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Chapter 1:



"How do you expect me to trust you when you continually disobey my every word?" Brian's voice continued to crescendo which each word that spat from his lips, his tone coated heavily with a thick Kentuckian accent. Jessica looked away from her father, trying desperately not to act on the urge of wanting to roll her eyes. She couldn't have cared less that her father was ripping her a new one; afterall, it had seemingly become an almost daily routine for the both of them. "Jessica Marie Littrell! Look at me when I'm speaking to you!"



"What?" Jessica spat back just as hatefully, hinting the slightest bit of boredom in her voice. She, unlike her father, had less of a southern accent. 'I can see your pissed off at me, but does it looklike I care?!'Her sapphire eyes burned with a deep passion as she glared deeply at her father, again, feeling the urge to speak that thought outloud. Of course, she quickly decided against it as it would only drag this pointless argument on longer then Jessica cared to be a part of it.



Brian sucked in a deep breath to keep grasp of his calm reserve. Clenching his hands into fists and then releasing them, he opened his mouth to continue. This time, his tone was low, and in a frightening sense, very menacing. "When I tell you to be home at a certain time, I expect you to be home! No ifs, ands, or buts about it!" Those words always seemed to be on repeat when they came out of Brian's mouth; he was beginning to wonder if he was wasting his time having to repeat them over and over.



"So I stayed out a little bit later then the stupid curfew you set for me!" The words rolled off Jessica's tongue in a sarcastic and careless manner and she slumped further into the couch, running her slender fingers through the golden blonde locks that rested well past her shoulders.



"Damnit, Jessica!"



Jessica nearly jumped in her seat as her father screeched at her; instead, she winced. Very rarely did her father ever speak like that towards her, or anyone she knew for that matter. Only in instances when Brian was extremely angry did he let obscenities escape his mouth. 'Well, this is obviously one of those times.'



"I don't know who you think you are staying out late and not coming home until noon the next day! What is your problem?"



Oh great. Now her father was really going off. Well, damnit, could he blame her for craving a social life? Sure, she'd defied his wishes and stayed out all night. She didn't tell him where she was going, nor did she phone home the entire time she was gone. And yeah, he'd caught her in a tight liplock on the front step with her boyfriend only moments before. But c'mon, he was overreacting now!



"The Hell I am overreacting, Jessica Marie!"



Oops, she actually let that thought slip past her mouth. Looking up again, Jessica's sapphire orbs caught sight of her father's deep blue ones (she'd inherited her eyes from her father; or so everyone claimed) and saw a hot fire burning within them. This time she chose to keep her mouth shut, for once she decided not to challenge her father with her smart remarks.



"Why do you always insist on doing the complete opposite of what I say? Do you purposely try to piss me off?" Brian rubbed at his temples in an aggitated manner, tapping his foot rapidly against the ground. He hated having to go through this, more then anything. He just didn't understand why he couldn't get his daughter to see why he was so upset in the first place. Why she always insisted on challenging his parental rights this way was beyond his comprehension.



It was a sharp knock on the front door that prevented the heated argument from continuing any further. "What?!" Brian yelled back over his shoulder, not moving an inch from the spot in which he stood towering in front of his daughter.



"Uncle Brian?" came the distant sounding reply, muffled from traveling through the oak door.



Brian paused a second, straining the slightest bit to place the voice, but immediately afterwards recognizing it as belonging to his "niece", Ana Dorough. He sighed, not the least bit happy about recieving company during one of these times. "Door's unlocked, Ana! Come on in!" he called back and crossed his arms over his chest. On the contrary, Jessica followed her father's suit and sighed also. Only she sighed in relief. Company arriving meant her means of escaping her father's berating. Surely her father wouldn't continue scolding her now that someone had arrived.



Only a mere second later did the door click and the two Littrells present watched as it was pushed open rather quickly. Bounding in came the short, 5'4" figure of Ana Dorough. "Hey, Uncle Brian!" she greeted with a smile as she walked over to him and gave him a quick hug. "Hey, Jess!"



"Hi..." Jessica mumbled back in reply as she watched Ana's father, Howie, walk slowly through the doorway and shut the door behind him. Seeing her cousin shooting her a questioning gaze for reasoning of her unwelcoming silence, Jessica shrugged back in reply, looking quickly to her father.



