☼ ☽ ✩
𝟏 ... 𝐰𝐞'𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐮𝐧𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐝
☼ ☽ ✩
The hospital bed is cold beneath me. The smell of chemicals lingers in the air, and nurses and doctors hustle through the hallway, but despite the somber effect the hospital provides, I can't stop giggling.
"You have to stop laughing or I'm never going to get these stitches out," the nurse grumbles as he attempts to hold my head steady in his grasp, his finger grazing over the rough line of stitches above my eyebrow.
"I just can't believe you got a tattoo!" I move my head again, craning to see the flower bouquet painted above Mark's elbow. "You threw a hissy fit when I got my first one done."
"Because you were eighteen and it was a dinosaur," Mark sighs, gently redirecting my head back to where he needs it. "Please hold still, or I am going to accidentally stab you in the eye."
I grin at the dark-skinned nurse. "But then you would have to deal with that problem, and you're always complaining that I have enough issues as it is."
"You need to be more careful." Mark narrows his eyes at my forehead, finally able to start removing my stitches now that I've stopped squirming. "I would prefer to see you less often."
"Aw, I know you love me." I snigger when Mark sighs again. Since I was young, I have been prone to what I call 'happy accidents.' Mark's been treating me for years, and I enjoy poking fun at him more than I should. He just makes it so easy.
"I watched your white-water rafting video," Mark converses as he snips the threads of my stitches. "The fact that you acted so nonchalantly when your head was gushing blood is highly concerning."
I scoff, wincing slightly when Mark tugs on my stitches to remove them. "It was not gushing. It was slightly trickling."
"Tell that to the five stitches in your head." Mark gently cleans my forehead where the stitches resided for the last two weeks. "I never would have thought that your injuries would ever go viral."
"What can I say, people find me amusing," I shrug, grinning when Mark shakes his head at me in disbelief.
"You're an interesting girl, Logan." Mark smooths adhesive strips over the fading wound in my forehead. "Keep it taped for the next five days, and keep it clean and dry. Come back in if it gets worse."
"I know the drill." I hop off the hospital bed, flashing Mark a bright smile. "I expect you to have another tattoo by the time I'm back."
"Stay away for at least a year and we'll see." Marks offers me a genuine smile before shooing me away. "Now, scram. And stay out of trouble."
"No promises!" I call over my shoulder as I exit the hospital room.
After checking myself out, I make my way down to the parking garage where my ride is waiting for me. The air that blows through the garage is warm for October, and a smile graces my face as I head toward the familiar car.
"I survived," I declare as I slide into the passenger seat.
Sydney, my best friend since childhood, immediately chuckles, tucking her blonde hair behind her ear. "Let's see it."
"I want to see too!" My fourteen year year old brother Mason chirps from the backseat.
I turn my head so they can both see, grinning when Mason's eyes widen and he reaches out to poke my healing wound. "Does it hurt?"
"Nope." I turn back around in my seat. "It should fade into a scar soon enough."
"You're collecting scars like trophies," Sydney chuckles as she starts the engine and pulls out of her parking spot.
"That just means I'm living my best life." I grin at her before turning slightly to look at my brother again. "How are you doing, little man?"
"I'm taller than you," Mason grumbles, settling back into his seat. "You need to stop calling me that."
Of my five siblings, I joke that Mason is my sidekick. He is always the first to agree to go on a hike with me, and whenever he hears that I have errands to run, he volunteers to come and keep me company. Even if I have an appointment, he will come and sit in the waiting room until I am done. Today was no different; when he found out that Sydney was taking me to get my stitches out, he immediately declared that he was coming.
If any of my other siblings insisted on following me around like a puppy, I would probably strangle them, but a lot of the time I don't even notice Mason is with me. He is a quiet kid, content to simply be in my company, and I enjoy having him tag along.
"You'll always be my little man." I wink cheekily at him before spinning back around in time for the sun to kiss my face as we exit the garage. "Thanks for driving, Syd."
"I'd be lying if I said that I didn't come for the hot server in the cafe." Sydney shrugs, shooting me a quick smile. "That drink is for you, by the way."
"Thanks." I pick up the drink from the cupholder, pleased to find that the coffee is still hot.
"Can we stop at In-N-Out?" Mason interjects from the backseat. "Since I am such a supportive brother and I kept Syd company?"
Syd chuckles, focusing on the road as she gets on the highway. "You spent at least ten minutes explaining the rules of Fortnite to me."
"And were you not thoroughly entertained?" Mason drawls before settling his gaze on me. "Please, Logan?"
"Text our group chat and see what everyone else wants." I sip my coffee, hiding my grin behind my cup when Mason rapidly whips out his phone to text the rest of our siblings. "You staying for dinner?" I direct my question to the blonde beside me.
She shakes her head. "No, I've got band practice. But I wouldn't be surprised if Larray showed up at your house later, he was texting me bitching about how bored he's been all day."
I chuckle at the mention of the third member of our tightly-knit friend group. "I think he's sent me about six million reels today."
"Sounds about right," Sydney laughs. "He is unhinged."
"As are the rest of us," I muse, continuing to sip my coffee and enjoying the streaks of sunlight streaming through the car windows.
Before long, Sydney drops Mason and I off at home, armed with enough food to feed an army. I wave goodbye to my best friend before following my brother inside, the sound of the TV mixed with yelling and barking immediately greeting us. Our family's two dogs, Chandler, a golden retriever, and Joey, a border collie, race at neck-breaking speed to greet Mason and I, their barking almost drowning out the arguing occurring behind them.
