"Awww sweetie, you've grown up so much," my mother gushed, pulling my frozen body into a hug. I snapped out of my trance, forcing my hands to move and hug her back. Her face pressed against my shoulder since she was shorter than me and I awkwardly patted her back.

"It was just over a month, mom," I pointed out weakly, trying to step back.

"Oh, just hug me, Belle," she chided, pulling me back in a bear hug.

"Okay, stop hogging our daughter, Dora," My father chuckled, joining our hug. He kissed the top of my head despite me being a little damp from sweat and I closed my eyes, preserving the moment. 

"Guys, lemme go, I'm sweaty," I whined. They clung on.

I come from a family of koala bears.

A minute later, I finally had enough.

"Okay guys, I know you missed me, but I want oxygen now!" I exclaimed, gently weaving out of the hug. I disposed of the banana peel in the kitchen dutifully. Jake was smiling on the couch and I sat down beside him, depositing my kit beside the sofa. I glared at him playfully. The shower could wait another fifteen minutes.

"A little warning would've been nice," I whispered.

"You know how they are, they watched me like hawks," he whispered back, forcing a smile. I raised an eyebrow and he shrugged.

"So, you're staying for a while, then?" I addressed our parents who sat arm in arm on the sofa next to ours. I warily eyed the suitcases by the door. That was quite a lot of luggage for two people who were gonna stay less than a week.

"Ummm, about that," my mother began. I looked at her, vexed. She hesitated. 

She never hesitates.

"What?" I demanded. Why was she squirming like that?

Jacob placed a placating hand on my shoulder.

"See, the thing is-"

She was cut off when we heard voices traveling up the driveway. I groaned.

"I'll get that," I got up, "It's probably just another bunch of kids in the neighborhood trespassing, again," I grumbled. They made their first appearance the day we arrived, then the day after again just cause we don't live with a full-grown 'adult.' Jacob dealt with them and they left us alone yesterday. Guess they grew the balls to come back here for round three. I rolled my eyes.

"Iz," Jake tried to stop me, getting up. I waved him off.

"I'll get it," I repeated. And this time, I was not going to be polite. I didn't miss the halfway panicked glances my family exchanged but I ignored them. 

I flung the door open with my best bitch face. It's just a bunch of teena-

I started.

-gers. Two, to be specific. Two very familiar teenagers.

The boys froze at my sight too.

The taller one was blonde, his blue eyes sparkling in the dim porch lights. He held a few paper bags in his hand and his pink lips were pulled into a soft smile.

The brown-haired kid on the other hand, his jaw was ajar, his eyes wide, blatantly staring. I was too stunned to even sass him for checking me out so openly. The blonde one however was more in his senses and used his free hand to push his jaw up, chuckling.

That snapped us out of our daze.

"Carter? Logan?" I finally sputtered.

They exchanged a look. People were doing it too frequently for my liking.

"Hey Bells," Carter recovered first, pulling me into a one-armed hug. I returned his embrace, still a little out of it. 

Is it 'let's hug a sweaty, dirty, and very possibly, definitely smelly Isabelle' day?  

So embarrassing.

Well at least he didn't mention that you stink, I thought to myself.

That doesn't mean you don't, my brain taunted back. I held in a groan. I didn't need that right then.

I regretted not taking a shower earlier.

"Come on in," I blurted, gesturing for them to enter. Carter, the blonde one entered first followed by Logan but he stopped in front of me.

"Hey," he whispered, crushing me into a hug.

"Hey," I smiled hugging him back.

"We're back, guys," Carter announced as we pulled back from our hug, showing himself to the kitchen.

'Back'? As in they were here before today? I frowned, shutting the door behind me. Logan eyed me warily.

"You don't know, do you?" He guessed hesitantly.

"Know what?" I asked, still trying to figure it all out. He sighed, running a hand through his already tousled hair.

"Ummm, why don't you guys talk and I'll help Cart with dinner?" He suggested and trailed off after his brother without waiting for a response. My eyes narrowed at Jacob, who stood at the steps between the living room and kitchen, hands in his trouser pockets, eyeing me with caution.

Why is everyone acting so fucking jumpy around me?!

"What?" I tried not to snap. 

Maybe they should.

"Upstairs," he demanded. I followed him up to my pink, white and grey themed room. Don't judge me.

