Chapter Three: Siblings

                                    

                                          

I remember seeing my brother Buck on the news as an LAFD firefighter. I looked him up and saw he was a member of the 118. So I set out to find him. I hope he doesn't turn me away. Maybe he knows where our sister is. 
I decided to drive. Give me time to clear my head and figure out what the heck I am going to say to my brother when I find him. From Hershey, Pennsylvania to Los Angeles, California is a 39-hour drive. When I get tired I can stop at a hotel or motel I'm not picky. I can even sleep in my car. With a simple plan in my head, I set off on my journey. I turned on my playlist and enjoyed the peace of my music and being alone. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Time Skip~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After a few stops and a couple of nights in cheap motels, I made it to Los Angeles. My anxiety started spiking as I realized that I was about to just show up in my brother's life knowing nothing about him anymore. He's family though and family helps family, right? My annoying GPS pulled me out of my thoughts with you arrived. I realized there was no going back now. Not that I had anywhere to go. I looked up and saw the fire station. Here goes nothing. 
I parked my car and got out. I took a deep breath and made sure to lock my doors. I began walking to the entrance. Immediately I could smell one of my favorites cooking, spaghetti. I smiled thinking about my childhood favorite. I was staring at the floor a nervous habit of my mine. My thoughts were jumbled I didn't even know if he would be here today. I bumped into someone as I wasn't paying attention. I looked up and began apologizing. "I am so sorry I wasn't paying attention it's my fault. Are you okay? I am so..."
"Hey, its okay." He placed his hands on my shoulders and looked into my eyes. He was one of the most handsome men I had ever seen in real life. He had beautiful chocolate eyes and tan skin. He had some stubble on his face but not in a way that looked scruffy. He was very attractive. He shook my shoulders pulling me out of my thoughts and I began blushing as I looked down again. "Can I help you? You look a little lost."
"Yeah, I am looking for Evan Buckley. Do you know him?"
"Oh no. What'd he do now? You're not pregnant are you?"
"Oh god no. He's my brother. I haven't seen him in a few years though."
"Buck has another sister? Well, I can take you to him." 
"Wait Maddie's here?"
"Yeah, she is." I wasn't even thinking about the fact that he didn't know I existed but I was happy that my sister was here too. This means she is safe too. I started walking towards a staircase that I assumed led to a hangout area because I could hear laughter. The handsome stranger was in front of me. 
"Uh, Buck there is someone here for you."
"What'd you do now Buckley, stand another girl up?" Geez why do all of these people think that I am one of my brother's flings that's nasty. The woman speaking was beautiful. She was a black woman wearing big glasses but they looked good on her face. She had chocolate brown skin and her hair was basically to the scalp. She was gorgeous. 
"He definitely did not. I am Simone Evan's younger sister." Everyone in the room looked shocked wow so no one here knows I exist ouch. Evan got up and began walking over to me. "What are you doing here? Do Mom and Dad know you are here?" 
"Before you start your interrogation, they haven't cared about my whereabouts since I turned 18 and they threw me out. I came because I need your help." I looked down again. 
"Wait, what do you mean they threw you out? They told me that you ran away." 
"Well if you bothered to call me you would know. That after you left they let their true colors show. They never wanted me. I was an oops so as soon as they could legally get rid of me they did. They were absent before that though. They didn't care what I did or who I was with. And on my 18th birthday, they threw me out. I moved in with Mike but back to now. I need a place to stay. Not for long just a few days then I can figure something else out." 
"Wait that is a lot of information. So they just threw you out. They told me that you ran away and didn't want anything to do with any of us. They gave me a number and said it was yours. I tried calling but it always went straight to voicemail I just assumed that they were right and you didn't want to talk to me. I tried looking for you and getting in contact with you."
"Well, they probably gave you a fake phone number. I don't really care anymore I'm over it it's been three years. I just need a place to stay for a little bit."
"Yeah, you can stay with me. Does Maddie know you're here?" 
"I didn't know Maddie was here. I only knew you were here because I remembered seeing you on the news and just came here. I was terrified you were going to send me away or something." 
"Hey, you're my little sister I would never do that to you. And if I had known about Mom and Dad I would have come looking for you a long time ago. So what happened with this Mike guy?" I froze not knowing what to say. I started fidgeting with my fingers. I guess I'll just tell him the truth no use lying about it. 
"Well I caught him cheating on me and we got in a fight. He said some things and I told him I was leaving. He didn't agree and he hit me. So I knocked him out with my bat and left. I only hit him once so he should be fine he was already drunk so it didn't take much. He'll be okay probably just a minor concussion."
"He hit you?"
"Yeah it was the first time he ever did something like that but I wasn't gonna stay with him. I'm fine anyway." 
"Where'd he hit you?"
"He slapped me on my face. Stop worrying I'm fine. I've gotten worse in fights."
"Fights?"
"You missed a lot Evan I don't know what to tell you. Maddie left then you left. I didn't have nobody after that. Mike showed up and he was great until he wasn't but there was a lot that happened. School wasn't the greatest I barely graduated. I got in some fights and broke some bones. It is what it is." I shrugged not getting his shock. 
"I shouldn't have left you."
"No, don't do that. I didn't come here for a pity party." 
"Well, I am Bobby Nash captain of the 118 and any family of Buck's is family of all of us. I just finished dinner so feel free to come eat." 
"Thanks that would be great. Spaghetti is my favorite." I smiled as I walked towards the table. I ended up between Buck and the handsome mystery man. 
"My name is Eddie Diaz, I am Buck's best friend and I can't believe he never mentioned you." Now I have a name to put with that gorgeous face. Stop thinking like that he would never go for a girl like you. He probably has a girlfriend anyway. 
"My name is Henrietta Wilson but everyone calls me Hen." 
"Nice to meet you." She sent me a very welcoming smile. 
"Hello, my name is Howard Han. But no one calls me that. I go by Chimney or Chim." 
"Interesting choice." I giggled at his nickname. "I bet there is a story behind that."
"There is but that is for another time." I began eating as everyone served themselves and passed food around. It was like a family dinner. I never experienced this it was nice. I was happy that my brother was happy and cared for. You could tell that this was more than just a team or crew but a family.