Chapter 29~Tension

Okay people, I'm sorry this took so long. This is the longest chapter yet (I think), all I got to say is buckle up.

The ride home doesn't last long enough because we walk through the door and kicking our shoes off before I know it.

"Okay, Den, go change. You better be back down here in ten minutes, or I'll go get you myself, and trust me, you don't want that," Andrew says, raising his eyebrows.

I don't respond; I just start walking up the stairs to my room. Maybe if I jump out my window, I won't have to have this conversation. Sweatpants and a hoodie seems like the appropriate "telling your brothers your bully is in love with you" fit. After I have slipped on my gray "Treat People with Kindness" hoodie and black sweatpants, I walk to my bathroom to try to prepare myself.

When I look in the mirror, I hardly recognize myself. Lately, I have been so used to being happy; I don't know myself with sadness in my eyes. That sadness used to be there all the time, and don't get me wrong, Austin wasn't my magical cure for depression. He has been the light at the end of the tunnel, though; I don't know that I would still be here without him. That's why when I see that same dull look in my eyes, I start to tear up. I'm so tired. I just want to be happy. Why does Finn Hall ruin that for me?

"Denver Blake!" I hear Andrew yell from the stairs.

Well, shit. I guess he's tired of waiting. A mad Andrew is always impatient. Taking one last deep breath, I exit my bathroom, grab my phone from my bed, and head downstairs. Once I get to the bottom, all of my brothers are sitting around the living room, much like they were when I told them about the guy from the mall. Just thinking about him makes my skin crawl. I now wish the floor would just swallow me whole.

"Take a seat, little one," Ryan says with a small smile on his face. I know that the smile is meant to comfort me, but with one look at Andrew with his arms crossed and eyebrows creased, the smile loses its desired effect.

I just silently take a seat on the side of the couch closest to the door and farthest away from Andrew. I start to fiddle with the rings on my fingers, trying to settle the anxiety growing in my stomach. From the look on Jack and Ryan's faces, I'm going to assume Andrew filled them in one the situation while I was fighting off a mental breakdown.

"Explain. I'm tired of you dropping this shit on us without so much as an explanation. That stops now," Andrew orders, making both Jack and Ryan quickly turn their head to him like he's lost his mind.

I keep my face blank, but I can feel the tears threatening to spill over my lashes. Andrew never acts like this, no matter how much we fuck up. He's never short, and he never cusses at us, especially me. He's always comforting. Not this time, though. Maybe I've really done it this time. Perhaps I finally caused him to reach his breaking point, and he's going to realize that it's easier just to throw me into a foster home somewhere.

"Okay," I reply, my voice shaking. This doesn't phase Andrew though, His face is still hard, and his arms are crossed. I look down at my sock feet. They don't match, but they were a gift from Austin. He always comments on the fact that my socks never match because I'm too lazy to match them, so he bought me a pack of mismatched ones because "at least these aren't supposed to match." I can't help but long for him. I wish he were sitting beside me right now. At least then I would have someone to comfort me. Even the other two boys keep their mouths shut; they know better than to challenge Andrew when he's like this. Austin is on house arrest by his mom because of the whole cussing out the principal thing, so he's not going to swoop in and save me anytime soon, no matter how long I look at my cactus-themed socks and wish for him to walk through the door.

"Anytime now, Blake," Andrew cuts in, effectively bringing me from my thoughts. He gets another glare from each of the boys to his left, but they still stay silent.

"Yeah, uh..okay, so Finn caught up to me today, and I tried to run from him, but I apparently can't even do that, so he was still able to catch me." I simply start, even though they could have probably assumed that much. "and well, he just told me that he was in love with me again," I say, still looking at my socks.

"What do you mean again," Andrew questions, sounding angry.

Fuck. I didn't tell them about it the first time, and I really didn't plan on it. I've already fucked up this conversation. Me and my big mouth.

"I didn't mean to say again," I try to save myself because it's the truth. I didn't mean to say again.

"Oh, so you're keeping shit from me again. I'm going to assume that didn't ever stop; apparently, almost dying didn't teach you a lesson about that," Andrew says, making mine and the other two's jaw drop. What the hell crawled up his ass today?

