This chapter will mention abuse, fighting/arguing, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, self harm, etc. if these topics trigger you in anyway, please don't read the following content

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎 𝐅𝐎𝐗 𝐃𝐈𝐃𝐍'𝐓 𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐑𝐘 𝐎𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐍. That was until he heard what Melanie Evans did to his sister. He didn't understand what made the girl say that to Adina. Over what? The fact that she wasn't ready to say she loved the girl? If you asked Theo, he would tell you that it was very childish of Melanie to get mad over Adina not being ready. Some people aren't good at showing emotions and so getting mad at them is extremely childish. In Theo's opinion, he thought that Melanie should have asked if the girl was comfortable and moved on from there. Not get mad and break up with her.

"Theo, please don't! Everyone is here," Adina begged her younger brother as he got out of the car, quickly rushing to the front door of the Dubois's estate

"Melanie Evans! Where the fuck are you!" Theo yelled, feeling hatred for the girl who hurt us older sister

"Calm down Theo, she's upstairs," Francesca smiled at the boy and she placed her hand on his chest to stop him, not noticing the way he blushed and tensed slightly

"Thanks," He blushed as she smiled before walking away

"God, that's embarrassing," Adina laughed at her brother before she wrapped her arm around his, leading them up the stairs calmly, knowing everyone else was probably there

"She's just a bitch. She can't control her emotions and is always treating people like shit," Melanie cussed as she paced around Francesca's bedroom, the rest of the summer squad sitting somewhere in the room

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Theo stormed into the blonde girls bedroom, feeling his hands shake with anger at this random girl speaking straight up bunkum

"Well hello," Hazel smiled up at Theo as the Fox twins entered the blonde girls room

"Hi Hazy," Adi tried to smile but all she could do was continue to frown and sniffle, trying to swallow the thick feeling in her throat

"What is she doing here?" Melanie's voice was filled with disgust as she glared at the girl in front of her

"Don't talk to her, you bitch," Theo stepped forward to lean into the girls face but was pushed back by Francesca

"I can talk to her if I want to Mattheo," Melanie's obnoxious voice entered Adi's ears and excited quickly as Adi spun around, her fist connecting with skin

"Oops, sorry," Adi let out a small giggle as she saw blood splatter on Melanie's face

"You bitch! You're crazy!" Melanie yelled as Caleb pushed himself up from the floor and stormed over to the brunette haired girl

"Get out," He said darkly as he practically shoved the bleeding girl out of Francesca's room, almost letting her fall down the stairs. almost.

"What's happening?" Hazel asked the group, not entirely understanding the situation

"She broke up with me," Adi mumbled as she leaned into Theo, needing to feel his warmth again

"Bloody hell, I'm sorry Adi," Caleb wrapped the fox twins in a hug from behind, also finding comfort in them

"It's fine, we were toxic anyway," Adi said before adding, "I need to go to the bathroom,"

Worry covered Theo's face as he watched his sister rush off. The entire group stared at each other, not knowing that to do. Felix wanted to help but he hardly ever talked to Adi. Same with Cora, she wanted to help but didn't know how. Rosilvia wanted to laugh at how heartbroken she was over this random girl. Melanie was a no body, so why did Adi care? Rosilvia didn't know but she couldn't help
herself as she let out a small laugh. Francesca's eyes darted over to the brunette as she felt anger filling her, not liking Rosilvia that much lately.

"Why are you laughing? This isn't funny?" Francesca couldn't help but snap at the girl as she felt her anger levels rising for her best friend

Rosilvia didn't say anything, she just rose her hands in a way those do when they surrender before walking off. Francesca let out a noise of anger before she stormed off down the hall. She heard a shatter from the room Adi went into, causing her to stop and walk over to the door. She knocked and heard a small come in as she entered. A gasp left Francesca as she saw bloody glass on the ground, Adi crying as she cradled her bleeding hand. Francesca slowly stepped into the bathroom and bent down next to Adi, wrapping the girl in a tight hug.

"Im sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Adi let out a choked sob as she felt guilt eating away at her insides. Gabriel Dubois would not be happy with his kids when he returned home that evening.

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Gabriel Dubois belonged in hell. If you asked any member of the Summer squad, they could tell you that. He was an abusive man who would drink his self away at night and repeat. The women and only son of the Dubois family needed help, but no one helped them. No one called 9-1-1 when the sounds of screaming and crying were heard from the home. No one helped them when they showed up at the hospital, practically dying. No one did anything to stop Gabriel Dubois and that's why Francesca and Caleb Dubois hated their lives. No one cared about them to the point where they would try and help get them out of the situation.

