Chapter Two

“I did not!”

“Watch her a minute please.” I say to my friends before I take off out of the room and down the stairs to the living room. “What the heck is going on?” I demand before I am even in the room. The boys can sometimes get a little rowdy, but they are rarely 'bad', so this kind of behavior isn't something that I have to deal with often, thankfully.

“Ricky said that I threwed a rock at him!” Van says, tears welling in his eyes.

“Threw.” I automatically correct him, but it's drowned out by my younger brother rounding on him in anger.

“Because you did, you little jerk!” Maverick yells at him. He pulls up his shirt and shows me a bruise on his back, left shoulder that has a little bloody spot where it broke through the skin. Ouch. That must have been one big ass rock.

“Ricky, stop with the name calling. Calm down, come over here and let me see.” I walk over, looking at the spot closer. I know it must hurt but he doesn't seem to be in pain, just angry. 

“No, I did not!” Vader, whom everyone calls Van, yells back, the tears spilling over. I want to hug and comfort him, because seeing him in distress breaks my heart, but I have to get to the bottom of the situation. Just then Valerina, or Val as everyone calls her, runs in the room, quick to jump into the fray.

“He didn't throw the rock at you, you stinkin' slug!” She is covered in dirt and her hair is matted to her head with sweat. “Mason did when your back was turned because he said you were being a sucker!” She gives him a smug, know-it-all look and Ricky growls.

“I-” He begins but I level him with a glare and he wisely closes his mouth before he says something that he will later come to regret.

“Is that what really happened?” I ask Van, because he usually never tells a lie. Ever. Even if it gets him in trouble, he always tells the truth, just like Wilder. Wilder has a moral compass that is out of this world. He always does the right thing, no matter how hard it is. He sets unreasonable expectations when it comes to perfection and it would be annoying, if he wasn't such a great brother. It's hard to be jealous of someone who has only ever loved me unconditionally, without fail.

“Yes. Ricky was being a big butt head. He was being mean to everyone and calling us all babies. So, when he took off on his skateboard, Mason picked up a rock and hit him with it.” He looks upset. “I turned to Mason and I punched him in the arm. I was trying to tell him not to throw things at my brother when Ricky came up and knocked me down, screaming at me for throwing a rock at him. So, I ran in here to you.”

I whirl on my brother, glaring at him. At least Ricky has the sense to look a tad remorseful. “You knocked him down?”

“I just went to grab his shirt, but he pulled away and fell down. It's not like I shoved him or anything!” Ricky says defensively.

“That doesn't matter. You know that you don't put your hands on anyone. I don't care what reason you might think that you have to justify it. You are way older than them. Old enough to know better, that's for sure." My hands are on my hips and I'm giving him my best 'mom glare'. "Go get your skateboard and bring it to me. Right now. You are grounded for one week. You know better than to put your hands on anyone or to call names.”

“That's bull-”

“You better not have been about to say what I think you were going to say.” A deep voice drawls from right behind me.

“I wasn't.” Comes Ricky's sullen reply.

“Good. Now you heard her. Get the board. It's going put away for a week and you get no xbox or playing with your friends.” Wilder tells the red faced boy. Ricky stomps out of the room and out the door, mumbling under his breath, but that doesn't faze Wilder a bit.

I call out behind him, “Then come here and let my clean up your back!” I turn to Wilder. “You're home early." I thought he had said that he would be out until time for him to go to work. he and Wyatt were helping Wyatt's dad, Mr. Kestrel, with something or other.

“Just in time to see you laying down the law.” He teases, walking into the room and playfully nudging me with his shoulder. I chuckle at the gentle teasing.

“Somebody has to.” I shrug. I feel a tug on the hem of my shirt and look down into the worried eyes of my little brother. “Yeah Van?”

“How long am I grounded for? I hit Mason, remember?”

Actually, I had completely forgotten. To be fair, I grounded Ricky for violence so I would need to punish Van as well. I crouch down and pull him into my arms, relishing the feeling of him hugging me back. Then I pull back just enough to get a good look at him. “Okay, since you hit Mason when you know the hands-to-yourself rule, you are grounded for three days.” I remember the kids coming tonight and how well Van plays with the babies for me while I am busy doing things. “Starting tomorrow.” Ricky comes in and hands his skateboard over to Wilder. “You too, Ricky. There are some kids around your age coming over tonight so you can hang out with them this evening. Tomorrow though, starts your punishment which means no friends until next Saturday.”

“Fine.” He says, seemingly over his anger and resigned to his fate. 

