Gracies POV (13 Years Old)
Urgh! Being a kid sucks! All you ever do is follow rules and get in trouble if you screw up! Unfair! Like yesterday, Will told me to tidy my room and just because I got a bit distracted on my phone he had to go off on one about responsibility and my apparent lack of it. I'm a teenager for crying out loud! When are they gonna stop treating me like a little kid?
"Gracie" I heard Jay shout. urgh great,
"What?" I shouted back as I continued to scroll through instagram on my phone,
"C'mere please" he shouted back but I chose it ignore him "now" he added. I let out a frustrated groan and put my phone down on my bed before walking to the kitchen where Jay was stood next to the sink full of dishes. Crap. I forgot about those... "I thought I told you to wash the dishes?" He asked with a pointed look but I just shrugged my shoulders,
"I guess I forgot" I admitted before turning around and attempting to go back to my bedroom,
"Gracelyn get back here" Jay ordered causing me to roll my eyes slightly,
"What now?" I asked frustrated and my brother raised an unimpressed eyebrow at me,
"First of all, watch your tone" he warned "and second of all, if you're told to do something then you're expected to do it" he said sternly and I huffed,
"Can't you just do it?" I complained,
"That's not how this works Gracie" he reminded "now I'm going for a shower and I expect this sink to be empty when I get back" he told me before leaving the room. See what I mean? It's not my fault I have a bad memory!
With a reluctant groan I set about washing the dishes before leaving them on the draining board and sitting on the sofa. What? He didn't say anything about drying them or putting them away!
"Oh for crying out loud Gracelyn" Jay said annoyed as he walked back in to the room towel drying his hair,
"What?" I asked innocently and he looked at me angrily,
"I told you to do the dishes" he reminded,
"And I did" I defended "you never said anything about drying them" I added. I watched as my brother closed his eyes and take a deep breath,
"This close Gracie" he said holding up two fingers "this close. Get out of my sight" he instructed.
I stayed in my room for the next couple of hours until Will came home and Jay had finished cooking dinner so I was forced to go and socialise,
"How was school?" Will asked and I shrugged,
"Still there" I said as I stifled a yawn,
"Very funny" Will said sarcastically "but seriously, did you have a good day?" He asked again,
"It was fine I guess" I said,
"Did you get any homework" he probed,
"What'd you think?" I replied sarcastically,
"Hey" he frowned "it was just a question Gracie there's no need to be like that" he scolded,
"Yeah I got homework" I mumbled as another yawn escaped my lips,
"Why are you so tired?" Jay asked with a slight frown,
"I don't know" I shrugged "I just am" I lied knowing full well that I had been staying up on my phone 'til the early hours the past few nights,
"Have you been getting enough sleep?" Will asked and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes,
"Why wouldn't I?" I asked defensively "can you both just stop asking me stupid questions" I added angrily causing Jay to let his fork fall to his plate and rub his hand across his face in a frustrated,
"Alright you're done" he declared and I looked at him confused "go to your room and do your homework" he ordered me and I looked at him shocked before slamming my fork own and angrily scraping my chair across the floor,
"FINE" I shouted before storming off angrily to my bedroom.
The next morning I woke up with my phone still in my hand having fallen asleep whilst watching TikTok at about 3am. I stretched my arms in an attempt to make myself feel more awake before putting my phone on charge and going to get ready for school.
"Morning" Will greeted when I walked in to the kitchen and I gave a grumbled response "if you want a ride to school then you need to be quick" he added and I huffed,
"I could've really used that information earlier" I said annoyed,
"Do you want a ride or not?" He asked with a sigh,
"Yes" I replied sharply,
"Then stop complaining and eat your breakfast" he said firmly.
Once I had poured myself a bowl of cereal I went to go and sit at the table next to Jay.
"If you go and get me your homework I'll check it over for you" he said and I groaned. I hadn't done it. "Gracie" he snapped me out of my thoughts "go get your homework" he repeated,
"You don't need to check it" I told him,
"That's probably true" he agreed "but I'd prefer it if you let me check it" he added but I shook my head,
"No" I defied and he looked at me frustrated,
"You appear to be mistaking that as a request" he joked slightly "get your homework from your room and bring it back to me" he simplified and I screeched angrily but went to my room and returned with the still blank pieces of paper "I told you to do this last night" he said angrily,
"I forgot" I lied and he looked at me with a stern gaze "they're not due for two days anyway" I tried to defend,
"That's not the point Gracelyn" he replied. I rolled my eyes before snatching the paper from his hand and making my way to put it back in my room. I whimpered slightly and my hands flew back to protect my butt as Jay swatted it before I could get out of his reach "I don't know what's gotten in to you recently Gracelyn but the attitude stops" he said seriously "contrary to your belief you're not too old to go over my knee and if you keep this up that's exactly where you're gonna end up" he warned and my heart sunk slightly "go get your shoes on so you don't make Will late and when you come home you can sit at the kitchen table and do your homework where someone can keep an eye on you" he told me and I threw my head back dramatically before going to put my shoes on and grab my backpack.