"Please," Amelie begged as she felt a foot collide with her side

"Who broke the mirror Amelie?! Tell me and no one gets hurt!" He yelled as he kicked her again

"Caleb....it was caleb," Amelie cried out, saying the first name she could come up with. I'm so sorry, mon amour.

With that, Gabriel was storming up the stairs and within seconds you could hear the cries of Caleb Sage Dubois. A young boy who wanted nothing more than to leave these god awful world. He could feel his cuts and ribs ripping open as he was pushed, kicked, and hit. Pleas and sobs left Caleb as he tried to block out the pain, failing miserably. The fighting lasted for what seemed like hours, even though it was only 20 minutes. Caleb pushed himself off the floor, stumbling over to his desk. He waited for the sound of his door to snap shut before he swung open his desk drawer.

He reached in and grabbed the packet of pills. He grabbed a book and repeatedly crushed the pill, not having anything else to crush the pill with. After the white powdered substance was in a line on his desk, he bent down and inhaled the powder. It took a few seconds for the feeling to kick in, but Caleb felt as if he was floating. He quickly shoved the left over pills back into his desk and wiped the powder onto the floor, rubbing his foot over it to try and hide the evidence. Caleb stumbled over to his bed and closed his eyes. Feeling the drugs taking over as his mind wandered into oblivion .

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Gabriel Dubois didn't know when he started to get addicted. It was very small at first. It started on Tuesday's, small amounts every few hours. Then it turned to Wednesday's and Thursdays, downing half a bottle in a few hours. By Friday, it's got you, an entire bottle down within an hour. The taste of Whiskey had him. The addictive taste, flavor, and need for it was all becoming to much. It was swallowing him up and soon, Gabriel Dubois was nothing but a drunk. He would go to work, come home, drink a bottle of whiskey and multiple beers, and repeat.

"Amelie," He slurred as he stumbled around the families study

"Gabe? What are you doing?" Amelie asked her husband, already smelling the alcohol from where she was in the hallway

"Mon amour ! Viens boire un verre avec moia," Gabriel hiccuped as he stumbled into his desk before falling to the floor. (My love! Come drink with me!"

"Gabriel, nous ne faisons pas ça. J'ai un quart de travail et les enfants ont besoin de dîner" Amelie was pissed as she walked towards her husband, ripping the 2nd whiskey bottle of the night from his hand. (Gabriel, we are not doing this. I have a shift and the kids need dinner)

"Que faites-vous ? Donne-moi ça, ce n'est pas à toi" Gabriel was now pissed as he stumbled up, stumbling towards his wife, his eyes darkening. (What are you doing? Give that to me, that isn't yours)

"Je ne fais plus ça Gabriel ! Je ne peux pas vous regarder vous perdre et nous blesser dans le processus. Vos enfants ont peur de vous ! J'ai peur de vous !" Amelie was yelling at this point as she put the cork in the almost empty whiskey bottle. (I'm not doing this anymore Gabriel! I can't watch you lose yourself and hurt us in the process. Your kids are scared of you! I'm scared of you!)

"Donne-moi la bouteille Amélie, je ne veux pas te faire de ma" Gabriel kept stumbling closer to her as she continued to back away, both of them now in the hallway, 3 of their kids now seeing what was happening. (Give me the bottle Amelie, I don't want to hurt you)

"Maman, que se passe-t-il ? Ça va ? Est-ce que papa va bien ?" Natalia asked her mom as she pushed herself up from the couch, walking over to her parents. (Mama, what's going on? Are you okay? Is daddy okay?)

Amelie didn't know how to answer her daughters question. None of them were okay when in a household with Gabriel. Even if he truly did love them deep down, he didn't show it. Amelie could feel the fear in her daughters gaze, feeling all 3 of them staring at her. She couldn't help but worry for her son as she pushed Natalia behind her, both girls walking backwards away from Gabriel. Caleb was still upstairs, completely dazed and under the influence. After closing his eyes, he remembered he had a bottle of vodka in his nightstand drawer. He knew he shouldn't have but he wanted peace. the only way to find peace was to let go, or so caleb bought. While he only took a few sips, he could feel his self losing consciousness as he felt the drug and alcohol overpower him.

"Fran, take Care and Talia to the car, get in and start it, I'm going to get Cay and we're leaving," Amelie told her daughter as she watched Gabriel fall unconscious

Francesca quickly grabbed her sisters hands and rushed them to the car. Once they were in the car, she rushed back in and grabbed their emergency bags that were in a secret closet. She made sure everything was in the car before going to see her mom and brother. Her stomach fell as she saw no one but her dad. They should have already come down so what was going on. Francesca quickly ran up the stairs, trying to ignore the pit that was forming in her stomach.

