since. But when he did speak it was civil and somewhat normal. My heart ached for my older brother and I could only imagine what thoughts were roaming around his head.

When Nixon was over, he didn't even glare at him the way he usually does but instead gave a curt nod of acknowledgement. We both thought it was weird, but we weren't complaining as it was a step forward.

I had also noticed that for the past week he had been keeping low and keeping to himself, at school especially where I hadn't seen him interact with anyone whatsoever. This behaviour was out of the ordinary for Aiden, who was usually so sociable.

On that Sunday night, a large part of me dread going back to school and it was all due to one person. But with Nixon by my side I knew that Stacey wouldn't bother me. In fact, I didn't see her at all. I didn't tell my best friends what happened with her. I knew they would freak out and I didn't want to drag them into this, so me, Nixon and Ethan acted like nothing happened.

Checking the time brought me out of my thoughts, as I grabbed my cell to call Nixon. He answered straight away and I told him about Aiden's weird request. Both of us were apprehensive but he agreed and he planned to be over at the house within the hour.

Heading for the shower, I freshened up and made my way over to the walk in closet. Now that the weather was finally starting to get better, I opted for a denim playsuit. I decided to leave my brown hair in its natural waves as I got to work on my face. My bruises hadn't completely healed but they had faded away massively, making my job easier. I kept my makeup natural, adding some lipgloss and mascara with a pop of colour on my cheeks.

Putting on a pair of Nike sneakers, I made my way downstairs to the kitchen where I almost froze in surprise at the sight before me.

Jake was flipping pancakes whilst Aiden and Nixon were sat at the breakfast bar. Albeit Aiden was quieter than everyone else, they were all chatting amicably between themselves as the two boys ate. For a while I never thought a moment like this would ever happen so I smiled to myself, observing them for a few moments.

"Are you just going to stare weirdly at us kiddo or are you going to sit down for some pancakes?" I turned to Jake as he looked at me in amusement.

It was then in that moment when the rest of the boys turned to my direction. Aiden with a 'how am I even related to you' look, and Nixon giving me a wink of approval after giving me a once over.

My cheeks warmed in embarrassment. "Whatever," I muttered, making my way over.

Sitting in between my brother and my boyfriend, I gave Nixon a warm smile and a quick 'hey' as Jake placed a plate with pancakes in front of me. Leaning over Aiden to grab the syrup I drenched them until they were soaking.

"Would you like some pancakes with that syrup Mar?" Aiden asked looking disgusted.

"Shut up. It's how I like it," I elbowed him though it had absolutely no effect.

"Like what? Type two diabetes?" He snorted.

I mimicked him, repeating what he said in a childish voice and in return I got a noogie on my head which made me cry out in protest.

"Hey! Pack it in both of you. We have a guest," Jake pointed the spatula he was holding towards my boyfriend who had an amused expression on his face.

Totally forgetting that he was there, I laughed awkwardly whilst at the same time Aiden mumbled a sarcastic 'sorry dad' to Jake. But honestly, I was just happy that me and my brother were back to our normal selves.

It wasn't long until we had all finished and Aiden told Jake that we were leaving. On our way to his car outside, Nixon whispered into my ear.

"You look gorgeous nugget,"

I smiled as my heart warmed and gave him a quick peck on his cheek. I was admiring him earlier in his fitted t shirt and jeans. He really did make the simplest of things look extra hot. "So do you,"

With Nixon in the passenger seat of my brother's car and me at the back, we set off into the unknown.

****

We drove about an hour out of town.

As the minutes went by, my curiosity grew more and more. We all sat in pretty much silence for the journey, with just the radio playing in the background. I decided it was best to not ask any questions and just go along with whatever my brother had planned.

Aiden turned into a long off-road pathway that was surrounded by dense woodland. Mentally, I thought that this would be the perfect place to bury a dead body. It was so out of the way and hidden, you'd only know about the pathway if you knew the area well enough. Which lead to the thought of, how did Aiden know it?

We eventually reached what looked like an abandoned house, though house was putting it lightly. It was big, and definitely gave me the creeps.

But there was something else that stuck out more. Stacey's car was parked outside which made my heart stop. What the hell was that wench doing here? Too caught up in my thoughts and anger, I barely noticed the car being turned off.

"What the hell is this Aiden?" I asked through gritted teeth. From the corner of my eye I could see that Nixon matched my expression as his whole body was tense.

My brother sighed deeply whilst looking at me pointedly. "It's a safe house we use. Ford already knows he's been here before,"

Before I could react, Nixon spoke. "Are you sure it's safe to bring her here?"

Aiden looked at Nixon like he had gone crazy. "I'm not stupid Ford. I wouldn't bring my little sister if it wasn't,"

Ignoring the fact that there was clearly a lot of information that I was missing out on, I decided to intervene and get to the focus on hand. "Guys stop. I don't care about the house. Why is she here?"

My brother's gaze softened at me. "Do you trust me Mar?"

I didn't hesitate to reply. "Yes,"

Looking over to Nixon he nodded his head at me letting me know that it was okay. With that in mind, we all left the car and my hand went immediately into Nixon's. With Aiden in lead, we followed him into the creepy house that was pretty much falling apart from the outside.