"We'll continue this later," Brian answered his daughter's silent questioning.



"Thank-God," Jessica muttered, jumping up from the couch and hurrying over to the stairs, Ana quickly following her pace. 'Stupid jerk!'she glared back over her shoulder in her father's direction and stomped up the stairs as loudly as her feet could pound against them.



*****



"Your dad mad at you?" Ana asked the obvious question, tagging a step behind Jessica as they made the ascent up the stairs.



"Obviously," Jessica spat, but immediately felt guilt course through her as Ana fell silent. She had no right to take her anger and frustration out on her cousin. "Sorry," she apologized, stopping long enough to let Ana be level on the same step. "Yeah, he's pissed."



"Well, what happened?" Ana was quick to inquire, seeing Jessica's sapphire orbs brightly ablaze. From what she'd heard through the doorway, it was all too obvious that father and daughter had another fall out.



"He didn't like the fact that I stayed out all night and didn't come home until noon today," Jessica answered casually, leading the way down the hallway towards her room.



"You say that as if it's no big deal," were Ana's proceeding words. "C'mon, Jess, you gotta at least understand why he's upset. I mean-"



"Why should it matter? I'm 18!"



"But he's your dad and he cares about you. That's what fathers are supposed to do--care and worry and all that sappy crap."



Jessica couldn't help but laugh at her cousin's sense of humor. "I guess it didn't help that he caught me in a major lip lock with Scott on the front step," she spoke dreamily of her boyfriend.



"Ya think?" Ana answered, letting the sarcasm drip from the corners of her lips. "No wonder he's so mad."



"Oh well. He'll get over it, he always does."



'Maybe you oughta give him a break...'Ana thought as they stopped outside a closed doorway.



"Oh great. Steph's being a singing freak again," Jessica groaned as she reached for the doorknob, hearing the music coming from inside and her twin sister belting out heartfelt notes along with the singer on the cd. And of all singers, it had to be Mariah Carey that Stephanie was listening to at the moment. "I wish I could just make you turn around / Turn around and see me cry / There's so much I need to say to you / So many reasons why / You're the only one who really knew me at all."Stephanie's voice became even louder along with the music as the door was pushed open.



"So take a look at me now," Ana joined in and watched as a surprised Stephanie turned away from the stereo, hair brush in her right hand. The two grinned at each other, continuing to sing in unison with Mariah. "There's just an empty space / There's nothing left here to remind me / Just the memory of your face / So take a look at me now / So there's just an empty space / But to wait for you is all I can do / When that's what I've gotta face."



"Take a good look at me now / 'Cause I'll still be standing here / And you coming back to me is against all odds / That's the chance I gotta take!" Stephanie finished, clenching her eyes shut tightly together, looking heavenward as she sang. It wasn't long before the two cousins busted up laughing.



"You look just like Uncle Brian when you do that," Ana giggled, plopping down on Stephanie's bed and making herself comfortable.



"Freaks," Jessica mumbled, kicking her shoes off against the wall. She then reached for one of her hair ties from the shelf on the wall and proceeded to pull her long hair into a low ponytail.



"Look who finally decided to come home," Stephanie mentioned, finally acknowledging her twin for the first time since she and Ana had entered the room.



"Shut your pie hole, hermana," Jessica glared childishly, referring to her sister in Spanish. It was thanks to their uncle and Ana that she knew how to speak Spanish, as Howie had taught Jessica at a rather young age. Since he was always speaking it to Ana when she was a baby, she was already fluent in the language. Now Jessica was moving right on up, which thrilled her to say the least because she got out of taking any foreign language credits in high school since she was "already" bilingual.



"So where were you all night?" Stephanie immediately went to interrogate, crossing her arms over her chest in the same manner that Brian always did. She could tell it pissed the Hell out of Jessica, but she couldn't help but worry about her sister. It was just one of the many jobs that came with being someone's sister, more so being their twin. "No, no! Wait! Let me guess! You were out with Scott?"



"Yes, and it's none of your business."



Stephanie rolled her eyes in response. "You love to make Dad mad at you, don't ya?"



"Yep. It's my personal goal every waking minute of the day."



"Obviously..."



"Just drop the subject!"



"Awww! How sweet! Sibling rivalry!" Ana cooed in a playful manner, but her voice died out immediately when the Twins glared in her direction. Soon, though, she couldn't help but laugh.