He plopped down on my bed and I sat down against the door after shutting it.

"Well, spit it out already," I hissed. He rubbed a hand across his face tiredly.

"Mom and dad aren't here to stay," he began without preamble, knowing that anything else would just set me off more.

I raised an eyebrow but waved a hand at him to continue. I was stupid to hope anyways. But, wait, what about the suitcases downst-

"The Blacks are moving in with us." He added.

What the flying fuck?!

My eyes widened.

"Excuse me?" I stood up, crossing my arms across my chest and leaning back against the door, cocking one leg over the other.

"Just calm down, Isabelle," he groaned.

"Michael and Mia too?" I asked disbelievingly, pissed. Why didn't our parents stay but theirs did? Weren't they in the same profession? The same level?

"No, just Carter and Logan."

He was evidently pissed, too. But it had to be something else. He was used to our parents not staying and no longer gave two shits about it. Also, the Blacks moving in couldn't have been an issue either. We were practically family.

"What else?" I demanded.

"How do you even- you know what, never mind," he shook his head before continuing, " Mom and dad are flying out tomorrow morning."

That soon? Not even a 'five day' week trip this time?

"When?" I asked with barely contained rage.

"They are on an important case and have a hearing tomorr-"

"When, Jacob?" I asked through gritted teeth.

"Their flight takes off at four-thirty tomorrow morning," he sighed.

No wonder they were almost panicked. They were afraid I'd throw another fit. They didn't even tell me all this themselves. They left it to Jacob. As always, he was stuck playing substitute parent.

Maybe I should throw a fit.

"Don't," Jacob warned.

"What?" I asked innocently. I was sure my face was blank. How did he know? He just knew me that well.

"Don't make a scene, Izzy," he begged tiredly. "Just one night and they'll be leaving tomorrow before we'll even wake up."

True. Now that we were going back into a routine, I planned to wake up at five and Jacob would too. We used to go for runs together.

I sighed, trying to think straight.

"I'll think about it," I said as I leaned off the door. He pursed his lips.

"Go downstairs, I'll join you after a shower," I told him.

He went away wordlessly.

************************

I put on a pair of one of my longer shorts and after debating with myself, pulled on a plain white T-shirt instead of a tank top. I towel dried my hair and it didn't take long: perks of having short hair.

I picked up my phone and checked the time.

8:56 pm.

Might as well head down for dinner.

I shut my door behind me, and head for the stairs, checking my Instagram feed. 

"Watch where you're going, Belle," Logan's voice teased. I pocketed my phone and looked up at him. I forced a smile, turning to face a grinning Logan. He'd freshened up too, judging from his damp hair.

"Not now, Log," I sighed. His grin faltered.

"How are you holding up?" He asked somberly.

"It's just my parents. And listen, just to be clear, it has nothing to do with you guys moving in, okay? I'm actually happy about that."

He let out a relieved sigh.

"I'm glad. I mean, not that you have probl-"

"You're starting to ramble," I smiled despite myself. He smiled back sheepishly.

"What I mean is, I understand."

"I know," I heaved in a deep breath. After a beat of silence, "Dinner?"

"Yeah," he agreed enthusiastically, "We got drive-thrus from Taco Bell."

I smiled at him, shoving my hands in my shorts' pockets. We descended the stairs with me at the lead.

"How'd you like your room?" I asked.

"It's nice, big, spacious," he replied happily.

"Ummm, you took the one at the end of the hall, right? Above the garage?"

"Yeah," he laughed.

"Knew it," I chuckled. That was the biggest room upstairs apart from mine. We had two rooms downstairs: one master(Jake's) and one fit for a young adult - and four upstairs - another master bedroom(mine!), albeit smaller than the one downstairs, and three other fairly large ones.

"Carter took the one downstairs?" I guessed.

"Yup," he popped the 'p'.

"Hmm," I hummed in response.

Everyone else was already seated. I took the free sofa and made it mine, sitting in the center. Mom and dad were sitting together on one and the one on their left, facing the kitchen, were Jake and Carter. I flopped down opposite to them and Logan took the last empty one opposite mom and dad facing the area where we had a glass window and the front yard beyond the TV area.

In case you haven't guessed yet, four two-seater sofas are facing each other with a square mahogany center table in the middle.

Hence the order we sat in: me, mom, dad, Jake, Carter, Logan, and then me again.

