Grayson Matthews didnt pay attention to any of this. He didn't care if the day was sunny with fluffy clouds or stormy and grey. He never cared. He just wanted the day to end so he could go back to his run down apartment with the water stains where the roof had leaked and the peeling paint would likely never be scraped and repainted.

Grayson didnt care about this either. He didnt care about anything anymore. Atleast, thats what people said. What they didnt know is that Grayson had one thing he cared about. One regret. But he refused to admit that. Because if he did, it would show people that he wasnt as untouchable as he seemed.

Grayson walked down the street with his hands shoved in his jacket pockets. Shoulders hunched and his head down. He passed his apartment that was over a old store building. He wasnt going there yet. Auggie had told him that everyone was going to be there at dinner tonight. What Auggie had meant by everyone, was all the guys who lived on the street that preferred to be anywhere but home.

Unlike Grayson, Mark, and Jasper, the rest of the group was just a bunch of teenagers. Mark was the oldest of the group at the age of 25. He was the constantly tired responsible one of the group. Mark also took care of his younger brother Auggie while working construction and running an entire household filled with teenage boys. Mark was always fixing something and he couldnt seem to stop building or fixing something. Whenever something broke? You could always hear Mark yelling across the house for the duct tape.

Auggie's real name was August, but everyone called him Auggie. Auggie was the kind of kid who was always thinking a lot about what he had read and things people had said. He always had his head in the clouds and his nose in a book. Mostly always poetry books, as they were his favorite kind of book. He was also the most likely to ask, “Why are we even doing this?”

Mark had been taking care of Auggie for seven years since their dad had died of a heart attack. Their mom had left when Auggie was only two years old and they had never seen her after that. After their dad had died, the only options for Auggie had been to go into the system or for Mark to live with Mark. And Mark refused to have strangers to care for his little brother.

Next in the group was Jace and Jasper. They were cousins and were absolutely chaotic. But they were complete different types of chaos. Jace was more toned down than Jasper. Jace was the lets sneak as much sugar as possible and have a sugar rush and run around the yard until we pass out, kind of chaos.

Jasper was the kind of chaotic where your bed was never safe from worms and you always checked your pillowcase for rancid smelling socks. They both lived with Jaspers mom. She was a good mom and aunt, but she worked two jobs and wasnt able to be around much so Jace and Jasper hung out at Marks place.

Every day after school, Jace, Auggie, and Eli would walk home together because Jace and Eli mostly slept, and basically lived there anyway. Jasper was 19 so he didnt go to school. Instead, he bounced between jobs because keeping him busy was the key to keeping him out of trouble.

The person Grayson trusted more than anyone in the group was Eli. Eli was as as quiet and trustworthy as a 16 year old boy who always sat in the back of the classroom and played guitar in his spare time could be. Eli didn't talk much, but when he did? You knew it was important. Eli had once told Grayson “not everything needs to be said. Besides, actions mean ten times more than words ever will. Actions prove what a person truly feels and thinks. People can say the most pretty words and never mean any of it. But you can only cover actions for so long. Your true feelings eventually come out in your actions”

Eli knew better than anyone how people will say one thing but will do the exact opposite. Eli's parents had told him that they loved him and would always be there no matter what. But a week after they had told him that, they had abandoned him at his grandpa's house and didnt look back. His Grandpa had the early stages of dementia and sometimes forgot Eli was even there. But Eli was never bitter about his situation. Instead, he always said “There are a lot of kids in this country, not to mention the world, who don't get a meal every day. I have a roof over my head, shoes on my feet and clothes on my back and three meals a day and friends who prove every day that they care instead of just saying it”

Grayson often thought that Eli was one of the wisest and toughest kids he knew.

Last, but not least, was Logan. Logan was the grumpy one of the group. But no mater how grumpy he was, he wouldn't hesitate to stand up for the people he considered family. Logan lived with his mom and dad, but he most often stayed at Marks place like most of the group. Logans dad was a difficult man to get along with and they often argued because Logan wanted to be a mechanic and work on cars, while his dad wanted him to join the Marines like every man in the family had for many generations.

Whenever Logan was done with school, he would head over to the mechanics shop where he worked on vehicles with the old owner, Rick. And Rick made sure to tell him if he was doing something wrong, but always supported Logan.

Grayson was walking up Marks driveway when he stopped to listen. The lighter he had been fiddling with shut off. It was quiet. Too quiet. It was never a good sign when Marks house was quiet.

I decided to end it here for now because this is a long chapter and I am tired. But let me know what you thought about the first half of chapter 1 in my book ‘The Girl Who Spread Gold’

Thank you all for reading😊

He walked home faster than he had on the way to Tim's house. When he got there, he saw Eli sitting on the bottom step of his apartment staircase. “What are you doing here? I thought you would hate me right now” Eli looked him in the eye as he stood and shoved his hands in his jacket pockets. “I already told you at Mark's place, Im not here for you. Im here because I am coming with you to make sure Lexi actually comes home.”

