It had only been a month since we had arrived to Santa Cruz but it was already time for Daniel to leave. He and our dad were going to unpack his new dorm and instead of coming back here, he was just going to stay in Houston. Supposedly it was to start studying for college but I know it was most likely to hang out with AJ before he left.

I went to his room and watched him pack from the bed. I was sad to see him leave. Without Daniel here, there was no reminder that nothing really changes, that everything can stay the same. Because Daniel never changes. He was still my same obnoxious older brother that drove me crazy.

"I wish you weren't leaving" I said suddenly, tucking my knees against my chest. Daniel gave me a look.

"You know I need too" he said. I sighed.

"Yeah but …. You're going to miss my birthday!" I exclaimed sullenly.

"I'll give you my present when you come back home" he answered, placing his shorts into his suitcase.

"It's not the same. Will you at least send me a postcard from the university?" I asked him. I knew I was sounding a little whiny but I had never been away from Daniel… no matter how much he made me angry.

"Sure Katie. Whatever you want" Daniel finally answered as he zipped up his suitcase.

"And could you bring me a sweatshirt from U. Houston?" I asked him, watching Daniel lift his suitcase onto the floor by the door.

"If I remember" Daniel said checking his closet for any leftover items.

"I'll text you to remind you" I responded quietly.

"Alright and then it will be your birthday present"

"Deal" I answered him, running my fingers over his comforter, "Um I'll probably miss you… you know a little bit." I glanced up to see his reaction.

"You'll probably be too busy to miss me" Daniel answered but when he glanced at me, his gaze softened, "I'll probably miss you too, Katie pie"

I shot up from the bed and hugged him tightly. He patted my back.

"Don't worry, I'm not leaving forever. You'll see me in month" he comforted.

"A month and a half" I mumbled into his shirt.

"Just be careful. Okay? Don't do anything stupid" he told me. I was confused.

"I won't! And don't you do anything stupid either" I answered him but Daniel shook his head at me like I was a child. I would have said something but I didn't want to ruin his last night here with a fight.

That night for dinner, we had all of Daniel's favorites and we recounted some of our favorite stories with him.

"I can't believe your leaving us with Kaitlyn" Cody shook his head at Daniel. Dolph and Daniel laughed while I glared at him.

"Please. Like I'm any happier to spend time with you!" I exclaimed. Cody gave me a lazy smile and shook his head at me. I shivered as his look gave me goosebumps. Dolph wrapped his arm around me.

"Don't worry Cody. Katie will be with me and you don't have to worry" Dolph grinned. I leaned into him and grinned back. Before I could say anything Cody gave us a dirty look and stuffed some bread into his mouth.

"Kaitlyn is always a pain in the butt. Do you guys remember that summer when we had to save her from Damien?" Cody asked. I glared at him.

"Wow. I can't believe you remember that! I was what, 6?" Dolph thought aloud.

"Yeah. That piece of shit deserved what we did to him" Daniel smirked. I scoffed.

"Oh please! I never asked you guys to do anything!" I retorted hotly. Trish shook her head.

"I can't believe you four remember that summer. Steph and I were so proud of you boys…" Trish stated. Daniel smiled at me softly.

"Of course. Katie is my baby sis and no one picks on her but us" he said aloud and my eyes almost watered.

About 10 years ago, the boys met a new boy on the beach. I was 5 then. His family bought a beach house on Santa Cruz and they were pretty excited to meet the family when the boys heard they had a son their age. I remember being annoyed that they didn't have any girls. Damien was 7 years old and very very smart. I remember Trish mentioning that he was a child genius. The boys liked him right away and took him into their gang. I was jealous that this boy had just moved onto the beach and he was accepted so quickly.

I had thought that perhaps since Damien was new, he would be the easiest to crack. I decided to become friends with him and hope that he would slowly allow me into the fold. So I began to follow him around and try to talk to him. At first Damien was standoffish but slowly began to ignore me, his way of accepting that I wasn't going away. But that all changed one day.

It was a warm Saturday afternoon. We were sitting on the beach, bored and hot. The boys decided to send me back to the beach house to get fruit punch. I would have thrown a tantrum and refused to leave but Damien was there and I didn't want him to think of me as a baby. I ran to the house and grabbed some fruit punch. It was difficult to carry all five glasses but somehow I managed. Unfortunately when I returned to the beach, I tripped over our beach blanket and all of the drinks spilled onto Damien. He was furious.

"You ignoramus!" he shouted at me, "This shirt was SILK!"

I didn't know what ignoramus meant but the way he said it made me think he was insulting me. Daniel and Cody sat up quickly. Dolph looked confused.

"What did you call her?" Daniel asked. Damien spared him half-a-glance.

"An ignoramus. You know, an ignorant person, a dunce, an uncouth, unrefined individual" he answered. I saw the anger on their faces and I decided to speak up. I didn't want them to lose a friend.

"I'm sorry!" I exclaimed and he glared at me.

"God. You decorum appalls me. I don't know how you EVER made it this far with your CLEARLY deficient gene pool!" he exclaimed. I started to tear up. Daniel and Cody looked furious now and even Dolph looked upset.

"How can you say that? Katie isn't defi-defi-what you said!" Dolph said in a hurt voice, looking at me. I wanted to smile at him to show that it was okay but the tears wouldn't stop.

"You know, ignorance is curable but stupid is forever" Damien finally said. Daniel growled and tackled Damien to the ground.

"You piece of crap! That's my baby sister! How dare you talk to her like that!" Daniel shouted. Cody gave Damien the dirtiest look I had ever seen.

"There is NOTHING wrong with Kaitlyn. You're the problem" he spat before punching Damien in the face. I screamed and started to cry harder. Dolph scooted closer to me and took my hand quietly. Daniel and Cody started to attack Damien together.

My scream alerted our mothers and Stephanie gasped before pulling them apart.

"NO ONE INSULTS KATIE BUT US!" Daniel screamed at Damien from our mom's arms.

"You better not come near us again. Or else" Cody warned harshly. Our mothers were angry at first but they calmed down a little when the boys explained what happened. They were nice to me for the first time I could remember. Daniel invited me to play with them later and Dolph gave me his desert. I was happy that their attention was on me for once but it went away a few days later.

"Wow" I stated glancing at Trish and Stephanie, "I didn't know you two were proud of Daniel and Cody! You were so angry!"

"Yeah because we didn't want you to think the way to solve problems is through violence but we were proud of you for sticking up for Katie" my mom replied and I smiled. I barely remembered that summer and now that I did, I felt all warm and fuzzy inside. The boys did love me enough to stick up for me when I needed it.

Daniel and the McMahon boys left really the next morning. I said goodbye to Daniel but I knew better than asking to go along with them to the airport. Not only would Daniel turn me down, but I knew he wanted that time with the boys to say goodbye. They were a unit, and they would be right until the end. But sometimes, I was included.