Splinters: Part One

Part One | 15

Slowly making my way down the hall, the voices became bigger and louder. I entered the kitchen once I saw Ursanne. She sat at the table talking to a black-haired girl whose back was to me. A boy around my age stood behind the counter talking to Daryl.

Melissa and Greg were out in the back talking to two couples whose faces I didn't recognize.

"Oh, Brayden! Come meet everybody!" Melissa exclaimed when she caught my eye. She came in through the door as everyone turned in my direction.

"Josh, Jackie, c'mere. Gerald! Everyone!"

The entire family huddled inside the small kitchen which was weird. How they could all fit was a mystery to me.

Melissa gestured towards me. "Everyone, this is Brayden,"

"The newest addition to our family," Greg added.

...

While I was introduced to everyone, my ears were practically deaf. After everyone learned my name and I learned theirs, they hugged me and continued on. After, I sat next to Ursanne in a chair in the backyard. I listened to her as she told me who everybody was because obviously, I wasn't paying attention.

Gerald was the oldest of Greg's family and was married to Bethany. Bethany had black hair while Gerald had strands of gray hair coming in, but you could tell he had brown hair just like Greg. Going on forty-four, he had a sixteen-year-old son named Josh and a twelve-year-old daughter named Jacqueline. Georgia was twenty-eight and married to a short man named Kevin. They both had two identical red-headed twin boys who were named Steven and Sterling. The boys were absolutely wild which was a big contrast to their first cousins.

The amount of grandkids Daryl and Bobby had must've been overwhelming when it came to Christmas or remembering birthdays. I could only imagine.

Afterwards, Ursanne left me to go play with her sisters. I sat alone in my chair watching everyone interact with one another. I wasn't against sitting alone. I'd probably feel more comfortable if someone was sitting next to me. They didn't have to talk. They just needed to sit.

"Hey, Brayden!" two simultaneous voices said from behind me.

I sat up and turned.

The twins smiled up at me.

"Hi," I grinned.

"You should drink this!" one of them said, handing a plastic cup to me.

I took it slowly and peered into it. It definitely didn't look safe. I could only come up with one word to describe those boys. Trouble.

I glanced back at the boys and tried my best not to grimace. "Thanks, guys. It looks great."

They nodded, seeming completely satisfied with my answer and turned away from me. I sat back and began rocking in my chair. I looked inside the cup again.

"Don't drink that." I jerked my head to my right to see whose voice that came from. Josh.

Josh had black shaggy hair and was extremely tall. He had a skinny body, but I had a feeling he'd have a crazy growth spurt like Jake. He'd have a skinny body and then he'd go crazy and eat everything in his sight and then he'd morph into this boxer-like teenager.

The smirk Josh had was almost comforting when he sat next to me.

"I wasn't planning on it," I answered honestly, glancing inside the cup.

"Those boys, I love 'em, but they're-"

"Trouble," I interjected.

Josh smiled. "Yeah." A small silence came between us. Josh extended his hand out to me. "Josh."