Chapter Twenty-six

Under the snow

                                                                           I see you so beautifully

your green eyes glow

hold me close

don't let go

say you love me

kiss me slow

be mine

and I'll be yours

forever and more.

The next few minutes are terribly awkward. 

Especially when Austin gets tangled up in my blankets and my dad and brothers come running from all directions to see what the problem is. Joey stands guard at my bedroom, giving Austin the evil eye.

The first person at my door is my dad, along with Jude and Aidan, and my mom is one of the entourage. Jude and Aidan look as if they can't decide if they want to kill Austin, or just beat him up. My mom grins, but literally wipes it off after the look my dad gives her.

"Why don't the two of you go downstairs," she suggests. Austin and I look at each other with uncertainly. Austin has a small, goofy grin he can't lose. He knows he's caught, and my brothers probably won't let the situation go.

Joey stands outside, looking very pleased with himself. I stare at him, evilly, and he shrinks back before he takes off down the stairs.

He knows I will be getting revenge.

Austin crawls over me, and then helps to a sitting position. My mom shoos my brothers to their rooms, or somewhere they won't hear us talking. My dad tells us to come back downstairs in a stern voice. Austin lifts me into his arms, carrying me back down the stairs, followed by my parents.

"Are they going to murder me?" Austin whispers and I shrug a shoulder. I don't know what they are going to do. We reach the kitchen and Dad gestures for us to sit down, Austin placing me in Frank. 

I give an anxious look at my Mom.

Are they angry?

"Look, it wasn't what it looked like. We were just watching a movie, we didn't do anything..." I trail off, making my dad go a deep red in the cheeks. He clears his throat, glancing at Austin to me again.

"Oh, I know there wasn't anything going on. And if there was," he looks back at Austin again, narrowing his eyes. "son, you wouldn't ever look at my daughter again," he says, narrowing his eyes.

I hear Austin swallow beside me and I sneak a peek at him.

He looks scared. Like shit his pants scared.

"Don't worry, sir. It won't happen anytime so-"

 Austin stops in the middle of his sentence, blushing. This time I blush too. I can't believe this is what we are talking about. Dad clears his throat again.

"Well, that's good to hear, I guess."

My mom steps in, sighing. "When I said 'to have some privacy', I think you misunderstood what I meant," she begins, glaring at us. "What we are trying to say, it that we want you to respect the rules. No boys in Emma's room, at least not with the door closed. And if...when the right time comes, and you both feel the same, if you decide to have sex, we want you to be protected."

I cringe, my cheeks warming. "Mom-" 

"I mean, I want grandchildren but not this early," she says, crinkling her nose.

I don't feel so good. 

"Mom, we know. We know how it works," I say, covering my ears, refusing to have this talk. "We heard it in fifth grade." 

Austin stumbles out an agreement. My parents don't look embarrassed though, instead they look mighty pleased with themselves.

"We just wanted to make ourselves clear," my mom says laughing, and rubs my back. 

I can't bring myself to look at Austin.

"This is golden," someone says from behind. 

 I snap my head around. Jude comes around the corner with his phone in his hand. He's grinning from ear to ear. 

My eyes widen, knowing exactly what he did.

"Oh no you didn't," I snap. Jude's smile grows wider, if that it's even possible.

"Oh, yes I did," he mocks, backing away from me. "This is going to be perfect to put on YouTube. Think about how many likes it will get." Jude spouts off numbers by the millions, even getting to a billion before try and roll over his foot, trying to get the phone to rescue my dignity.

Jude skips back wards, laughing. Jude tapes the whole talk, the apparent sex talk with my parents and is going to show it to the whole world. I chase, in my wheelchair, after him throughout the downstairs, but eventually I have to stop because I'm exhausted.

My stomach is upset and I'm out of breath.

"Oh, come on. I'm not falling for that," Jude says, scoffing. I look up with a glare. Austin rushes to my side, letting me lean on him as he lead me over to the sofa. Mom comes quickly with a cool cloth in her hand.

"As if I am faking right?" I snap at my brother. Instantly his face turns into a mixture of regret and sadness. He saunters over and sits next to me, pulling me into his shoulder. "Don't smother me," I mumble.

