Three

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A week later and I find the stay less irritating that originally thought. I haven't spoken to my mother much but speak to the girls every day. Facetime has become my best friend as I know no one and have no tour guide. My father and Annabell work during the week and Reece goes to daycare. Maverick is never home, just like my father and Annabell had said on the first night. He's gone by the time I wake up and gets home after I fall asleep. I thought my mother had said he was one of the reasons I'm here... yet I've seen him once and at that time he was too exhausted to stay and catch up with me. Now the only thing I find myself interested in is what the hell he does for work. There's no way it's a normal job when he works those crazy hours. Sure, they say if he's not working he's with his friends but if he has a normal job there's a uniform and I doubt he takes clothes with him every day. Plus when I do see him come home, he doesn't have a bag which means he didn't take anything with him. He has to have a job with no uniform. He can wear whatever he wants but what kind of job is that? And why is it so important that I don't know? Why is it being hidden from me? It just doesn't make any sense. I don't even know who my brother is anymore.

I currently sit on my bed, trying to pick apart the clues I've been able to grasp. Although it's not much, it's something. My fingers tap along the length of the keyboard, trying to find something else to write down as my phone begins to vibrate against the wooden bedside table. I grin at the caller ID, accepting the FaceTime call and holding the phone up.

"Hey, guys." I smile, Daniella and Paislee showing up on my screen.

"Heyy!" they respond in unison.

"No one's home again?" Daniella asks, giving me the 'I know the answer' look.

I shake my head, sighing heavily. "Nope. Home alone again. I'm trying to figure out Maverick's job."

"Maverick's job?" Paislee asks, her brows furrowed.

"Why?" Daniella asks.

"Because they're always so secretive about it. He leaves before I'm awake and gets home after I'm asleep. They say when he's not working he's with his friends but the majority of jobs have uniforms and he wears whatever he wants. Plus when he comes home he doesn't have anything with him like he's been working somewhere. It's just him. Something's going on and I wanna know what it is." I inform them.

They sigh.

"Hadlee, maybe you're thinking too far into this." Daniella says, laughing a little at my dedication to something so out there.

I shake my head. "No, Dani, there's something going on and I wanna know what it is."

"Come on, girl doesn't your dad have a pool or something that you can relax by since you're there alone?!" Paislee asks. "Are you really that bored that you have to dive into Maverick's life?"

I sigh, shrugging. "I mean, there is a pool. I guess I can go try to get a tan."

"Yeah, do that and everyone will think you went someone hot and exotic." Dani says, giggling at her hand motions.

I shake my head, laughing softly. "You're too much."

"Only for you babe." she says, winking playfully.

"Hey, where's Cami? She's never there when we're Facetiming." I ask, furrowing my brows now.

"We haven't really seen her." Paislee shrugs.

"Yeah, y'know how it is. She's closer to you than she is to us. She doesn't really hang out with us unless you're there too." Daniella shrugs.

Stopping for a second, I realize they're right. Camila and I have been friends for a longer period of time. We met when we were in elementary school and met the other girls in seventh grade. We all connected instantly but it's obvious Camila and I have been the closer ones. Sometimes I think about how much it may affect them but they never seem to mind.

"I really hope you guys don't feel a certain way about all that. Cami and I never mean to-"

"Don't worry about it, Lee." Daniella cuts me off, shrugging.

"Yeah, we don't really care. We've got each other." Paislee adds.

"Plus, we know you guys have known each other for like, ever." Dani laughs, shrugging.

I grin, nodding. "Thank you for understanding."

It gets quiet before Dani speaks up again. "Alright, we're gonna go to the mall. Can we talk to you later?" she asks.

I nod, hanging up a moment later and setting my phone down before turning my attention to the computer again. "What are you up to Mav?" I whisper to myself.

I shake my head, starting another FaceTime call and waiting for her to answer.

"Hey!" she says, her face appearing on the screen.

"Hey!" I exclaim. "You changed your hair!"

She nods, twirling her hair a bit. "Yeah, I did it yesterday. I wanted some color for the summer."

"Pink is definitely your color." I say, winking playfully.

She laughs. "I mean, it's just the ends and it'll be cut off by the time you get back but it's all good." she says, shrugging.

I giggle, understanding her point. She gets her hair trimmed every two months anyway.

"Anyways, how are things over there? Boring as hell?" she asks.

I nod. "Yeah, I'm trying to find out what Maverick's up to but without seeing him. Or getting any information."

"Why are you so worried about it?" she asks, furrowing her brows.

"Because it's the only interesting thing going on around here. I have no friends, no one to introduce me to anyone and I'm home alone all the time." I shrug. "Plus, I know he's up to something he shouldn't be. I just know it. And I wanna be the one to figure it out."

She sighs. "I mean, I get it. You're super bored and it's something to distract your mind from thinking about how bored you are."

I nod, rolling my eyes. "Well, that too."