"What's so funny?" Jessica and Stephanie questioned in unison.



"You two are what's so funny," Ana answered. "It still amazes me that you two look identical, especially when you argue. 'Cause then you just turn into one big identical blob of-"



"Ana, shut up!"



"You even yell in unison-"



"Don't make me call for Uncle Howie!" Stephanie threatened playfully.



"And what do you think my dad's gonna do?" Ana rolled her eyes. "He'll just ignore you." Arrogantly, she flicked part of her deep chocolate hair over her shoulder and stretched her legs. But in truth she was only joking. The twinkle in her chocolate eyes that matched her hair was enough proof of that. Ana wasn't the type of person who had been brought up to think she was better then others. She respected everyone and everything, treating them how she expected to be treated, and she didn't take the little things in life for granted...not after what had happened just a little over a year before.



"Do keep in mind, primita, that you are in ourroom and you are making yourself comfortable on herbed. She willkick you out if tempted," Jessica was quick to say, collapsing lazily on her own bed.



"¡Te amo también prima!" Ana shot back and stuck her tongue out. Jessica glared slightly but looked away as if to say, "shut up!". Grinning in triumph, Ana unconciously twirled a strand of hair around her finger. It had suddenly gotten so quiet in the room that it seemed like a thick blanket of silence had draped itself over the atomostphere of the upstairs. "Oh!" she suddenly blurted, sitting up straight with the speed of a bolt of lightning. "Dad got the house!"



"You mean that old plantation out located on one of those backroads? Lots of trees around and such?" Stephanie inquired, her eyes showing sudden interest. Both her and Jessica somewhat remembered their uncle talking about his proposition of wanting to buy the old place. They didn't know much about it, though.



"Yeah. He finalized the deal the other day. I told him he was absolutely crazy when he told me he was actually going to go through with it. And it cost him a fortune too," Ana explained in a slightly accented drawl. "But he really doesn't seem to care. In fact, he's thrilled about it."



"Why did he want to buy it anyway?"



"Claims he wants to move away from the hassles of living in the city."



"So he decides to buy a plantation?"



"Go figure. That's my dad for ya."



"You're right. Uncle Howie is crazy."



Jessica tossed a pillow at her cousin's head in a playful manner, trying to forget about her and her father's argument. "Have you even seen this place yet?" she asked, seeing the look of disgust on Ana's face and trying not to laugh.



"Yes, I have, and that's why I think he's absolutely crazy! He took me to see it before we came here. The outside looks horrid, and the inside...well, it's not as bad as the outside, but geez. Then dad goes, "Ana, I know it doesn't look all that great right now, but you and I are gonna fix it up!" Ha! He actually expects me to help him with this. Personally, I think the place is a waste of time and I was urged to tell him to just spend some more of his money on hiring some professionals to fix the place up for him, but...I couldn't say that to him. He just looked so...proud of the purchase he made. He looked the happiest he's been in a long time..."



"But?"



"But that still doesn't mean I can't think he's absolutely crazy for buying it!"



Stephanie laughed as Jessica tossed another pillow at Ana's head. "You're terrible!"



"I have my reasons," Ana grinned, throwing the pillow right back. "But I think that's the reason why my dad and I came over. He wants to tell Uncle Brian about it. Also, something about wanting to get all the guys together to help us start "fixing" it up and what not."



"Uncle AJ, Kevin, and Uncle Nick?" Jessica clarified. She found herself thinking rather hard about the last time the guys had been together, or rather talked to each other. It had surely been a while, she knew. Of course, they all stayed in contact, but with each one going their seperate ways and having their seperate lives, staying up to date wasn't always easy.



"That would be them. He wants to get them all together for a reunion of some sorts. What can I say? My dad is wierd sometimes."



"No wonder you came out the way you did," Jessica replied, unable to resist the temptation to tease the younger teenager.



"Just wait 'til you get stuck in that creepy house with all those old men! I'm not rescuing you," Ana declared with a twinkle of delight in her eyes.



"Gross!" Jessica groaned.



"Hey, maybe a reunion is what our families need?" Stephanie finally concluded then settled back for another hour of social gabbing.



