Chapter 15

"How dare you keep information like this from me? I'm your mother, Darryl! I should have been the first to know!"

I winced as Cheryl Braxton's shrill voice echoed over the house, filling the place with the tense vibes that she seemed to just radiate. Hurricane Cheryl (that's how Rick referred to her) had hit just under an hour ago and ruined all the peace that I had been working on maintaining over the past week since I'd gone to the party in Mangrove River.

For the last several days, things had been great. Everyone was happy, and I had been trying incredibly hard to keep it that way. I'd been going to school every day, attending all of my lessons and been keeping on top of all my work with help from Jett. When I wasn't doing that, I was balancing time between my family and my friends. That was far easier said than done. It was difficult having to keep my friendship with the River kids secret from Brax. The more time I spent with them - with Brody - the more I found myself wanting to stay around longer.

My friends hadn't been too badly affected by the aftermath of party. A few of Brody's mates had been caught by the police, and so had Stella, who had tripped over when running away. They were questioned, but got away with a warning. None of them revealed anything and the members of the Chatworth gang who'd been hauled into the police station had remained just as tight-lipped. No one was giving the game away to the coppers.

Amy had ended up getting lost somewhere in the bush and told me that she'd not been able to get home until the sun had started rising on the following morning. She laughed and joked about it, but I couldn't help feeling that she must have been pretty frightened at the time. I wouldn't have dealt well with being all alone, lost in the woods overnight.

"Weren't you scared?" I asked her.

"Scared?" She grinned, brushing it off like it was nothing. "Lex, I was terrified. I thought the Australian Bush Monster was going to run at me any second."

Everyone in the group had some battle scars to show off. Mostly there was just bruises and scratches, but some of the boys were much worse off. Jackson looked awful. He had a black eye that he thought looked pretty cool. Another guy had actually been grazed by a pocket knife. It was pretty full on.

Amazingly enough, I hadn't seen or heard from the Chatworth gang since. The Hodges hadn't been showing up to school. Every lesson, their seats were empty. The rest of their crew were there, but they kept their distance, and we kept ours. The week break was well needed. It was nice not having to be constantly on guard.

Over the last few days, things had been quiet. I loved surfing and chilling out with Brody and the River boys and going to see Olivia whenever I could. At home, life was sweet. Well... at least it had been. Before Cheryl turned up out of the blue. I'd known that sooner or later I'd have to face the mother of my half-brothers. Our meeting was inevitable. I just hadn't been prepared for it to be today.

Mrs Braxton had been informed of my existence by her nattering neighbours in Mangrove River. The locals there had seen me hanging around the place with Brody and Amy and Matt. My name had spread like wildfire through the town. Once Cheryl had caught wind of the mention of me, she had rushed to Summer Bay and been banging on the door with a face full of fury, demanding an explanation. To say that she was unhappy with how this had all been handled was a gross understatement. Brax and Heath had decided to keep the whole thing from her. She was livid and she made sure we knew about it by screaming the place down.

My brother's had all tried to get me to leave the house when she turned up by encouraging me to go out with my mates or something, but I'd stayed hidden just behind the corner around the door, out of sight. It was wrong to eavesdrop, but I didn't think that really applied when the subject matter was me.

"Mum-" Heath tried to jump in as his demonic mother ranted until she was blue in the face. He was quickly interrupted.

"What I want to know is why I had to find out about this... this..." Cheryl scrunched up her face, struggling for the right word to address me by, "... new addition to the family by a load of gossiping neighbours!"

"Mum, can you just calm down?" Heath practically begged, his palms up as if he was trying to domesticate a wild animal. He added under his breath, "crazy dragon lady."

Cheryl slapped him repeatedly away from her with every word. "Don't you tell me to calm down, Heath!"

Kyle unwisely chose then to step in, hoping to divert her attention. "Mrs Braxton, if you'd just give us a chance to explain everything to you then I'm sure we could straighten this whole mess out. Things have been a bit full on lately, but Alex is a really great girl, and if you just gave her a chance-"

"Oh, well of course you'd stick up for the blow-in." Cheryl snapped. "Considering you were the last leech to wash up onto the doorstep."

"Cheryl, that's out of order." Ricky bristled angrily, "Kyle has been a part of this family ever since we found out about him. You know that."

"He's clearly more part of this family than I am!" Cheryl fumed.