"I can't do my homework when you have the hockey game on so loud!" Sixteen year old Kaya snaps from where she is sitting at the kitchen table with her laptop and textbooks sprawled out in front of her. Her reading glasses are perched on her nose and her dark hair is tied up in a messy bun, and the deathly glare she is sending our brother is enough to send most people running.
"Go do your homework in your room!" Seventeen year old Camden rolls his eyes from where he is sitting on the couch, offering no sympathy to his sister. His messy brown hair and sweatpants scream 'relaxed', a very different vibe than that of Kaya.
"Why can't you just turn the volume down?" Kaya barks, crossing her arms. "Or watch in the fucking basement?"
Cam scoffs in disbelief. "Maybe if you would quit being a bitch I would think about it."
"Hey!" I interject, swatting Cam across the back of his head as I walk past the living room to drop the take-out bags on the kitchen table. "Don't call her a bitch. And turn it down, you don't need it so loud."
Cam grumbles, but abides. "Did you get drinks?"
"Mason has them. I don't know where he disappeared to." I pull all the food out of the bags, pushing Kaya's wrap towards her.
"Mason!" Cam bellows from the couch, not moving an inch. "Get your ass in here, I'm thirsty!"
Mason comes scurrying into the kitchen, apparently having been in the office. "Vi's stressed," he announces as he deposits the tray of drinks on the table. "She says flunking out of freshman year before Thanksgiving is going to be the worst thing to ever happen to her."
"She's so dramatic," Kaya mumbles as she unwraps her dinner. "Tell her to wait until she gets to junior year."
"Senior year is worse," Cam chimes in, clapping his hand on Mason's shoulder as he settles down at the table with his burger.
I roll my eyes at my siblings' never ending griping and leave them to eat while I stroll down the hallway to knock on the closed office door. When I am met with silence, I push the door open, my face instantly twisting into a frown when I see Mason's twin sister face down on the desk. "Vi, what's going on?"
"I'm going to fail freshman year," Vienna groans, not lifting her head.
I chuckle quietly, stepping into the carpeted room lined with bookshelves. "You're not even two months into the school year."
"I know, it's so embarrassing." Vi finally lifts her head, and my heart pinches when I see tear streaks down her face. "Why can't I be as smart as Kaya and Cam? They're both so good at school."
"I sucked ass at school. So did Austin," I remind her, sitting on the edge of the desk beside her. "And Vi, you're not bad at school. You are incredibly smart. Your grades are always fantastic."
"But this is high school, it's different!" Vi protests. "What if I'm doing it all wrong and I have no idea?"
"Then you ask for help. If you want, maybe we can find you a tutor. Or we can meet with your teachers to find out if they think you need extra help." I pause, studying my sister's face. "But sweetie, I think you're just scared. It feels like a big change to elementary school, right?" Vi nods, wiping under her eyes. "It takes time to adjust. It's a new building, new classes, new teachers, new friends. It's normal to be a little overwhelmed." I reach out to tuck Vi's hair behind her ear, offering her a soft smile. "Take some deep breaths, okay? I promise you will be okay. And if you still feel like this in a couple weeks, then we can look into some options to find you help."
Vi nods, sniffling slightly. "Okay. Thanks, Logan."
"Anytime." I stand back up, offering my hand to help her to her feet. "Come on, you'll feel better once you've got some food in you."
When we reach the kitchen, Vienna slides into the seat next to Mason, whispering something under her breath to him before grabbing her food. I plop down at the head of the table, reaching for my own burger.
"Let's talk about the huge rager we're going to throw for Logan's twenty-first," Cam smirks at me as he pops a fry in his mouth.
I wrinkle my nose and shake my head as I take a sip of my Dr Pepper. "No rager. And it's still almost four months away. We still have to get through Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's."
"Yeah, but twenty-one is a big deal!" Kaya argues, leaning back in her seat. "We have to do something!"
Cam and Kaya fight more than anyone else in our family, so when they agree on something, it is significant.
"And it's also the three year anniversary of you having custody of us," Cam reminds me, his expression turning serious. "Lo, we have to celebrate."
"We can have a small party, but no rager," I state firmly.
"I bet Sydney will have something to say about that," Kaya smirks, and Cam sniggers in agreement.
I roll my eyes at the mention of my party-loving best friend. "She will get over it. She goes to enough parties as it is." My gaze flickers to Vienna and Mason, who are quietly whispering, lost in their own world. "Mas, don't think I've forgotten about the large pile of homework that you've been putting off all weekend."
Mason sticks his tongue out at me before resuming his conversation with his twin. Cam and Kaya have slipped into an argument over a guy on Cam's hockey team that Kaya thinks is hot, leaving me to quietly dig into my dinner, tugging my phone out of my pocket to scroll through my for you page.
Unsurprisingly, I scroll past various edits about the Sturniolo triplets and I. It seems as if our two fan bases have a lot of crossover, and they have all gone feral over the last year or so demanding a collab. Nick and I have talked briefly about it over dms, but the timing hasn't worked out and we haven't fought too hard to make it happen yet.
A grin settles on my face when a notification flashes across my screen. Speak of the devil.
☼ ☽ ✩
ミ 𝗂𝗇𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗀𝗋𝖺𝗆 彡
𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐨
Girl we seriously need to figure out a collab
𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐨
i couldn't agree more
cara's obsession ♡︎
i have been battling the alignment feature on here for longer than i care to admit because it has decided that it hates me and doesn't want to cooperate. everything looks fine now, but if things change when i post this i'm going to drop dead.
BUT HAPPY CHAPTER ONE💖💖💖 i hope you enjoyed😘
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