1520 words

Chapter 21 - The Laydree's

You know that feeling when you hear some news you'd never expect, like a family member passing or, in this case, your mom leaving you.. again. To be adopted...

But the feeling, it's a mix of pain, sadness, anger, and numbness. All combining at once to make an unwanted concoction that nobody wants.

That leaves you, me, feeling awfully horrible. A feeling that could change everything.

I lay on the couch, my own breathe the only thing I can hear. Everything always goes wrong, I can't have a good life. Tears threaten to spill from my eyes but I won't let them, I'm not crying over her.

Never again.

The door squeaks open and I painfully jolt up to see if it was a joke if everything was just to see my reaction and she's back.

But Kingston and River come in with a concerned look on their faces. Kingston sees me and I slouch down on the couch, curling up into a ball again.

Kingston walks around the couch until he's crouched in front of me, while River goes up and does something in the kitchen. "What is wrong, and why are you in a fetal position?" He asks and i glare at him, "Its comforting." I say blankly, making him chuckle before putting a cold hand on my warm arm.

I shiver and he gives me a nod and takes his hands off, sitting in front of me on the ground with his knees pushed up against his hard chest.

His silence plays as a question in my head, "She did it again." I say slowly, making him furrows his eyebrows and stare at me with confusion. "She left me; she said I reminded her too much of my dad." I say and his jaw drops, only a millimeter at most but the reaction is one I'll remember and noticed very quickly.

His eyes look full of realization or something.

But that doesn't make sense.

He grabs my hand with his, my hand warming his up from being in the cold winter, "That is not true. You are not like your dad." He says and I shake my head, tears in my eyes.

I sit up, still holding his hand as he gets up and sits in front of me. "She knows me better than anyone else, she knows what happened which you're the only other person to know.

"Maybe she's right, what if I'm gonna grow up to be a fucked up person." I say, "What if nobody wants to adopt me, I am almost eighteen." Kingston sighs and all he does in return is lean in so his body is resting over mine, his arms wrapped around me in a hug.

One that I'm not gonna deny no matter how much my subconscious is telling me to, because it feels right.

His cold minty breath fans upon my ear and neck as he whispers, "Don't cuss," softly in my ear.

I stifle a giggle and he smiles, one that radiates warmth off of his cold body. "Darling..." He asks and I nod, only focusing on his voice because it's the last stable thing in my life... right now at least...

"Answer me." He demands, and I nod while saying, "Yea?" He looks up at me like a puppy, different from his normal strong man thing he has going on.

Maybe we are becoming more friendly than I realized, he has hung out with me most of the winter break. I'd expect him to be with Reid and River.

"...you can live with me." River says and I turn to look at him with pure surprise and concern on my face.

He stands in the kitchen while Kingston's eyes watch over mine. "Nonononono, that's to much to ask of you and I barely even know you I mean I do know you pretty well like more than anybody else right now but that's not three point I just can't do that you have a life and-" as if out of nowhere through my blabbering a hand is pushed over my mouth.

It's Kingston's and when I turn to look at him with wide eyes he chuckles, looking down at the ground with his soft, blonde hair falling with his head.

He looks up at me through his eyelashes, ones that are thicker than mine. His eyes are always so full of emotion and livelihood. I loved it.

"If you don't stop talking I'll just have to kiss you again." He whispers and I blush, flustered.

WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE SO GODDAMN HOT?

"Calm down, Darling. I basically live with him too, his family isn't there most of the time and to be honest big man over there gets kind of lonely. Plus... you're our.. friend now, Summer. We love you and you deserve a home, a good one you're happy with." Kingston says, pushing the hair that was in front of my face behind my ear.

I sigh, but I can't stop looking at Kingston's smile as he stares at the ground, I slowly drag my hand across his leg, and he looks up at me and I smile.

I hold his hand, turning to River.

"My mom would not mind, she is gone most of the time and if she knew why you were living there she would be more than happy to supply you with a warm bed." He says, looking up at me.

"But- What if- I-..." I stop when I don't find anything to interject with, Kingston's hold on my hand tight as I stare at River. His face stiff, not like usual.

"You see that would have been a good amount of words if it formed a sentence," River says sarcastically and I hit his arm and he laughs.

He sits up off of me, my body instinctively missing the warmth he somehow radiated off of his cold body without my permission. "Go get your clothes, and anything else you want. I'm taking you to meet Pho and El." Kingston says and I get my crutches with furrowed eyebrows.

"My maid and my sister, my maid acts as my mom though, and she cooks deliciously." River says and my face lights up, "I love cooking!" I say and Kingston smiles while River smirks.

Something I wouldn't expect when I first met Kingston he really is a softie.

"That was good amount of words." River says as he leans against the plain tan couch.

Kingston smiles, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling my into him, digging his face in my neck, his lips barely grazing the skin.

"So you wouldn't mind making me some food?" Kingston asks sarcastically and I giggle, "Not at all, King."

---------------------

"I'm nervous, or scared, or both. I'm scervous? Nared?" I say and River sets his eyes on me with a smile as I mess with end of Kingston's hoodie, the blue one with the crown in the middle.

"Don't be, Persephone will love to have another girl in the house, and I'm sure that El will love your help in the kitchen." He says and I sigh.

Kingston chuckles, "Pho also has a crush on me." He says and I chuckle, "Nice brag." I say and he shakes his head with a chuckle, I smile at him as I watch him laugh.

"But, you've done so much just by being here. And we don't have the legal rights yet so I don't know." I say and he shakes his head and rests his hand on my thigh.

"El will just add you as somebody who lives in the house, your mom did not disown you she just... left." He said and I shiver from the memory.

Soon enough we pull up into River's driveway, multiple cars lineup in the garage with a motorcycle being one of them. A tiny kids car lays in the garage, pink and filled with barbies.

As I enter the house it smells familiar, from the last time I was here. "You will eventually know your way around, just like Kingston, I'll show you your room for now though, it's right next to mine, and where Kingston usually sleeps over, but we can find him another room in this giant house" He says as he lead me up a pair of stairs, tears still in my eyes just from thinking about how my mom left me.

But this is a good distraction.

He opens the door and I am faced with the room I was in before any of this happened, or at lest the last part.

I sit on the white, plush sheets of the bed and he smiles. "Do you like it?" Kingston asks happily and I nod, his fingers coming up to my jaw as he pushes my face up to look at his. "Words, Darling." He says and I nod again, instinctively.

He chuckles, he's in a good mood. But before he can say anything a screech-like he'll comes from downstairs, "Wiva!!??" A young girls voice scream from downstairs, the sounds of stomps coming up the stairs are heard too.

"Sorry, hun. She is happy to see you again." A sweet old voice says as two figures show up in the doorway.

"Who is this?" El asks wiggling her eyebrows and River chuckles, "She is going to be staying here, I will inform you of the circumstance at another time. But right now.." He says as he signals to the little girl with warm brown hair in a braid.

"Wiva!!" She says as she runs into his outstretched arms and he twirls her around making her giggle.

He puts her down and ruffles her hair before kissing her forehead. "Pho, this is Summer." He says and she quickly turns around and as if for the first time, acknowledges my presence.

"Su.." she struggles, "Summa.." She says after a number of tries. She smiles at me and envelopes me in a small hug. "Hewo, I'm Posephone." She says and I smile.

"Nice to meet you."

Kingston slowly picks her up and her cheeks go red, he looks at me and points at Pho with an 'I-told-you-so-look'.

I chuckle, "Stop!" As I bury my head in the hoodie, smelling the vanilla and sandalwood that keeps me happy.

Kingston's smell.

STOP LIKING KINGSTON