He lets go, ruffles my hair and takes the phone from his jeans pocket. He grins, shows me the video and even I have to laugh. Austin and I look so embarrassed. Even Austin laughs, and my parents high five each other. 

One things is for sure; they are proud of embarrassing me and Austin.

"I have such great parents," I say sarcastically, and glance at Austin to see he is already looking at me. I grabbed his hand, pulling him up from the sofa. "Come outside with me." I pull him to the front door, but before we can go any farther, my mom comes running into the mud room after us.

"Here Emma. I fount your winter jacket," she says.

I catch the black jacket with fur around the hood, and shrug it on. Austin has already put on his jacket and shoes while Mom is handing me mittens, a hat, and scarf.

"I don't need-"

"It's cold out, just put them on," my mom says, leaving no room for arguments as she heads back into the house. I sigh and put them on. After I'm all bundled up, Austin opens the door for me, bowing slightly.

"After you, princess," he says, smiling.

 I roll my eyes at the name. I'm not a princess. And far from it. I roll out onto the porch, turning to face Austin. His green eyes shine into mine, and he grabs my hand with his.

"Your parents just gave us the sex talk," Austin says, bitting his lip to stop from laughing. "I think that had been the awkwardest moment in my entire life." 

I laugh ,agreeing with him. I can't believe they actually just did that.

"Even more awkward than when you peed your pants at Aidan's eighth birthday?" I ask, grinning at the memory. 

Austin narrows his eyes.

"I thought we decided to never, ever speak about that. A forbidden subject. And in my defence, I had to much to drink," Austin defends himself. "Will you be in school tomorrow? Or are you taking it off, because, well you know." 

"I don't think so, the doctors haven't cleared me for school yet," 

"It doesn't matter, I'll come visit you after school,"

"Thank you. I want that," I take a deep breath. 

"We have a game Thursday," Austin states, meeting my eyes. "Why don't you come? You're my lucky charm."

I smile. "Okay, I'll be there."

Austin touches my forehead with his and I think he's going to kiss me. 

I want him to kiss me.

We are silent for a few moments, taking each other in. Austin leans toward me. "Do you want to know something?" He whispers, but doesn't let me answer. "I think I'm falling in love with you. No, I am in love with you."

The words catch me by surprise, but I don't jerk away or tell him any different. I tell him what the truth.

"I...I love you too," I blurt out, and before I know it, we're both leaning in, our lips touching. As we kiss, white snow flakes start to fall down around us. We part, and both look up into the sky, catching the bits of snow on our tongues and laughing.

"Emma. What ever happens, I'll be by your side. I love you to the moon and back and a billion times more. " 

***

The next morning, Mom, Dad, and I are at a lawyers office.

"I think we have a great case here. No trial needed," Dawn, the lawyer says, clasping her hands together. "The judge will see that Mr. Vaughn and the entire ordeal is obscure."

Dad lets out a sigh. "Thank you so much," he says, smiling. 

I shift around in the wheel chair. "Why did he get away with it in the first place?"

Dawn turns her attention to me. "From what I can conclude, Mr. Vaughn's sister paid off the judge, it appears," she says, sighing. She flips through a file. "It also says here that no breathalyzer was administered, but the arresting officer swore he did."

"I can't believe Mr. Vaughn does not see how wrong he is," my mom says, shaking her head. "He could have killed someone."  

She's referring to me, I know it. 

Dawn nods her blonde head in understanding. "I know, unfortunately, some people never realize the consequences of their actions."

We leave the lawyers office and head home. 

***

"Here honey, have something to eat," Mom says, handing me a plate of toast, a glass of water, and two white tablets. I smile, taking the pills and she sits beside me, wrapping her arm around my shoulder and kisses into my hair.

The two tablets are for the terrible migraine I've had all day. 

"Why don't you ask Andrea if she wants to come over after school? Tell her she can stay for supper."

"Okay, I need someone else besides all of you smothering me," I say in a sarcastic tone. My mom rolls her eyes and goes in the kitchen.

The boys come down the stairs then, laughing and shoving each other. Jude and Logan have stayed over the last few nights, barely going to their own apartment. And while my brothers are at school, my parents are working and running errands, they stay home with me.

