Years have passed and Mitch turned eleven. Living with anxiety was, of course, a new adjustment. It was usually hard for him to not excessively worry. He usually overthought and had troubles with concentration. He told his family that he could handle it, but they all knew deep down inside that it was anything but easy for him. They just want what's best for him because they forgot the last time he was actually happy.

Was it when he was four when Scott was teaching how to ride a bike? When Scott was teaching him, he fell over and cried. Scott, deciding to be funny and who felt bad for his brother's new injury, fell off his own bike to show Mitch it was okay to fall. Mitch laughed so hard that he cried. That was the last time he was actually happy.

Just when he was getting ready for kindergarten and his mind began to process his best memories, Carson ruined that. He took Mitch's years of happiness away. With a memory that's hard to retrieve, PTSD, a stutter, and now anxiety, it scared the family. Mitch tried to show that he was okay, but like it was said before, everyone knew that he was telling a lie so he could feel happy again.

~~~

"Hi, Mitch," Tori replied as the eleven year old walked in. He waved shyly, smiling at his vocal teacher. "I see that you're trying out music. How is that working out for you?"

"O-ok-ka-ay," he answered, looking around the room. Genevieve was nowhere to be found. "W-h-he-er-re's-s Gen?"

"Oh," Tori commented sadly, a frown appearing on her beautiful face. The vocal doctor sighed, looking sad. "She...she had to leave. She can't work here anymore."

"W-wh-hy?" Mitch asked, his eyebrow raised. He began to get sad himself. "Is s-sh-he-e o-ok-ka-ay-y?"

"Of course," Tori answered a bit too quickly then sighed. "I honestly don't known, honey. She just left. Nobody knows where she is."

Mitch nodded sadly, putting his head down. One of his favorite people is gone and probably never coming back. He met Genevieve when he was six and opened up to her. Now she's gone and probably never coming back.

~~~

Kirstin walked into her freshman English class and sat patiently on her desk. A red headed girl sat down next to her and turned around.

"Kirstin Maldonaldo?!"

The freshman quickly turned around to see Ariana, who was smirking at her. Her ex best friend was in her English class. Great...

"How's your gay brother?" Ariana snottily asked, laughing with her friends. "He came out of the closet when he was nine, right?"

"You need to shut it," Kirstin hissed, crossing her arms. It was hard to get Mitch's trust back after that.  They're close again, but the memory of what happened was still stored in their minds. "He is the sweetest little thing ever. Who cares if he is gay? My parents are gay."

"Exactly," Ariana commented, shaking her head. Her red hair matched her mischievous mannerisms. "Do you know how homophobic this town is? I'm surprised nobody has put a gun on your dads' foreheads."

Kirstin had enough. She was about to punch the redhead when a hand grabbed her elbow. She looked up to see a handsome boy looking down at her, his brown eyes calming her down instantly.

"No need to do that," he reassured, his deep baritone calming her down. She brought her arm back, looking up at him. "She's not worth it."

Kirstin nodded and looked at the boy until class started. Even then, she couldn't tear her eyes off of him. He was kind of dressed like Bender from The Breakfast Club without the long hair. She didn't know his name, but she wanted to know who he is.

Who is he?

~~~

Scott looked around the parking lot, hoping nobody will catch him. He called Kevin to tell him that a friend was going to pick him up so they could go out and do stuff which wasn't a lie...exactly.

The friend was actually a boyfriend.

A red car drove up next to Scott and the sophomore smiled happily when he saw the person in the car. The driver unlocked the door, allowing the younger male to come in.

"How was school?" The driver asked when Scott closed the door. The blond shrugged his shoulders and buckled his seatbelt. "Learn anything new?"

"If learning about sentence structure is new," Scott replied, making the driver laugh. Scott then looked at the window and sighed. "I'm worried about Mitch."

"Why? Is he okay?"

"He is," Scott answered, playing with his fingers. "It's just...when he was diagnosed with anxiety, he made everyone think he was, is, okay. I know he isn't okay though. He's really sad. I hear him crying at night."

"Poor thing,"the driver murmured, feeling his heartbreak. He looked the sophomore, feeling his heart leap with joy and love. They met after Scott finished eight grade, when the driver finished high school. They kept their relationship a secret though. They didn't want anybody to find out. "We're here."

Scott looked out to find a beautiful lake glimmering back at him and he smiled, hopping out of the car. The driver followed him and they sat down, admiring the view. Scott quickly kissed the man next to him, smiling.

"I love you, Alex."

"I love you too, Scott."

