"I vote pizza for dinner" Tristan piped up as he collapsed on the floor beside his eldest sister in the empty living room. The nine year old looked up at Lexa batting his eyelids hoping it convinced her. Gesturing for his twin brother to help, it wasn't long before Dax put on the puppy dog eyes too.
"We had pizza last night" Ontari groaned as she made her way into the room and putting down the box she'd been carrying. Full of photo frames from their old house, the fifteen year old made sure it was safely against the wall. With some of the last images of their parents in that box it was the most valuable thing in that house.
Ontari and Aden joined their siblings on the floor only surrounded by the boxes they couldn't fit into the moving van. The rest of their furniture would be there in the morning so for tonight, they would have to camp out on the floor.
It hadn't been anyone's choice to move to a new house in a new neighbourhood but it was just another thing thrown at the Woods children after their world was flipped upside down. The day the soldiers dressed in full uniform turned up on their doorstep was one that none of the Woods children could quite comprehend. When one parent dies while on active duty, there's still a sense of protection and stability from the other parent. When both are killed by a suicide bomber whilst on their final active tour of duty, there's nothing and no one left to lean on back home.
It was then that Lexa, only newly turned 18, stepped up and became that stability for her younger brothers and sisters. She needed to be that for them even if it meant that no one was that for her. Being the eldest, it wasn't a foreign concept for Lexa to look after her siblings but the teenager always knew her parents would be coming home. She always had that assurance that their parents were just a Skype call away but now it was all up to her. She didn't know how she would look after her family, keep a roof over their head and finish high school but Lexa was going to do her best. She had to.
"Why doesn't someone go get Anya and we'll take a vote?" Lexa sighed tiredly. She'd hoped to have their new house at least somewhat set up on their first day but things hadn't been working out the way she'd hoped lately. Pushing thirteen year old Aden back to his feet, she asked him to get Anya from her room so they might decide on what they'd do for dinner. Anya who was 17, moody and far from happy about the move had found her bedroom and holed herself up there since they arrived. Thankfully Lexa had organised the phone, internet and electricity to be connected the day they moved in otherwise she might have had to deal with Anya's attitude.
Two sets of feet trudging down the stairs alerted Lexa to her sister's presence. She took a deep breath and prepared herself for Anya's quips and snide remarks. They were all the family had heard since the day of their parents' funeral. As the pair reached the living room, the sound of the doorbell echoed through the empty house. Aden bounded for the door with Lexa hot on his heels. If it wasn't military personnel, it was someone sharing their condolences with the young family at the door and Lexa didn't want Aden seeing another sympathetic look. The pair opened the door to see a beautiful blonde girl about Lexa's age and another woman who appeared to be her mother.
"Hi" Lexa smiled awkwardly as she wrapped an arm around her brother's shoulder, holding him close.
"Hi" the blonde beamed, her bright blue eyes shining in the late afternoon sunlight. Lexa was mesmerised by the pools of heavenly blue staring back at her. It took a nudge from Aden to bring her back to reality.
"I'm Abby Griffin and this is my daughter Clarke" the brunette standing at the door smiled as she extended her hand to Lexa. "We live across the street".
Lexa shook her hand politely before sharing a quick glance with Clarke before feeling the rest of her siblings join them at the door. "I'm Lexa and this is Aden, Anya, Ontari, Tristan and Dax" she introduced as each of the Woods children waved as their names were called. "We just moved in"
"If you can call it that" Anya scoffed as her eyes stayed glued to her cell phone. Shooting her sister a stern glare, Lexa sighed as it went unseen.
"The moving truck will be here in the morning. We're camping out in the living room for our first night" Lexa chuckled as she twirled the ends of her ponytail with her free hand. Turning to her siblings for a moment, Lexa nudged Anya with her foot to get her attention. "Why don't you guys go decide on what we're having for dinner and order it. Anything but pizza, please"
"Burgers!" Tristan calls.