"Come in baby, wake up," She heard her mom say as she entered her brothers room

"Mom?! What's going on?" Francesca asked as she ran to her brothers side, seeing how pale and sweaty he was as he slept

"He won't wake up, Cay wake up!" Amelie's voice was filled with emotion as tears slipped down her cheeks as she took notice of the alcohol bottle

"Check his desk," Amelie told her daughter as she started to pick her son up

"Wha-"

"Check his desk!" Amelie yelled as she adjusted her grip on him, making sure she didn't drop him

"There's a little bit of powder on it," Francesca informed as her mother ran down the stairs, leaving a very confused Francesca

After waiting for a few seconds, Francesca ran after her mom, finally realizing what had happened. The same thing that happened 2 years ago, the same thing that happened 4 years ago. Caleb tried to do this every 2 years, especially during this time. It was like a tradition for him, something in which Francesca didn't understand. She hated her life most of the time, but she never tried to end it. It confused her on why he wanted to leave his family. She understood having depression and not wanting to do anything. Hating yourself, not wanting to deal with life anymore, but she didn't understand how someone like Caleb would do that.

The Dubois family, excluding Gabriel, rushed to the hospital once they were all in the car. The atmosphere was very tense, no one talking and no one mentioning anything that had happened. All 3 kids kept looking at their brother, wanting to know if he was okay, although they knew they wouldn't find out until he woke up. They arrived at the hospital a few moments later, rushing in and getting Caleb immediate care. Francesca watched in horror as she watched her unconscious brother be hooked up to an Iv cord, memories of her childhood appearing in her mind.

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2 weeks later

Francesca wasn't sure when her friendgroup started to fall apart. Maybe it was years ago, maybe it was just recently but it hurt her to see none of her friends get along. The only ones who still talked were the 2 sets of twins, who were slightly forced to due to their parents. That's why Francesca invited everyone over to her house for a hang out that afternoon. After the events of the last 2 weeks, Amelie bought another house and the family moved out, leaving Gabriel. She also made Caleb do daily drug tests as well as go to a therapist when he could.

"Thank you all for coming," Francesca smiled at them as she stood in front of them, the rest of the friend group sitting down on the floor or couch

"Did we have a choice?" Rosilvia asked as she popped her gum, her red lipstick making her eyes pop

"Not really, but you could have chose not to come anyway," Caleb told as he picked ag the skin around his nail, not liking the gaze of Felix and Cora on him

"Can we hurry up? I have plans," Harveen interrupted Francesca as she started to get annoyed with this random hang out

"I- I feel like we aren't close anymore," Francesca spoke up as she felt her stomach tying its self in knots, much like it does when she's around her dad

"Were we ever really friends anyway?" Rosilvia asked as she felt as if they never truly were her friend

"Of course we were! What makes you think we weren't?" Hazel now was asking, entirely confused by the situation

"You guys seem very fake," was all Rosilvia said before she pushed herself up from the floor and walked away

"Ro," Francesca called for the girl but she had already left the Dubois residence

"I'm sorry Fran, but I agree, you guys never really pay attention to certain people. Like Hazel and I for example, we do everything for you guys and receive nothing in return," Felix finally spoke up, now receiving a glare from Caleb at the way he talked to Francesca

"We never- we treated you like we did everyone else," Fran tried to defend the group but it didn't work because now Hazel was starting to get upset

"you truly didn't Francesca, you treated us like shit compared to everyone else," Hazel defended themself as they pushed past the girl, Felix following behind them

"Did you guys feel that way too?" Franchesca asked the only people left, receiving a nod from Matt and Adi

Tears flowed down Francesca's face as she turned and ran up to her bedroom, slamming her door behind her. Cora jumped at the sudden noise, feeling her chest tightening as her palms got sweaty. She noticed that 4 other people left, just leaving Caleb with her. She felt him reach over to her and wrap her in a hug. Her breathing stopped for a second as she felt a panic attack coming. Panic attacks didn't happen often for her, but when they did, Caleb was the only one able to calm her down.

"Breathe Cora, I've got you," He whispered to her as she felt tears rolls down her cheeks

She felt pathetic. Crying over a little argument that didn't even involve her really. It made her feel pathetic, but at the same time, it was very reasonable. Crying was okay, and now that she was having a panic attack on top of it all, crying felt very necessary. The hold Caleb had on her tightened as she started to calm down, melting down into his grasp, feeling very tired all of a sudden. Maybe it was the panic attack that made her tired. Maybe it wasn't, she wouldn't know until later that evening when she woke up, her head leaning against Caleb's chest as his head leaned against hers, both of them sleeping peacefully for the first time in a while.

