Nola Scott

Mom, Dad, Kayce, Brooks, and I stepped into the third apartment today with a lady from the front desk behind us. "Have a look around, guys," she says. We look around the two-bedroom apartment with more space than Brooks and Kayce need. It's the best one out of the three I'd say. "Nice-sized bedrooms," Brooks says, stepping inside of one of two. "Oh yeah, this one will be mine." He wags his brows.

Mom smiles. "Look at this bathroom, B. Nice and spacious." Brooks peeks in there and smiles at Mom. "You're right. It's good right?" he asks. "I like it," mom says. The three of us exit the room and we look around the rest of the apartment. The living area is spacious and the kitchen is modernized. White countertops, white cabinets, and gas stove. The floors are vinyl and the walls are also white.

"What do you think Kayc?" my dad asks his toughest client. "It's okay," he replies, looking around. "Yeah, it's okay," Brooks adds. There he goes, hopping on the Kayce bandwagon. He's liked and then unliked the past two apartments too. "Wanna see something else?" Dad asks. "Probably," Kayce shrugs.

I roll my eyes. You'd think he was looking for his dream home with the way he's making this decision. Mom frowns. Dad talks to the front desk lady as we walk out. "What didn't you like about it?" I ask Kayce. He shrugs again. "Didn't speak to me." He cannot be serious. "We'll find something, Kayce," Mom says, rubbing his back. "I have practice at five," he mumbles, looking at his watch.

"I know. I'm sorry this was your dad's only day off this week," mom tells him. "That's fine, mom. I just want this to be the first and last day we look." Brooks walks backward in front of him. "It will be, Kayce. We're gonna find something, brother." My eyes widen when he's about to bump into a potted plant on the sidewalk. "Brooks wat-"

"Quiet, Nola," Kayce says quickly. Two seconds later, Brooks trips and falls on his ass. Kayc's lips turn up a bit but he doesn't smile completely. "Brooks!" mom says, rushing to him. Dad turns around, brows furrowed. "What the hell, Brooks?" I can't help but laugh as my brother wipes dirt off of himself. "I'm fine," he groans. "Next apartment, let's move on."

**

At the next apartment complex, Kayce stayed with Dad while Mom, Brooks, and I looked around together. "Ooo, I like this room better than the last. No carpet is always better, Brooks," Mom says. Unlike the other apartment, this one was furnished so you could visualize yourself living here a little better. "It's nioceee, oh mom, look at this crap!" Brooks lifts some kind of glass decor showing it to her. "Put that down!" Mom whispers and shouts at him.

He frowns but listens. "What if you break it and they force us to rent out the apartment?" Mom tells him. He rolls his eyes playfully. "Please. That's ridiculous," he replies. "You never know," she shrugs. He shakes his head and wraps his arm around her shoulder as we step out into the living area. It's about as spacious as the last, very modern again.

"I like this one," Brooks whispers to Mom. "Same," she whispers back. We've decided to keep quiet about our opinions until Kayce says something first. He's the one the apartment is for mostly. Brooks lets go of Mom and plops down on the couch. "Ahhhh. I could get used to this," he says, throwing his head back. "It's comfy." Kayce and Dad step out of the other bedroom and glance around the kitchen and living area.

"What do you think, brother?" Brooks asks from the couch. We all focus on my oldest, youngest brother. His opinion matters the most right now. "It's nice. I like it," he says. We all let out a sigh of relief, I'm sure, and he makes a face. "You're hard to shop for, baby," mom says then. Kayce scoffs. "Right. What was the price on this one, Dad?" Dad pulls out his phone. "$1,950. Not bad. Cheaper than the last and better. I like this location more too. You like it, B?"

Brooks nods frantically. "Hell yeah. I'm already making myself at home," he says, making himself more comfortable on the couch. "Looks like we've got our winner, people!" Mom exclaims, pulling me in by the waist. "I'll go talk to the lady at the front desk and get things going. Babe, start the car will you?" He throws mom the keys and we all head out together.

"Perfect choice, brother," I say, bumping my shoulder against Kayce's. Who knew apartment shopping could be so tiring so quickly? I think Emerald Oaks was the only place Em and I looked at and we picked it. That was because it was the cheapest option closest to campus too. "I always make the right decision, sister. We know this by now."