"Do we really have to go over this whole thing with Kyle again? They've all accepted him," Phoebe pointed out. "So why can't you?"

Cheryl ignored her and narrowed her sharp little eyes to glare at her sons, most especially Brax.

"I always said you boys were too soft for your own good." She rumbled like a thunder storm. "Opening your doors to the offspring's of that horrible man. That monster. Why should my boys have to pay for all of his mistakes?"

The word stung like a smack across the face. She had called me and Kyle mistakes. It hurt more because it was true. Products of a meaningless affair. Reminders to Cheryl that her husband clearly never really loved her. That he slept with at least two other woman - resulting in two unwanted kids. Mistakes. That's what we were.

"Cheryl, that's enough!" Ricky defended, having reached her limit. She pointed fiercely at the door. "If you're only here to cause a scene then you can leave. Now."

"Had I wanted your opinion, Erica, I'd have asked for it. This has nothing to do with you. It's between me and my boys." Cheryl fired back at her venomously.

"Oi! Don't talk to her like that, mum." Brax intervened, throwing her a cautionary scowl.

"I'll talk to her however I like if I have something to say." His mum sniffed in response. "I think I'm entitled that much, considering everything you've kept from me and put me through!"

Brax's eyebrows knitted together in annoyance. "Oh, settle down, would ya, mum?"

"'Settle down'?" Mrs Braxton screamed back. "Is that what you'd do if you're own sons were keeping you out of massive family decisions?"

"She's not a decision, mum. Alex is our sister." Heath interjected.

"Ha! Sister!" Mrs Braxton snorted bitterly. "That girl is not my family."

Brax slammed his hand down onto the table with a frightening bang and lost it. Big time.

"GIVE IT A REST, EH?!" He shouted, louder and more ferocious than I'd ever heard him talk to anyone ever before.

The outburst was enough to scare away anything within a five mile radius. It left me wanting to cower away in a corner somewhere. I stumbled back from the door and silently thanked god that Brax was my brother and not my enemy. Imagine being on the receiving end of all that terrifying fury? The idea made me shiver.

In the quiet that followed, Mrs Braxton, almost completely unshaken, placed her hands on her hips.

"I want to meet her."

"No." Brax answered tersely.

Cheryl looked offended. "Yes!"

"No."

"It's okay. I don't mind."

I was surprised by the sound of my own voice. I hadn't even meant to speak. Why had I? I was even more taken aback when I slunk around the corner into the kitchen. I couldn't even feel my feet. How had I managed to move?

My brothers all reacted similarly when they noticed me sneak into view. Kyle was looking at me apologetically, as if feeling sorry that I'd overheard the entire conversation. Brax sighed and warily faced the ceiling obviously wishing I'd stayed in hiding. Heath shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck, preparing himself for whatever was about to happen next.

Cheryl was staring at me wide-eyed, her mouth agape with shock as she took me in, from the blonde surfer hair tumbling down my shoulders to my green blue eyes like Brax's and Darcy's. I was wearing a beautiful minty turquoise dress. One that Ricky had picked out for me. The straps crossed over on the low back and there were delicate lace bits along the front. Along with it, an opal necklace had been stung around my neck, the intricate chain glittering silver and the mesmerising stone flashing different shades of blue as it was hit by the streaming sunlight.

Today, I had felt particularly beautiful. I wasn't sure if that was due to Brody's constant compliments or because of the gorgeous weather or the lovely light atmosphere that had been in the house just before Cheryl the Nightmare had arrived. Whatever it was, I could feel my courage wavering as I stood in front of Cheryl like something to be examined. Maybe like a bug under a microscope. Or, the better alternative, a star through a telescope.

For a long while Mrs Braxton said nothing (which I think was a first) But unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and too soon, she rediscovered her voice.

"There is no chance in hell that she's Danny's kid." She muttered, mouth tight.

"For god's sake, mum. Don't start this. We have a Birth certificate to prove it. You've seen it yourself." Heath argued, obviously worn out from the disagreement and waving the parchment that I'd bought with me from Melbourne in the air.

"That man is not her father. No way." Cheryl said adamantly. "Look at her. She's way too much of a beauty to be related to the mangy dog."

It's in that moment right there that I saw the first ray of kindness from Cheryl Braxton. It was so small and subtle and easily overlooked. But it was there. And the fact that it was there at all was enough to elate my entire outlook on the matter. Maybe I did have a chance of impressing her. Maybe she would give me a fair shot at proving my self-worth.

