Caged

5

Nothing else needed to be said. Ethan grabbed my arm, dragging me along with him until we were out of the kitchen.

"What was that about?" I peeked behind me as he pulled me along towards the living room. I briefly heard the back door slam shut, so I figured they'd stepped outside. "Why did they seem so...tense?"

"It was nothing," he answered flatly, letting me go. I plopped down on one of the couches, frowning. I watched as he grabbed the remote and turned the TV on, taking a seat on the other couch. Even though he pretended to watch the screen, I could tell that he was distracted through his tense body language. His jaw tightened as he glanced behind him.

"Doesn't look like nothing," I retorted.

"Leave it alone," he ordered.

I scowled. "If you'd tell me what that was about, I would."

Ethan sighed. "Izzy, I won't say it again. Leave it alone."

"So it is something, then."

Ethan's eyes snapped towards me, annoyance simmering in the smoke grey hues. "Do you ever shut the fuck up?" 

"Why are you such a jerk?" I snapped.

That made him laugh. He relaxed back in his seat, a challenge flickering in his gaze as he threw an arm behind his head. "I don't know, why are you such a bitch?"

"Well, maybe if you weren't such an asshole, I wouldn't have to be," I pointed out, crossing my arms across my chest.

Ethan's lips quirked up into a smirk. "Not my fault you get your feelings hurt too easily," he commented and I scoffed.

"I can't stand you," I hissed, and Ethan chuckled lowly at that again before he shot forward in his seat, like he was about to pounce. The amused glint he always got from the satisfaction of starting something flashed through his eyes.

"Face it, Izzy, you're just too fucking sensitive."

I glared at him and I suddenly had the urge to punch him. But that was what he wanted, I could see that clearly from the taunting smile he had on his lips. He wanted to get me riled up; he always did.

So, I did the exact opposite. I plastered the most sincere-looking smile I could come up with on my face, and leaned back, redirecting my attention to the TV.

"Can you pass me the remote?" I asked, sweetly. It was silent, and I risked a glance at him. I had to bite my tongue to hold back the smile that threatened to take over when I saw his brows furrow momentarily.

He scoffed, "What am I? Your fucking servant? Get it yourself."

I exhaled, taking a calming breath, and stood up from the couch. Ethan had his eyes glued to his phone now, so he didn't see me coming.

I grabbed the hardest pillow I could find down here, and didn't give him the chance to react before I acted. I extended my arm back way over my head and slammed the pillow down across his face so hard, his head snapped to the side from the force. His phone fell to the ground, probably from the shock.

As weak as everyone thought I was, sometimes, I still took my brothers by surprise probably because they never saw me coming.

The expression of pure surprise on his face had me burst out laughing, but it quickly died down when he recovered quickly. The shock in his features transformed into narrowed eyes.

I stumbled back a step as he shot up from the couch. "Oh, you better run now," he warned, and then he was lunging at me. A loud scream of surprise escaped my throat and I launched to the side, quickly scurrying behind the couch.