Miss Braxton: Home and Away Fanfic

Chapter 2

I neared the house with a growing sense of caution, my mind reeling as I wove up the street and fixed my gaze on the cars parked in the drive. A black Ute that I knew that belonged to Darryl, the eldest. Near it was a white four-by-four, possibly belonging to Heath. Then there was a red Jeep and a shabby, shoddy old wreck of a car that I didn't recognise whatsoever. As I stood, observing the vehicles in tense unease, a voice behind me caused me to jump two feet in the air.

"Hey there, you lost?" An old man from the house next door asked warmly. He was stood in his garden, hosing down the flowers he'd clearly just planted. His outfit, a pair of khaki shorts and a hideous shirt were coated in dirt, and so was his whitened wisp of hair. He looked friendly enough to me though, so I offered him as nice a smile as I could muster through the nerves building up in my chest.

"No." I told him, then paused and frowned unsurely. "At least... I don't think I am."

The man chuckled and shook his head. "Well, you look pretty lost to me, girlie. You've been staring at that house for the past ten minutes as if it's a dog about to bite you. Then again... I guess there's good reason to be afraid of it!"

I stared at him blankly as the old man laughed at what he appeared to think a great joke on his part.

"Why do you say that?" I asked, almost defensive.

"Well, it's Braxton manor - what other reason do you need to fear it? That family in there are as mad as a box of frogs!" The old man said, sobering at my impassive response. "Are you alright? You've gone a bit pale."

"Fine." I lied. "Thanks."

The man looked like he was about to question me further, but before he got the chance a woman's voice called 'John!' and he was off to answer it instantly. I took this opportunity to slip away, and quickly made my way up to the front doors of what John, the neighbour, had called 'Braxton Manor'.

I swallowed my fear, balled up my fist and knocked gingerly on the front door. A world of noise answered my rapping.

One loud, male voice shouted from inside, "Oi, Kylie, answer the door will ya?"

"You get it Heath, I'm busy." Said a second voice, more temperate and quiet than the first. I assumed it belonged to Kyle.

The first voice, clearly Heath, snorted a reply, "Yeah, right. Busy! More like you've got your hands full being pushed around by your bossy girlfriend."

"Just because I put a lot of effort into my relationship with Phoebe, it doesn't make me a pushover Heath. It makes me a good boyfriend. You should try it sometime, before Bianca wakes up and decides to leave you again." Kyle shot back moodily.

"Ha! You're a real funny, aren't you Lover Boy?" Heath teased, laughing. "Funny looking anyway."

Before the argument escalated any further, a third voice entered the conversation. It was male and very influential and strong. The other two lapsed into silence on its interference.

"You boys better shut up and pull your heads in!" It ordered roughly. "Kyle, get to work. You're late and Angelo's needed opening half an hour ago. Heath, find something useful to do with your time besides winding everyone up. Sort yourselves out. I'll answer the door."

Then, true to his word, the speaker pulled back the door, revealing the eldest of my brothers, Darryl Braxton. He was muscular and tall form the point of view of someone as small as myself. The man was shirtless, with the words 'BLOOD AND SAND' tattooed in black ink over his bare chest. His brown hair was tousled and wet, as though he'd just been in the shower. When his eyes fell on me, his brows knitted into a perplexed frown. He obviously wasn't used to unfamiliar fifteen-year-old girls turning up on his front door step out of the blue. If he was confused now, I couldn't help wondering how he'd feel when he found out who I really was.

"Can I help you?" He asked, leaning against the doorway and regarding me suspiciously. From behind him, Kyle and Heath craned their necks to see who it was. Heath was bigger than both his brothers, more muscular with more ink covering his skin. Kyle was slender in comparison. Everything about his facial features set him slightly apart from his siblings, making him appear almost a bit like an outsider. 'Like me' I couldn't help thinking.

"Um... yes." I cleared my throat. "You're Darryl Braxton? And your brothers, they're Heath, Kyle and Casey?"

"Everyone calls me Brax." My older brother told me firmly, and something about the way he said it implied he meant for me to start addressing him that way too. "And yeah. This is Heath and that's Kyle."

"Is Casey here too?" I asked, hoping this way I would be able to hit two birds with one stone, by telling them all of my existence at the same time rather than separately.

Brax's face hardened like stone, and it hadn't exactly been friendly to begin with. "Casey isn't here. He died. It's just us the three of us now." He left a brief gap for the horrible information to sink in, before demanding. "What do you want?"

I stared at Brax in shock, trying my best to digest the fact that Casey, one of my brothers, the youngest, had died before I'd even ever had the chance to meet him. I quickly tried to gather myself however. Brax looked impatient and my time was running short. I couldn't lose this chance to expose myself. Pushing down my loss at never knowing Casey, I straightened up and gave my brother the most sincere look I could muster.

"My name's Alexis. Alex for short." I said. "I never knew him, but my father's name was Daniel 'Danny' Braxton." I took a deep breath. "I'm your sister."