(Jason on top )
The loud beeping of the alarm the next morning rang throughout the room as I was forced to open my eyes.
Through bleary vision, I reached over Jace's body to shut the alarm off. Groaning, Jace placed an arm over his eyes, the sunlight beaming into the room too bright.
" Morning babysis." He said, his voice coated with sleep, still heavily weighed down by tiredness as a husky tone overtook his usual smooth, deep baritone.
" Morning." I said, looking over to him as he smiled lazily up at me.
Sitting up, he placed his large hands on top of my head and ruffled my hair, as if my bed head wasn't already messy enough.
Playfully glaring at him, I reached over to ruffle his hair as well, making sure to put extra force as I vigorously messed up his hair.
Soon, it turned to an all out brawl, my giggles filled the room as Jace tackled me onto the bed, tickling my sides as he hovered above me.
" Say you're sorry!" He said, pulling his lips into a blinding grin as his perfectly white teeth sat in neat rows.
Unable to really speak, I forced out my next words. " I'm sorry! I'm sorry! " I breathed out. My cheeks already aching from laughing too much.
" Say I'm your favorite brother!" He said, his fingers halting for a second, wiggling as he playfully threatened me into saying my favoritism.
" You're my favorite!" I shouted.
And he finally released me from his hold, his body rolling over mine as he stood up on the edge of the bed. Smirking, he turned to me while I was still lying on the bed, trying to catch my breath as I took deep gulps of air.
" I've always know you liked me best."
Turning around, he made his way downstairs. Silently chuckling, I sat up on the bed. My stomach slightly aching from all the tautness that accompanied my laughter.
Still smiling to myself, I padded out of the room, my bare feet hitting the carpeted floor quietly. The drastic change of temperature had sent shivers down my spine as cold air hit my bare legs.
Walking into my room, I quickly brushed my teeth and rinsed my face with warm water. Since it was a weekend, I decided to dress down, putting on a pair of loose short shorts and an oversized shirt that belonged to Jason.
Putting my hair up into a messy ponytail, I rushed down the stairs, the smell of bacon sizzling on a pan and fresh scrambled eggs filled the house, sending all of us into a panting, salivating group of siblings.
As I entered the kitchen, I was greeted by Jace who was expertly flipping pancakes and a shirtless Kyle working on the bacon strips. Their backs facing me as I sat down on my usual stool.
Turning around, Jace carefully placed another pancake on top of an ever growing stack. The smell of the melted butter sent warm tingles down my spine as my stomach grumbled in anticipation.
" Morning." I said.
" Hey, there was a thunderstorm last night right? How did you hold up?" Kyle asked, concern etched onto his marble smooth face.
His full eyebrows scrunched together in symmetrical straight lines.
" It was ok. Jace was there."
Jace threw me a wink before he turned to place the pan in the sink while Kyle was sulking, a spatula in his hand as he placed the bacon strips onto individual plates.
" Why didn't you come to me?" He muttered, glaring at Jace who was whistling a random tune.
I rolled my eyes, smiling as I sat down and picked up the fork to eat the steaming eggs I had on my plate.
While we were all busy either cooking or stuffing our faces, we paused midway just in time to see Jason burst through the door. His hair disheveled as random chestnut strands stood up in various directions. The briefcase he was gripping onto now laid, abandoned, on the porch step.
He rushed to me, his arms encasing me in his signature bear hug that I loved. My mouth, still filled with eggs, made me look like a bloated chipmunk as I held my fork in my other hand, careful not to stab him.
" God, Lexi I missed you. I'm so sorry I couldn't be there when you woke up. I had a long ass business trip and I just, god I'm just so happy you're okay." He said, pulling back a little to look at my face, inspecting every single plane and edge, slightly chuckling at my large eyes and puffed out cheeks. Pulling him back into a hug, I clinged onto his warmth, surrounded by the familiarity of my brother's cologne.
" I missed you too, Jas." I said, my voice muffled against his crisp, white shirt. His suit jacket taken off when he came in and his sleeves rolled up to his elbows.
He tightened his arms around me before letting me go.
" So can any of you asses tell me why none of you came to pick me up?" Jason turned to face my 2 brothers, who stopped midway from scarfing down their bacon.
" I can't drive yet." Jace said, his mouth tilting up into a smug smirk which reduced Kyle to scratching the back of his head in anxiousness.
" Sorry." Kyle sheepishly said before Jason walked over and hit the side of his head.
I giggled, satisfied that my whole family was back together.
" Hey, tonight's movie night. What're we gonna watch?" Jace chirped, my eyes lit up in excitement since movie night was the best night. All of us huddled together on the couch and the carpeted floor, smothered in warm blankets, surrounded with pillow forts and encompassed by the smell of freshly popped, buttery popcorn.
" Roman's picking this week." Jason said through a mouth filled with Cheerios.
" Dammit he's probably picking another shitty horror movie." Kyle groaned.
" You know it!" Roman's voice floated from the living room into the kitchen, his footsteps getting louder and louder as he made his way into the kitchen.
" Get ready for The Exorcism of Emily Rose bitches!" Roman pumped his fist in the air as he held the blu Ray cover.
Well, shit.
--
As I brought my knees to my chest, a warm blanket draped across my shoulders and an arm wrapped around me, I leaned myself further into Jason. He was the tallest of us all, his body made him the perfect protective barrier.
My eyes were still glued to the screen as Emily broke more bones, screaming through the speakers, the loud sounds echoing throughout our home theater.
I buried my face into Jason's chest as he tightened his arm around me. God, I hate this. Roman was laughing maniacally at Jace who was gripping the arm chair so tight, his knuckles turned white. His whole body tensing with every scream. While Kyle laid on the floor, his head on top of a pillow, the light from his phone illuminating his face as he texted.
" it's okay, Princess. It's just a movie. It's not real." Jason whispered, his hand sifting through my hair, comfortingly.
" Don't tell me that it's just a movie. I don't care. Those things are some scary sh-" I started, my mouth tends to get incredibly dirty when I watched anything scary.
" Language." Jason gently warned me, a slight sternness in his voice. " Wonder who taught her all these swear words while I was gone?"
Roman snapped his eyes towards Kyle , narrowing them playfully. " Yeah, Kyle. Wonder who taught her to say " Shit" .
Kyle scoffed. " You think I play with girly words like shit? My first word was fuck."
" You wish. "
" Asshole."
" Dickhead."
" Fuckface."
" Bitchballs."
Me and Jace immediately burst out laughing at their petty feud, while Jason glared at them, his hands covering my ears but did nothing to block out the loud bickering.
My heart swelled with content, this was what it was like to be happy. To be surrounded with the people you love and who make you laugh. I sighed in content as I leaned back into Jason's chest. My eyes closing as I smiled, safe in the arms of my brother's embrace.
--
Thank you all for 4K reads!
I love all my lovely readers out there. By the way, where are all of you from?
Vote and comment ❤️
Love,
CK