However, last night I told them they didn't need to, that I would be perfectly fine. I'm not going any where and I'm tired of being coddled. They agreed to go to work and school, which gives me space. And freedom to do what I want instead of having them breathing down my neck.

"Shouldn't you be getting some rest?" Jude asks, coming to sit on the sofa. Mom gets up, greeting the rest of my brothers. I glare at Jude, and he raises his hand, as if to say he is backing off.

I text Andrea, telling her she can come over tonight. She texts back, saying she will spend the night, even though it is a school night.

Joey runs out from his room, dressed for school, and heads straight for me. He hugs me tightly before following my mom into the kitchen to get breakfast. God, I love that kid.

"Did you already have breakfast, or do you want me to get you some?" Jude asks, but I tell him I already ate. "How long have you been up?" He asks this only because I haven't been sleeping well.

"About an hour ago. I'm can't sleep." I shrug, but I know it's only because I'm scared, nervous. Although I would never admit that, especially to my brothers because it will only make them more worried.

"Alright, we are leaving!" Aidan announces, swinging his keys in his hand. "Quinn, hurry up!" Aidan calls up the stairs, and I hear Quinn slam a door then stomps down the stairs. 

He stops before going by me, nodding his head. "Morning Emma."

"Uh, good morning Quinn," I say. 

He shakes his head. "There is nothing good about it," he says, walking away. 

Quinn still is irritable, but not towards me. I guess that's the best part, that we get along. I mean, conversations are a bit awkward, but I guess that's because we haven't had a real one in months.

"Can you wait for Andrea? She's going to get a ride with you guys," I say, and eye them warningly. "Make sure you don't leave her in the parking lot."

Aidan throws his hands up. "We won't forget her, I promise," he says and leaves the house, Ben in tow.

Joey runs down the hallway, his small back pack.  He runs over to where I sit on the sofa and squeezes me tightly.

"You sure are giving lots of hugs," I say, laughing at my little brother. Joey looks up at me and grins.

"Hugs were made to let people know you love them without saying anything," he says and steps back. smiles and before I can say anything, he's running off and out the door. The way he said it, melts my heart. He has been very protective of me these last few days. He is a good little brother, and I can only imagine what he is going to be like when he hits my age.

"Joey's going to be a heart breaker," Jude says and then laughs when stands up, stretching. "Well, I should go to work..."

He trails off, glancing expectantly at me. I know he's waiting for me to plead with him not to go.

I chuckle, shaking my head slightly. I wave to him, watching as he grabs Logan and pulling him out of the house. "Fine. Hope you have a good day being bored!" Jude shouts, letting the door slam shut behind him.

With all of my brothers gone, out of the house, it is amazing how quiet it is. There is no arguing, no fighting, and no one to annoy me. I watch Family Channel, since there isn't any one to switch the channel. It's great.

There is no other way for me to do anything when everyone is crowding around me.

A few hours later, my mom is shaking me awake.

I must have fallen asleep.

"Hey, I have to go out for a few errands. Will you be okay by yourself?" I nod, and she kisses me on the forehead before telling me there is a salad in the fridge if I get hungry, to call her if anything goes wrong.

"Mom, I'll be fine. Now go," I say, gesturing with my hands for her to leave.

She sighs and grabs her purse, leaving the house. I focus on the show that is playing; Wizards of Waverly Place. I miss that show, it was always one of the best and now they only play reruns.

It's peaceful for a while, but eventually, the house begins to fill again, the peace and quiet only a wish that can never be fulfilled, only something that happens for a short period of time. With them though is my best friend and she is the only one I'm excited to see.

"Do you know what she said next?" Andrea cackles, but doesn't wait for me to answer. "You better watch your back, bitch," She says in a high pitched voice, the one she uses to imitate Carla.

Apparently, Carla's still pissed off that I punched her in the face.

Andrea has taken the liberty to feed me the latest gossip while we watch Switched at Birth and eat Oreo cookies.

I roll my eyes. "I'm so done with her. How is Whitney? She looked pretty torn up at the dance."