"I've been thinking the same thing for years." I said stiffly, with the shadow of a smile. Then all the humour drained from my face. "But unfortunately, no. I'm his daughter. Trust me when I say that any other day of any other year, I probably would have done anything in my power to change that in a heartbeat if I could have." I looked at Brax, then Heath, then Kyle. "But not anymore. Not since I moved in here. I always thought my good-for-nothing, so-called 'dad' had robbed me of everything. I was wrong. He did unintentionally give me something. Danny gave me the best brothers in the world. And nothing would ever make me want to undo that.

"So, I'm sorry if you don't like me. And I get that you hate me because you hated him. But I hated that worthless man too - more than you'll ever know. Though you may not think it, we're on the same side. Even though you claim that I don't belong here, I know that I definitely do. And I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying right here. This is my home. This is my family." I glanced around the room before fixing her with a solid, determined gaze. "You're just going to have to suck it up and learn to share."

It was either really daring or incredibly stupid to stand up to Cheryl and try and put her in her place. From what little I'd gathered about her, she was the kind of stubborn person who usually reacted badly to being told what to do. But I felt that this was the only way to get my point across. At least now she understood that no matter how hard she tried to push me out of the picture, I wasn't going to budge without putting up a fight. If she was aware early on that bully tactics weren't going to work on me, than perhaps she wouldn't bother trying to use them.

Surprisingly, for once in my life, I was right.

"I like her." Cheryl sniffed after a second. "She's got spunk. A real fighter. Reminds me of myself." She looked at me with something close to approval. "You're going to need to hold onto that spirit if you want to survive in our family."

Our family. She called it ours.

I wondered if I had heard her wrong or if all this time, everyone had just been exaggerating Mrs Braxton's personality. To me, she didn't seem all that bad. After all, she was warming up to me pretty quick.

I found myself smiling triumphantly.

"Wait, what? Are you kidding me?" Bianca piped up from where she had been watching the whole thing unfold. She looked hurt as she faced Cheryl. "It took you until mine and Heath's wedding day to even tolerate me. You still take digs at Kyle every chance you get and Ricky's hardly your favourite person in the world. Yet you're happy to welcome Alex into the family with open arms after three seconds of knowing her?"

Mrs Braxton nodded resolutely and I saw the briefest flicker of dislike flash in her eyes.

"That's because Alex knows what she wants and is willing to fight for it. Willing to even take me on for it. I have respect for people like that. She's not annoyingly indecisive." The way she regarded Bianca implied that she meant to add 'like you'.

Bianca, picking up on this, pouted as Heath came forwards to embrace her.

I felt somewhat awkward as Mrs Braxton put an arm about my shoulder and steered me out to the garden.

"You know, Alex," she said wistfully, "I always wanted a daughter..."

*

The whole family had gone to the beach to spend the sunny day in the warm sun and amongst the waves. It was a good place for us all to bond. Brax, Heath, Ash and even Andy all went out surfing and I joined them. Darcy did too, but she couldn't go very deep and had to stay where the water was shallower.

I had become a pro at surfing since moving to Summer Bay. Living this close to the beach meant I got plenty of daily practice and with brothers like mine, and friends like the River Boys, I was never short of a coach who could instruct, advise and teach me some new, handy tricks on the waves. Brax and Heath told me they were trying to whip me into shape ready for the Surf Carnival. They wanted me to win. I wasn't totally sure which team I'd even be on. Was I a Bay Girl or a River Girl?

Mrs Braxton watched from the shore, where she and Bianca and Ricky were laid out on a picnic blanket, watching over Harley as he sat giggling in his baby carrier, shaded by an umbrella that Kyle had set up for him. Bianca kept pointing Heath out to Harley and exclaiming "Look at Daddy surf!" and "Just wait till your old enough to get a board of your own!"

Next to them, Ricky had her camera in hand and was beaming as she peered through the lens and snapped numerous photos of us all out in the sea. I'd have to ask her to print some out for me later. I had been creating a kind of scrapbook since coming to Summer Bay. It had been Darcy's idea. She had one too - a sister one that looked very similar to mine, only pink instead of blue. We dedicated some nights to sticking photos in them or little memoirs or souvenirs of things we'd done during the day. We also spent time decorating them to look prettier, sketching and colouring. I found that I wasn't too bad at that. Being creative came naturally to me, and the feeling of having a pencil in my hand was oddly uplifting.

