Hello there, my lovelies! Welcome to the long-awaited sequel! I've been so excited for this since I've had so many things planned! I have no schedule for this story because I don't want to burn myself out or anything. Don't really have much to say because I'm really tired and can't think of words right now. I hope you lovelies are ready for this journey! ~Shaymie

Philip

I hit the snooze button on my alarm and groaned as I crawled out of my cocoon of blankets. Today was the last day of summer, and I couldn't even spend it with my friends. Mom and Dad were picking up Uncle Gil from the airport, which meant that I was stuck babysitting. Aunt Peggy would have gone with them, but she was too busy managing both Uncle Gil's restaurant and her hair salon.

I dragged myself out of bed and stumbled towards the bathroom. I washed my face and brushed through my hair. I was the only person in this house with such wild and curly hair. Clover and Finn liked to joke that I was a long-lost Laurens sibling. We looked so similar, people were convinced my mother had cheated on my dad with Uncle John.

As if. My parents were ridiculously in love with each other. Like, sickeningly so. They were one of the few couples I knew had been together since high school. Their love was the sappy kind that was in those teen movies. They weren't just husband and wife. They were soulmates. How else could they have fallen in love after only knowing each other for a few days? It was because of them that Rachel believed so firmly in the idea of love at first sight.

I quickly got ready and made my way downstairs. As I expected, my parents were the only ones awake. Dad was leaned over his laptop, his fingers flying across the keyboard. A cup of coffee sat forgotten next to him. He seemed to run primarily on caffeine. He would probably forget to eat if Mom didn't remind him to. He was a bit of a workaholic. Mom shook her head and sighed.

"Al, we have to go," she murmured, putting her hand over his. He looked up at her, a childish pout on his face. She rolled her eyes and leaned over to whisper something in his ear, a sly grin on her face. Whatever she said to him was enough to make him slam his laptop shut and dart out the door. Mom snorted and looked at me. "We'll be back in a few hours, okay? Try to not let your siblings completely ruin the house, okay?"

"I'll try my best." Mom grinned and followed after Dad with a bit of a hop in her step. I don't even want to know what they were planning on doing, but I hoped it didn't result in me getting any more siblings. Five was enough, thank you very much. I yawned and filled Buck's food bowl. I had no idea where he was, but if I had to bet, he was probably in the twins' room. He loved to eat whatever food they dropped on their floor. The worst thing I've seen in there is a whole bowl of popcorn.

I killed the next hour by tidying up around the house. Knowing Mom, she was going to invite Uncle Gil and my cousins over and she'd kill me if the house was a mess. My fingers froze over the puzzle AJ and Harmony had been working on. I didn't want to disturb it, especially since they were almost done with it. I wasn't in the mood to deal with Harmony's tantrum. Just the other day she threw a cup at the wall because she wasn't allowed to eat Buck's food.

I poked my head into AJ and Will's room, since they were the closest to the living room. Their room was, as usual, a mess. Legos and science magazines littered the floor. I sighed and closed the door. I wasn't going to clean up their mess. AJ was very particular about how his things were put up. He refused to let Mom anywhere near his science kits. I closed the door and headed towards the twins' room.

Their room was a fluffy pile of stuffed animals and pillows. Just as I thought, Buck was here, lying near their pillow fort as if he was keeping watch. The twins were asleep inside the fort and didn't even budge when I put a blanket over them. I scratched Buck behind the ear and left their room, nearly jumping out of my skin when I saw Rachel standing outside the door. She blinked when she saw me and smiled.

"Good morning, Pip! Did Mom and Dad leave already?" I couldn't help but smile at her energy. My sister was a ball of sunshine. I don't think there's a single mean bone in her body. Dad said she reminded him of Mom when she was a teenager. It made sense, since Rach was almost an exact copy of our mother, even down to the freckles.

"They left an hour ago."

"Have you eaten breakfast yet?" Shit! I knew I forgot something. I was so busy with cleaning, I didn't even think about cooking breakfast for everyone else, let alone myself. Rachel's smile melted into a frown as I walked past her to the kitchen. Her quiet voice floated after me. "Philip, did you forget your medicine again?"

"I ran out. I was going to tell Mom I needed a refill but I... forgot. Again." Rachel's brows furrowed as I rummaged through the fridge. What was something I could make quickly with the least chance of a fire? Pancakes? Clover had shown me how to use the griddle, so that could work-

"Breathe, Philip. It's alright." Rachel grabbed my hand and pulled me over to a seat. I took deep breaths and looked at my sister. She smiled and kissed my cheek. "I'll take care of breakfast, okay? You just sit and relax."

"Rach-"

"Hush! You're supposed to be relaxing. I don't want you to have a heart attack or something."

I watched as my sister started to gather ingredients for breakfast. I had no idea what she was going to make, but it was sure to be delicious. She was a better cook than me. She had helped out at Uncle Gil's restaurant over the summer. As she was getting started cooking, our younger siblings started leaving their rooms. First the twins (and Buck, who immediately walked over to his food bowl), then AJ and Will. Melody climbed into the chair next to me and pulled my sleeve. I looked down at her curiously.

"Buck chewed on Mr. Bun Bun again," she frowned, her eyes filling with tears. Mr. Bun Bun was her favorite stuffed animal. Buck chewed on him so much, he was basically patchwork at this point. Mom had to keep sewing him back together every week.

"Mom will be home soon, Mel. She'll make him feel all better, okay?"

She sniffled and nodded. I ruffled her hair and kissed her head. It felt like every day there was some new crisis in our house. If Melody's stuffed animals weren't getting chewed up, AJ's science kit was on fire, or Will was missing a critical piece to his Lego set. Life in the Hamilton house was hectic, but I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.