Of course, we do.

**

We dropped Kayce off at baseball practice and bought some food before coming back home. Aunt Nova sits on the couch with Kiersten, Foster, Easton, and Sienne watching a movie. "Hey, Nov. Thanks," Dad says as we enter the living room. Aunt Nova's eyes light up when she sees me and she rushes over to hug me. "How are you? Are you ready for Tuesday? I'll be watching with your uncle from home."

I smile and pull back. "I'm ready, really excited. Thanks, Aunt Nova." Her face lights up with her smile. "Of course, beautiful. You're gonna do amazing. I'm so excited and happy for you." Her words make my heart grow a thousand times bigger. It just shows me the support system that I have back home. "We brought some food, come eat, Nova!" Dad shouts from the kitchen.

"Love you," she tells me, before picking up Easton and joining everyone in the kitchen. When I look toward the couch, Sienne sits there, arms crossed over her chest. "Are you coming to eat?" I ask her, pointing in the direction of the kitchen. She shakes her head quickly. "Not hungry?" I push, sitting on the couch next to her.

I'd eat the food my parents bought but it's just burgers and fries. They did get me a veggie burger but I think I'll pass on it for now. "No," she mumbles. I've seen a frown on this little girl's face more than I've seen smiles recently and it's really starting to get to me. Seeing my cousins upset isn't ideal especially one this young. "You okay?" I carefully ask, placing a hand over hers.

She looks up at me and her baby blue eyes fill with tears. "Sienne," I say, tucking her under my arm. "My dad hates me," she murmurs through tears. My brows furrow at her words. Well, that can't be true. Uncle Valdez doesn't hate any of his kids. He's one of the best people I know. "Why do you say that, Sienne?" I ask, trying not to dismiss her feelings.

"Sienne!" Aunt Nova shouts from the kitchen. "Come eat!"

"We'll be there in a sec!" I shout back. Sienne sniffs and I wipe her tears with my shirt. "He just doesn't pay attention to me. Never. Only Avi, Xavier, and East. I don't matter to him like they do. I'm just there," she explains. I frown. If that's true, I don't know. It never seemed like there was anything wrong with the Valdez family.

Then I think back to Christmas when I heard Aunt Nova and Sienne talking about her dad. She was talking about some gift he had gotten her that she didn't like. Then, she went on to mention that he hates her just like she did now. While I don't think Uncle Valdez is capable of hating one of his kids, Sienne isn't talking out of her ass. If she's saying this, it's because she feels a certain way.

"Talk to him about it. Tell him how you're feeling left out. I'm sure he'll do something about it." There's not a lot of advice I can give an eleven-year-old feeling this way. I don't know the full story and I'm sure even though she told me this, she won't go into full detail. It's hard to understand without another perspective too.

"He doesn't care. He never has," she says more coldly, wiping all tears from her face. She sniffles once more and then hops off the couch. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom." Before I can stop her, she's rushing toward the downstairs half-bath. I sigh and follow her. "Sienne. Let's talk about this," I say into the crack of the door. There's silence for a long while. "I'm fine, Nola. Only babies cry. Just give me a second. I'll be in the kitchen in five."

My mouth opens to speak but words fail to come out. "You don't want to talk about it?" I ask once more. "How about your mom, we could talk-" Sienne opens the door to the bathroom, her eyes still bloodshot. "If you talk to my mom or anyone about this, I'll never forgive you. I'll be out in five." She closes the door again and I sigh. "I won't say anything," I tell her through the crack before heading over to the kitchen.

Everyone's already eating when I enter. "Hey, Nola. Where's Sienne?" Aunt Nova asks. "She's using the restroom," I reply with a smile taking a seat next to Mom. Sienne joined us a couple of minutes later, her eyes no longer red and looking moody, but overall fine. I kept looking at her during dinner but her light eyes never found mine again. Once we finished eating, she left with her mom and brother.

I didn't say anything because I promised Sienne I wouldn't. Especially not to mom who was best friends with Uncle Valdez. Dad was too and I didn't want to cause problems for her. She was so young. Whatever this was, it was bigger than anything she had told me. We had just scratched the surface if anything. Who knows how long she had been feeling this way? From my knowledge, she had felt like this since Christmas. Most likely since before too.