At first, the scrapbook had just been something to keep Darcy happy - another way of us bonding and an excuse to work on something together. But over time, I'd grown kind of attached to mine. Some nights, when I got sad thinking about the city and the things I'd lost there, I would flick on the light and pull out my album. Flipping through the abundant pages of beautiful pictures and wonderful memories soothed me. I had kept all of the letters and postcards and things that I received from my mum in there too, so reading over them usually brought me a strange sense of peace. I missed mum more than anything. We talked on the phone almost every day for as long as we liked, though her need for a rest usually shortened the time we had. That and reading over my scrapbook chased away the longing for a while. Other times, it just made it worse.

Phoebe and Kyle were hand in hand, calmly strolling down the beach together. They occasionally stopped to cheer me and the guys on or to spectate and applaud as we made a particularly good move on a wave. Mostly, they were just lost in each other, not really that fussed by the surf. Heath and Brax didn't think much of that, but I thought that it must be magnificent to be so in love.

For what felt like hours, I rode the waves with the rest of the boys. Heath and Brax were both in their best moods when we were out on the surf and I'd never seen them look prouder of me than when I did a great job of copying one of their techniques. As a joke, I cut in on Andy's wave and teased Ash when he lost balance on one of his waves and had to bail to avoid wiping out. They both got me back by tipping over my board when I was least expecting it. It was all in good humour, and by the end, when it was time to come back in, everyone was smiling cheerfully.

Darcy came in on a small wave just before I did. Her dad was cheering louder than anyone else on the beach and I betted that the whole of Summer Bay could hear him.

"Go on, Gremlin!" He whooped loudly, pounding the air with a fist. "You've got it!"

Fair play, my little cousin handled it brilliantly, though she couldn't quite stay on her feet and had to sort of kneel on the board when it pearl dived below the water as the wave broke. Darcy tumbled into the bone yard and Heath splashed in to help her up and out.

"That's my girl! You did great, Darce!" He hailed, playfully throwing her over his massive shoulders and carrying her out of the ocean and onto the sand, where he dumped her in a giggling heap. She was all smiles.

"Go on, Lex! Your turn!" Ricky called from the shore, her camera ready.

"The next one's all yours, Alex!" Brax shouted encouragingly from beside her.

"Make us proud, little sis!" Heath called.

I paddled before the wave to try and pick up some speed. Thankfully, the wave caught my board and I was thrust forwards at an outstanding speed. The air whooshed past my ears as the wild wave reared beneath me. I couldn't help laughing with joy as I jumped up onto my feet and threw my arms out for balance, racing across the turquoise sea like an expert surfer. The amazing sensation was over all too soon.

"You really carved up that wave, eh?" Brax whistled once I'd rolled in on the particularly good wave and was jogging over to where they were all stood, board in hand. He and the others were clearly impressed.

"Of course. What do you expect? Lex is a top surfer." Heath grinned, "After all - she's got us as her personal trainers. We Braxtons are renowned for being the best."

"That was ace, Lex! Can you do it again?" Darcy praised.

I drove the nose of my surfboard into the sand, standing it up so that all the water would run off its slick surface. Sighing, I wrung out my hair and then quickly towel-dried it.

"Maybe next time, hey, Darce?" I winked between breaths, ruffling up her hair too.

"Why? Are you too chicken to do it again?" My little cousin chuckled, prodding me in the belly, where my solid, tanned abs were. There was an impish sparkle in her eyes and I knew what that meant.

I fixed her with a daring gaze and cocked a brow. "What did you just call me, you little grommet?"

"You heard me, Lex." Darcy was already laughing nervously, backing away and eagerly anticipating the moment when I moved to attack her. She started making chicken noises.

"Oh, you've gone and done it now, Darce!" I threatened, before leaping forwards.

Darcy turned tail and ran, so I did the mature thing and chased after her, right along the beach, until the two of us were crashing through the water. I was far faster than Darcy, so I caught up fast and was right on her tail. To catch my giggling little cousin, I threw my towel over her, tangling her up in it like a fish in a net, and pulled her back, right into my open arms. Once there, I heaved her up in the air and tossed her into the sea with a big splash.

