Song/s: I Look To You by Whitney Houston (Cover By: Boyce Avenue)

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My half-emptied glass of wine was in one hand, and forehead in the other. I leaned against the corner of my couch, sitting there with tv on low. A candle flickered, as my only source of light. All I did, was think.

Think about Wesley leaving, and how that made two brother's who were about to abandon me. About what Ricky was going to do next, that would add him to the list as well. God, the headache I had received a long time ago pounded even worse.

I'm guessing my constant thinking, and excessive drinking weren't helping much, either. I threw my head back, and hand down. Why wont my crazy emotions disappear? Why must they hammer me each, and every day.

"Screw this." I muttered to myself, grabbing the remote and turning the tv off. "I'm goin' to sleep."

I stood up, walking towards the steps when I heard a knock on the door. Without looking to see who it was, being the idiot I am, I opened the door. Sadly, there was no murderer here to take my life and end this pain, but on the bright side, It was Ripper.

His eyes immediately fell to the wine glass in my hands. He didn't need to say anything, because I already knew what he was thinking.

"Don't say anything about it, alright? I'm dealing with my problems." I explained, before he got the chance to speak, and scold me for being irresponsible- like Sean would have done if it were him here instead.

He just shook his head, "I'm not gonna."

"You're not?" I looked a bit surprised. If Sean couldn't be around to keep me in check, someone had to be- and usually, that was him.

"You're an adult, now. You should be able to make your own decisions, and as much as I don't agree with them-" He paused, looking back down at the wine glass, "I'm not going to say anything."

Rolling my eyes, I opened the door wider, and began to walk towards the kitchen. "You basically just did."

"No, I implied that you shouldn't be drinking so much. Not once did I say it." He contradicted. I shook my head agreeingly, grabbing the opened wine bottle on the counter, and tipping it over as if I were going to poor more into my glass. Before the liquid could flow from the bottle to the cup, Ripper took it out of my hand, and chugged the last bit of it.

"Hey!" I whined, "That was all I had left."

"Good." He responded, tossing the bottle into the trashcan across the room. "The last thing you need right now, is more alcohol."

"What are you doin' here?" I asked, getting straight to the point. It's not that I didn't enjoy his company, because trust me, I did- but because for some reason, he was being a buzz kill. Plus, It's not like to him to just show up without a cause. There's something on his mind, and I was going to find out just what that was.

"Making sure you don't do anything stupid- once again." The playfulness in his tone had disappeared. His eyes turned their dark color again, and his sly smile went away.

"Oh, did Sean send you? Because you can tell him to stay out of my life, since that's clearly what he's planning on doing." I rolled my eyes, placing my butt down on one of the bar stools.

"Him deciding to get married doesn't mean he's planning on abandoning you, Tip. It just means that he's found something that makes him happy. What I don't get, is why you're so hell bent on turning everything your brothers do into some mission to destroy your life." He explained, not even bothering to spare my feelings.

"Do you even know how it-"

"Yes, damn it." He snapped, slamming his hands down on the granite. "Of course I know how it feels- every goddamn person on this side of town knows how it feels."

I glared at him, wishing that I never opened my front door to let him in. I wanted him to hold me, to tell me that everything was going to be okay- not shove reality in my face. Not take someone else's side over mine.

"To feel alone, abandoned, left behind- why do you think we're all the way we are, hmm? Because we just decided to hate our past? Because we wanted to just, change our happiness into something more dark?" He looked me directly in the eyes, staring deeply into my soul. "You're not the only one who has a tough life, Eleanor. Everybody on our side of town does- and you crying every damn day over stupid little things doesn't make anyone feel much better."

"You may think that you have nothing right now, but to us, you everything. For god's sake- you have three brothers looking out for you better than a mama bear to her cubs. Most of us never even had that love from our parents. All those three have ever done for you, is watch out for you. They provided a roof over your head, and everything your father could have given you. Sure, It may not be the Hampton's, but at least it's something."

He sighed, calming himself down. "I wish you would just grow up, and stop feeling so bad for yourself. Stop the tears, the fighting with your older brother's, and this childish bullshit. Like I said earlier, you're an adult- and this is not adult behavior."

He grabbed the jacket he set on the counter, and began to take off.

"Ripper, wait-"

"Stop." He yelled, his voice bouncing off the walls of the house, "Don't come after me. This has gone on too long, and I'm done. I can't be with a little girl, Tip. I need someone mature- someone who I know can handle any situation respectfully. Not someone who's just going to cry every time one of her older brother's decides to go and do something with his life."

