Extras🎬

Caleb & Zane <3

A/N - so short but so sweet 🥹

Zane is 22 in this scene, Caleb 17 <3

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Zane

I'm pretty sure I was just tired twenty-four-seven at this point.

I was juggling the club, my brothers, trying to look after myself, and it was exhausting.

So much so that I was looking to have an early night today, knowing the twins were old enough to sort themselves out now, I could go to bed at a reasonable time guilt-free.

Upon ascending the stairs and heading down the hallway I paused when I heard a loud groan, followed by a thud. Caleb's room. Instead of barging in with a sense of urgency, I hovered outside for a moment just listening, not exactly knowing what was going on inside.

"It's fine, you don't need to get angry", my expression softened at the sound of Chase's voice, everything suddenly clicking into place.

He was helping him with his homework.

It was rare for Caleb to accept help in general, but when it came to his schoolwork? It was harder than trying to remain sane while the twins were bickering.

"I can't fucking read, Chase- and you want me to stay calm?", came his hostile reply, "sorry. I'm not mad at you".

"Well duh", the fifteen year old scoffed, causing my lips to twitch up in amusement, "okay, I mean the knowledge is all there, it's just the spelling and punctuation-,".

"That's shit, got it", Caleb snapped yet again, a sharp exhale filling the room, "sorry. Carry on".

"You feel like reading this last bit?", Chase asked, my hand now hovering on the handle of the bedroom door.

"I feel like going to sleep", he muttered.

"You can just-,", I felt it for Chase, our seventeen year old brother was a force to be reckoned with when he was doing his homework.

"Can you just fuck off Chase?", my eyebrows pulled into a frown as rustling around filled the air, "I'm sorry, I didn't-,".

"It's okay, uh- sorry", the door opened before I could do it for myself, the hurt expression on my brother's face making me clench my jaw, "I'm fine".

"I got it, yeah?", I ran a hand through his hair, he just nodded and retreated to his own room next door, "you sound like you've had better days". I closed Caleb's bedroom door and sank into his bed, peering at the multiple sheets of paper all over his desk, some scrunched into balls, others covered in harsh scribbles.

"Tell me about it", he grumbled, not glancing up from the sheet while he wrote slowly, eyebrows pinched together in deep concentration, "I didn't mean to shout at him".

"I know", I hummed, throwing one leg over the other and leaning forward, "I also distinctly remember you telling Chase that you can't read, I haven't heard bullshit like that since Marco told me peppermint tea is better than coffee". A small smile tugged at his lips before it vanished in the blink of an eye, his grip on his pencil becoming all the more prominent.

"I can't", his blue eyes met mine for the first time since I'd entered the room, "I know you're trying to be supportive or encouraging or whatever, but I fucking can't".

"Do you know how many times I've told myself I can't look after you all? Or I can't do this anymore? Or I can't bear to see what you all may grow up to be like once you've lived under my care?", his eyes widened slightly and he shook his head slowly, "every single day, twenty four seven. And I'm still here".