Whitney's alliance towards Carla baffles me, although I understand her reasoning's. But still, she could just blackmail Carla into setting her free.

Andrea sits on the sofa next to me. "You should ask Ben about that." At that, I perk up.

I turned my attention to her, closely watching her motions.

"What do you mean by that?" I ask. Ben? Whitney?

Andrea refuses to tell me anymore though and tells me I will have to talk to Ben, which makes me even more curious. I beg her for more details, but she ignores me. I huff, crossing my arms.

"You suck," I mutter.

"And you swallow," Andrea retorts almost automatically, winking at me as she says it. I know she's referring to Austin, and I wrinkle my nose.

"Smooth," I say and Andrea turns to me and laughs. "That's so gross."

"What? You don't think that you will 'do the dirty' with Austin?" Andrea asks. It's not something I've thought about before. We just aren't far enough in the relationship to talk about that yet.

"I'm sure that when the day comes, we will figure it out," I say, shrugging. She pats me on the shoulder in a sympathetic manner. I go on to talk about Henry. 

Andrea blushes at his name.

"Sometimes I thought you would never get a boyfriend," Andrea admits, and I glare at her, wondering what she's getting at, which is probably something offensive. "I mean, your sixteen and have never been this serious. I had a bet you wouldn't find a boyfriend and end up with fifty cats."'

"Who did you bet with?"

She smirks. "Seth and Carter," she says. "They said forty. I figure you will want as much company as possible."

She shrugs, laughing. I punch her on the arm playfully.

"Wow, I'm glad my friends have no confidence in me."

"No, just your ability to 'get some'."

We bust into laughter.

That night, my dad cook tacos, and his famous homemade chip dip. It's like heaven inside your mouth. Andrea, all of my brothers, including Daniel, and my parents all sit around the table, enjoying the meal.

Although the food is good, I don't eat much of it, even if it's my favourite. It upsets my stomach to eat large amount of foods. So, instead of eating, I mostly push my food around my plate.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Daniel asks, nodding towards my plate of barely eaten food. The question is full of concern. I shake my head, and offer him the rest of my chip dip. He takes it gratefully. Mom eyes me with an 'are you okay look' and I nod my head, assuring her I'm absolutely fine. There is no doubt she's worried.

After supper, Andrea, my brothers, and I all head down into the basement to hangout and play some old fashioned board games.

Jude and Owen take it upon themselves to help me settle down on the leather sofa, as if I'm a small, fragile child, covering me with blankets. I admit I'm cold and thankful for their consideration, but after the third blanket, I shove them away.

They back off and settle down on the sofa beside me as Aidan and Andrea bicker over which board game to play first; Monopoly or The Game of Life. While they bicker, I realize that Ben is missing from this party.

"Where's Ben?" I ask no one in particular, and Jude only shrugs his shoulders in response. Big help you are.

Loud thumps ensue on the basement stairs.

"I'm is right here," Ben says, and I am about to ask him where he's been but I trail off when I see Whitney following behind my brother. She smiles and waves.

"Hey Emma. How are you?" Whitney asks, sitting down on the edge beside me. It takes me by surprise when she hugs me tightly, wrapping her arms around my shoulders. "School sucks without you."

"I bet. I'm the life of the party," I say, and I hear a lot of people scoff, disagreeing. Whitney and I both roll our eyes and laugh. "How's school for you? Are you still friends with Carla?"

Ben has been hanging out with Whitney a lot, or that's what I assume from what Andrea said.

"Ben has been helping me with that actually. Digging up dirt on her is easier when you have a genius on your side." She grins, glancing over at my brother, the so called genius.

Ben looks over and grins.

"Don't boost his ego, please," I say, chuckling.

Whitney joins us in playing Monopoly, which Jude, Andrea, Ben, and Aidan, and I play. Owen is the banker, although I know he sneaks money to Jude but denies everything when accused. That's why I'm thankful Jude loses all his property and gets eliminated from the game.

This chapter is a bit of a filler (and long), but the next few chapters are drama filled! I hope to have The Leap finished by the new year! I know there are mistakes, but I'm going to publish it anyway and go back to fix them later!

Thanks for reading!