A week later, Gabriella had called Robert because Everly had gotten upset about something she had said and left the house.
"I'm sure that she is with Tori or Uncle Chad and Aunt Tay or grandma and grandpa" Robert said.
Ashley was at Robert's apartment doing her homework. She saw how stressed out Robert was. Ashley got up and walked over to Robert, who was sitting on the couch. She sat down next to him and placed her head on Robert's shoulder and entwined their fingers together. Ashley squeezed her boyfriend's hand gently and supportively. Robert squeezed her hand back. The doorbell rang. Ashley let go of Robert's hand and walked to the door and opened it. Ashley's eyes widened when she saw Everly standing at the door. Ashley turned around and looked at Robert.
"Tell your mom that Ev is here" Ashley said.
Robert told Gabriella that Everly was at the apartment and hung up. Everly and Ashley walked into the living room.
"What happened?" Robert asked looking at his sister.
"I just got irritated" Everly said.
"Everly, you can't just up and leave the house like that. How did you get here?" Robert asked.
"I called a car service" Everly said.
Robert sighed.
"I'm taking you home" Robert said.
"Rob- "Everly started.
"Everly, let's go" Robert said firmly.
Everly sighed. Robert looked at Ashley.
"Sorry baby" Robert said as he kissed Ashley's lips.
"Don't be hard on her" Ashley said.
Robert and Everly left the apartment. Robert was driving Everly home in silence. Once they got to the Bolton home, Everly looked at Robert.
"I don't understand why I couldn't just stay at your house for a couple hours. It's not like I haven't hung out with you guys before" Everly said.
Robert shook his head.
"This isn't about that. You ran away, Ev. You took a car service across town to my apartment without anyone knowing where you went. You need to face mom and dad and whatever happened" Robert said.
"Fine" Everly mumbled.
Robert and Everly got out of the car. They walked to the front door and rang the doorbell. Gabriella came to the door and opened it. Gabriella took a deep breath and released it when she saw Everly and Robert.
"Thank you, Rob" Gabriella said.
"No problem" Robert said.
"Upstairs, Everly" Gabriella said.
Everly passed by Robert and Gabriella and went upstairs. Gabriella looked at Robert.
"How did she get there?" Gabriella asked.
"She said that she took a car service" Robert said.
Gabriella shook her head.
"What did she do?" Robert asked.
"She got a C on a chemistry test" Gabriella said.
Robert nodded.
"She is upset that I was hard on her about it" Gabriella continued.
"She needs to pass it" Robert said.
"Yeah. Anyway, sorry for that" Gabriella said.
Robert smiled.
"At least she came to me instead of somewhere else. I know that she will be mad at me for a while" Robert said.
"Yeah. She will be okay in a day or two" Gabriella said.
Robert nodded. He hugged his mother.
"Bye honey. Love you. Thank you" Gabriella said.
"No problem. Love you" Robert said.
Robert drove home. When he got back to his apartment, Ashley looked at him.
"What happened?" Ashley asked.
"She got a C on a test and my parents got upset with her" Robert said sitting down on the couch.
"Why did she come here though?" Ashley asked.
"I think she thought that I would stick up for her" Robert said.
"Is she mad at you?" Ashley asked.
"Probably. But, in a day or two she will be fine" Robert said.
Ashley nodded. She went back to doing her homework. Robert joined her. A couple of days later, Robert walked into his parents' house. He saw Everly sitting at the center island with her homework. He walked over to the center island and sat down next to her.
"Go away. I don't want to talk to you" Everly said.
"Everly, come on" Robert said.
"No, you really made me mad" Everly said.
Troy walked into the room and saw Everly and Robert talking. He knew what they were talking about.
"I'm sorry that I made you mad. But I wasn't going to let you just sit at my apartment while mom and dad were looking for you. What were you thinking?" Robert asked.
"You said that if I ever needed you, I could come over" Everly said.
Robert sighed.
"Yes, I did say that. But I was thinking that you would tell mom and dad first before running away and coming over" Robert said.
Robert saw his father in the corner of his eye. He looked at Troy. Troy nodded, signaling that he wanted Robert to continue.
"Well, you are an adult. You could have told them and let me stay" Everly said.