After a while of play wrestling in the sea and sand, we eventually re-joined everyone else again. I gave Darcy a piggyback ride as we walked back down the stretch of warm sand back to the picnic blanket. I sat down comfortably on the cover with Darcy leaning against me, and Harley balanced on my lap, playing happily with my necklace. Bianca was cuddled up beside Heath, wrapped up in his big arms. They were blissfully observing me as I played with their two kids. Everyone was in good spirits and I was in heaven. I never wanted the day to end.

"You know how you call me your cousin?" Darcy said after a bit.

"Yeah?" I replied lazily, stroking her hair and braiding it the way she liked me to.

"Does that mean you're going to start calling Gran 'mum'?"

I laughed nervously at the comment, completely unsure how to reply. Luckily, I didn't have to, because Heath stepped in for me.

"Lex already has a mum, Darce." He told her, tweaking her chin.

"Where is she?" Darcy questioned.

"Away, somewhere. Where I can't see her very often." I answered, trying to be vague.

"Is she where my mum is? And where Rocco is?" Darcy asked softly. "In heaven?"

My whole face must have dropped. I know for sure that my voice became almost inaudible. It sounded very strange and strained.

"Oh. No. No, my mum's still... she's not..." It felt like there were snakes writhing in my belly. "She's in the city."

"Why don't you invite her down here?" My little cousin suggested merrily. "Then we'll have the whole family together in one place."

"It's not that simple, Darce. See, my mum's in hospital and she needs to stay there. She's very sick." I explained gently, trying not to let the thoughts of mum's deteriorating health upset me. I would not cry. No way. I refused to.

"Too sick to come see you?" Darcy asked, confused by the idea.

"Hey, Darce," Brax said. "I think your Aunt Ricky needs someone to help her out - to take some photos of. Do you reckon you could be her model?"

Darcy beamed. Her smile just radiated light.

"Can you come too, Alex?" She pleaded, hanging off my arm and trying to tug me away.

"Me and your uncle Brax and your Gran need to talk to Alex about boring grownup stuff." Heath explained hurriedly, pulling a face as if to say it's-gonna-be-real-boring. "But I'm sure Bianca would be happy to help. Right, babe?"

"Sure." Bianca nodded, holding out a hand, "C'mon, Darce."

"Okay. Will you come over once you're done, Lex?" Darcy begged, giving me a quick hug.

"I will." I vowed, at which Darcy, decidedly content, dragged Bianca off to where Ricky was. Mesmerised by her energy, I watched my little cousin go.

"So, mum, did you want to say something to Alex?" Brax quizzed.

Cheryl nodded. "Actually I did." She turned to me with a passionate look on her face. "You're a good girl, Alex. A great little sister to my boys and a brilliant big cousin to my grandchildren. Everyone... everyone here clearly loves you. A lot. And I was wrong to think badly of you before I even knew you. I shouldn't blame you for your relation to that waste-of-space father of yours. It's not your fault he was a monster and I see now that you've inherited none of his bad traits." She sighed and rested a gentle hand on mine. "What I'm trying to say, is that I welcome you to the family. I hope this lot will make you as happy as you've already made them."

I grinned warmly at Cheryl as her kind words sunk in.

"Thank you, Mrs Braxton. That means a lot to me." I admitted. "Truth is, I couldn't have asked for a better family than ours."

"Aw, hear that?" Heath teased, tackling me in a bear hug and messing up my hair. "Our softie little sister loves us. I didn't know you were so in touch with your feelings, Lex. Been taking lessons from Kylie, have ya?"

"Get off!" I laughed, pushing his hands away and pretending to be annoyed. I was about to tell him that I took it all back, but my words faltered as my eyes were drawn passed Mrs Braxton's shoulders and latched onto a familiar figure stood just down the beach from us. The blue eyes and the tan, toned body could belong to no one other than Brody Ace Johnston. My River Boy.

Brody was stood with his gang and I spotted Matt and Jackson easily in amongst the rowdy crowd of shirtless guys. They had obviously been for a surf further down the beach and were now all headed up to the surf club with their boards.

When I made eye contact with Brody, he winked at me and mouthed for me to come with them. I had to fight the urge to smile as I distractedly tried to focus on the conversation I was having with my brothers and a way of making it so that I could meet up secretly with Brody.

"Hey, is anyone else hungry?" I piped up.

"I'm always hungry." Heath announced.

"I could go for food." Brax nodded.

"Great. Let's hit Angelo's. Brax's shout." Heath beamed, clapping our oldest brother on the back and calling for the rest of the family to come over and collect their stuff.

