Chapter Text
My grandfather knew Tobias Hawthorne. They weren’t exactly close, but one or two times a year, before they both passed away, Tobias would buy countless produce from him, for at least double the price, if not triple. My family wasn’t rich, far from it, so while this was definitely good for him, we were left with the question of why.
When asked, my grandfather would say things about how he’s an old friend or a business partner. Throwaway lines like that, lines designed to downplay. Or on rare occasions, he said that Tobias was “just liked the taste of Kansas farming.” Then he would laugh, a wheezy laugh that only he could make sound friendly. I loved the sound of his laugh, and was devasted the day I couldn't recall the sound.
He had always made sure to visit my grandfather personally. I remember meeting him multiple times when I was younger. He would’ve looked like just another elderly man, if not for the security that always followed him. He had a nice smile, though. One that sticks with you. A little crooked, always charming.
I talked to him a couple times, and he always liked when I would talk about the future. I used to be super excited to grow up and go to college, and I would talk to anyone I could about it, including him. I look back on those days fondly. I used to be so excited to grow up.
Most times his grandsons would come along. Nash, Grayson, Jameson, and Xander. They started coming around when me and Xander were 9. Nash was definitely my favorite back then, since he always made sure that both mine and his brothers included me. I think he took pity of me being the only girl. Nash was more like a brother to me than my actual brothers were at the time, and looking back on that hurts more than I would like to admit.
I didn’t know Jameson and Xander that well, but we got along fine. They both weren’t used to having a sister figure, so at first, they didn’t really know what to make of me. Eventually we did start to get along, with them just treating my like they did my brothers, which worked for me great. Jameson was always fun to be around. Me and Xander were both the youngest, so we often times got paired together for games.
Grayson was always a wild card. Sometimes he would be cool, and sometimes he just wanted to absolutely dominate the game that we were all playing, which most of the time was cops and robbers. I definitely fought with him the most. I tended to be more sensitive, and was blunt, so you can imagine how well that went.
When he made me cry, the boys took sides, with my two brothers taking Grayson’s, Nash always taking mine, and Jameson and Xander being a 50/50. Grayson was naturally my least favorite Hawthorne brother. But still, he had his moments.
One time, I had broken my arm at school, meaning I was not allowed to play outside with the rest of them. I was of course angry; I wanted to go play with the older kids. Instead, I was stuck with a small bookshelf in the corner of the living room. While I loved to read, it was hard for me to hold a book with only one hand. And I guess Grayson took some sort of pity on me, because that day, instead of going outside with the other boys, Grayson sat and read me books for hours. For years after, that day still stuck with me.
Eventually, they stopped coming around. Tobias Hawthorne too, though he stopped after my grandfather passed away. While I was sad, it didn’t affect me that much. I hadn’t thought about that them for years, not until I watched the saga of Avery Grambs unfold. It had never really clicked for me that they were technically billionaires. Sure, they acted spoiled back then, but what kid doesn’t during that time?
While I was surprised, I also didn’t really care. I had my own life. I wasn’t doing the best in school; I was getting more tired of everything. I didn’t want to eat, that took too much effort. I was just trying to get through the day. The week. The month. The year.
That was, anyway, until I received a visitor.