A/N:
This one's for all you silent readers out there. This is a sign for you to stop being one and vote, comment and share!
-P
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l e x i
Jackson's birthday. December 20th. Yup, that's right, only a mere five days before Christmas. He was officially 25, and Alex thought it would be a good idea to throw him a surprise party.
She only had the guts to ask one teacher to come, and luckily, it was the one Jackson was closest to. And she just so happened to have the same birthday as he did.
She was still coming though, because she told us her family never celebrated her birthday. Only her younger sister's. Her younger sister who was thirteen years younger than her.
She said it didn't really matter much that her family didn't celebrate her birthday because she didn't live with them anymore.
You see, our Chemistry teacher, Julia Smith, was adopted when she was fourteen after she and her family got into a car crash. She only remembered a few things, just a name, a date, and her own first name.
She never looked for her family, she said, because the authorities insisted that her family died in the accident when she went to the station.
Her family was all passed out after the accident, and she was the only one who was still conscious.
Reminded me of something that happened to me when I was younger.
But that's beyond the point.
We found out all about that when Alex asked her to come to the party after one of our classes, and we asked about her birthday. Bad move on our part because damn, she had one rough past.
She told us that her so-called family treated her like garbage and kicked her out of their house once she was legal to live on her own, which, in her own words, was the time she actually felt free since getting into their hellhole of a house.
Her words, not mine.
But no joke, it did seem like a hellhole, considering the fact that she was basically living the life of Cinderella, working her butt off at home only to get abused right after. Harsh. It was like she was adopted to be an abused, unpaid maid in her own home.
We were decorating, for the second time of the month, in the backyard this time, while Ryder made sure to keep Jackson away and out of the house.
He was chilling with Jackson at some cafe about twenty minutes away while I was being ordered around, running, by a screaming Alex. Well, me and Paige.
Oh, and Alex's poor boyfriend.
"Lex! Can you get the extra table from the study? It's right beside my desk!"
She may have seemed angry, but she had a calm voice as she ordered from the other side of the backyard. That was the only reason for her screaming.
Alex liked to say she didn't like to do things she deemed completely unnecessary to do. For example, screaming when she wasn't mad. Or when you weren't far away from her.
Yeah, she wasn't very fond of screaming. Come to think of it, she there were a lot of things she didn't like. Picky girl. I didn't blame her though. She was raised to stand her ground and not take shit from anyone.
"Sure! I'll go get it now!" I responded, running into the house because we had to prepare fast so Jackson wouldn't be suspicious of the fact that his brother suddenly wanted to hang out with him on the day of his birth.
No offense to Ryder and all, but I personally thought Paige would've been a way more convincing person to be a distraction than Ryder. I still didn't know the reason why Alex sent Ryder instead of her.
As I closed the sliding glass door that connected the kitchen to the backyard, I heard Alex scream again, "Luke? Can you get the drinks ready in the kitchen please?"
Luke hurried over to her and planted a kiss on her cheek, "Of course, anything for my baby. Now calm down, yeah? This will all go smoothly. Just relax a little, babe, you've got this."
The door was getting a little stuck, but I let out a contented sigh when it finally shut. Someone definitely had to get that fixed. You needed a shit ton of power to get that to shut or open.
I ran to the study and went straight towards Alex's neat desk. Her books were lined up perfectly, and not a single paperclip was out of place. Talk about neat freak.
The extra table sat right beside Alex's desk, neatly folded up, and I dragged it out of the room and to the backyard. Well, I was supposed to carry it, but that didn't go too well because it was clearly heavier than it looked.
It was around three in the afternoon, about two and a half hours after we started fixing up, and we were almost good to go.
Ryder sent me a text saying they'd leave to go home in ten minutes, leaving us with around thirty minutes, including the twenty minute travel time, to finish up and change into appropriate clothes.
That's right, I did math.
"Hey, Alex? Ryder and Jackson will be here in thirty. Ry already brought him to the mall before they went to some random cafe like twenty minutes away from here. You should go and change. Paige, Luke and I can handle this," I told my sister.
"You better. Come up in like fifteen so I can do your hair and make up. Bring Paige too. I have a dress for her and I don't know, just like, drag Luke up too," she instructed, running into the house, "His change of clothes are with me."
Once the sliding door shut, I checked everything, the music, food, decorations and all that, pulling Paige and Luke along with me. We finished in around ten minutes, and I told Paige and Luke to come upstairs with me to get ready.
"Here, put this on. People are coming in five or ten minutes, and I need someone downstairs to be with them," Alex shoved clothes into Luke's hands once we entered the room, "Lexi, get the two outfits I hung in the closet. The dress is Paige's and the other outfit's yours."
Luke hurried to our bathroom to change as I went into my sister's walk-in, looking for the clothes Paige and I had to wear. Jackson was so lucky that he was a good brother. I didn't like dressing up so much.
Paige and I changed in the closet while Alex fixed her boyfriend up before pulling him out of the room and down the stairs just as I heard the doorbell ring.
