[b][center][h3]What Sisters are for[/h3][/center][/b]

Bailey wasn't exactly [i]sheltered[/i] from what was going on with her mother and her brother. She didn't say anything but ... her families lifestyle caused some [i]difficulties[/i] for her at school. No one knew, but the bitchy girls called her names between class periods, passed hateful notes to her and sniggered when she walked by. A couple of times Aunt May slept in and no one made lunch for her and she had to try get money to buy lunch. She tried to play it off but the other girls eventually figured out.
[i]"Did your gold-digger mom forget to make lunch for you again Snailey?"[/i]
[i]"I bet her mom doesn't even come home at night, she just hops from one businessmans bed to another"[/i]
[i]"Maybe her fag-brother could make her lunch"[/i]
[i]"He's too busy being a fudge-packer with his boyfriend to make her lunch"[/i]
[i]"Maybe it runs in the family. Are you gay too Snailey? Do you like kissing girls? You're so gross and ugly and fat, no one would like you anyway"[/i]

Crying alone in her room didn't work ... not since Leith had to move back in, and brought Ceren with him. More often than not one or the other of them was home. Leith worked a lot but Ceren studied, he wasn't out as much as Leith was, but he was still someone there. Bailey had told her family she'd joined choir, just so she could lock herself in the school toilets after final class and cry for a bit before putting on a brave face and going home again.  
The bullies didn't know how good Meredith was ... Richard was ... [i]alright[/i], he didn't like Leith, and that annoyed Bailey, but aside from that, he was ... bearable. Bailey put up with him, Leith kept his distance. If he made their mom happy, they just had to put up with it and that was that. Finding out about the bullies would crush Leith, and Bailey couldn't bring herself to tell her mom about the nasty things the girls at school said. They didn't understand, they couldn't understand or find out. 

Ceren wasn't so bad either, Leith always spoiled Bailey, she couldn't bear for anything to ruin that and Ceren making Leith happy also made Bailey happy. Leith done his best to keep Ceren and Richard completely separated but they'd crossed paths eventually and it had done a number on him, probably Ceren too. Leith wasn't himself for weeks afterwards, then eventually he just pretended it never even happened but Bailey knew he remembered every single detail. Mom had tried to talk to him about it one night and he completely shut down the conversation, he couldn't talk about it and no one had tried since. He'd been out for a while, nervous at first, but then he grew comfortable and confident. Richard had been a huge knock back for him, as if the supportive net beneath him had been ripped out from under him, even though as far as Bailey was concerned, Mom and Taron and Aunt May were always there for him. 


May was cleaning up around the kitchen when Meredith came home. [b]"Ah, the wanderer returns, good night was it?"[/b] she asked. Being a beautician meant she was a maven for gossip, then again, she'd been that way before becoming a nail technician so it was probably just her personality. She was a dreadful gossip but at least with the family, she kept every secret safe. She owed Meredith a lot, letting her move in so she wasn't alone after her partner passed away. Though May didn't have kids, she adored having Meredith's kids around her, there was almost always company, it beat her silent apartment and all the memories of her former flame. The least she could do was help around the home and be a listening ear, goodness knows the family needed one from time to time. 
[b]"Leith's gone down to the garage, he's working at the coffee shop tonight as well, everyone else is still in bed but I heard noise upstairs so one of them is getting up"[/b] she explained. Her heart ached for her big sister, who loved nothing more than her kids and providing for them and making a bright, happy home. Her ex-husband leaving had been a bit of a knock back, but she'd soldiered through and made ends meet and done her best. May couldn't help but applaud her for her strength. Leith had been troublesome in his teens, his sexuality tormented him, and now Bailey was in her teens too, more toruble would come, at least Leith could help out now, when Leith went through his rebellious phase, Meredith was facing a teenager for the first time, now she had experience and backup to help with Taron and Bailey when they acted up.  

[b]"Oh ... I see"[/b] May said quietly at the non-invitation Ceren received to dinner ... Richard wasn't going to soften on that agenda that was for sure. 
[b]"Leith isn't going to like that."[/b] May wondered if it was even worth telling Leith about Richard's invitation at all, it would only hurt him to bring it up. 
May partook in a glass of wine, it was too early in the day to be drinking ... [i]alone[/i], so she would join her sister to spare her. 
[b]"Sweetie you know I wouldn't mind, but I'm still grieving Will, it just doesn't feel right to get out there again, and besides, you were always the prettier sister we both know it so don't deny it. It's you he wants, not me"[/b] she explained. She couldn't bear to see Meri so miserable, but Richard wasn't physically abusive. He was a bit of an ass, but he spoiled her and took care of the kids ... well, [i]some[/i] of the kids, Leith he sort of just ... tolerated, and barely at that. 

[b]"You're a mother, you want your kids, you can have a man too ... and he really is too good to chuck away"[/b] she pointed out, [b]"Maybe you and Richard and the kids can sort something out so you can spend more time here at home. Theres room in your room for him to move in here, he'd have to find a way to deal with Leith and Ceren but it would sort out somehow, and if he's not into that ... well, he's practically got a mansion in the hills, everyone could have their own room there if you tied the knot and you [i]know[/i] Bailey will want her own room back. She's been good so far but she's 13, once she gets her period she's not going to want her older brother and his boyfriend within 10 feet of her. Already it's just too crowded with him back but you know Leith wouldn't burden you if he had any other choice"[/b].

Leith was really trying ... Two jobs, he put in insane hours in both, but he couldn't help that rents had gone crazy and his flatmates had opted to study abroad and travel or move to another state. He couldn't afford to live on his own and Meredith wouldn't see him out on the streets or slumming in a grotty apartment in a dangerous neighbourhood either. When she heard about Ceren getting kicked out of his home just for being with Leith ... well the boxes were in the hall that week and the house had an extra two tennants. May wondered if she ought to move out to ease the strain, but Meredith insisted she stick around, considering how long she spent out of the home, it almost made sense, she needed May to stay there, Leith couldn't do it all on his own, he was only 25, he was too young to raise his younger siblings and maintain a home. Men his age were out drinking, partying, making bad decisions and enjoying themselves, not working the hours Leith did and then playing the house-maker role when they came home. 

[b]"Oh, hold that thought, I think thats Bailey, I'll go put on some eggs, you want scrambled or fried?"[/b] May asked, [b]"You can go wake up Taron if you're not too busy necking that wine"[/b] May teased, grabbing some plates fromthe cupboard and putting on the toaster. [b]"Oh and tell Ceren that Leith told him he's free to meet up for lunch."[/b]