*****



Howie found himself collapsing onto Brian's couch as he watched his daughter quickly follow Brian's daughter up the large staircase. "Having a bit of trouble, huh?" he mentioned, leaving room open for Brian to discuss it if he wanted to. He didn't want to nosey his way into Brian's family business if he wasn't welcome. But he could tell by the expression on his close friend's face that the man was the slightest bit peeved by something. The argument he and Ana had heard through the door was only evidence of such.



"I don't understand her, D! I really don't!" Brian exclaimed, throwing his hands into the air to signal his defeat. His voice dripped with the sense of stress he was feeling, and he, too, collapsed onto the couch next to his friend. Growling out in exaggeration, he softly banged the back of his head against the back of the couch. Any harder and his headache would surely grow. "Matt never gave us this much trouble. And Stephanie, geez, besides looks, her and Jessica are total opposites! I tell ya, I just don't understand it!"



"I'm still not getting what you are talking about, bro," Howie slowly replied, despite the slight idea he had in mind. He knew Brian's ranting had something to do with Jessica. "What happened?"



"Has Ana ever given you a bunch of trouble?" Brian asked bluntly.



"No, but then again, she hasn't turned 18 yet. What'd Jess do this time?"



"Let's see, after I specifically told her to be home by 11:30, to call me to let me know of any additional plans and if she was going to be a little bit late getting home, she decided to stay out all night and not come home until noon today, nor did she call me once last night," Brian said in a rush, using his hands to make gestures as he spoke. "And what's even worse, when she finally decided to come home, I caught her in a majorliplock on the front step with Scott!" Howie couldn't keep himself from chuckling at the amount of emphasis Brian used on the word "major". "I don't find this the least bit funny, D."



And Brian was dead serious as he said that, which only made Howie laugh a little harder. "No, I know it's not funny. But what I dothink is funny is how you seem to be making more of a big deal over the fact that you caught your daughter making out with her boyfriend."



"So? I can forbid her to date!"



"'Rok, she's 18."



"Quit reminding me..."



"She's not a little girl anymore," Howie continued to chuckle, watching as Brian frowned at him. "But I do understand why you are upset at her for staying out all night and not calling home at all. I'd tan Ana's hide if she ever did that."



"Thank-you!" Brian exclaimed once again, sinking down in his seat. "But, ya see, Jessica doesn't seem to understand why I'm upset. Nor does she everseem to understand my reasoning. What the heck am I doing wrong?!"



"Nothing, Brian. Nothing at all. She's just rebelling."



"I shouldn't have let her hang around AJ so much when she was little."



"I think Aje would take offense if he heard you say that."



Brian sighed. "Sometimes I just don't know what to do with her anymore. And so many times I've been ready to ship her off to go live with her mom-"



"Ouch," Howie winced.



"But the thing is, I don't want to. I don't want to seem like a bad parent who can't take control of his own kids."



"If it makes you feel any better, you're a good dad and you're not a bad parent. Like I said, Jess is rebelling."



"Lucky for you, Ana isn't doing that."



"Yet."



"Anyway, enough with my ranting...," Brian said, getting back into the habit of rubbing his temples in a furious manner. 'Stupid headache'he thought with a grimace. Standing up, he motioned for Howie to follow him into the kitchen. "What brings you here today?" he asked casually, heading for the fridge and opening it's door to retrieve two sodas for himself and Howie.



"Good news," Howie replied with excitement, his eyes lighting up as he accepted the soda. Brian raised his eyebrows in question and Howie continued. "Remember that old plantation I was thinking about purchasing out on Shelton Rd.?"



"Uh...yeah," Brian answered, actually having to think about it for a second. He was still unsure about it.



"Well, I closed the deal two days ago."



"You actually bought it?" Brian clarified before popping two asprin into his mouth and taking a sip of his soda.



"Yeah. Finished the paper work when I closed the deal. It's all mine now."



"D, don't take offense, but I think you're crazy for buying that place."



"You and Ana are just alike."



"How so?"



"She told me the same thing."



"Well, I like to think I have a positive influence on my niece."



"Positive influence? Ha!" Howie joked.



"Have you found a crew to hire to fix the place up?" Brian wondered outloud with interest. The two walked the length of the kitchen, through the back door, and stepped out onto the patio.



"No," Howie shook his head and decided to let loose of his idea. "I was actually thinking of tackling the project myself."



"You?!" Brian laughed.