"Are you spending the night, Nola?" Dad asks me once everyone is back up in their rooms and we're left in the kitchen. "Uhm, yeah. I'll leave tomorrow afternoon, if that's okay," I say. He sets the last cup in the dishwasher before shutting it. "Of course. I've missed you. It's been a while since you've come around," he says.

I've been so focused on figure skating that I haven't had the chance to come down during the weekends to see my family. I'm sure Dad knows that's why I haven't been present. He walks over to the island, standing on the other side of it. "I've been a busy gal, Daddyio." He smiles. "Yes, you have. I'm proud of you, kid. And I can't wait to see you skate on Friday."

His comment makes me smile too. "Thanks, Dad. I've already accepted that anything could happen. No matter what, it'll be a learning experience, and despite the outcome, I'm going to keep on trying," I say with a firm nod. "Exactly. We don't give up in this house. Until we get what we want," he declares. Amazing mindset, dad. It's hard for me to have it sometimes but with Worlds in a week, it was the only mindset I had.

I didn't know if I was going to be able to do this. My skills were great enough to compete against the most talented but so were Mei and Karington's. One of us wasn't going to make it. We wouldn't know who until Friday.

"Thanks for taking some time to come, Dad. I know how busy things can get with the company," I say. My dads have been working his butt off since the day his dad's company was given to him. You'd think he'd have gray hair by now or be balding from all the stress. He doesn't look a day over 30. Same for mom. It's like they're aging in reverse.

"I think the guys can take over things for the weekend. Shouldn't be too much of a hassle. Plus I can catch up on all my work in less than a day, so it's not a big ask. You always come before work, Granola. No question," he says. Before I can say anything my phone rings on the counter. It's Miles. I press the volume button to stop it from ringing and face my phone down. I'll call him later.

"Who was that you just ignored?" Dad asks curiously. My parents don't know I'm still in contact with Miles. At least I don't think they do. Kayce and Brooks don't care enough to say anything to them about it. While there is nothing bad about me being friends with him, I decide to just keep that information to myself.

"It was just Em. I'll call her back in a bit," I lie. I hop onto the counter next to where my dad stands with his arms crossed over his chest. "Was Kayc okay today? You know after everything?" I ask.

If anyone really knows Kayce, it's my dad. Ever since he was younger, it was hard to get through him. Both of my parents struggled to understand him. He didn't let anyone know how he was really feeling. Dad paid close attention to Kayce. Especially him. My younger brother was different than the rest of us. He viewed life in a different way, one that many people didn't understand. I'm not going to say he's difficult, he's just special. Like mom and dad always say.

But if you asked Kayce, he would say that no one understands him. Not even Dad. I think that just stems from his hatred of being compared to our dad. He despises it. The simplest way to piss off my brother would be to compare him to Cgc Scott. At the end of the day, we all know that Dad and Kayce are like two peas in a pod. Their relationship is unbreakable.

"He's okay. His nerves were just all over the place with the adulting thing I think. He was being picky for his brother's sake, not his own," Dad informs me. My brows raise in surprise. "Really?" I question. Dad nods. "He didn't want Brooks to live somewhere mediocre. I assured him they could always make any place feel like home and it calmed his nerves a bit."

Kayce cares about Brooks a lot. It shows in this moment more than anything. Of course, the rest of us figured Kayc was just being difficult but that wasn't the case.

I smile at my dad's words. I'm glad Brooks will continue to have Kayce to look up to. He's in good hands.

"DAD!!"

My brother's voice booms through the house then. We both turn our heads toward the kitchen door as footsteps approach. Brooks bursts through the door. "I need you to look at some rash I have near my..." His words fade off as he looks at me. I physically cringe. "Gross," I fake gag.

"Leg!! I was gonna say leg!!"

Dad has a concerned look on his face. "Nola, get out of here." I hop off the counter and start to walk toward the door. "Was planning on it," I say. Brooks sticks his tongue out as I walk past him so I shove him. "Wrap it up next time!" I shout as I walk out.

"Nola!"
"Shut up!"

A smile curves onto my lips as I make my way upstairs. There's never a dull moment in this house.