I glanced back over my shoulder to where Brody was only just going out of sight. He turned around in time for me to gesture that I'd be up at the surf club in two minutes and that I'd meet him there. His gorgeous, dimpled smile grew at the thought.

*

When we arrived at the surf club I was so hyped up at the notion of seeing Brody that I was lost in a daze. Without thinking I ran straight into someone and I would have fallen backwards if not for the fact that they caught me by my arm and steadied me on my feet.

"Woah, careful Alex!" Nate laughed, but his whole face dropped when his eyes settled on my features. "What on earth happened to you?" He questioned incredulously, scanning me from head to toe and taking in the bruises and scrapes on my knees and palms as well as the fading mark on my lip and chin where I'd connected with Anya's fist.

Of course, Nate hadn't seen me since the fight.

Kat, who came over to stand beside him holding two smoothies, narrowed her eyes at me in suspicion. She hadn't seen me either. Not since chasing me down that alleyway. By the look of it, she was definitely onto me.

"It's nothing, Nate. Really I'm fine." I assured him, trying to focus on him rather than Kat. It was a whole lot less scary.

"This clearly hasn't been treated, Alex. Not by professional medics anyway." Nate pointed out, giving me another once over. He crossed his arms. "What did you do?"

"Nothing!" I protested, trying to appear innocent. "Seriously, I'm fine. It's not a big deal."

"It doesn't look like it's not a big deal." Kat commented. "You been in a fight, Alex?"

"There a problem here?" Brax smiled tightly, as he and Heath appeared next to me, one on either side, tensed up like personal bodyguards. My oldest brother rested a steady hand on my shoulder. He looked from the cop to the doc.

"I was just speculating that Alex looks quite badly beaten up." Nate said, levelling Brax's gaze.

"What happened to her?" Kat quizzed.

"Alex is a Braxton. We don't tend to take it easy." Heath chipped in with a goofy smile that he was probably hoping would throw her off the scent. "She was messing around outside. Fell off a tree. Hit a few branches on the way down, and got a few new scratches, but otherwise she'll be fine. Our sister's tough like that."

"Right." Kat sniffed, observing me closely.

Beside her, Nate looked really concerned. "Brax, she should have been seen by a nurse, doctor or medic. As her legal guardian and brother that responsibility falls to you, Brax."

"Oh, we didn't think it was big deal." Brax lied easily. "Just a little tumble. She seemed okay. And Kyle fixed her up alright with the first aid kit. We didn't reckon there was any need to go into hospital."

"Well make sure that next time you do." Nate advised, his eyes hard.

"No need for that. There's not going to be a next time." Brax insisted. His hand felt heavy on my shoulder. "We're taking it easy from now on, right Lex?"

"Yup." I nodded.

"You'd better." The doctor glimpsed at me.

After they'd gone, I let out a breath I hadn't known I was holding in and turned to my brothers.

"Well, that was intense."

"Right?" Heath shivered. "Hate coppers, and doctors. Always so nosy."

"Yeah, well luckily it looks like we're going to get away with it this time." Brax said, just as everyone else caught up with us. As a family, we entered the surf club.

Inside, I saw the River crew hanging around the pool table. My family all passed them and headed up the stairs to Angelo's, but I hung behind, looking for Brody. He wasn't with any of his mates and when I was just about to throw in the towel and give up searching, I felt strong arms lock around my waist and pick me up from behind. I was thrown over someone's sea-scented shoulder and carried, laughing, through the gym and into some kind of storage cupboard in the back of the building, where I doubted anyone would find us. There, Brody put me down on a blanket that he'd laid out for us.

"Well, this is cosy." I stated, smiling as Brody lay down next to me and leaned in close.

"I should hope so. I went to a lot of effort." The River Boy joked, azure blue eyes twinkling with amusement, like stars in the sky.

"Really?" I teased him with my lips. We were centimetres apart, and both of us dying for a kiss.

"It's a lot of hard work secretly meeting up with you." Brody told me, flashing me his confident, pearly smirk. "Stolen seconds every here and there, the odd kiss behind closed doors, always having to look out for where your brothers are and if they'll catch us. It's actually driving me insane."

"I know." I pouted, then cocked an eyebrow. "But it's hot though, right? Being my secret?"

Brody winced with a grin and leaned into me closer. "Hmm, I don't know. I think you're going to have to remind me of the hot perks of the job."