Howie glared. "And what are you trying to imply amigo?"



"I hope you have some pretty tall ladders to help you out!" Brian continued to cackle.



"Very funny, Mr. Comedian. I'm laughing...really, I am..." Howie rolled his eyes.



"Sorry, D. It's just that I never expected you to ever take on something so big as fixing up an old place like what you bought. Why not just hire a crew to fix it up for you?"



"For one, I find pride in my purchase. But also, the sooner I move out of the place Ana and I are in right now, the better I'll be. The two of us can live in the old house while I'm fixing it, instead of having to live where we do now. I just...I can't handle living there anymore. I know it's been over a year since she's been gone, but it's still too painful. I just need to get away. A fresh start, ya know?"



Brian nodded, not knowing what exactly to say to make his friend feel better at the moment. He knew how hard of a year it had been for Howie, ever since his wife, Ana's mother, passed away. It had damaged Howie more then anyone could see or comprehend and Brian thoroughly understood why Howie wanted to make the move. Although, he didn't understand why Howie chose to purchase this old plantation. Maybe it was just his idea of a "fresh start".



"I got to thinking when I was signing the papers the other day," Howie started to speak again.



"I hope you weren't thinking too hard," Brian joked, hoping to ease a bit of the tension Howie was feeling and trying to lighten the situation.



Howie offered a crooked smile. "Very funny, 'Rok..."



Brian grinned.



"What would you think about calling the fellas up and seeing about getting them to come here as a sort of reunion for all of us, and at the same time, give a helping hand on starting the fix up of the plantation?"



For a second, Brian paused, surprised that Howie had suggested such a thing. It seemed like forever since the last time the five of them had been together. The only one Brian had seen most recently, besides Howie, was his cousin Kevin, but that was mostly for the fact that they were family. It had been months since he'd seen Nick, and even longer since he'd seen AJ. They'd all been so busy with their personal lives that none of them had the time to call for a "reunion" as Howie had just suggested. But Brian couldn't deny the fact that the idea was appealing; it would be great to get together as five brothers again.



"Earth to Brian."



"Sorry. I was thinking."



"Anything to say about what I just said?"



"Well, you know I'm more then willing to help you out on fixing up the plantation as long as you need me to. As for trying to get the fellas out here...I'm all for it. It's been too long since we've all been together."



"I couldn't agree with you more."



Brian opened his mouth to say more, but was well caught before getting the chance when they suddenly heard a loud voice call out from somewhere within the confines of the house. "Where ya at, pops?!" Brian's ears instantly perked up with a smile as he recognized his eldest son's voice. Seconds were all they had to wait before the door to the patio was thrown open and out stepped a twenty-three year old version of Brian himself. In addition, carried in Matthew Littrell's arms, was a two year old boy adorning sandy blonde hair atop his head and dressed in a yellow t-shirt and a pair of dark denim "Pooh" overalls.



"Papa! Papa!" the little boy cried out with excitement the moment he laid his eyes on Brian. Whimpering, he squirmed in Matthew's arms until his father let him down and he went barreling towards his grandfather. "Papa!!!"



Brian laughed as his grandson threw his tiny arms around his legs and immediately begged to be picked up. "Bailey, my boy!" Brian continued to grin as he smothered two rosey cheeks with tons and tons of kisses.



"Come wid Daddy!" Bailey announced happily, pointing towards Matthew.



"I see you sure did!"



"Hey, Uncle Howie!" Matthew greeted as he reached to offer his uncle a hug.



"Matthew Jordan Littrell. You're looking more and more like your dad when he was younger," Howie replied, returning the hug.



"What are you trying to imply, Dorough?" Brian immediately questioned with humor.



"Uncle Howie's just nicely trying to imply that you're an old fart, pops," Matthew teased his father, nudging him in the ribs to add to the joke.



"Well if that's the case, then Uncle Howie needs to keep in mind that he's older then your old fart of a father."



"Stinky papa!" Bailey giggled, trying to pinch his nose closed.



"No, stinky Uncle Howie," Brian immediately corrected his grandson with a grin.



"Hey pops, did Jess ever make it home?" Matthew asked after a few seconds of watching his father coo at his son.



Brian's eyes turned a shade darker. "Yeah, about fifteen minutes ago."



"That would be noon."



"Exactly."



