Ryder the Love Expert | Protector 2.1

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

       "Ryder!" Mom called from the living room. I got up from the dining room table where I was doing my homework and walked over to her. She was sitting on the couch, looking exhausted. "Would you be able to run to the store to pick up a few things?"

       "Sure," I said. "What exactly do you need?"

       "Lettuce, onions, tomatoes, and pickles," Mom said. "But only dill pickles. I don't like the other one."

       I furrowed my eyebrows. "You don't even like dill pickles. Mom, are you okay?"

       "Why wouldn't I be?" Mom asked.

       I shrugged. "I don't know. You've been exhausted all the time and now, you want pickles. You hate pickles."

       "I think I know what I like," Mom said. "There's a twenty dollar bill taped to the cookie jar lid. And can you also bring Tulip with you? She's been wanting to get out of the house."

       "Sure," I said before walking towards the stairs. "Tulip! Want to go to the store with me?!"

       "Yeah!" I heard Tulip say.

       Unfortunately, the triplets heard that, too. "I want to come!" Alan said.

       "Me too!" Orchid said.

       "Don't forget about me!" Nolan said.

       I sighed and looked at Mom with a hopeless look. "Can you take them as well?" she asked.

       "Fine," I said as the triplets came barreling down the stairs with Tulip bouncing down behind them. "Hurry up and put your shoes on," I told them before going to the kitchen to get the twenty dollar bill. I then put my shoes and jacket on before we all headed out of the house to get to my car.

       Immediately, the triplets began arguing about who gets shotgun. Normally, I made all three of them sit in the back but this time, Tulip was coming so one of them had to sit in the front. Great.

       "But I'm the girl!" Orchid said. "I should sit in the front!"

       "You're also the youngest out of us three," Alan said. "I'm the oldest, so I should sit in the front."

       "Haven't you heard of ladies first?" Orchid asked.

       "But I'm not a gentleman, so I don't have to listen to that," Alan said.

       I groaned, almost getting a headache from their argument. "Nolan, you can sit in the front on the way there and back," I said. "Frankly, you're the only one not giving me a headache."

       Nolan smiled as he got into the passenger seat as Alan and Orchid began complaining. Sucks for them.

       I honestly hated being in the same care with my siblings, besides Tulip, of course. They always demanded that I put on music but no matter what I put on, they said it sucked. Excuse me? I was a dancer and I danced to that music. If anything sucked, it was the fact that they were my siblings.

       After a very painful car ride, we got to the grocery store. I told my siblings exactly what we needed, and each of the triplets ran off to find an item. I tried telling them not to run in the store, but they were too far to hear me.

       "I guess that leaves us to find the pickles," I said to Tulip.

       "Ooh, I know where they are!" Tulip announced happily, grabbing my hand and pulling me to an aisle. "I come here all the time with Dad!" When we got to where the pickles were, she looked up at me. "Which one?"