The center table now housed the big bags of the tacos and my stomach grumbled. I looked at Logan and found him already looking at me, amused. I tilted my head towards the food and he nodded. Together, we started plowing through the bags to find our favorites and munched.

"Hey!" Carter and Jake protested in sync.

"Too bad, old men," Logan snickered. "No offense, Jonathan." 

My dad chuckled.

"You snooze, you lose," I teased.

"We were waiting for you, you little devil," Jacob replied shaking his head.

"Doesn't change anything," I shrugged and Logan fist-bumped me.

We all dug into your tacos and burritos, eating in comfortable silence.

"It's nice to see you back to normal, Belle," Mom broke the peaceful silence.

"Umm, yeah, thanks," I replied in a clipped tone, my smile dropping almost instantly. Her face fell. Dad just sat there with an air of obliviousness around him. For a sharp-witted lawyer, he was too oblivious, or at least too good at pretending to be. To avoid a fight. No wonder he was one of the best in business. Who wouldn't be, with such acting chops?

Suddenly the air was infused with a hefty dose of tension. I suppressed a groan.

The burrito I just started after my taco suddenly tasted like straw.

That was gonna be a long night.

*****************

If it weren't for Jacob and Carter, the awkward silence would've suffocated us all. They broke the news excitedly.

They were attending Stanford together and Logan was joining Eastwood High with me.

Talk about a silver lining.

Although the news wasn't unexpected, it was surprising to hear it from their mouths. My mother smiled tight-lipped all the while and my father observed us with his attentive gaze as if he was trying to dissect our emotions one by one . . . and succeeding.

It took more effort than I'd anticipated to smile and laugh all the while with the boys, especially when I suddenly remembered the promise I made Jacob not a week ago - to try to talk mom and dad out of forcing him into taking up Law.

The already awkward air and my on-the-edge temper were a recipe for a disaster if the conversation were to start. But, I made a promise to try and I would follow through. However much it made me want to kill myself first.

The Blacks are smart. They called in an early night. I offered them a reserved smile and a goodnight as they went. Carter smiled back and ruffled my hair as we went. Logan squeezed my hand reassuringly.

The house was deathly quiet after the doors to their rooms closed one after the other. We avoided each other's gaze and let the bloody silence stretch.

Until our father broke the silence.

"Isabelle, I trust Jacob filled you in," he said.

"Yes," I replied in a clipped tone.

He sighed deeply. More silence.

"Jake, can you leave us alone for a few minutes?" I asked, looking him in the eye. He hesitated.

"Please," I stressed. He nodded and made his way to his room. His door shut close. My mother stared at her hands and my father looked at me expectantly.

"I'll take a page out of your lawyer book and get straight to the point," I began bluntly. "Stop controlling Jacob's life the way you do."

My father raised his eyebrows and my mother furrowed hers.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"I see, we're still playing dumb," I nodded. "I'll be clearer now so that we can get this over with as quickly as possible."

I saw a twinge of annoyance flash in my father's face. It was gone the next second. I focused on him, steeling my nerves.

This is for Jake.

"Let Jacob choose what he wants to do in college," I stated.

"He already is," My father insisted. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

"Either you're truly delusional, or you don't know your own son," I said.

"Watch your mouth Isabelle, we're still your pa-"

"Parents?" I cut him off with a scoff, "Parents stick around, father. They know their children, their favorite colors, their favorite foods, their hobbies, their friends, their likes, and their dislikes. I doubt you know half of what about either of us."

He bristled.

"We do what we do for you," he defended. "You're so ungrateful!"

"First of all, Jake is an adult," I said calmly, trying my hardest to reign in my temper. "And second of all, how exactly is you staying away from us most of the time helpful?"

"We're building a future for you!"

"A future?" I repeated incredulously. "What about the present?"

"Everything is alright and just the way it's supposed to be!"

"You're missing our childhood!" I exclaimed. "You missed my sixteen birthday! You then proceeded to miss Jake's eighteenth and then my seventeenth birthday too. You missed Jake's High school graduation! You've never attended even a single one of our games! And now you're going to force him into a life he doesn't want?"

He fumed.

"It's not your place to say anything!"

"Oh, so I'm assuming yours is," I said sarcastically.

"Isabel-"

"Have you even asked him what he wants?" I demanded. "What do you want from us?"