Matthew sighed and rolled his eyes, understanding his father's anger. "I'ma go talk to her."



"Daddy no leave," Bailey instantly whimpered, shaking his head.



"Hey Bailey, Papa bought you some new balls to play with! They're already waiting out on the big backyard for you! How about you come with Papa and Uncle Howie to go play with them?" Brian suggested to distract Bailey as Matthew entered the house again.



"New balls?" Bailey asked with excitement.



"Yep! New balls!" Brian grinned. "Let's go!"



*****



Matthew hurried quickly through his father's house and found himself slowing his pace a notch as he began to ascend the large staircase that led upstairs. As an old habit, Matthew's eyes studied both walls as he made each step; mounted on the walls on either side of him was an enormous collection of photographs of the whole family, pictures of Matthew throughout the years, his twin sisters, his son Bailey -- several of he, Bailey, and Ariane, pictures of his father together with his cousin Kevin and the three other guys he knew as his "uncles". Some of them were really old pictures from back when Matthew's father was still part of that music group...the Backstreet Boys.



He grinned at that moment as he stopped for a second to study those pictures carefully. Brian, his father, was so young in those pictures, and in a select few he was twenty-three--Matthew's current age. They really did resemble each other at that age. 'It's like looking at myself in a mirror'Matthew thought. Though the more Matthew thought about it, the more he realized his father hadn't changed all that much; at the age of 47, Brian still looked the same in many ways, except for the fact that he was starting to sprout gray hairs and everyone loved to give him a hard time about it. But Brian was still the same Brian.



The group pictures of the Backstreet Boys that were mounted on the walls had to be, by far, Matthew's favorites as he remembered when he was younger his father would sit him down and tell him numerous stories about him and the fellas on their "rise to stardom". Stories of traveling the world, pulling pranks with Uncle Nick and Uncle AJ, getting in trouble by Kevin, all of the fans--the never ending numbers of them, being mobbed by the fans, the concerts--His father's stories were endless and always replaced bedtime books at night. It was as if the memories were his own.



Bringing himself back from his little trip down memory lane to his early childhood, Matthew continued up the stairs. Further towards the top, his eyes fell upon pictures of the one person he figured his father would have taken down. Matthew's mother. Even after the divorce being final for going on two years now, Brian still hadn't taken the pictures of Leighanne down. Matthew just didn't understand his father's reasoning with that. But he never chose to ask his father about it; it wasn't a subject Brian chose to discuss easily.



Matthew shrugged the thought away and reached the top step upon hearing a loud round of laughter ring through the upstairs. He had to roll his eyes at the sound for he knew just how loud his sisters could be and considering the fact that his Uncle Howie was there, then that most defenitely meant his cousin Ana was there, also. Three girls in one room at the same time meant ear-shattering laughter as he had just heard. "Figures," he muttered with a grin and headed down the hall, stopping shortly outside a closed door. "Locked?" he thought outloud when he tried the handle but found that it wouldn't turn. That seemed just a bit odd to him as the twins never locked their door, but who knew...they could be unpredictable at times. "Having privacy issues?" his words came from beneath his breath and he raised his fist to knock on the door. Upon his persistant knocking, all sound from inside ceased to exist and he raised an eyebrow.



"What?!" a loud voice screeched from inside. It belonged to Jessica; just the person he wanted to speak to.



"What's with having your door locked?" Matthew called back.



"Who is it?"



"Your one and only favorite big brother!"



"Matt?!" Jessica and Stephanie screeched and he could hear one of them scrambling towards the door. He didn't have to wait long though as the door was thrown wide open and he was nearly tackled to the floor as Jessica threw her arms around him with excitement. "Matt!"



"Jess, Matt can't breath!" Matthew gasped as he pried Jessica's arms away from him.



"Sorry," Jessica apologized sheepishly as Stephanie pushed her out of the way. "Hey!"



"You big jerk! You never come by anymore!" Stephanie scolded playfully as she punched him in the arm.



"You're becoming too tough for me," Matthew grinned. "Sorry, you know I've been busy."



"Too busy for your family?"



"Don't go pulling that!"



"I know, I know...I'm only joking."



"So we've got this big ol' family reunion going on right in this very room, and who gets left out?" Ana spoke outloud as if she were speaking to no one in paticular. "Well, I see no one truly cares about poor lil' Ana...hmpf...how sweet..."



