Sincerely, Charli Day

Chapter 6

"Wake up!" Leo screams directly into my ear, jumping around on my bed.

I roll over on my side, pulling my pillow over my face. Leo snatches it, hitting me over the head.

"Hey." I yelp, shoving him off my bed. He laughs loudly despite falling flat on his sorry ass. This kid is really going to get killed one day.

I groan, forcing my eyes open. Everything's too bright already. "What time is it?"

"Eleven. AM." Leo replies-

Except it's not Leo. I don't remember my brother sounding like an eighteen year old girl.

I run a hand over my face, forcing my eyes open to find Haisley leaning against my doorframe, eating a pancake.

After the game last night, we went out to celebrate with fries and milkshakes. All I need to say is that Snapchat gained some interesting snap memories, and I was late for curfew at 10pm...by an hour. Mom would've killed me if Zayden's parents weren't the ones to drop me off.

I don't think I actually fell asleep until 4am though.

"Who made pancakes?" I ask, stretching. Yawning, I grab my glasses, shoving them onto my face.  "Wait, how long have you been here, Haisley?"

"Mom made pancakes." Leo says over his shoulder, throwing me a smile as he scampers out of my room.

I hope my brother never changes. At thirteen, he could be an asshole, but he's everything but that. Well, most of the times. I think Mom getting sick taught him a lesson, and maybe he's a complete ass with his friends, but at least he's half decent around me.

Key words: most of the times.

I can't help but wonder if maybe he still acts slightly childish because he never had a proper childhood full of excitement. Instead, he got thrown into the backseat as we made hospital runs and mad dashes from clinic to clinic.

Haisley shrugs, "Since seven."

I tie my hair into a messy bun, tugging on my tank top to make sure everything is in the correct place. Girl problems 101. "Jeez, what have you been doing here since seven? Leo isn't such great company. I know from experience."

I squint through the sunlight streaming through my window as Haisley opens my blinds.

Ascot, the small town we live in, is always sunny. From spring to fall it's sunny, winter being the only slight exception. And when I say small town, I mean you-may-not-even-find-it-on-a-map-tiny.

We're a town of irrelevance.

"Watching you sleep, duh?" She deadpans.

I roll my eyes, "Lies. You hate the way I drool."

"It's like the Niagara Falls." She hip checks me, drifting into the hallway. "I guess I didn't miss much when I skipped that trip to Canada. I knew keeping you around would have its perks."

"Cute." I retort, closing my door as I follow. She skips into the kitchen, swinging her arms around like a wild gorilla. 

My mom turns around, smiling when she sees me. "Good morning, Sweetpea."

I smile back, "Good morning, Ma."

She kisses me on the forehead as Haisley and Leo both reach for another pancake. I shake my head as I grab the glass of latte Mom left for me. I lean against the kitchen counter, accepting the plate of fresh pancakes she hands me.

She waves her spatula towards the kitchen table. "I cut up some strawberries and blueberries. Syrup's also over there."

"I'm a Nutella girl now." I grab the Nutella from the cabinet, immediately eating a spoonful of it.