"He doesn't know what he wants. He'll take over the company."

"Just let him go! Medicine is his passion!"

"Medicine?" My father scoffed. "He is more stupid than I thought if he's still pining over that stupid course."

I took a calming breath. It was like talking to a wall. None of my points are penetrating his skull.

It's for Jake, I reminded myself again.

"I'll do law, I'm even interested in it, you won't have to force me," I bargained. "That's all you want, right? An heir? Well, you'll have one."

"I see what this is about," he laughed humorlessly. Although his words hinted at something good, his tone was bone-chilling.

"You, my daughter, will make me proud," He smiled. "Your cunning mind will be of great use to us!"

"What?!"

"You want your brother out of the way so that you can inherit the firm, right?" He asked and I paled.

What the-

"Oh, sweetheart. I must say you did a good job brainwashing that kid, although it's a bit of an inconvenience."

How did he even get to that conclusion? Was he not listening to a word I said?! What kind of a man was he?

I was speechless. He was accusing me of plotting against Jake? Jake of all people. Oh, my God.

"No worries, he'll learn. Like your mom did. It's okay. But sweetcakes, the firm still goes to Jacob. He's the eldest kid and a boy on top of that, you know?" My mother looked up. Her eyes were glistening with unshed tears.

Say something, I wanted to scream at her, Anything will do at this point.

I finally snapped to my senses.

Try for Jake.

"En-serio no vas a decir nada?! (Seriously? you're not going to say anything?!)" I asked her angrily.

"Confía en tu padre, Belle. Él sabe lo que es mejor para ti (Trust your father, Belle. He knows what is best for you)," She replied, her eyes misty.

"Y nos llamas nuestra madre. Increíble (And you call us our mother. Unbelievable)," I shook my head.

"That's enough," dad interrupted, his eyes ablaze. He definitely didn't understand anything. He didn't speak Spanish . . . at least he didn't the last time I checked. Only mom, Jacob, and I spoke the language in the household. She wanted us to keep in touch with our Heritage. Dad was probably pissed that he was out of the loop.

"You are despicable!" I snapped at him. "Not only are you accusing me of brainwashing Jacob, but you also missed the entire point of this conversation. I don't even know why I still try with you guys."

"Enough." He commanded.

"But-"

"Go back to your room, Isabelle, We're done talking."

"No, you are. I'm no-"

"I said enough!" He boomed.

I stood up, trembling with rage.

"Go. To. Hell." I spat as I turned around and walked upstairs to my room.

A long night, I'd thought it'd be. Little did I know an hour and a half ago that it would make it to my Top Ten Worst ones.

Mierda.

I'm sorry, Jake.

**********************

I lay flat on my bed. No doubt, the last part of our conversation was audible to Jake and Carter downstairs. I'd give it another two minutes of silence at max before Jacob would blow up my phone. I closed my eyes and practiced breathing normally.

The chorus music from Falling by Why Don't We erupted from my phone suddenly. It was so expected, I neither jumped nor checked the caller ID. I simply accepted the call and pressed the phone to my ear. Then, I waited.

Not that I had to wait for too long.

"What did I tell you, Isabelle?" Came his voice. Uh oh . . . Not Iz, not Izzy not even Belle. He called me Isabelle. That one word was enough for me to gauge his mood.

Which, might I add was not pleasant.

Now, what do I answer? I could lie, pretend to be innocent, and go to hell. Or I could tell the truth and be buried alive.

"What do you mean?" I questioned him innocently. I could hear him take a deep breath.

"Isabelle." His voice was sharp. So he obviously didn't buy that.

I sighed.

Honesty it is, then.

"You told me to not make a scene," I replied, defeated.

"And what did you do?" He asked slowly as if speaking to a toddler. I stifled a wince.

"I made a very small, teeny tiny scene?" I said, cringing at my own pathetic tone and desperate words.

"You promised, Izzy." His tone was disappointed and somehow that was worse than him being angry.

"I said I'll think about it," I reminded him. "And in my defense, I was perfectly quiet. It was father who raised his voice."

"Go to hell," he mimicked me from minutes ago. I flinched.

"You heard that?" I asked disbelievingly.

"You were pretty loud, Iz."

"Oops?" How much did he really hear?

"Just-just go apologize and fix things."

"What? Are you crazy? Didn't you hear all that he said?"

More silence followed.