Matthew chuckled as he turned his gaze towards the source of the third voice. "Hey, Shorty!"



"What's this? Have I actually been acknowledged?" Ana stated in mock disbelief.



"Yes, well, I can't forget about my favorite little cousin, now can I?" Matthew asked and he went to sit next to the short brunette on Stephanie's bed. "Just thought I'd toy with ya and see how long I could make you feel unloved. I see I'm losing my touch, though."



"Obviously."



"Ha ha...ha. Actually, I was wondering if you and Steph could leave the room for a few minutes? I need to speak to Jess alone."



"Hey, this is my room too, ya know. You can't just kick me out!" Stephanie exclaimed, curious as to what her brother wanted to talk to their sister about.



"I brought Bailey along," Matthew replied, knowing it would make his other sister happy. "He's out in the back yard with Pops and Uncle Howie. You and Ana go out there while I talk to Jess. It isn't open for disscussion," he added.



"You're such a loser," Stephanie answered with a smirk, then left the room while motioning for Ana to follow her out the door.



Matthew was forced to roll his eyes as he watched his younger sister and cousin leave the room and he shut the door behind them. Turning around, he noticed Jessica sitting against the wall on her bed, looking at him with a questioning expression and he leaned against the door, crossing his arms over his chest. "I want an explanation," he immediately said, his eyes narrowing the slightest bit and his voice ever the more serious. If anything, he could see it caught Jessica off guard.



"What do you mean you want an explanation?" It was defenitely a lame attempt at trying to act innocent, but Jessica couldn't have cared less at the moment. Somehow she should have figured that this sort of conversation would have come up between her and her brother. Matthew was just a younger version of their father and sometimes they acted exactly identical. It bothered her extensively.



"You know exactly what I mean, Jessica Marie," Matthew repeated, the sterness rolling off his tongue.



"Dad got to you too, huh?"



"Yeah, Pops got to me too! Jess, I didn't come up here to start yellin' at ya, because Lord knows you don't need to hear it anymore today, but do you even realize how freaked out you had Pops last night?"



"No...why don't you tell me..." Jessica replied with sarcasm.



Matthew frowned as he went to take a seat next to his sister. "Hear me out, would ya? You really oughta let up on Pops. Last night was not fair at all-"



"And what's that supposed to mean?"



"The fact that you stayed out all night without even callin' to let anyone know if you were ok or where you were."



"I was with some friends."



"And you were also with Scott."



"So? I'm 18."



"Then act like it once in a while. You had Pops worried sick last night when you didn't come home. He kept callin' me every hour askin' if I'd heard from ya or seen ya. I'm tellin' ya, Jess, he was flippin' off the hook."



"Well, he needs to chill out then," Jessica scuffed.



"And you need to grow up."



"Why do you always take his side?"



"I'm not takin' anyone's side. I'm just trying to look out for you and your safety, the same way Pops is."



"I'm sure..." Jessica's voice trailed. "He's only trying to ruin my life-"



Matthew chuckled in a dangerously low voice. "See, that's where you're wrong. Contrary to popular belief, sis, he makes up these "rules", which you think "ruin your life", because he doesn't want to see you get hurt. Pops loves you alot, you're his daughter, his pride and joy, his-"



"Matt, stop trying to be overly sentimental."



Rolling his eyes, Matthew continued. "Well, do you at least understand what I'm saying?"



"Yes. Dad wants to ruin my life because he cares about me alot and he would just die if something happened to me."



"Something along those lines...and you say I have sentimental issues?"



"You're a jerk, you know that?" Jessica glared, leaning against her brother in an attempt to knock him off the bed. No success of course.



"But that just makes you love me all the more."



"You think too highly of yourself, bro."



"Your point?"



"No point."



"So, think you can swallow your pride and go apologize to Pops?"



"Not a chance."



"Jess-"



"No."



"Fine, suit yourself. But don't come running to me every time he "ruins" your life."



"Who says I do?" Jessica stood up to stretch her arms, staring at Matthew with a challenging look. She knew Matthew wasn't going to give up unless she agreed to make an apology towards their father. And even though she believed he didn't deserve one, she figured it still gave her a chance to get out that night. After all, there was no way she was planning on spending her Saturday night inside the house when she could be out doing better things. She would sneak out if she had to...