"Oh, is that so?" I giggled as his minty breath tickled my cheek and our eyes locked. The gaze was full of desire, burning with passion. And then, our lips met and I was all but lost in Brody. Lost in his deep blue eyes, his messy dark hair, his hard, muscular torso and the sweeping fragrance of sea that he seemed to carry with him everywhere.

I ended up in a tangle with Brody, both of us wrapped around each other, cuddling. His hands held me to him, and our bodies seemed to fit together like two sides of a yin-yang. After a while, I rested my head against his chest and watched his eyes swirl up in waves below his lashes. He gently traced my face with the tip of his finger, seeming to burn the image of me into his memory. And that's how we stayed as we talked, trying to catch up from the last time we'd spoken. Fitting everything we could in the few minutes we had together.

"I hate this." Brody told me seriously after a while.

"What? Meeting up with me?" I asked, playfully.

"Nah. I could never hate that." Brody grinned. "This. Having to do it in secret. I want to be able to do normal things with you, Lexie. Like walk down the beach. Or go surfing any time of the day, whether your brothers will see us or not. I don't want to have to look over my shoulder constantly and worry that we might be seen together. I hate not being to kiss you or hold your hand or even act like I know you when your family are around."

"I do too, but there's nothing I can do." I said, feeling torn.

Brody sighed heavily and I got the feeling he was holding back from saying something. Narrowing my eyes I asked, "What?"

"Couldn't you just... Talk to Brax? Try and explain?" He said. "Tell him what you're thinking. That you want to hang around with me and the boys. That it's your choice. Not his."

I pulled back, "What and lose a brother in the process? He'd go nuts. He hates the idea of me hanging around you lot. If he found out that this -" I gestured at the space between me and Brody, "- was happening, can you imagine how he'd react?"

Brody nodded. "Probably not well. But he's your brother, Alex. Nothing will change that. Sure, he'll be angry for a while, but he'll get over it once he realises it's up to you who you hang out with."

"I can't do it." I shook my head resolutely. "He'd kill you."

"Worth it." Brody argued.

"Not worth it." I disagreed.

Snorting, Brody shook his head and set his jaw as he picked himself up off the floor. "I can't believe he's stopping you from hanging around with us. You know what the funny thing is? He started off exactly the same way. Me and him? We're not so different."

I remained on the blanket, cross-legged and bit my lip. "You're angry, aren't you?"

"I just... I don't know what this is. I don't know what we are." Brody explained, giving me a hand up onto my feet. "And it's so hard not being able to find out because I can't act normally around you or spend time with you."

"Which means... What? For us?" I asked, focused on his features. They looked tense, angry, confused. But the affectionate way he was still holding onto my hand gave away his true feelings for me, which hadn't changed.

"It means..." His vexed frown stayed, but his eyes softened as Brody gave me a sweet kiss on the cheek. "It means... I just wish you would tell him."

I felt myself relax. Brody wasn't giving up on me. He was still willing to leave it - Not forcing me to make a decision quite yet. I appreciated it massively.

"Anyway, you'd better go." The River Boy warned, checking the time on his phone. "We've been in here a while and your family are bound to notice."

"Right." I nodded, but I didn't want to go. It felt wrong leaving it like this. Before I went, I stepped up nearer to Brody and tried out a mischievous smile of my own, trying to make up for his missing one. "I'll see you later?"

"That depends." Brody shrugged, and as I went in for a kiss, he pulled away, teasing me. His smirk had returned. "Only if you have time between being with your brothers."

When I left Brody alone in the storage room, I felt unsettled. It was as if I was a jigsaw and someone had taken out one of my pieces and tried to fit it back in the wrong way. A weird sensation, one I couldn't shake – not even when I was back with my family, having food and trying to act as normal as I possibly could.

I would have to tell my brothers about the River Kids. About Brody.

And I'd have to do it soon.

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SURPRISE! I'm still alive!

So, hi guys! Hope the update will make you brilliant lot happy. I cannot begin to apologise for my lack of updates over the past few months, but I'll start by saying that I'm really, really, really sorry (Please don't hate me)! Got some great ideas for this story but finding the time to write it is near impossible. I'll try and do my best though! Anyway, please leave comments and votes – always appreciated – And I'll get started on the next chapter as soon as possible.

Also, I'd just like to say thanks so much for all your support, kind messages, votes and comments. You really are fantastic people!