"Everly, I love you so much. But there are other people that you need to think about too. What about Ashley? Did you think about how she would feel?" Robert asked.
"She would have been fine with it" Everly argued.
"What if she wasn't? I'm done arguing with you. I apologized and you can take it or leave it" Robert said.
"Whatever" Everly said as she took all her books and left the room and went upstairs.
Robert groaned. Troy smiled. He walked closer to Robert.
"Do you want me to try and talk to her?" Troy asked.
Robert shook his head.
"There obviously is a bigger issue here" Robert said.
"Why don't you try and talk to her again and see if she will open up to you?" Troy asked.
"She's just going to get defensive and shut off" Robert said.
"Just try it and see" Troy said.
"Okay" Robert said.
Troy smiled and patted his son's shoulder. Robert walked upstairs and saw that Everly's door was closed. He took a deep breath and released it. Robert knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" Everly asked.
"Can we talk?" Robert asked.
"I don't want to talk to you" Everly said.
"Ev, come on. You can't be mad at me forever" Robert said.
Everly opened the door and looked at her older brother.
"Can we talk?" Robert asked again.
"Fine" Everly said breathlessly.
Robert walked into Everly's bedroom and shut the door behind them. He sat down on her desk and looked at his sister.
"Do you want to tell me what's going on?" Robert asked.
Everly looked down at her hands.
"You've always had my back. Even when I was wrong, you always defended me and helped me stay out of trouble. You were always someone that I could talk to about everything. Last night that is what I wanted. I was hurt when you didn't have my back. You basically threw me to the wolves instead. I just felt like you didn't care" Everly said softly.
"Everly" Robert said gently.
Everly was still looking down at her hands.
"I will always have your back, Ev. Always. Last night was kind of hard. I am not a teenager anymore and there are things that I need to do to keep you safe. I knew mom and dad would be trying to figure out where you were. I had to tell them, Ev. You can always talk to me about anything, you know that already. I know that I've been busy, and I haven't come home a lot. But I still love and care about you. I'm sorry if I gave you that impression. It was never my intention to" Robert said.
Everly nodded.
"Are we cool?" Robert asked.
"Yeah" Everly said.
Robert smiled.
"Come here" Robert said.
Everly got up and walked over to Robert and hugged him.
"I love you" Robert said.
"I love you too" Everly said.
"Ashley, mom, dad, and I can talk about having you come over once a week to hang out" Robert said.
"Okay" Everly said.
"Okay" Robert said.
Everly and Robert walked downstairs. Troy looked at his children.
"I'm going to dance" Everly said.
"Okay" Troy and Robert said.
Everly left the house. Troy looked at Robert.
"What did she say?" Troy asked.
"She misses me" Robert said.
Troy smiled slightly.
"She was hurt that I didn't have her back about what was going on. I explained to her that it was different now that I am an adult. Plus, I have Ashley too" Robert said.
Troy nodded.
"She wants you around" Troy said.
Robert nodded.
"I told her that you, mom, Ashley, and I would talk about maybe coming up with a day that she could come over and hang out" Robert said.
Troy smiled.
"That would be nice. So, you see a future with Ashley?" Troy asked.
Robert nodded.
"She keeps me grounded. There are things that I would totally react to differently if I wasn't with her. She has helped me see things rationally. Like with Ev, she tried to calm me down because I was so frustrated" Robert said.
Troy smiled.
"She's your mom" Troy joked.
Robert closed his eyes and laughed.
"No. She just has mom attributes, which I love" Robert said.
Troy smiled.
"Sounds like you found a good one" Troy said.
Robert smiled and nodded. That night, Robert walked into the apartment after being in class for a couple of hours. He walked into the living room and smiled when he saw Ashley sleeping on the couch with her books and laptop surrounding her on the floor. Robert walked over to Ashley and kneeled in front of her. He gently kissed his girlfriend's forehead. Ashley moaned and opened her eyes slowly.
"Hi" Robert said.
"Hi, how was class?" Ashley asked.
"Long. You ready for bed?" Robert asked.
Ashley nodded. Robert stood up and waited for Ashley. Ashley took Robert's hand and entwined their fingers together. They walked into the bedroom. Robert changed into his pajamas. He then got into bed. Ashley snuggled into Robert's chest.
