| Annalise Walton |
"New To Me"
Climbing out of the car, I couldn't help but let my jaw drop in awe at the sheer size of the house. It wasn't a secluded house that had acres of forest surrounding it or a huge front driveway. No, it was a smaller house that fit in with the neighborhood, with the white panel walls and the windows that had shutters and a grand porch that wrapped around the house.
I knew it was stupid, to be standing on the footpath, as my brothers cars lined the driveway and side of the street, to be staring at a house that I had known belonged to people that I went to school with, while I lived in the middle of nowhere. Our house had been perfect for parties, but I hated being home alone. I hated the trees that had once felt like they were reaching towards me through the windows.
But now, the brightness of the house was enough to feel like I could breath freely. Grabbing a few bags from the car, I carried them up the front path and into the house, already feeling like this was home, just from the white walls that could be lined with pictures. Even the warmth that was emitting from the covered couches in the living room was enough to feel like I had always lived here.
Dumping the bags, I turned on my heel, and went to walk back out onto the porch and down the stairs, but something stopped me. A sentiment near the garage door that was on my right when I walked in but was now on my left, put me in shock. I looked around me, knowing my brothers were busy organizing the room situation, but I didn't care, as I was more intrigued in this now.
I walked over, reaching my hand out and gently touching the wall. I was shocked, to see all the names of my brothers on this one section of the wall, including my own. I traced my finger over the height that was written beside my name, before I saw that all my other brothers had had their names repeated, even Aiden's, but not my own.
"I guess you found it" a soft chuckle was heard from behind me, and I jumped as I turned to face my eldest brother, which felt weird to say, as I backed away from the wall. "Oh, sorry" I murmured, as I went to walk past my brother, but he reached out for my hand, pulling me gently to him. He didn't stop when I flinched, he just made his actions slower.
He slowly pulled me into his embrace, as I stood there, unsure of what to do when he wrapped his arms around my cold body. "It's okay. I wanted you to find it" he murmured, before pressing a light kiss to the side of my head, before he unwrapped me from his embrace, and I immediately felt guilty that I hadn't hugged him back.
He had started to walk away when I jogged after him, coming to a stop in front of him, as I wrapped my arms around his middle, pushing my face into his stomach as I clenched my eyes shut, waiting for someone to slap me or yell at me for hugging Hayden. But the slap and the shouts didn't come, only the arms around my body wrapped around me once again.
Hayden just continued to hold me there, not saying a word nor did he pull away from me. He just held me there, until I was ready to let go, and when I did, he gave me a soft smile. "I think the boys are waiting for you to make a decision on what room goes to who" he smiled down at me, before he let me fully go, as I continued to stand there.
"But what about you?" I questioned as I watched him walk back out the front door to get more bags. Hayden stopped in his tracks and turned back to me, as he laughed a little. "I really don't care as much as they do where my bedroom is" before he was turning back on his heel, a slight pep in his step and a smile on my own face.
I laughed a little to myself, wondering how I had gotten so lucky to have an older brother like Hayden, before I slowly walked up the stairs, already having heard the loud commotion of the other boys up stairs. I wasn't prepared for the sight in front of me when I rounded the corners, coming face to face with a circle of rock, paper, scissors.
I immediately spotted Aiden, who was standing to the side, near me, with a smug look on his face. "Your a cheater, you know!" someone exclaimed, but I couldn't tell as most of their back were to me. I walked towards Aiden, as I did, when he caught my eye I looked between him and the group, trying to understand the point of this circle.
I already knew that Oliver and Hayden were downstairs, bringing in more and more boxes, but I didn't know that this was what was happening up here. "What is going on?" I slid up against the wall, turning to my side, right as one of the older boys nearly crashed into me, as he turned to me to murmur, "sorry" before giving me some more space.
No one else had noticed me, as Aiden said "They are trying to win the largest room, but I'm pretty sure that most of them know that is going to Hayden" I laughed at this, knowing that Hayden had no care in the world how big or small his room would be, as it was just a room size, not life or death.
"Guys, Anna is here now, so she can help with the deciding" the boy beside me pointed towards me, as all the eyes turned to me. I hated this attention, and tried to mold myself either into the wall or as close to Aiden as I could get. "Hayden said he didn't care what room he got and I don't care either" I squeaked out, when they had all gone quiet.