The inside wasn't any better, as we walked into the foyer, our feet making their way on the creaky floorboards. I admit that a part of me was anxious about what was happening but my tight grip in Nixon's gave me all the reassurance that I needed. We made out way further in and eventually into a large empty room that only occupied a single coach.

And Stacey Bennett.

Aiden called out to her as she had her back towards us. "Babe,"

"Hey baby, you scared-"

Her response was cut short as she turned around and froze upon looking at the three of us. Her face drained of any colour as she looked in shock. I'm guessing she was only expecting my brother.

"W-what's going on?" She stuttered.

If I wasn't so mad, I'd be laughing in amusement at how she resembled a gaping fish. Never in all the years I've known Stacey Bennett, have I ever seen her like this.

"Baby?" She went to reach for Aiden's arm and he pulled away like he he had touched a hot plate.

Ouch.

"Don't," Aiden's voice was low, laced with anger and hatred.

I almost flinched. Nixon had put his arm around me, presumably in protective mode as he gave Stacey a scary scare. If looks could kill, she would be dead on the floor by now. Her gaze wondered to his arm and I swear I saw a flicker of unknown emotion in her eyes but it disappeared as she refocused on Aiden.

"Did you kidnap my sister with Rick?"

Stacey's face blanched at my brother's question. But she recovered quickly, being the great actress that she is.

"What? Babe don't be ridiculous. Where have you heard that from?" She laughed in disbelief.

Aiden stepped toward her and she took a step back as a hint of fear crossed her face. "Don't lie to me,"

"I'm not lying," Her voice wavered ever so slightly but you could tell she was putting up an act to hide her fear.

My brother scoffed. "They showed me the pictures you sent Stacey. How the fuck do you explain that?"

He took another menacing step forward. Part of me was glad that I couldn't see Aiden's face, I don't think my heart could handle seeing his wrath. Stacey was now leaning against the wall, trapped in. Realising that she was stuck and couldn't worm her way out of it, she caved.

"That stupid spoilt bitch deserved it!" Her screech made me wince and I felt Nixon's body tense up in anger around me.

Like a switch, Aiden flipped as he raised a fist in the air and my blood boiled in fear of what he was going to do next. Like an automatic reaction I shouted, "Aiden don't!"

At hearing my voice he froze, his clenched fist was raised mid air. Stacey's eyes were closed shut as she was anticipating a blow that never came. I mentally breathed out a sigh of relief.

"What's wrong babe? Afraid to hit a girl?" Stacey's taunted him with a smirk on her face. Deep down I knew she deserved it, but my brother wasn't the type of guy who hit a woman, regardless of whether she deserved it or not.

I started to panic as his fist never lowered so I turned to Nixon and gave him a pleading look. He nodded and made his way over to the pair, placing a hand on my brother's shoulder. "The bitch isn't worth it,"

I held my breath but let it out as Aiden complied, eventually lowering his arm down and stepping back.

Stacey scoffed. "So are you two best buddies now or something?"

I mentally groaned. Why couldn't she just keep that mouth of hers shut?

Aiden's voice was dripping with venom as he replied. "Unlike you, he knows what loyalty is. He had my back making me realise how fucking blind I've been about you. Ford is family now, a word that you'll never understand,"

Though it really wasn't the right time, I smiled warmly at Aiden's heartfelt words.

"Please. You were nothing without me. Just look at the pair of you fawning over her like pathetic losers," Stacey matched his tone and I finally had enough of her voice.

Walking up to the trio, I stood in front of her. "My brother might not stoop so low to hit you, but I sure as hell will,"

Before she could digest my words I sucker punched her as hard as I could, aiming straight for the nose. Blood was dripping down to her lips as I was met with her cries as she screamed.

"You fucking bitch!"

The next thing I knew I was pushed behind Nixon's body as she lunged for me but instead was faced with my boyfriend.

"Lay a hand on her and I swear to god there won't be anything to stop me from killing you myself," Nixon spoke dangerously low, I almost felt scared for her.

She squealed in frustration, realising she's lost and barged past us leaving the house.

I let out a breath that I didn't realise I was holding as I was pulled into Nixon's tight embrace.

"Shit, baby are you okay?" His voice was laced with concern.

I was more then okay, hell I was on cloud nine. I laughed as Nixon looked at me like I had lost my mind. "That felt so good Nixon!"

He looked at me with pure amusement and a look of adoration in his eyes. "It was pretty badass," He smirked and gave me a look that I knew meant he wanted to kiss the life out of me.

"I agree Mar. I'm pretty proud to call you my sister now," Aiden's voice broke me from Nixon's gaze. I walked up to my big brother who was smirking and pulled my him into a tight hug.

"Woah, what's this for," He asked whilst snaking his arms around me.

"For having my back," I retorted.

Pushing me back to see my face he looked at me. "You're my little sister. It's my job to always have your back,"

I smiled. "I know. But I also know much you loved Stacey. This whole thing must have been hard for you,"

Aiden waved his hand dismissively. "I'm just glad you opened my eyes. Both of you," He looked over pointedly at Nixon. "I guess we can put our differences aside Ford. I meant what I said. I might not like the idea of my little sister dating but she could do a lot worse. You're family now,"

The boys shared a look as Nixon nodded. "I appreciate that,"

My heart warmed at the exchange. "So does this mean you guys are best buddies now?" I asked.

They both answered my question at the same time. "No,"

❤️