The school day went by at an agonisingly slow pace and the sound of the final bell was music to everyones ears. I grabbed my stuff from my locker and walked out of the school to find Jay waiting for me,
"Hey kiddo" he greeted once I had hopped in to the car and he began the drive back to our apartment "good day?" He asked and I nodded,
"It dragged" I admitted and he smirked silently. The rest of the drive was quiet and uneventful and once we arrived back at the apartment I dumped my backpack on the floor by the door and flopped down on to the sofa,
"I'm sorry" Jay said "are we just leaving our stuff on the floor now?" He asked referring to my deserted backpack in the middle of the floor,
"I am" I shrugged at his dramatics,
"You most certainly are not" he replied "now get your ass off the sofa and come pick it up" he instructed. I huffed in annoyance but did as I was told and swept it up from the floor and put it on the sofa "Gracelyn" Jay spoke "seriously, there are only so many times you're gonna be warned before you land yourself in trouble" he warned "and after yesterday and this morning you are really pushing your luck" he added "what do you think I'm gonna say to you now?" He asked as I sighed,
"Homework?" I asked knowing what was coming,
"Exactly" he confirmed "seen as though you can't be trusted to actually do it when your on your own you can sit at the table and do it" he told me and I silently did as I was told in a bid to get back on my brothers good side.
Once I had eventually completed my homework, that didn't take nearly as long as I had thought, I went to have a shower before watching some tv with Jay on the sofa. A few hours later Will returned home and went for a shower whilst Jay set about cooking the dinner. Once Will was showered and changed he joined me on the sofa and soon Jays voice spoke from the kitchen,
"Can you set the table for me please Gracie?" He asked causing me to groan "please Gracie" he spoke again and I sat forward,
"Why can't Will do it?" I asked,
"Because he's been at work all day" he replied,
"I've been at school" I defended,
"Just do it" he snapped,
"URGH" I exclaimed loudly as I stood up and stomped over to the kitchen before noisily grabbing the cutlery from the draw and slamming them down on to the table before shoving the draw causing it to fly closed and moving to grab the plates from the cupboard and doing the same. I turned around to find both Will and Jay looking at me less than impressed "what?" I snapped,
"What has gotten in to you?" Will asked seriously,
"Nothing" I defended,
"You sure about that?" He asked "because your attitude stinks" he added and I rolled my eyes. It's not that bad. "Don't you dare roll your eyes at me" he raised his voice "I'm sick and tired of it Gracelyn. You seriously need to book your ideas up" he rambled.
Jay plated up the pasta as we ate dinner in an uncomfortable silence. I was the first to finish eating and I was eager to escape to my bedroom,
"Can I go to my room now?" I asked hopefully,
"No you can't" Jay denied and I frowned "you're gonna tell us what the hell is going on that's making you behave like this" he said and I sighed,
"I'm just tired" I said. It was half true...it's just I keep getting distracted on my phone.
"Then you're gonna have to start going to bed earlier" Will spoke and I groaned,
"I don't need a bedtime" I snapped,
"Apparently you do" Jay added "do you go straight to sleep when you've gone to your room?" He asked curiously,
"Kinda" I shrugged,
"What do you mean kinda?" Will asked with a frown "you either do or you don't Gracie, which one is it?" He asked and I sighed,
"Sometimes I go on my phone for a little while" I admitted and Will raised and eyebrow at me,
"Oh for crying out loud" he exclaimed "how many times have I told you about white screen before bed?" He asked,
"A thousand?" I replied sarcastically,
"Go get me your phone" he ordered and I groaned but did as I was told. He took my phone from me and unlocked it before going on screen time, his eyes instantly widened "you where on your phone 'til 2:33am?" He asked angrily and Jays eyes changed to match Wills,
"Are you kidding me Gracie?" He asked angrily and I shrugged guiltily,
"Sometimes I get a little distracted" I admitted and both brothers shook there heads,
"Right well you can't have your phone in your room on a night anymore" Will declared and my eyes widened in result,
"That's not fair" I exclaimed,
"It's more than fair Gracie" Jay added "it's extremely apparent that you need more than four and a half hours sleep or you turn in to this monster with the attitude of a moody teenager" he commented "if your phone is what's distracting you then we can just take that distraction right away" he finished and I sighed in defeat,
"Fine" I said miserably,
"Go get ready for bed" Will instructed "let's hope for your sake that a good nights sleep changes your attitude" he said and I left to get ready for bed.
It turns out that my brothers where right and I don't work well when tired. I felt better after a proper nights sleep and soon everything went back to normal. Well...at least as normal as it can be in this family!