I couldn't believe the words that came out of his mouth. Was he... breaking up with me? I know we weren't official, but I also knew that we had something- something strong, real. What I got from those words, were that it was the end of 'us', whatever we may be. I didn't want that, though. I wanted him.

As much as I wanted to cry, I held my tears in. He didn't want a cry-baby like me, and breaking out into tears right now would only make things worse for our future- if we even had one.

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I silently followed him to the front door, watching as he opened it- but didn't leave just yet. "We're all meeting tomorrow morning to say goodbye to Speed.If you want a chance to see him before he leaves, be at our track during the sunrise."

Before any other words could be exchanged, he left. Speechless, I leaned my head against the wall, crouching down slowly, until I was sitting on the cold, wooden floorboards. The tears I've been holding inside me, finally got the chance to fall. I placed my head between my knee caps, hugging myself as I cried.

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The cold air nipped at my nose. Days were always hot here, but mornings before the sun came up, it was freezing.

The sky was still dark, about to turn a bright blue once the sun was done rising. Normally, I'd never be up this early- roaming the streets, but there was somewhere I had to be right now. If I wanted to clear things up with Wesley before he left, I needed to get to the track before It was too late.

I walked for another five minutes, until I reached the beginning of our track. The sun was halfway up by now, causing everything to glow a mild orange. I walked over to the top of the hill I usually sat on, watching the boys below hug their buddy goodbye.

Babee was already in the passengers seat of her car, waiting for Wesley to hop in, and wisk her away. I'm sure she's already said her goodbyes, and just wanted to get going, but of course Wesley wasn't done yet.

If i knew Wesley at all, I'd say he'd be the one who'd have the hardest time saying goodbye to all of his friends. They meant the world to him, and now he was going to leave them behind for a while- because heaven forbid they agreed to take all of those boys with them. That'd just be a nightmare.

I watched as he hugged Sean, and then Ricky tightly. Once he pulled away, his eyes roamed the entire track- stopping once they landed on me. I waved slightly to him, a small, sad smile forming on lips. He looked relieved, waving me down.

I quickly made my way down the hill, trying extra hard to make sure I didn't slip due to the morning dew that made the grass wet. On my way down, everyone there turned to watch me- Sean, Ricky, Ripper, Steel, Scram, Dime, Foxy, Sly-, making one big path towards Wesley, who stood there with a happy smile on his lips.

Once I reached him, we didn't waste any time. He quickly pulled me in for a hug, and I could've sworn that I almost cut his breathing off due to how tightly my arms were wrapped around him.

"I'm so sorry." I whispered, feeling guilty. "I should've never acted the way i did."

We pulled away, but his arms were still around my back. "It's alright, Tip. I saw where you were coming from."

"But that doesn't mean I had to ruin it for you. Wes, you deserve to be happy- and if going to Barcelona will accomplish that, then of course I respect your decision."

He laughed, shaking his head playfully. "What will I do without my sister when I'm gone, eh?"

I shrugged my shoulders, "You'll just have to wait and see."

He pulled me in one last time, kissing my cheek the same way your relatives would when they all came down for thanksgiving. "I'm gonna miss you, Tip."

"I'm gonna miss you, too." I smiled, backing away and letting him get off to his business. Wesley waved to us all, hopping into the car. As he started the engine, Babee looked at me through the window. She mouthed 'I love you' with a small smile on her face, and of course, I mirrored her back.

The small car took motion, beginning to leave us all behind. Sean pulled me towards him, wrapping his free arm around my body. I leaned my head on his shoulders, watching my brother disappear from my life for a while.

I didn't know how long he'd be gone, or how long it'd take for him to contact me again, but I did know that at least he'd be off somewhere, living a happy life.

Once the car was out of sight, I moved my eyes around until they met Ripper's. I was hoping he'd smile at me, or just do something that wouldn't make my heart ache worse- but I was wrong. Instead, he shook his head and moved his eyes to the ground.

I sighed, accepting the fact that he was done with me, even though I wasn't ready too. I've always wanted to be with him, and of course, I blew my chance. I guess the world doesn't want me to be happy, because if it did, I'd still have Ripper, and my brother's back.

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Hey all!

Thank you so much for reading this chapter. I'm sad about Wesley leaving, too ): I love his character, but I thought it would add something to the story if he disappeared for a while. Don't worry Wesley lovers! He's not gone for good, for he will come back eventually. If you want to see the day when he does, keep on reading. If you love me too, you'll vote and comment your thoughts. That would make me smile :) Keep on reading, my little stars!!!

XoXo Starlet-