Mercy (MxM) (COMPLETED)

Chapter Twenty Six- Family

Chapter Twenty Six-

Sawyer

When we get back to the house, I look at the time. 12:35. All the kids should be asleep by now, I walk up the stairs and peek into a few of the rooms, starting with the nursery. Alistair is fast asleep, so I don't bother him. Lottie, Carson, Cameron, and Carter are all asleep too.

I check Frankie's room to see that he's asleep. The only thing out of place is that Mason is in his bed cuddled up to him. I don't like that kid, but at least they're wearing clothes I suppose.

I hate when they bring people over without talking to me. I don't even know if his parents agreed or not. I'm too tired to deal with it now though.

I move on to Will's room, almost opening the door, but before I can, I hear noises like moans and the bed creaking. I sigh softly, making a mental reminder to ask if he used a condom and make sure he gets the girl a plan B pill if they didn't. The last thing I want is another kid.

He's never brought a girl home before, and I certainly didn't expect him to be having s*x yet. Honestly, I thought he was still a virgin, but obviously not. I wonder if Noel knew about it. They did share a room for a pretty long time.

Teagan follows me through the rest of the house, and eventually we get to Julian's room which is farther away from the others. I walk in and see that his bed is empty. The light in the bathroom is on though so I walk closer, looking through the open door before sighing deeply.

"Well this isn't the strangest thing I've caught you doing." I mumble, looking at him with a raised brow.

He's in the bathtub with his swim trunks on playing with a small duck. Not a plastic one that spits water, but a real breathing duck.

"I found it walking to my bus last week and I brought it home. I promise he's good." Julian insists, picking the bird up to hold it close to his chest. He looks scared like any kid would when their parents catch them doing something they obviously shouldn't be doing.

"How do you even know it's a he?" Teagan asks.

"He responds to he/him pronouns."

I bite my lip to stifle a laugh, knowing how serious he is. Julian isn't dumb by any means. He just understands things differently. Obviously a duck has no concept of gender, but humans do, and Julian has a bad habit of treating animals and babies like they're full grown humans.

It can be funny sometimes, but he doesn't like being laughed at. "What does that thing eat? I don't even think it's legal to keep ducks as pets, Julian."

"He eats insects that I find and berries and seeds too. He can even eat the weeds I picked out of the grass. You don't even have to buy him food." Julian assures me, giving me the biggest puppy eyes he's got.

I don't like to play favorites with my siblings, but I know who I'm weaker for. The girls obviously. We've only got 3 and two of them are still quite young so I tend to pamper them a bit more.

I'm weak for Frankie because I can see so much of myself in him, and I'm weak for Julian. I thought maybe it was because of his autism, but he's really just the most mature and kind one of my siblings. He never does anything wrong so one little thing like this isn't enough to make me mad.

"Damnit, Julian. Fine. Keep the duck, but I swear I'm not taking care of it." I tell him, turning to walk out. "And go to sleep!"

Teagan follows me while laughing a bit. "Noel is going to be pissed."

"Why do you say that?"

"All those times he asked for a dog and you said no. Now Julian finds a duck on the side of the road and he gets to keep it."

"He takes care of it, and I don't have to do anything for it. We both know that Noel can hardly take care of himself let alone a dog." I sigh, flipping down on our bed when we get to our bedroom.

I turn to face him with a little sigh. "I think Will is having sex."

"Like right now?"

"Yeah."

"Shouldn't we stop that? I mean... don't parents do that?"

"I don't like to be the parent that tries to keep their kids from doing things. I know damn well that if we try to stop it they're going to do it anyway. The only thing that will change is that they won't tell us about it. You know how it was with Noel." I explain.

That's how it was when I tried to discipline Noel. He'd just sneak out and do the same s**t in a way more dangerous environment. Having s*x under my roof is better than going to some party and doing it when he's plastered.

"I'd rather them just be safe and smart. Hopefully he's using a condom, but if not I'll buy the pill for his girlfriend to take."

"Don't you think that's her choice?"

"Absolutely not. My brother can't take care of a kid, and some b***h who managed to get in his bed doesn't get to tie him down for 18 years just because she wouldn't take a plan B."

Teagan climbs into bed with me and wraps his arm around my waist. I sigh and smile. He's not usually quiet, but he does this sometimes. He likes to comfort me with physical affection rather than words.

I turn in his arms so that we're facing each other. "I'm glad you decided to make me your family, Teagan. And I'm glad you can put up with my kids even better than I can."

"You don't give yourself enough credit, Sawyer. You're a great parent especially considering that you were only 16 when you're parents decided to travel the world and leave you all here."

"My mom was 14 when she had me. Honestly, I don't really blame her for leaving us. She never got to be a reckless teen because she was too busy popping out babies-"

"That didn't give her the right to take your childhood away by forcing you to be a parent."

"She didn't force me." I insist, sighing softly. "If I didn't take care of them then they would've been taken away and I never would've seen them again."

"Do you ever wish she would've given you up for adoption instead of trying to take care of you?"

I shrug and cuddle up to him. "Yeah. It's hard dealing with it. It's hard thinking about what my life could've been had I not had any siblings. Maybe I actually would've gone to college to get a degree and maybe I would've got a super cool career or something."

Teagan kisses the top of my head and takes a deep breath which he does when he starts getting tired.

"Before I took guardianship of them there was one time I called DCFS because I really didn't think I could do it. It was about a year before Lottie was born, and I still feel terrible about it. They split us all up and since I was the only teenager they just put me in a group home. They split up Candace and Noel which practically traumatized them. Back then Frankie and Will were joined at the hip too, and they got separated as well. After a few days, I realized that I couldn't stand being away from them. I got our parents to come back into town for a few weeks to prove that they were fit to take care of all of us, and we got everyone back. They up and left again obviously, and Noel and Candace wouldn't leave each other's side for a whole year. I haven't done much complaining since then though. They're a lot to handle, but they're my family. They mean everything to me."

"And you mean everything to me. That's why it's so easy for me. I love them because I love you. You're my family now too, Sawyer. The kids and you are kind of a package deal. Though, if Carson keeps calling me 'mommy' I'm going to expect a Mother's Day present."

I laugh at his joke and lean in to kiss his nose before closing my eyes. "Goodnight, Teagan."

"Goodnight, Sawyer."