"Chinese" Aden added as the five youngest Woods' retreated back toward the kitchen arguing over their choices. Sighing softly, Lexa hoped Abby and Clarke didn't judge her for the lack of control she seemed to have over her family.
"Don't worry, we have a full house too" Clarke chuckled softly hoping it eased Lexa's mind. "Bellamy's the eldest then Octavia, Raven and Charlotte are all younger than me". Lexa could have easily gotten lost in the sweet symphony of Clarke's voice. Like wind whistling through the trees late at night or the light hearted giggle of her youngest brothers, Lexa could listen to Clarke's voice forever.
"I'd love to meet your Mom or Dad if they're around" Abby spoke up, unaware of the connection between her daughter and their new neighbour.
Lexa's hand rubbed the back of her neck nervously as she thought about how to tell their new neighbours of their situation. Thankful that she'd sent her siblings back into the house, Lexa didn't want them around to see Abby and Clarke's smiles fall to looks of pity. "Uh… it's just us kids. Our parents were killed on active duty in the Middle East. I'm 18 so I'm their legal guardian" she spoke softly. Looking up from her feet where her eyes had gravitated, Lexa was surprised to see the expressions on Abby and Clarke's faces. While there was a sense of sympathy, there was no pity but flickers of hope and pride.
"You should be very proud of your parents for their service" Abby began with a smile. "And very proud of yourself for becoming their guardian. If you need a hand wrangling them or need a break just let me know. I'm a paediatrician and a foster parent, I know a thing or two about kids"
"Thank you Abby" Lexa smiled as her anxiety began to lift. It was like striking gold, moving in across the street from the Griffin family. The sound of Lexa's siblings arguing in the kitchen grew louder as they fought over what to eat. It was a common sound in the Woods' house but if they didn't decide soon, they'd never eat. "I should go tame the beasts"
"I'll send my husband Marcus and the kids over to help you guys move in the morning. Many hands make light work"
"That would be amazing, thank you"
"If you need extra pillows and whatever for your living room camp out, let us know. We have heaps" Clarke added before she and Abby said their goodbyes and made their way home. Lexa watched the pair walk back across the street until they'd both disappeared through their heavy oak door. With a slight smile, she still couldn't believe how lucky they'd gotten to have the Griffin's just across the road. Lexa shut their door as the sound of her siblings argument got to the point of ear piercing and retreated to the kitchen.
She found Aden, Ontari and Dax on one side of the kitchen island with Anya and Tristan on the other shouting at each other. It was so loud that Lexa couldn't even make out what they were arguing about. "ENOUGH!" she boomed causing her five siblings to fall instantly silent. If Lexa had one superpower it was getting the Woods' children to shut up.
"What are the choices you're all arguing about?"
Dax, while the youngest was definitely the boldest of the family and spoke up. "Anya and Tristan want burgers but Aden, Ontari and me want Chinese food"
"Aden, Ontari and I" Lexa corrected without even thinking. It was a bad habit of hers that annoyed her siblings, especially Anya to no end. "If we order Chinese food tonight then we'll cook up some burgers on the grill tomorrow night when the barbeque gets here on the truck"
"Of course" Anya scoffed before pulling out her phone and disappearing back upstairs. With a heavy sigh, Lexa didn't bother to chase after her. She'd spent the last month since they lost their parents trying to talk to Anya but Lexa had gotten to the point where she was ready to give up. Maybe Lexa would need to enlist the help of Abby with Anya.
Lexa got everyone's requests written down before googling the number of the local Chinese takeaway and ordering enough food to feed her army. While they waited for their food, they set up all their sleeping bags and whatever pillows and blankets they could fit in Lexa's car on the living room floor. Pulling up Netflix on her laptop, Lexa connected it to her projector onto the crisp cream wall. Other than her siblings and their photos, Lexa's laptop and projector were the most essential things she had to pack into her car.
Anya joined her family when the food arrived and sat silently by them as the movie Aden got to pick played on the wall. If Lexa could get anything from their first night in their new home was that they were all fed, entertained and quiet. It may not have been much but it was a win for Lexa.
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