I stand up, kissing each twin on the top of the head, before I lead Ricky out of the room. As I pass through the doorway I finally realize that Wyatt is standing there. He gives me a small grin when he notices my surprise when I see him. “Hey.”

“Um, hi.” I duck my head and move past him quickly, leading my brother to the bathroom where I clean his cut with peroxide, then put a little bandage on it with neosporin. It only takes me three minutes, even though I tried to take my time. “You are good to go.”

Ricky runs out of the room and I stay behind, throwing the papers away and putting the supplies back in the medicine cabinet. I don't realize that I am no longer alone in the small room until he speaks. “So.. are you still avoiding me?”

I whirl around, grasping the sink behind me to steady myself. “Wh- what?”

“You heard me.”

Wyatt moves further into the room, his thick brown hair falling over his forehead, making my hand itch to push it back. I watch closely as he rakes an impatient hand through it, pushing it back into place. His blue eyes are watching me watch him and a shiver runs down my spine. “You have been avoiding me for two weeks now. I asked if you still were or are you done?”

“I have not-” I begin, but one side of his mouth pulls up in a smirk and he springs forward, quickly pinning me to the sink with one hand on either side of me, his hands on mine. That stops the half-hearted denial that I was spewing.

“Sure you are.” He looks down at me with his intense blue gaze. “Ever since that night in the kitchen when I-”

“Shh.” I say, dipping my head in embarrassment. I can't meet his eyes as memories of that night in the kitchen flash through my mind. I'm afraid he would see the wanting in my eyes, the yearning I feel for a repeat performance.

He pulls away with a frown, staring down at me, noting the flush staining my skin. “Are you.. embarrassed that it happened? Do you regret it?”

“No.” I look up at him, being completely honest. I can't let him thank that because it is so far from the truth. I love that he kissed me in the kitchen while my brother sat in the living room watching a movie with the kids. “I'm just embarrassed to talk to you about it.” I continue softly. I'm not exactly use to discussing my love life because up until that kiss, I didn't have one.

“Good. Because you regretting it would make it harder for me to do it again.” Wyatt is back to smirking and my tummy gives a little dip in response.

“Do it- again?” I ask. I hate how timid and shy I sound, but I can't really help it, he makes me so darn nervous! 

Instead of answering me, he moves his hands to my hips and lifts me up onto the bathroom counter. His head swoops down and his lips fit themselves to mine, stealing my breath. I gasp at the sudden contact of his hands on my rib cage and he takes advantage of my open mouth to deepen the kiss.

His tongue sweeps past mine, exploring the contours and eliciting a low moan from me, which never makes it past our joined mouths. I'm not sure what to do with my hands but he decides for me when he lifts my arms to his shoulders. I immediately wrap my arms around his neck and he smiles against my lips. When he moves his body forward between my parted thighs, I wrap my legs around his waist as well, holding tightly to him.

“Callie.”

I barely register the sound of my name being called, I am so focused on his hands which are caressing my under boob through my thin cotton tank. When the call comes louder, just down the hall from the open door, I spring back and shove at his shoulders. He stumbles back in surprise and I turn away, pretending to wash my hands, trying to calm my racing heart. Within seconds Lena is standing in the doorway, chattering a mile a minute, oblivious to the tension in the room, it seems. “Hey, Katie and I are about to head out. Wilder has Lucy. She abandoned us the second she saw him.”

Wyatt shuffles his feet and Lena notices him for the first time. “Oh, hi Wyatt.” She gives him a flirty smile that makes me grit my teeth. “How are you?”

“Pretty good, Lena. How are you doing?” He asks, all cool, calm and collected as if nothing just happened. Meanwhile, I am a ball of nervous energy and raging hormones left unsatisfied by my friend's sudden intrusion. I bite back my annoyance, feeling like a total witch for considering my friend an intrusion, even if it was just for a moment and in the privacy of my own head.

“I can't complain.” Lena finally looks between the two of us, noticing my expression for the first time. “Am I interrupting something?”

“No, not at all.” Wyatt returns smoothly. “I was just coming in here to wash my hands but Callie beat me to it. So, I was teasing her about how long it takes her to wash her hands.” He nods towards the still running water flowing over my long stilled hands and smirks, which in turn elicits a chuckle from Lena.

“I think they're clean now, hun.” Lena says to me. I quickly shut off the water and dry my hands on a hand towel. I take a deep breath before turning to face them both.

“Oh, I know. I was just taking my slow, sweet time. I love to keep the boys waiting.” I dramatically bat my eyelashes at my friend and give a fake, simpering smile. Lena nearly doubles over laughing so she misses the quiet remark that Wyatt whispers in my ear.

“I'll bet you do.”