I pull up outside Madison's and check if my makeup has run since leaving mine. I wipe the bottom of my eye just in case and then get out of the car. I hear shouting from inside and an unsettled feeling creeps into my stomach. I lock my car and run to the door. I let myself in before following the noise into the kitchen.
"Look you two, BEHAVE, please. Lexi will be here soon okay? I get it, you don't need me. Just BE PATIENT!" Daniel's raised voice surprises me and makes me take a couple of steps back before my gut instincts turn into protective mode over the kids. I show my face hesitantly by standing in the doorway. I make my presence known by coughing and three pairs of eyes are staring at me.
"There you go. She's here now, happy?" Daniel's sour expression doesn't do anything to settle the feeling in my stomach.
"LEXI!" The kids run up to me and I crouch down just in time to hug them.
"Hey guys, listen to me okay?" They nod and wait for me to carry on talking, I quickly look over to Daniel who is watching us intently, "I'm sure Daniel didn't mean to shout and I'm sorry I wasn't there to pick you up, it's my fault so please don't be mad at him." I look to both Taylor and Aidan separately before gazing back over to Daniel. He holds an inscrutable expression. I tear my gaze away from his piercing blue eyes and let go of the kids and nudge them to walk over to Daniel.
"Danny, I'm sorry. I just wanted to sing Disney songs with Lexi." Taylor speaks in a sweet voice as she looks up to Daniel. His expression softens when he sees her before he turns his attention and peers at me.
"Disney is it Lex?" I start to blush before standing back up. I cross my arms over my chest as a way of protecting myself from Daniel's teasing. I look down at the floor trying to avoid any eye contact. Before I know it, Daniel is in front of me lifting my chin up. He manages to grab my phone from my hand before attempting to unlock it.
"Do you know what her passcode is?" Aidan nods and grabs the phone out of Daniel's hands before typing in the passcode I shown him for when he wanted to choose the music. Daniel starts to whine.
"Aww come on Aid, couldn't you just tell me it?" Aidan shakes his head and smiles. I turn to him and high five him.
"See, at least Aidan has my back." We share a cheesy grin to each other before realisation kicks in.
"Hang on, be back now." I say half running out of the kitchen to the front door. I make it to my car before someone's hands are on my shoulders turning me around. Blue eyes staring at me filled with questions. I stand in a state of shock.
"Running away from me are we? If so, you left your phone."
"I'm not going anywhere Danny Boy. I just realised that when I heard shouting I left some things in my car in the rush to see what you were shouting about." He looks down at the ground as if he is ashamed of how he was speaking to his siblings.
"Look, I know you didn't mean to be like that with them and they do too, don't worry your pretty little mind about it." I say while patting him on the arm before I turn around to get some cupcake mixture from the car.
"I'm not sure whether to take that as a compliment or an insult. You essentially called me pretty but small minded. I'm going to ignore the insult and focus on the compliment. But, I think I should keep this for a while longer as a way of getting payback." He waves my phone in front of my face before I shrug and walk back toward the house. He soon follows behind while humming a familiar song that I quite can't name just yet, give me some time.
"Hey listen, Lexi?" I turn around to see his face full of emotions, I nod and wait for him to continue at his own speed, "I really didn't mean to shout at them like that and I jus-" I wave him off with a smile.
"You don't need to explain to me, I know how truly bad siblings can be. Sometimes you just need to let things out before you explode, even though you end up exploding anyway, right?" The pain evident in my voice, he nods along with what I was saying before opening his mouth to speak again. I shake my head from side to side and head back into the kitchen to show Taylor the cake mix.
YOU ARE READING
The Untitled Job
RomanceWhen 18 year-old Lexi's past starts to repeat itself she throws herself into her new job in order to save enough money to get away from it. Who knows what could happen when her job leads to her getting thrown into, or rather falling into, the local...