"Lexi, Paige! Get out here! I have to fix you hair and make up!" Alex knocked on the closet door, and we hurried out as Alex pulled her make up bag out, applying lipstick on Paige's lips.
"I'm texting Ryder. We need more time. Now," I breathed out, "At least ten minutes more."
I unplugged my phone that sat on my desk, seeing as it was fully charged for being plugged in half the time we were preparing everything.
"I am so not denying that. Ooh! Tell Ryder to bring him to a bakery to get a cake. It's the only thing we don't have. Just tell him to tell Jackson that we need the cake for dinner tonight," Alex ordered, pulling Paige's hair into a neat braid that cascaded over her shoulder. "I've cooked too much with too little time."
I turned my phone on and texted Ryder. He replied almost instantly, saying he'd try his best to improvise so they could get some cake to make time. We should have let Ryder and Jackson leave home earlier.
"Well, we have around fifteen minutes tops. Ry's giving us only ten minutes more."
"Well then... put your phone away so I can fix your hair and make up," Alex pushed my phone to the side from in front of me before attacking my face with a brush. "Paige, put on the shoes beside the door then go down and help Luke entertain the guests."
"On it!" she immediately put her shoes on and ran out of the room with no argument whatsoever. She had never run faster in her life.
"So Alex..." I started as she put the eyeliner on the edge of my eyelid, creating a small wing.
"Mm... what?" she asked, moving to my other eye, "Turn your head to the left a little; we're almost done here."
I did as she said, "Why does it seem like you were avoiding Luke the whole day today? You didn't talk to him much, and it was like you were letting him do things far from you a while ago."
"You're looking into things too deeply. I was just busy, and I needed to get everything done on time. He's still the best boyfriend I could ever ask for, and we're doing well," she smiled, finishing my look with a little blush and lipstick, pulling my hair back into a ponytail. "All done!"
She went into the closet and came back out wearing black pumps that matched her red, long- sleeved dress with a pair of good white Air Forces from my collection in her hands. "Put this on. It's the only one I could find that would perfectly match your look."
I was pretty sure I had more than one white pair that would match a crop top and high waisted jeans.
You know what? Whatever. It was never good to argue with a tired Alex. Or just Alex in general. She knew too much about weaknesses.
She left the room, hurrying downstairs as the doorbell rang once again. I swear, she could run in high heels like they were just a pair of sneakers. I couldn't go faster than a normal walk in heels or else I'd fall face first.
I slipped my feet into the shoes Alex gave me, running after her downstairs just as I finished tying my laces. According to my calculations that were usually accurate, there was about five minutes left before my brothers came.
That was estimated though.
My phone buzzed from inside my back pocket, signaling that I got a text so I took it out, and apparently, they weren't five minutes away.
They were five blocks away.
"Alex! The guys are coming! Get everything and everyone ready!"
"Got it! Everyone, it's time to hide. Luke, get over here! Lex? Wait for them and bring them to the backyard. Pretend you're doing something."
Did I tell you that Alex can speed talk? No? Well, she definitely could. It was another one of those endless talents she had that I was always talking about.
I pretended to look at the coats hanging on the rack, and I heard the door click open right after I heard a car engine turn off. "Alex, Lexi, Paige? We're home! And we—oh hey, Lex!"
"Hey, Jax. How's your birthday so far? I'm trying to look for a pin. I think I left it in my coat pocket yesterday," I made up on the spot. Pretty good actually. "Hi to you too, Ry."
"It's going well. Ryder and I went to the mall, and he got me a gift. Then we got some cake before going home. Why are you wearing make up, by the way?" he raised an eyebrow. He was so on to me. Not good. "You don't even like make up."
"Alex tried experimenting a look on me. I was too lazy to wash it off, so I just left it," huh, I wasn't so bad under pressure after all. "Speaking of, she told me to bring you guys to the backyard. She wanted to show you guys something with the tree house."
"Cool! I wanna see it. I have ideas that I can propose to Alex. I think she's gonna like all of them," Ryder finally spoke up.
We walked to the glass door going to the backyard, but Jackson wasn't looking because he was a little too preoccupied with his phone. Not a bad thing at all. He was probably reading a text or something like that.
We got outside and everyone jumped out. "Surprise!"
And that was when Jackson's head shot up, and a wide grin spread on his face like a kid on Christmas morning. He absolutely loved surprises. He had been a sucker for them since he could speak.
"Whoa. You were part of this, weren't you, Ry? That's why you've been trying to keep me away from home. I guess Alex was the infamous planner again?" Jackson still couldn't get the grin off his face, the guests going back to chatting.
"Who else? I'm probably the only one from the rest of the four of us that would go through the struggle to do all this," Alex walked over to us, Luke holding her hand.
Huh, I guess they really were on good terms. I was happy for them. Otherwise, Luke would have been so dead to my dad and brothers.
"You didn't have to do this, you know. But growing up with you, I know you would've done it even though I told you not to. Thanks, Alex," Jackson grinned and pulled her into a hug.
"You know me well, dear brother. I only got to ask Julia to come though because she's the only one I had the guts to ask. Hope you enjoy!" Alex laughed and went away to talk to Josh with Luke.