"Andrew-" Ryan starts but is cut off by Andrew. "Not now, Ryan. I think I know how to parent without you," Now it's Andrew's turn to get glared at. If looks could kill, Andrew would be dead. Ryan looks like he wants to knock him out.

"Okay then, you make him cry and lose his trust," Ryan says, clenching his jaw and glaring at Andrew while standing up. "I'll be in my room if you need me, baby," He directs to me in a softer voice.

"And where the fuck do you think you are going," Andrew says, standing up to get to Ryan's level.

"My room. I'm not a part of this; I'm not making the baby cry," Ryan says, stepping forward, almost challenging Andrew to say something about it.

"I don't think so. We are in the middle of something," Andrew says, also taking a step, accepting Ryan's challenge.

"No, you are in the middle of something. Something that is going to blow up in your face if you don't watch," Ryan states, eyes burning into Andrews.

Holy shit. They are about to fight because of me. When am I going to stop tearing this family apart? They don't need this shit. They never asked to become parents. Andrew deserves more; they all do. I look at jack, almost begging him to do something. He catches my look and shakes his head. Well, that was pointless. Now I just have to sit and watch this shit show go down.

"Don't tell me what to do with my brothers," Andrew says, his fists balling up at his sides.

"They are my brothers too, and right now, I'm telling you this is not the way," Ryan says, glancing down at Andrew's fists.

Andrew has a temper, a bad one when he gets angry. It got him into a lot of trouble growing up, but he never got that way with us. It seemed like he had all the patience in the world when it came to us; I guess that patience has run out, though.

"Fine. Leave," Andrew says when he catches Ryan looking at his hands. I think Andrew only let Ryan leave because he knows what he would have done if he didn't. Ryan keeps their eye contact for a few more seconds before he looks at me and walks up the stairs, leaving Jack, Andrew, and I with the tension.

Jack chooses now to speak up, and I really wish he would have just kept his mouth shut. "He's right ya know, this isn't the way,"

"Don't, Jackson. If you know what's good for you, you will keep quiet," Andrew answers, that same burning glare aimed at Jack.

"This is fucking ridiculous. You're just like him sometimes. I'm sorry, baby, but if there's one thing I don't know how to do, it is keeping my mouth shut. I think it would be better if I joined Ryan upstairs," Jack says, not even giving Andrew time to respond before he's storming upstairs.

Jack knew comparing Andrew to Dad was a touchy subject. Sure I loved my dad, but he was an asshole sometimes. He could get so angry sometimes. He would say shit that he didn't mean and expect us to forgive him every time, and we did for the most part. Jack's right though, Andrew can be just like him sometimes. He's good about not saying things to us...usually.

"Jackson, you can't say shit like that and walk away. You will respect me. I'm the one in charge here," Andrew calls up the stairs, fists still clenched at his sides.

"I do respect you, Andrew, just not right now. I've not seen Denver look like that in months. His eyes haven't been that dull in so long. I'm not going to sit there and watch you put insecurities back in his head." Jack says, always being the one to speak his mind.

At this point, I wish the couch would catch on fire. I don't even care that they are talking about me with me in the room at this point. I just want to go to my room so fucking bad, maybe FaceTime Austin to calm me down.

Andrew pauses at this and walks out the door, maybe to cool down; either way, I'm leaving the living room. Actually, scratch that, I'm leaving the house altogether. I can't handle this. I can't take them fighting over me. I'll be doing them a favor by leaving anyway. Andrew never wanted a kid. He just felt like he had to keep me because of mom and dad. With my mind made up, I sneak out the back door. I don't know where I'm going or how long I will be gone. All I know is I'm getting the hell out of here. Once I get my nonathletic ass over our fence, I start to run down our street. To my neighbors, I probably look insane. I am sprinting down the street with snot and tears running down my face. I don't give a shit, though. Knowing they will check Austin's first, I plan to go to the only other place I know they will never look.

Once off my street, I slow my pathetic run to a walk, breathing like I just got done with a 5K. I walk to my planned destination with my mind racing, and as soon as I knock on the door, I know this was a terrible idea because no other than Finn Hall answers the door in nothing but a towel.

A/N~ Please don't hurt me, I'm working on chapter 30 as we speak. Hopefully it will be up soon. Until next time💜