There would be days like this

 

Maybe he was just too close to the situation now. Mario didn't really know. Why hadn't he figured his little sister out? God knows Caitlin was enough to keep his mind stressed, but Sammie, quiet little Sammie was seeing this wayward kid named Gabe. It just didn't sit well with him. He looked Sammie in the eye with a HOW COULD YOU LOOK.

"I don't want you seeing him, ever again!" Mario snapped. 

"Hey now," Rico winced back as if he was there to protect Sammie. After all, he was sitting next to her on the couch at Mario and Brens. He immediately put his arm around her as if to protect her from him. "Don't say something you'll regret. You gotta hear her side. It can't be that bad." He looked over at Sammie and it just made Mario seethe more.

"You're in on this too," he pointed to Bren who was bringing snacks to the coffee table. Of course, she looked at him as if this doe wasn't going to wait around to get run over. She hurried back to the kitchen and Mario followed.

"Look, Rico is right," she said in a whisper. "You're just making a mountain out of a molehill." She swelled a frown. 

Honestly, it felt so strange to have a disagreement with her, but for a moment he did feel like his dad in this situation with Sammie. Why couldn't she be honest with him?

"You haven't even talked to her since she got here," Bren hugged herself. He didn't believe that.

"We talk." Of course, it was casual. Not a real conversation. But it wasn't like they hated either other, either.

"I tried to tell you it was someone," she was even-lipped. It was as if she knew he never really listened to her. "I didn't know who it was. But he can't be that bad. I mean, I have faith in her. She's a good judge of character."

Mario didn't know what he should do. About then Liv and his dad showed up as if they were late for the party. Naturally, Liv set next to Rico. Mario and Rico's Dad Cam came into the kitchen.

"Rico text me, what's going on?" Now it felt as if the Marines were here to take care of the situation.

Mario sighed. "Sammie's involved with someone." Mario could barely say what he knew.

"Involved?" His voice was so loud. Mario looked back at Sammie and he knew it made her jump. "Somebody at school?" Cam wanted to know if he would be on it, right now.

"No, he's not in school." Mario was straight-lipped. It felt like a double-edged sword of some kind. Would it have been worse if that were the case?

Suddenly, Bren was in a fret. There were things they both knew that Sammie was in an intimate situation with this Gabe. Like the grass stains on her clothes and the burn on her leg like a tattoo from her rides with him on his old scooter. 

Of course, Cam looked at both of them as if they needed to nip this in the bud before it could grow into something else.

"Look, you don't have to worry about me," Sammie stood up as if it was just old news. "I'm leaving, anyway. So..so don't have a cow!" She stomped off to her room.

"Did you know about that?" Mario looked to Bren. 

Of course, Rico got up as if he'd take care of this, but Cam told him it was Mario who had to see to it.

Mario nursed the corner of his bottom lip. He wished Rico could take care of this. Sammie seemed so much closer to Rico than Mario could ever be.