Grayson feels a pang of hurt at Eli's words and lack of trust. But he understands exactly why Eli said it. Eli of all people had every right to not trust people who abandoned their own family. Because Eli knew what it was like to be abandoned.

“I need to pack my bag first” Eli turned and picked up a duffle back from the stairs and tossed it at Grayson. “I already did it for you. Marks truck is around the corner waiting for us”

Grayson looked at the bag Eli had tossed to him “You packed for me” Eli shrugged. “You dont lock your apartment door. Your going to need to start locking it when you bring Lexi back.” Grayson nodded.

“Okay. But before we go, does your grandpa know you are coming with me?” Eli looked down and kicked a stone “He doesn’t remember me anymore most of the time these days. He wont notice if I am not home.”

Grayson reached out to put a hand on Eli's shoulder in a comforting gesture but he froze, unsure if the gesture would be welcome coming from him right now. He let his hand fall back to his side. “Alright. Let's go then before it gets to late.” Eli nodded once before he turned and walked to Maeks truck.

Grayson got into the driver's side and turned the key in the ignition. He shifted the truck into gear and the wheels started rolling down the road. They were on their way to get Lexi.

I hope you guys enjoyed my tidbit from my book “The Girl Who Spread Gold” Let me know what yall think😊

Jasper. Jasper is 18 and already graduated from school. Because money is tight, he doesnt go to college. Instead he bounces between jobs because he is increasingly restless and gets bored if a job gets predictable.

If Jasper is around and things get quiet……that means trouble is stirring. Unlike his cousin Jace, Jasper is a insane amount of chaotic. With Jasper you always need to worry about if he has switched the salt and sugar around, or if he has done something worse. Like sticking a rancid sock that hasn't been washed in two weeks, inside of someone's loufa (spoiler. Wink wink🤫)

He might even put slime in Mark's work boots.

But Jasper is also incredibly loyal. Like if someone messes with Lexi or Auggie? He will be the first to step in and the last to step back.

Jasper is incredibly chaotic but he has a heart of gold and is loyal to a fault and he would do anything for his friends or family, and he will pull a prank on anyone who is to serious.

Welp. That is all for Jasper. I will be posting later about Logan next😁

Duct tape is one of the things that you know is Mark's backup plan but he will deny it until something breaks. The group he helps take care of calls it “Marks emotional support tape”. If Mark is going anywhere you can guarantee he will have a roll of tape with him.

Mark might be young and not have family beyond his little brother but he is always acting like a exhausted dad who is raising five chaotic teenage boys.

If there is a problem in the group then you can guarantee that Mark will be the one to sort it out in many ways, either by threatening to burry someone in a construction site (jokingly) or threatening to duct tape the offending persons to a chair.

Mark also makes sure Auggie gets the most food and the biggest slice of cake because in Mark's words “The kid is 14. He burns off sugar faster than the rest of you gremlins. Of course Im going to give him the biggest piece of cake. He will get a sugar rush and then he will crash and I can just throw him into bed without any arguments about staying up past 11. It always works”

Well, thats all for Mark. The remaining characters of the group I have yet to introduce are

-August (Auggie)

-Logan

-Jasper

-Jace

And one of my favorites

-Eli

Who should I introduce next?

All Reagan could think was that this wasn't real. “No, he's dead. No, you can't be him. No”

John frowned, confused by the boys reaction “I can assure you that I am not dead” Reagan hadn't realized he had spoke his previous thoughts out loud until until John answered him. John placed a hand on Reagans shoulder and asked “are you okay? How do you know me?” That infuriated Reagan “What! How do I know you!? Can you really forget me that easily!?”

John stood in stunned silence. “How could you forget me!?” Reagan continued “I am your own son! Your own flesh and blood!” Reagan then grabbed a rock and threw it hard into the lake. Reagan then started pacing and raking his fingers through his hair. “What?” Reagan paused his pacing at his dads soft question “Reagan I am so sorry I didnt recognize you. But you were ten the last time I saw you, I didn't think you would change this much. I am so sorry son. I should have fought the guards instead of letting them drag me away. I should have-”

Reagan cut him off by pulling him into a iron grip hug. Reagan could barely hold back his tears. His dad was alive! John blinked hard, also trying to make the tears go away. John held Reagan tight, they just stood there. And once again, he was a father comforting his son

“Don't slam my door!” Mark called after him. He rolled his eyes and said “That boy is going to break my door one of these days. And I guarantee it will be during a big storm instead of a mild drizzle like this.” “Don't you still need to fix the main door from when he left it open and it broke off the hinges when Jace and Jasper were play fighting and they fell backwards into the door and the hinges bent further then they were built to?” Mark glared at Jace and Jasper as he said “yes Logan. I do. Thank you, for that reminder. That is exactly what I wanted to think of just now.” The sarcasm that was practically dripping from Marks voice made it very clear that he was very much not happy about the reminder.