She grins, laughing at my confession. "Alright, I just wanted to call and check in. I've gotta take Jannie to the park."

I smile. "Okay, tell her I said hi. And have fun."

"Will do." she says, nodding once in understanding and hanging up.

I sigh, throwing my phone down onto the bed and focusing on the computer again, wondering when I'll get another clue... if I will at all.

Finding myself wracking my brain for answers for another half hour, I shake off the thoughts, forcing myself off the bed and to the dresser where I grab my bathing suit, stripping from my clothes and putting it on. I then grab a towel from the closet in case I decide to go in and make my way outside, my sunglasses placed over my eyes. I lay on the lounge chair, closing my eyes against the harsh light even through the glasses.

I accept the peaceful sounds, hearing the birds chirping, the light breeze against the trees and the water from the pool pump keeping my mind busy from other sounds.

After almost a half hour, a car door slams by the road, sounding closer than if at another home. Soon enough, the screen door slides open, slamming shut only a few seconds later, the clearing of a throat making my head turn and my eyes open out of instinct. Maverick.

"Can I help you?" I exhale, moving back to my original position.

"What the hell are you doing?" he asks.

"It's called tanning, you should try it sometime." I tell him, letting out another breath.

"Yeah, I know what tanning is, Hadlee." he begins. "But tanning doesn't mean dressing like that."

"Well, I'm by the pool in eighty-five-degree weather and majority of the time when that's the case, you wear a bathing suit." I inform him as if he doesn't know better, smiling sarcastically.

"Why are you being such a bitch?" he asks, furrowing his brows.

I scoff, shaking my head.

"I'm serious, Hadlee, what the hell is wrong with you?" he spat.

"Oh my god, Maverick, chill." I roll my eyes, groaning. "You're so fucking dramatic."

This causes him to take a double take, not believing my word choice. "What you're language, Hadlee."

I scoff yet again. "No way. You're not in charge of me."

"Nobody lets you talk like that, Hadlee." he says angrily.

"Actually, no one gives a shit. The rule is I can use whatever language I want as long as I don't use foul language towards mom, dad, Alejandro or Annabell." I smirk, shrugging back into my seat.

"Or me, smartass." he says, snatching the glasses painfully off my face.

"Hey!" I exclaim, reaching up and trying to snatch them back to fail miserably.

"I wanna know why you have such an attitude towards me, Hadlee. Give me a damn answer!" he exclaims, holding them out of my reach.

"Maybe if you weren't gone all the time, I wouldn't want to be such a bitch to you." I inform him, finally grabbing my glasses and placing them on my face, leaning back.

He watches me for a moment, probably wondering where the hell I got the nerve to stand up to him and spit out whatever it is I'm thinking.

I take this opportunity to nonchalantly glance at his friend, black supras cover his feet, jeans loosely surround his legs and a white tee holds his body. A red hat sits upon his head. A light grin plays on his lips at our argument and his eyes seem to be set on the ground.

I glance over at Maverick now, getting tired of the silence. "Are you going to introduce me to your friend or does he just get to stare at me?"

"Oh, um," Maverick stutters, looking back and forth between us. "Hadlee, this is Justin. Justin, this is my stubborn ass little sister, Hadlee."

"It's nice to meet you." I inform him, extending my hand politely. "Justin."

A smirk appears on his lips. "Hello, Hadlee."

I smile, leaning back in my chair again, noticing his tone of voice is deeper than I initially expected.

"Alright, well, either way, we're going to be out here and I'm not comfortable with my little sister wearing next to nothing while being around my friends." he says, gesturing to the area around us and me.

"Are you serious?" I ask, narrowing my covered eyes at him.

"Uhh, yeah." he nods, letting me know he wouldn't be any more serious.

"Too bad." I inform him, shaking my head at his nonsense.

"I'm serious Hadlee, cover up." he claims, snatching the sunglasses off my face again.

"Oh my god. Seriously, Maverick, you're fucking annoying." I say, standing and grabbing my things before walking past him, nudging him harshly with my shoulder. "I like it better when you're not fucking home."

"What the hell, Hadlee?" he says, unable to believe my attitude towards him.

"Dude, just let her go." Justin tells him. "She's obviously not in the mood to mess with you."

"I don't get why she's being like that." Maverick says, his voice drifting as I stomp up the stairs.

Before long, I find myself stepping out of the shower and putting on a pair of shorts a band tee.I lay on the bed, covering up with the blanket I brought from home and turning on my tv, Netflix coming across the screen as I search for a new show to watch.

Settling on a show that I'll probably connect with on a spiritual level, I chose Everything Sucks! And set the remote down, letting the show take over my attention.

Thank god for Netflix, right?

***

Hey guys!

Here's this weeks chapter.

don't forget to vote and comment down below if you wish.

QUESTIONS:

1. What was your favorite and least favorite parts of this chapter?

2. What do you think of Hadlee's research?

3. What do you think will happen next?

much love,

shan:)