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"The boys are back, baby!" Jesper leaps into James' arms, the two tackling each other in a bear hug as Daphne watches, surprised James can still have so much serotonin after what they just told him.
"Hey, asshole. When I call you, you pick up. Both of you." Jeremiah bursts in, looking at Daphne and Conrad on the couch.
"We've been dealing with a lot of shit, Jere." Conrad is on his feet, quick with a response while Daphne stares at the two, eventually deciding to get up, giving Mal a side hug.
"You have to go back for your Bio final." Jeremiah roars and Conrad looks over at Daphne, "We're not leaving." She speaks for them both. "Why not? What's more important than your future?" Daphne's reply seemed to shock her sister while the boys, Jesper and James are still tackling each other on the couch while Ash looks at her older sister, "The house is for sale." then her eyes shift past Daphne.
"What do you mean the house is for sale?" a new voice asks and Daphne instantly knows it, she has to stop herself from melting at the sound.
"What is she doing here?" Daphne barely gives Belly a gaze as her eyes flee back to Mal, a comforting face.
"Why would your dad sell the house? What stick is up Adam'a arse this time?" Mal wonders, they all knew Adam was a jerk but this would be a new low, even for him.
"He's not selling it, Aunt Julia is." Conrad replies, barely maintaining eye contact with Mal.
"Susannah's sister?" Belly asks and Daphne moves closer to Conrad, creating distance between them. "Half-sister. Apparently, the house belonged to both of them and now it just belongs to Aunt Julia." Conrad looks at Daphne when he speaks, Daphne stares dead ahead.
"Then we can just go to dad." Jeremiah starts but Conrad beats him to it. "We tried that. That was the first thing we tried but there's nothing he can do." Adam legally had no power over the house.
"Well, he can buy it. Him and the mums." James suggests, "With what money? You, me and Steven all have college tuition to pay and not to mention the medic bills." Conrad seemed drained by the conversation, Daphne missed when it was just them. It was easier then.
"We know about the medic bills, we were there, and we still are." Jeremiah snaps and Daphne's eyes move to him. "What's that supposed to mean?" Her words are harsher than she would like them to be.
"Nothing, fuck, you just weren't there."
"Well sorry for trying to make a future for ourselves. Sorry for doing exactly what Susannah told us to do. We wanted to be there but she wanted us to go to Brown," Daphne took a deep breath, "And we should've never listened because now she's gone and all we have is this house and you assholes who want to throw every mistake in our faces."
"Daphne—" Mal starts, the last thing she wanted to do was burden her sister.
"No, Conrad and I will fix this. You can go back home, we don't need you here." Daphne's eyes finally meet Belly's before she's out the door and heading to the beach.