Auggie grinned “well I guess it was a good thing that I decided to shut the screen door before they started wrestling because I didnt want bugs coming in. Otherwise we would probably have two broken doors, and you probably would have made a temporary door out of duct tape.”

Mark glared at Auggie and muttered “No. I would have gone to the construction sight with them and buried them where we were about to pour the cement. And then nobody would have found the bodies afterwards.” Jace slowly turned to look at Jasper, Jaspers eyes were so wide you could clearly see the shock and fear in them. Jasper then tried to laugh and make a joke out of it “Well I guess it is a good thing that the cement was poured and hardened two weeks ago.” His nervous laughter came out sounding more like a scream of fright rather than an actual laugh. Mark narrowed his eyes and whispered “I work construction Jasper. That option is still on the table incase of more property damage.”

That is all for now! And to all of you who haven't read any of my stuff yet Mark would never actually hurt any of them. Its just him acting like an older brother. This scene is from the book I am working on called “The Girl Who Spread Gold” I hope you all enjoyed it :)

Grayson hesitated before he said “I only know what she was like. I haven't gotten any updates on her since I left when she was six. But if she is still the same kid, then she is very kind. Thoughtful. Happy. She is basically the opposite of me. She loved the color green, she always said that green is the color of life. Said she wished people saw life as green as well. She was always funny like that. Saying stuff that only she would think of-” Grayson laughed a bit- she always asked me whenever it rained if the raindrops felt pain when they landed. She always carried a stuffed bunny that I bought for her when she was three. It had definitely seen better days but she loved it to death. Kid said it reminded her of me, rough around the edges but soft on the inside. It always annoyed me when she said that. She also had this pink puffy coat that she refused to let me throw away. That thing was ugly too. Made her look like a pink marshmallow. And if I ever came home scratched up or anything she would make me sit down so she could kiss it better. Every single time. Without fail.”

The air in the room felt heavy. Tight. As if nobody wanted to ask the question they were all thinking. “Where's is she now?” Of course it was Mark who asked what everyone wanted to know. His protective instincts were kicking in, because if the answer was what he was thinking? He didnt want to even think about it. Grayson shoved his hands deep into his jacket pockets and looked at the floor before saying “as far as I know, she is in Chicago where I left her.”

This is another small part from the book I am writing called “The Girl Who Spread Gold” let me know what you guys think and if you would like to read more :)

“No. That's not it. That might be what you are using as coverage but that’s not it. What is really bothering you ?” Everyone looked at Auggie who was sitting at the table eating his eggs. He was staring straight at Grayson. Grayson hated it when Auggie decided to read people more than most people even tried to do. Because Auggie always saw things that most people missed. And he was almost always correct. “I told you kid. Its nothing.” Grayson snapped, trying to get Auggie to back down. “You can stop lying and tell the truth about what is actually bothering you because you have never reacted like this for a paycheck. This is personal. What's bothering you?” “Why is this kid so stubborn?” Grayson rubbed his hand over his face in frustration. Everyone instantly noticed it. Because Grayson only rubbed his hand over his face when something was really bugging him. “It has something to do with the little girl we helped before we got here.” It wasn't a question. It was Eli starting to connect the dots.

Grayson sighed in frustration again before he sat down and glared at all of them. There was no anger in his eyes. Just frustration, and the smallest bit of regret that he was clearly trying to hide. “You know what? Yeah, fine. The girl reminded me of someone I left back in Chicago, alright? You guys satisfied?” Eli shook his head “No.l, there is obviously more. You rarely help people. You say they need to figure it out for themselves. But when you do step in, they are always kids who are around the same age. You are protecting kids who would be the same age as someone you obviously care about. Who is it?” Grayson stood up and walked to the window and kept his back to the group. He stood there silent for a bit, staring at the rain that had started falling a few minutes prior. For a few seconds he just watched the raindrops racing down the window. Then he spoke, softer than any of them had ever heard before. Like he was speaking from a memory that he hadn't dared to remember about for years. Like he would break if he spoke to loud. “Like I said. She reminded me of someone I knew back in Chicago. My sister. Lexi is the same age as the girl I helped today. Thats why I helped her.” Everyone was quiet, the information sinking in. Heavier and harder than they had expected. For a minute nobody spoke, the only sound was the gentle sound of rain hitting the roof and windows.