I wished for his sake, he didn't hear any of the insults our father spewed today. I had rather he thought that our parents actually care about us than know that we were actually just objects to keep the King name and legacy living on. He was more attached to them because he saw more of them.

A few years ago, I would've been crushed too. But after two years of moping, frustration, and anger, I finally managed to let go and come to terms with the realities of life. Our parents were just our sperm and egg donors. They weren't our 'mom' and 'dad' and can never be. But Jake still believed they love us.

"I heard you call him despicable and everything after that," He answered curtly. Hun. So, for him, I'm basically the villain and the provoker. That would explain why he wasn't too pleased with me right then.

I closed my eyes.

Should I enlighten him? Or should I protect him? Tell him they don't love us or let him hate me? He was going to have to know someday, right? But does it have to be today? He loves them. I know for a fact that he loves me and them more than his dear life itself. So, do I tell him and crush him? Or do I wait for him to realize it himself? But, love is blinding. Will he ever realize the truth himself?

Urgh.

I wanted to tell him so bad. But-

"Jake," was all I could say. What does one say in such a situation? How did one fucking tell their older brother that he was gonna be living a life he doesn't want? How does one tell them that half their life was a lie, that the people he so affectionately called mom and dad took him for just another piece in their game of chess.

Two words: you can't.

Especially not on phone.

I glanced at the time. I need an excuse to drop the conversation.

10:01 pm.

How sweet.

"Jacob it's late. I need to sleep now I have school tomorrow," I reminded him. "You do too, don't you have to stop by and check out your dorms with Carter?"

He sighed heavily.

"Yeah . . ." He trailed off. Oh, Jake. He sounded crestfallen. All he wanted was a harmonious family. It is something most people have been granted by default. Some people don't give it a second thought because to them it's normal., but it held a deep meaning to him. It was so complicated.

Even though I was a surprise baby (yeah I know. In case you didn't notice, our family was quite loud), I'm actually very glad I was born. Jake needed some companion and our parents definitely weren't it.

I wondered briefly what would've happened had I not been born. I doubted that our parents would have been any different and Jake would probably be living alone. Would he even have someone who really loved him? Maybe he would have had a nanny or something. Even the thought of such an artificially affectionate life made me shudder. I wouldn't wish that on even my enemies.

"Jacob, sleep, dude," I mumbled into the phone.

Then a thought occurred to me.

"Oh, and I won't be waking up at five tomorrow," I told him. "It's late and I need my eight hours of beauty sleep." That and because I needed to make absolutely sure that I wouldn't bump into any of my beloved parents.

"Okay," he spoke softly.

I hesitated.

"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked.

"Sort of, yeah," he replied. I sighed. He'd tell me in his own time.

"Goodnight, Jakey," I sang, trying to lighten the mood.

It worked. He let out a weak chuckle. I smiled.

"Goodnight, Izzy. I love you."

"Love you too," I spoke just as a knock sounded on the door.

I got up on my elbows, confused as I disconnected the call. Who would be here at quarter past ten in the night? Did I imagine it?

Knock. Knock.

Okay, I definitely did not imagine that.

I groaned as I got up.

Is it Logan? He's the only one on my floor right now, I thought as I trudged up to the door and pulled it open.

And froze.

Of course. There are two empty rooms on our floors for them to occupy.

"What do you want?" I asked sharply.

My mother inhaled deeply.

"Can we talk?" She asked quietly. Talk? Really? I wanted to scoff.

She sensed my reluctance, I think, because she pleaded again, "Please. Hear me out, Belle."

I opened the door just a tad bit more.

I would hear her out. But, only because I was curious as to what she had got to say. She pleaded. I hadn't seen that woman break her 'killer shark' persona in a long time. She almost cried earlier that night and was unusually quiet too.

"Make it quick," I quipped to make up for the inviting gesture.

Is it just me, or is the universe feeling particularly cruel today?

___________________________________________________
{6th April 2021}
___________________________________________________

A/N:-

An extra-long chapter just for y'all! That's all for today, I'm tired.

Until next time, all my love, 
xoxo.

This is what Logan can see behind Jonathan and Isadora (Mr. and Mrs. King), Except there aren't so many trees outside, neither is there a patio/balcony. I tried finding a sitting room with a center table and four two-seater sofas around them but I couldn't. I'm sorry.