#bc i wanted to write a small thing with different thieves for each prompt

[samarecharm]

Scheming…

[foreveralwaysanauthor]

Just Fine

November 12, 2020

Prompt - “I am a kid!”

Characters - Lela, Butchy, Miles, Mick, Royce and Bentley

Notes - It feels really good to be able to write again. I know this is shorter than I would like, but it just feels good to write again. I honestly thought I’d posted this about an hour ago, but I guess it switched the tab to “Save Draft” instead of “Post”, so I’m posting it now. I’m hoping to maybe work on another post bc of the nasty rain that’s making us stay inside.

It wasn’t unusual for their house to be full of noise. Bikers coming in and out, school friends stopping over now and then, and family popping in on their way through town with only a single phone call to warn them of their impending arrival. It happened so often that they usually left the back door unlocked just in case someone chose to stop by. Everyone in their friend group knew that if you just opened the back door a smidge and hollered, “Hey!” into the house that someone would answer. Their home was open to everyone and anyone.

Maybe that was when Butchy started treating people as family instead of just friends.

The first time someone had gotten really close to them, it had been entirely on accident. While they were hanging out at Big Momma’s, Butchy decided to show off a little and tripped, knocking into a chair and tripping over his own feet. If it hadn’t been for a boy a year younger than Butchy, he would’ve ended up on his face on the floor. Of course, Butchy had paid for the kid’s dinner and talked with him for most of the evening, befriending the boy almost immediately. Lela later found out that the boy’s name was Miles, a barely eighteen-year-old kid that had just moved from South Carolina.

Not long after he moved, Butchy insisted on taking him in. While Miles had been staying with Giggles and her family, Lela and Butchy could see that he didn’t like the idea that he was taking up space in their already fairly small house. Miles moved in with Butchy and Lela before the end of his first month in St. Pete Beach.

He had stayed with them for a little over a year and, within that short time, he’d progressed from a fairly shy, silent loner to a confident young man. While he and Lela were thick as thieves and got along really well, even she could tell that Miles favored spending time with Butchy. She understood why; both of them were boys and they shared a lot of the same interests, it was no wonder they were so close.

Even after Miles moved into his own house, he still spent a lot of time at their home. They were practically family at that point, it was only natural.

It was only a matter of time before somebody else came along.

Finders keepers, Lela would claim whenever someone asked why she was so close with her brother’s girlfriend. Even though they were from entirely different worlds, the two girls had always gotten along. Lela had met her first and, just like Butchy had done with Miles, she was attached to Mick almost instantly. During Mick’s stays with them, Lela would insist on the two of them sharing a room so they could spend more time together. The two were practically sisters.

Mick ended up moving in some of her stuff when Butchy proposed to her after she turned eighteen. Lela couldn’t be happier. They spent most of their time planning the wedding, but still took time to go to the movies or to Big Momma’s just to relax and talk with each other. Now and then, Lela would go with Mick back to her home and visit with Mick’s family and friends for a few days. It was nice to finally have another girl in the house.

Then, the balance of the scale tipped once more, adding two new factors to the equation. Miles had never told any of them about his life in South Carolina. Granted, he had plenty of pictures in his house of his friends and family from his old home and, if they asked him, he would answer who the people were, but nobody had ever recalled seeing a picture of two younger boys. One day, seemingly out of nowhere, Miles showed up to Big Momma’s with a lanky sixteen-year-old clutching a book to his chest and a bouncing fourteen-year-old with little designs scribbled on the cuffs of his jeans.

It was exceptionally easy to tell that the three of them were brothers as the similarities in their appearances were too uncanny to go unnoticed. Bentley, the youngest of the brothers, had Miles’ beaming smile and steely, almost grey, blue eyes. Royce, on the other hand, shared Miles’ curly brown hair and quick wit. It was obvious to Lela that the two boys would be mixed in with the rest of their family in no time; they had nearly everyone wrapped around their fingers without even knowing it. The first night the boys were there, Miles had invited over Mick, Lela and Butchy so that his two little brothers could get a feel for what it was like having them around.

The boys had slowly, but surely adjusted to the group, falling into conversation with each of them easily. Royce and Mick were quick to talk about all of the books they’d read, falling into conversation about plotlines and characters while Bentley and Lela chatted amiably about things like art and music. That left Butchy and Miles to their own devices, so Miles took Butchy to the kitchen to talk.

“So?” he asked as he turned to Butchy. “What do you think?”

Butchy smiled, peeking around the doorway to where they’d left the others. “I think they’ll fit in just fine around here.”

“What do I do?” Miles asked, wrapping his arms around himself. “I have no clue what I’m doing here. I’ve never raised kids before. Hell, I still am a kid!”

Butchy laughed quietly, “So was I when I took you in. Granted, you’re only a little younger than me, but I still had no clue what I was doing.”

“You did great taking care of me and Lela and you know it,” Miles claimed sternly, hopping up on the island counter.

“I made a lot of mistakes and we both know that,” Butchy said, lightly tapping Miles’ knee as he moved to sit on one of the island chairs.

Miles and Butchy sat in silence for a moment before Miles cleared his throat. “If I thought it was too much and asked you to take them in for me, would you?”

“Of course I would, but” Butchy watched Miles curiously, wondering what had brought that on, “what do you mean?”

“Butch, what happens if I end up like my father?” Miles mumbled, hoping his brothers wouldn’t hear him.

“You and I both know that isn’t possible,” Butchy said firmly. “Do you love Royce and Bentley?”

“Of course I do!” Miles replied instantly, nearly sending Butchy a glare at the mere idea that he could not love his brothers. “I love those boys with every fiber of my being. I would do anything for them.”

Butchy smiled, taking Miles by the shoulders. “Then do just that. Raise them the same way you wanted your dad to raise you.”

“He wasn’t exactly the warm, fuzzy type, Butch. I want to be a good role model for them, I don’t want to be anything like him.”

“Then love them just like Lela, Mickie and I love you. Love them the way you want to be loved,” Butchy said, giving Miles shoulder a squeeze. “If and when you need help, we’re all here for you. We love those boys already and we’ve only known them for a day.”

“Really?” Miles asked, glancing hopefully at Butchy.

“Come here,” Butchy said, holding a hand out to Miles. Miles took it, hopping down from the island and following Butchy to the doorway. Butchy took him by the shoulder and brought Miles ahead of him, leaning him to the side just enough that the younger man could see around the corner to the other room. “Look.”

In the living room, Lela and Bentley were laying on the floor next to each other, an art set Miles had given him a few years ago was spread out in front of them while they colored in a sketchbook Mick and Miles had bought for him before his and Royce’s arrival. The pair were talking and joking and seemingly enjoying each others’ company. Royce and Mick, on the other hand, were relaxing on the couch while Mick read aloud from a book Royce had taken from one of the shelves. Miles smiled as he watched Royce rest against Mick’s side and put his head on her shoulder while she read to him. His brothers looked so at ease with Lela and Mick. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen them so relaxed, let alone with people they barely knew.

Butchy’s hand gripped Miles arm, giving him a light squeeze and a smile. “I think, with all the love they’re going to get, those boys will be just fine.”