"Did Ev talk to you when you went over to your parents' house?" Ashley asked.
"Yeah. I told her that we would have to talk to my mom and dad about a day where she could come over and hang out with us" Robert said.
Ashley nodded.
"Was she still mad at you?" Ashley asked.
Robert nodded.
"She was mad initially. But then we finally talked" Robert said.
"So, you guys are cool now?" Ashley asked.
Robert nodded. He kissed Ashley's lips softly.
"Good" Ashley said.
The couple fell asleep. A couple of months later, Robert and Ashley had been dating for a year. It was Friday and Everly was going to come over to Robert's apartment to hang out with him and Ashley. Easton had basketball practice and couldn't join them. The doorbell rang and Robert walked to the door and opened it.
"Hey guys" Robert said.
Troy and Everly stood in front of the door.
"Hi" Everly said.
"Let me know when you want me to come to pick her up, Rob" Troy said.
"Okay" Robert said.
Robert and Everly walked into the apartment.
"Babe, Ev is here" Robert said.
Ashley walked into the entryway of the apartment.
"Hi Ev" Ashley said hugging her.
"Hi" Everly said.
"What are we doing babe?" Robert asked.
"Do you want to go eat?" Ashley asked looking at her boyfriend.
The couple then looked at Everly.
"Did you eat Everly?" Robert asked.
"No" Everly said.
"Okay, let's go eat" Robert said picking up his keys.
The couple and Everly drove to a local restaurant.
"How's dance been?" Robert asked.
"It's been okay. We got a couple of new people and there is drama" Everly said.
"What kind of drama?" Robert asked.
"Who is doing all the flips and who is the one in front when we are dancing. Stuff like that" Everly said.
"So typical high school drama?" Ashley asked.
Everly nodded.
"Any boys?" Robert asked.
Everly shook her head.
"They all think I'm weird" Everly said.
"That's because they don't know you" Robert said.
"But, even when I try, they still don't like me" Everly said.
"You are going to find someone that loves you for you, Ev. You just have to be patient" Ashley said.
Robert smiled.
"You are also sixteen. You are still young. It's not like you are going to marry this guy the first time you meet him" Robert said.
Everly nodded. The couple and Everly ate. They then drove Everly home. When they got to the front door, Gabriella opened the door.
"Hi guys" Gabriella said.
"Hi mom" Robert said.
Everly hugged her brother.
"Thanks for hanging out with me today" Everly whispered into her brother's ear.
Robert smiled.
"I'm glad you had fun. We should do this again" Robert said.
Everly nodded her head.
"I love you" Everly said.
"I love you too. Be good. Call me if you need me, okay?" Robert said.
"Okay" Everly said.
Everly let go of her older brother and walked into the house.
"How was it?" Gabriella asked.
"It was fun. We talked about school and all the drama that was happening at dance" Robert said.
Gabriella giggled.
"Welcome to the club. We hear it all day long" Gabriella said.
Robert chuckled.
"It really means a lot to her that you are spending time together" Gabriella said.
Robert smiled.
"She looks up to you. You've always been a big part of her life. I think she just needed to know that even though things are changing, she will always be your sister and you will always be her brother" Gabriella said.
Robert nodded.
"I think that she feels how serious Ashley and I are getting. I don't think she was expecting it and she kind of freaked out. I told her that I love her and that she can call me whenever she needs to" Robert said.
Gabriella smiled.
"I think that she is used to you protecting her. I think that when it became the other way around, she didn't know how to handle it" Gabriella said.
Robert nodded. He said goodbye to his mother and got back into the car.
"What did your mom say?" Ashley asked.
"She said that she is glad that we are spending time with Everly. Now that you and I are getting more serious, Everly needs to know that she is still an important person in my life" Robert said.
Ashley smiled.
"She will always be your sister" Ashley said.
Robert nodded.
"I know that me being away from home for longer periods of time is a big transition for her" Robert said.
"Yeah, but you are working on that which is good, babe" Ashley said.
Robert smiled slightly.
"Thanks" Robert said.
Ashley smiled.
"Anytime" Ashley said.
Robert and Ashley drove to Robert's apartment. Robert was glad that he was spending more time with his sister and making sure that she knew that she was an important person in his life.