More Than a Shadow

01: this is where i meet you

"Wakey wakey." My brother croons softly in my ear. I groan and roll over, taking my blankets with me and effectively turning myself into a human burrito.

"Come on, school starts in 20 minutes. You've gotta get up or you'll be late. Again."

"No...."

"Oh now you're asking for it."

Maybe if I don't respond he'll go away.

After a minute of silence I finally drift back into my dream... Only to be rolled over onto the floor, left blanket-less.

"You freaking idiot, you just had to pull on it!!"

"I gave you a warning and a chance to get up, but you didn't." Once I finally manage to scramble to my feet, I attempt to snatch it back, but fail. Stupid reflexes. "I'll return it to your bed once you're ready for school."

I groan loudly. "I hate you."

"Love you too, little sis." He yells as he's walking out of the room.

I slowly come to terms with the fact that I'm not going back to sleep, then go into the bathroom to freshen up and get dressed in my usual outfit. A tank top, some sort of oversized graphic sweatshirt and leggings. Today it's Toy Story.

I walk into the kitchen to see Mason scrolling through pictures of flowers.

"I didn't know you were the florist type," I say.

"I'm not. Jasmine sent me all these pictures and asked me to choose one for the center pieces, one for the bridesmaids and one for her 'bouquet'. Whatever that means. I don't even know why she asks. She's just going to choose what she likes anyways." Jasmine was Mason's fiancée. I didn't really like her, but she made Mason happy and that was what mattered.

"Let me see." He hands over his phone. "Choose the day lilies, peonies, and wild poppies. And mention something about baby's breath in there."

"I don't know what that is but okay." He types it up quickly and sets his phone back down. "The wedding's not even til spring, why do we have to choose now?"

"She just wants everything perfect, no last minute mistakes."

"I guess."

"By the way, how you woke me up this morning was very cruel and unnecessary," I say while putting on my chucks and grabbing my backpack.

"Yeah, yeah, you're fine. You wouldn't have gotten up any other way."

"Whatever." I grab a cereal bar from the cabinet and head out of the door. "I'll see you after school!" I shout on my way out.

"Maybe, I need to head back up soon. Jasmine and I have more planning to do and Dad wants me to do more training. He said he'll be back around the end of this month by the way."

I groan and ignore his last comment, shutting the door behind me. I wish he didn't live in Los Angeles. It's almost a 3 hour drive from here, aka Spring Valley. But that's where Jasmine lived and that's where most of Dad's business was. And considering that Mason was being groomed to take over in a little while, I guess it makes sense.

He's only here 2 days of the week, so it gets a little lonely the other 5, but I know that if I asked he'd stay in a heartbeat. I couldn't hold him back like that. Besides, living alone has its benefits. You don't have to share your food, I'm currently living here rent-free since Dad sends money every month, and I don't have to ask to have friends over.

Of course I only have about 5, but so what? I sigh as I check my phone for the time, realizing I only have 10 minutes before the warning bell rings. I pick up my pace and hurriedly head to Ethan's house. I arrive just as he gets out of the door and we jog to get to school. As we arrive in front of the building I look up at the stone letters above the door.