Queen of the track

V

Chapter 5.

Raven

The first thing I notice when I turn my sleek black motorcycle into the driveway of the house, is AJ's black Mazda parked there. I walk my bike into the space beside it and turn the loud ignition off, pulling my helmet off my head and allowing my dark hair to cascade down my leather jacket.

When I walk up the steps to the front door and reach for my keys, I startle slightly when it gets thrown open from the inside, a twelve-year-old boy with dark hair and blue eyes standing in the doorway ahead of me.

"He picked us up in a mood," is the greeting my little brother gives me.

"I know, I'm sorry about that." I sigh and push past him inside the house, letting him close the door behind me as I throw my keys into the bowl on a nearby table and place my helmet beside it. "Where's Will?"

"Homework."

True enough, as I walk further into the open plan house, to my left I see Will, my youngest brother, sitting at the dining table doing homework. There are books scattered across the table in front of him and I watch as Mason sits down again to finish his work. The tv is on in the living room just ahead of them, a kid's cartoon show playing on the screen that the boys listen to as background noise while they work.

"Hey, bud," I place a hand on Will's head as I pass him. Unlike the rest of us, his hair is lighter than ours, a mousy brown, but still has our striking blue eyes.

"Hey." He smiles up me and turns to watch me move across to the empty kitchen behind him. I place my bag onto the island and turn back to the boys with a small frown.

"Where's AJ?"

Will suddenly looks at me with wide eyes and turns to Mason, who wears a similar expression. Clearly they had both either forgotten that their eldest brother isn't in the house, or are thinking of an excuse to cover for him.

"Uhm ... "

"Mason," I say lowly, my eyes hardening as I step towards them both.

"He went for a run," Mason sighs, knowing it's best not to lie to me.

"And he left you alone?!" I snap, causing Will to startle in his chair. I glance at him, my eyes softening before I shake my head and turn away, resting my hands against a tall chair at the kitchen island.

"He only left a little while ago," Mason says hurriedly. "He knew you'd be home soon."

I close my eyes and breathe deeply, mentally cursing AJ with every single word I know. He's been all over the place lately, that's not hard to miss, but that doesn't give him reason to leave our little brothers at home by themselves whilst he blows off steam.

After a few moments, I sigh and stand up straight to face the boys. They both watch me carefully, their homework momentarily forgotten.

"Okay." I nod, "You guys hungry? Let's ditch the homework and go to Benny's instead."

"Seriously?" Will's face lights up at the idea, completely disregarding my quick change in attitude, and it makes my heart swell and my temper deflate considerably.

"Yeah," I nod with a small smile. "I've had a long day and I'm seriously craving an Oreo shake right now."

"No way—the peanut butter cups is way better!" Mason argues as he quickly shuts all of his books but leaves them on the table for later.

"But...what about AJ?" Will asks me when he gets off the chair.

"We'll bring him back a burger," I wave off as I retrieve my phone from my bag. "Go put your shoes on. And turn off the tv!"