~~~

Kevin drove up to a nice house and smiled to himself as he stopped the car. A woman walked out of the house, smiling when she saw Kevin. She walked up to him and grabbed his hand, squeezing tightly.

"How are you?" She asked, her green eyes looking into his own eyes. "I missed you. Moving to Fresno was my worst choice. It's nice here though. What did you tell your husband?"

"I told him that I went on a business trip," Kevin replied, setting down his briefcase. He smiled at her and kissed her on her forehead. "Now we're by yourselves, Charlotte."

She smiled and kissed him deeply, smiling into the kiss. The couple kissed some more, happy to be in each other's arms.

~~~

"Hey, kiddo," Esther replied, walking into the music store. Mitch waved excitedly as he handed Darien a box of music. "And who are you?"

"I'm Darien," the young worker answered a bit shakily. He began to blush. "I work for your brother."

"Nice," Esther commented, feeling something in her chest. It felt...weird. She's never felt like that since Carson. "Is Avi here?"

"No, not yet," Darien answered, putting the box down. Mitch sat back, watching the couple talk back and forth. "Um, I was wondering. Do you want to go out sometime?"

"Um," Esther began, thinking about Carson. After five years, she finally had enough money to bail him out. She still loved him even though he was and is a terrible person. "Sure. How does tomorrow sound?"

"Sounds wonderful!"

~~~

"Hey, Mitch," Avi called out, making Mitch come into the kitchen. "Do you mind helping with dinner?"

"Of c-co-ou-rs-se-e not," Mitch answered, smiling. He grabbed some carrots for dinner and looked up at Avi. "Wh-he-er-re-e's-s D-da-ad-dy-y?"

"Business trip," Avi replied, frowning slightly. Kevin has been going out of town a lot recently. "He should be coming home next week though."

Mitch nodded as he washed the carrots, stiffening a bit when he saw the knives. He moved closer to the stove, not noticing that it was on.

"Ow!"

Avi turned around quickly, biting his lip when he saw that Mitch burnt himself. He quickly stopped what he was doing and grabbed Mitch's arm gently.

"Okay, put your arm under the water," Avi commanded lightly. Mitch did as he was told and let out a quiet hiss of pain. "I know. Just do that until I say you can stop. Why did you burn yourself?"

"I d-di-id-n't-t w-wa-an-nt to be by t-he-e k-ni-ve-es-s."

"Oh," Avi commented quietly and perked up when he heard the door open. Kirstin walked in, her hair up in a ponytail. She is still in her dance clothes and her tennis shoes are off, making her barefoot. "How was dance team?"

"Eh," Kirstin answered, shrugging her shoulders. Being the team captain wasn't as easy as she thought it will be. "People are annoying. They either think that I am bossy or irritating."

"I'm sorry, hon," Avi replied, looking at his daughter. He turned off the sink and rubbed Mitch's back. "Where's Scott?"

"He's with a friend," Kirstin answered, getting a bottle of water. She sipped it gently, brushing her hand through her ponytail. "I think he's going to spend the night."

Avi nodded as he continued dinner. His children helped him, doing whatever they were told to do. It was the three of tonight, but they didn't care. If only they knew what was happening with this family.

~~~

A COUPLE HOURS LATER( in Fresno)

Charlotte waited by the toilet, hopping her knee up and down. For about a couple of weeks, she's been feeling sick. She's really happy that Kevin came yesterday, but deep down inside, she knows that they have to stop seeing each other. Last time he came, it was about two months ago. They did something she knew that could tear his family apart.

Five minutes finally passed and Charlotte grabbed the pregnancy test. She gasped silently and covered her mouth, crying. 'PREGNANT'. She threw the test away and covered her stomach, not wanting to tell Kevin.

What's going to happen?

A/N: This chapter was a roller coaster. Hopefully, things will work out #soon.;) I think next chapter I will have the entire family find out about Alex. I'll think of something. Anyways, I love you all!!!:)

-Maddie🐧🐧🐧