Why Boys Are Idiots

Chapter Thirteen - Zaira's POV (Revised and edited)

          My life was so screwed. No, I wasn’t kidding when I said that.

          The science project that was due tomorrow was a major part of our mark this year, and by ‘major’, I was talking about almost seventy percent. But my mom just had to ground me.

          Then, I got my ex’s brother as a partner for badminton. I cringed at the mere thought. The practice this morning was horrible. Just like I had expected, he blamed me for everything that was clearly his fault.

          On top of that, add the incident at the movie theatre and my dad coming back, and you might just as well put a cherry on top to make it perfect. (Note the sarcasm.)

          Another series of knocking sounds filled my ears, and I pulled my blanket over my ears to block out the sound. But it turned out that the annoying sound wasn’t coming from my window this time.

          “Zairy!” The voice that obviously belonged to my brother was muffled from behind the door.

          Groaning, I got up from my comfortable bed and headed to the door to see what he wanted. “I’m coming!”

          Yanking the wooden door open, Zach appeared in front of me with his Mickey Mouse blanket in hand. His bottom lip was quivering slightly and his small hands were shaking as he held onto the blanket tightly.

          I actually felt kind of guilty for being so rude to him when I knew he had a specific fear of storms. Holding out my hands for his, my expression softened a little, making him smile a tiny bit. “Come on, you can sleep in my room,” I offered, even though I knew that I would regret it soon.

          His chubby cheeks puffed out when his face broke into a smile, and he skipped to my queen-sized bed, all the nervousness earlier gone.

          I shook my head at him but still snuggled in with him, taking away his own blanket as I covered him with my own.

          It was silent for a moment, with only the rain splattering on the window. I turned my head to see if he was asleep, but he was staring at the ceiling with wide eyes.

          “It’s mommy’s day next week,” he informed me, finally breaking the silence.

          I raised my eyebrow at him in confusion, even though he couldn’t see me in the darkness. Mommy’s day? I wondered in my head.

          Wait…

          “You mean Mother’s Day?”

          He nodded briefly before moving closer to me. “Yeah, what are you going to get her?”

          Well, honestly, I hadn’t even thought about it. With all the craziness going on in school and after school, I had completely forgotten about it. Plus, after the meet with my dad, I was just so confused about the possible thought of her being the guilty one in our parents’ relationship, I wasn’t even sure that I wanted to get her something.

          “I don’t know,” I mumbled through the sheets.

          Zach was unusually quiet compared to his usual hyper mood, and even though I disliked him, I knew something was wrong.

          “So, what are you thinking right now?” I asked, trying to figure out what was bothering him. Even though he was a pain in the butt, he was still my brother, and I cared…a little.

          Silence.

          “Zach?”

          He swallowed audibly. “Do you ever miss daddy?”