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"I feel terrible, she's my best friend," Adi cried into Theo as they sat in their loft

"She'll understand Dina, she always does," Theo reassured the girl as he felt guilt rising in him too

Both hadn't been talking to anyone else, really only talking to the Dubois twins. That's what made the looks they received even harder. Caleb and Francesca looked at Adina and Theo with pure betrayal in their eyes. A pain neither of them had seen in the Dubois eyes before. It was as if they were Gabriel Dubois, the two twins looking up at him in pure betrayal after he beat them half to death. That made the fox twins want to apologize right away, but Adi was stubborn and couldn't handle looking at them, feeling an anger towards the rest of the group. She didn't know why she felt such anger towards them but she did and it was something no one wanted to be around.

The fox twins sat in silence for the rest of the night, both of them not wanting to say anything else. They soon drifted off to sleep, both of them using each other as a pillow.

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Rosilvia stumbled into Pierce as they kissed deeply. After storming out of the Dubois home, she called Pierce. The two had been best friends for years. Although they were the definition of grumpy X sunshine, they didn't treat each other like shit. They were more of a lovely couple, very warming to see, even if you didn't like them as individuals. The two separated for a few seconds, staring into each others eyes, blue meeting brown. Pierce was the one to lean back in, kissing her down her neck intensely. He pushed her back onto her bed, stepping back and removing his shirt. Rosilvia took this as a memo, also removing her shirt before their lips met again. That night changed their lives forever.

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Francesca didn't think she could spend more time crying. Especially when she had spent the last 2 weeks crying for most of the day. But she was proven wrong as she stumbled back into her bedroom, holding a bottle of vodka. After the incident 2 weeks ago, Francesca made sure to keep the bottle in her bedroom. That had been a big mistake as she was now drunkenly calling Conrad Fisher. She hadn't expected to at first but she soon realized that she missed him and wanted to call him.

"Hey Franny," His soft tired voice came through her phone as she fell onto her bed, very shaky on her feet

"Hi," She giggled as she stared up at her phone for the first time, seeing him shirtless as he laid in his bed, his glasses on

"Are you drunk?" He asked as he could hear how tired and slurred her speech was

"what? no" She giggled again, giving it away that she was in fact, intoxicated

"Fran, what's going on?" He asked, concern in his voice at the fact that she just decided to get drunk out of no where

"Nothing, I'm fine," she slurred as she then dropped her phone to the side of her bed, Conrad now being able to see the girl as she was passed out, deep in a much needed sleep

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"Hazy, what's wrong?" Holly asked her daughter as Hazel entered the kitchen, eyes red from crying

"I think our friend group broke up," Hazel cried at the thought

Holly wrapped her arms around her daughter, the two of them now crying for each other. Holly felt terrible for her daughter. Hazel had been friends with them since pre-K and now that they were broken up, she didn't really have any friends. Hazel felt bad for making her mom sit here and comfort her. And although she felt bad, she did nothing about it. Hazel needed a hug like this, so she stayed. The two Merriweathers sat there for the rest of the night, both of them comforting one another.

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Felix felt the need to hang out with Matt after the last argument. He knew the boy wasn't to fond of arguments, so he ended up at his house at 6:30 that evening. The two boys sat in silence as they contemplated apologizing to the others or not. Felix had wanted to but he chose to be quite stubborn and wait for the others to first. He didn't necessarily want to do this but he also didn't want to apologize before everyone else did, afraid they would drop him. If only he knew that a certain Dubois was waiting at his door step the entire night, waiting for the black haired boy to show up.

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Harveen wasn't necessarily mad at the group. She couldn't be, they didn't have to include her but they did. They chose to include her and now she was one of the reasons they were falling apart. If only she hadn't mentioned her having plans. If only she hadn't broken their trust my finding new friends before dropping them. If only she hadn't chosen to befriend them in the first place. Harveen slapped herself in the head for saying the last part, knowing she would be nowhere if it wasn't for Francesca Dubois. Harveen appreciated them deeply, but she couldn't friend them again. She just couldn't.

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AUTHORS NOTE

Well that was a lot.... I hope you guys like this chapter as much as I do. The chapters may not be as long as this all the time but I'm definitely trying to keep them longer.

Most of you probably already know this but I will be making this book into a series. The first one will be the apply fic part and the rest will be a main fanfic with all of these ocs in it, with additional cast as well! Book 2 will take place in the fall and winter after this book, book 3 will take place in spring and summer the next year, and book 4 will be them in college with them all getting married! Hopefully I won't lose interest so I can make it to the end of this series!

I love you all so much! Thank you for being with me throughout this amazing journey! This book is bery close to me and I love it sm. With this being said, updates should be faster as I will be more in the mood to write for it. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter and make sure to be active! Make sure to vote and comment!

Date: 10/2/22
Word count: 4,000
Love y'all, liv