I squeezed my hands together when no one made a move to respond, as I pressed my back closer to the wall, anticipating a bad reaction. "I say Hayden gets this room here at the end of the hall, and then we go in age order down the hall, before coming back around on the front side of the house, so Annalise ends up next to Hayden and Aiden on the other side"
A few groans were heard, but everyone nodded at the older boy, before heading to their designated rooms. I really think that it was all sorted, they just wanted to play a fun game. When I made no move to follow Aiden down the hall, the older boy that had spoken up, looked down at me with a small smile.
"Do you want to have a look at your room? I saved it for you, knowing that none of the other boys should get it" a burning felling spread through my chest as I nodded, before following the older boy down the hall, passing Aiden's room, and into a grand room at the end. I was in awe when the door was opened.
Just the simplicity of it was enough to get the ideas running through my head. From the hardwood floors to the large cupboard tucked into the wall next to the doorway I was standing in, to the large windows with grand curtains that draped down to the floor, I knew why this room had been kept for me.
"The desk and bedside tables are still on their way, but I was about to start building your bed while the boys brought up some of your other belongings. Hayden also wanted to know if you wanted a vanity or a dresser with a TV on it but that can be sorted later" the boy rambled from behind me, but I was just in shocked.
"I love it" I had never had a room that had had this much thought put into it. Whatever had been my old room had never been personalized as things were usually chucked into my room and I had to make do. This was all different. "You didn't have to do this for me, really. This is way too much for me" I turned back to the older boy, who just smirked.
"You'll get used to it. Want to help build the bed?" he smirked again as he walked past me and into the room, already opening some of the boxes. I just followed suit, feeling happy that I was already being included.
---
Exhaustion was rolling over me in waves as I laid down on the floor, hearing a laugh echoing through the room and over the soft music that was playing on the speaker. I didn't want to move, having helped Theodore, or as he liked to be called Teddy, build my bed. I don't know if reading the instructions and handing the tools to him would constitute as helping him, but apparently it did in his books, so it did to me as well.
"Why is building beds so hard?" I groaned, rolling onto my side, watching Teddy out in the final pieces, as he just laughed at me. "I've built a lot of these in my time, so they do get easier" he chuckled, as he screwed in the final screw. "Now all we have to do is push it back and then unroll the mattress" he made everything sound easy.
"I think I'll just stay here" I rolled out from under the bed as Teddy stood up, just continuing to laugh at me. "Hayden has some sheets down in the washer that you can go and get for me if you want. You can choose before the other boys, cause I'm sure none of them have a well-built bed" I immediately sprung up at that, but bent back over at the shooting pain that ran up my spine.
I winced, before I slowly stood back up to my full height. "You right?" Teddy questioned me, and I just brushed him off, pushing a smile onto my face as the throbbing up my back continued. I then walked down the stairs, and started to wander where the laundry is, before finding it at the back of the garage.
I grabbed a set of white sheets, before taking the white duvet that had been washed and put together for me, before I was grabbing a few pillows. I walked back up the stairs, right as Teddy slowly lowered the mattress onto my bed. I went to start putting the things on my bed, when the shooting pain continued, and Teddy instructed that I sit down for a minuet.
I wanted to protest, but I knew that the warning look that Teddy was giving me, wasn't something to go against. I just sat back down, closing my eyes, but it wasn't quiet for long, before there was a commotion running through my bedroom door. "Ted, Elliot the idiot broke my bed" I laughed quietly, as the two started to bicker, but that wasn't before someone else walked into the room and directed them out of the room.
The person that had just walked in, sat down next to me, as Teddy left, but I just continued to stare at my bed that was unmade. "Teddy texted me that your in a little bit of pain" the person spoke, and I knew that it was Oliver, just from the quietness in his tone. Damn these brothers of mine, not allowing me to hide anything.
"I'm sure it's nothing. I just moved too quickly" I knew that it wasn't nothing, as it had been annoying me for quiet a while now, but I didn't want to burden my brothers. "Well a little birdy told me that you are quiet accident prone on the ice" the little chuckle that came from my older brother didn't make me laugh, as I posed the question. "About figure skating, I don't think I can go back"
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thoughts? xx
the ending is really bad, sorry.