I must say, Luke became really good friends with my cousin after they got to know each other.
My brothers socialized with the guests and so did my sisters, but I just silently snuck into the house and cleaned up the living room.
What was up with me? I usually loved parties because I could eat a lot. I just wasn't hungry.
The living room was really messy after my cousins decided it would be an amazing plan to have a pillow fight with my siblings and I the night before.
"What are you doing here, Lexi? Why don't you go outside and have fun with your family?" my head snapped up, and I saw Julia looking at an old picture of our family from when Paige was born. "And who's this? You know, if you don't mind me asking."
She was pointing at the picture of my older sister who was, sadly, gone forever.
"I'm not really the social type when my family's the one I have to be social with. That's more of Alex and Ryder's thing. That's my sister in the picture. They said she passed away when my family and I got into a car crash going to this thing Alex and I begged to go to," I revealed. It was all our fault. "That happened ten years ago on the 29th of September."
"Oh no, I'm so sorry. Why don't we change the topic?" she hugged me, wiping my tears, and it reminded me of how my sister used to calm me down after I cried, "Will your parents be here?"
"Actually, I'm pretty sure Alex said they'd be here right about now," and at that exact moment, my parents entered the front door, "And there they are. Hi! This is uh... Julia. She's Jackson's friend and co-worker. She's our Chemistry teacher."
"It's nice to meet you, Julia. You have a beautiful name. It was Jackson's twin's name actually. You actually remind me very much of her," Mom smiled sadly.
My sister, Julia, and Mom had always been really close. It had been ten years, and Mom never wanted to believe that her daughter died.
"Wait... can... can you uh... never mind. It's probably not true," she smiled at Mom and Dad who matched my confused look. "I should head back outside now."
"No, no, Julia. Finish what you were saying," Dad finally spoke up, making her stop in her tracks and turn around. "I want to know."
Frankly, I did too. I wanted to know what she was thinking at that moment.
"It's kind of funny, actually. Lexi told me about what happened with your daughter, but something makes me think she's not dead. Something makes me think she's me. I was separated from my family in a car crash ten years ago, only remembering that my name was Julia, I was born on this day, and I was telling people to call someone named Jackson."
"But that's impossible. Our daughter was announced dead after days of searching for her," Dad shook his head. Tears threatened to stream down my face as I stared at her. Julia's words shocked me, and only then did I notice how much she looked like my older sister. I missed her so much. Both Alex and I did. Everyday. "We looked everywhere for her."
"But Paul, it all connects. The name. The birthday. The crash. Jackson. What if she really is our daughter?" Mom had a speck of hope glinting in her eyes, and I couldn't hold back the tears anymore as I ran to the backyard to call my siblings.
I just remembered every memory I had in the six years of my life Julia was present in. What if she really wasn't dead?
"Lexi, babe, what's wrong? Why is my strong and amazing sister crying?" Alex worried as she rushed to me once our eyes met. "Tell me, and I'll do whatever I can to make it better. Who made you cry?"
"Alex... Julia... living room... please," was all I managed to choke out of my mouth without completely breaking down, "Now."
I completely understood why Alex liked waterproof make up now.
She nodded and whispered something into Luke's ear who was rubbing her arms from behind to keep her from crying too. You see, once one of the three of us cries, it didn't take much for another one to cry too.
"Let's go. I wanna know what's going on."
We ran back to the house, heading straight into the living room where Alex spoke up, "What is this Lexi's crying about? What's up with Julia?"
Her voice faltered slightly as she said our sister's name.
"She might not be dead, Alex. She might be right here, standing in front of you," Dad told Alex, "We decided that we're going to take a DNA test as soon as possible to find out."
Alex stood there, shell shocked, after Dad explained everything to her.
"We're confused. What exactly is happening?" Jackson, Ryder and Paige came, soon followed by Luke who Alex ran to as she bawled her eyes out.
Don't get the wrong idea here. We were really happy that our sister might have actually been alive all those years that we couldn't stop the tears even if we tried.
That and I was happy that Luke was always there for Alex. He really loved my sister, even though they hadn't been dating very long.
Mom explained everything to my siblings again from when Julia was in a car crash to how Julia and her "family" moved to California after they adopted her to their plan of having a DNA test to see if she really was our sister.
The hopeful look on her face never left. I really hoped Julia was our sister, "We'll do it tomorrow and get the results then too. As for now, let's just enjoy the party."
My whole family had hope.
Julia had hope.
She told us that she wanted to be with her real family the day Alex invited her to come over. And maybe she finally could.
We went back to the backyard with smiles on all our faces and our heads held high with hope.
~~~ END OF CHAPTER ~~~
A/N:
Hey guys! So it's been what? A month? Sorry if the updates take so long because school's getting in the way. Just a few weeks more and it will finally be summer so the updates can come in faster.
Vote, follow, comment your thoughts, share with your friends, and add this to your reading list if you haven't already.
Growing old is mandatory, but growing up is optional,
P
P.S. The quote's by Walt Disney.