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Quick note: The POV has switched from Lizzy's to JJ's.
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"ARE you sure you haven't seen my cell phone anywhere?" Jordan asked his mother worriedly, scouring through the living room couch's pillows once more even though he'd looked there a million times already.
"JJ, honey, I've told you for weeks now, it's not here. We've searched our entire house multiple times over, we've checked every store and combed through every nook and cranny we could think of, and we haven't found it," his mother reiterated again, her drooping shoulders revealing the exhaustion she currently felt. "I feel bad enough, baby, for losing it. Can I just buy you a new one already?"
JJ had stopped listening, his attention consumed by a set of drawers in the kitchen that stored a variety of silverware. He was bouncing around their house in a frenzy and his mother was having a hard time keeping up with him. "No, Mom. I need this phone." JJ slammed the drawer shut and peeked underneath the dining room table. Panic was beginning to set itself into JJ's bones and he attempted to take deep breaths to calm himself.
His mother's eyebrows furrowed together, her arms crossed as she watched her terrified son sift through everything they owned, verifying that his eyes didn't fail him and skip over his phone when he was searching for it before. "What's so important about that cell phone anyway?"
JJ paused in the middle of his examination of the pots and pans, his gaze becoming distant and nostalgic. A girl with frizzy brown hair, beautiful chocolate eyes, and blinding smile flickered through his mind, but he quickly tucked her away in a chest with a lock and key. He needed to focus if he was ever going to text her again. She was a delightful distraction, one that he wouldn't mind consuming all of his daydreams. In fact, ever since they'd begun to text one another, she slowly had.
He blushed at the thought and rapidly returned to work. His friendship with Lizzy teetered haphazardly off a cliff and he desperately needed his phone to save it. "It's nothing, Mom. I just—I have a lot of memories with that phone."
His mother laughed and shook her head, her coffee-colored hair swaying with the movement. JJ looked up at his mother, a perplexed expression gracing his features, his eyes narrowing. "Like that one day you dropped it in the toilet?" his mother elaborated after she regained her breath.
JJ's face darkened into a deep crimson hue. "That was one time," he protested. He moved to examine a bookcase that stood in their house, an array of miscellaneous objects dawdling on each shelf. Unfortunately, his phone was nowhere to be found—it had disappeared like coins do when magicians perform their shows.
"And your phone was never the same because of it," his mom continued, trailing behind him as he prolonged his searching. "Honey, I already looked there. And there. And there. We've already combed through this entire house for it and it's just not here. I feel so, so terribly awful for losing it. Baby, please, just let me buy you a new one, for God's sake."
Panic bubbled in Jordan's throat and his shaking fingers combed through his knotty hair, his breathing short and shallow. "Mom. No. I've told you a thousand times. I need this phone. I need it."
"Why don't you go shoot some hoops with Asher? I think he's outside right now and he's always looking for a basketball buddy," his mother prompted, trying to distract him from the lost phone. JJ sighed and stood from his previous crouched position.
"Fine. But it's not going to make me forget."
"I know it's not, JJ. You haven't let anyone forget about your lost phone for weeks now."
"You just don't understand," JJ grumbled before stomping out of his house to the driveway where Asher was dribbling a basketball and shooting at their family's basket.
JJ crept behind him with Asher's back to him, a mischievous smile fixated on him as he watched his clueless brother prepare to shoot a free throw. Asher dribbled twice and placed the ball in the palm of his hand, his eyes staring at the red rim with concentration. Before the ball could leave his fingertips, JJ bounded on him, both frightening Asher and stealing the ball from him. JJ laughed and dribbled the ball with ease away from Asher whose face grew ruddy, his jaw drooping from shock.
"What the hell, JJ? You just scared the shit out of me!" Asher yelled after him, blinking slowly as he recovered.
"I hope I didn't scare the shit out of you. That'd be disgusting," JJ said with a laugh, avoiding Asher's attempts to swipe the ball from his possession.
"You know what I mean," Asher grumbled, his sweaty brown hair falling into his eyes.
"Don't let Mom hear your cussing. She might make you wash your mouth with soap and water."
"I know, JJ. You've warned me like a thousand times." Asher's hand reached over to take the ball but JJ was quicker and raced to the basket before performing a fluid left-handed layup. The ball bounced twice on the pavement and JJ picked it up and chucked it at his younger brother. Asher flinched but caught it with ease.
"Nobody warned me, Ash."
Asher's eyes widened into saucers, his boyish face paling. "You don't mean—"
"Yep. I tasted lavender for weeks after, even though I drank tons of Gatorade to cover up the nasty taste."
Asher tossed the basketball back to JJ. "That's the only good thing about having older brothers—I learn from your guys' mistakes."
JJ laughed and shot the basketball effortlessly. A satisfied swoosh sound sifted through the air until it reached their ears. "Imagine being the oldest—Chase. He didn't have anyone to learn from."
"Maybe that's why he's such an idiot now," Asher said, referring to when he and JJ eavesdropped on their parents' conversations about their oldest brother.
"Let's be honest, all of our older brothers are idiots. But Chase especially," JJ agreed.
"When he dropped out of college, Mom and Dad were pissed for weeks."
"That most definitely was not his finest moment."
Asher and JJ started up a basketball game, one-on-one, and played until the sun sank over the horizon, splashes of gold reflecting off their tan skin. Their mother finally called them in for dinner by front door, her dark silhouette contrasting with the bright lights inside their home.
"Last one in is a rotten egg," Asher shouted. He quickly snatched the ball and raced to their mother.
"You do know I'm not six, right?" Jordan shouted after him before chuckling and jogging after him. By the time JJ reached the door, Asher was already seated at the dining room table, poised and prepared to devour the meal his mother prepared for them. JJ burst out laughing and joined his brother, the chair screeching obnoxiously as he slid it from its cozy spot underneath the table.
"I swear you love food more than anything in the universe—even your fucking family," JJ told his brother.
"Language," his mother scolded as she followed her sons into the dining room. JJ quickly mumbled an apology while Asher smothered a laugh, his taunting smile diving behind his hand. JJ's glare threw daggers in Asher's direction, which instead of causing Asher to cower just made Asher laugh even harder, tears glimmering in his eyes.
"What are you two laughing about?" their father wondered upon seeing his sons' exchanges at the dining room table.
"Oh, nothing," JJ said rapidly just as Asher exclaimed, "JJ swore in front of Mom." JJ whirled on Asher and was about to punch him in the throat or the face or the arm—whichever would hurt the most, just like his older brothers used to do to him—when his father stopped him with a firm pat on his shoulder.
"Be nice to your younger brother." JJ's father, a hefty man, sat in his chair, which seemed to groan under his weight. As usual, his shoulders drooped as though the world was placed on them, his eyes tired and dull like an old pair of jeans. Trying to raise a bunch of boys under one roof certainly took its toll on Mr. Hale and he couldn't wait until the day his youngest two would finally move out of the house. He loved them all dearly but the stress and trouble they caused wore him down and contributed to his deteriorating health.
"What your father is trying to say is that your brothers, Chase and Zeke and Jayden and—sometimes even Landon got roped in, poor boy—would get into fights over the silliest things at the dinner table. Jayden would start it off with some derogatory comment to get Chase fired up and the next thing you knew all my boys were violently wrestling each other on the ground. Your father always rushed you out when that happened since you two were so young. Please, darlings, don't be like your brothers," JJ and Asher's mother reminded them, a steaming pan of some casserole in her hand. "It's hot, very hot, so make way and help your mother." Asher and JJ scrambled to prepare a spot for their mother to drop the hot pan. "There," she said, satisfied when the meal was finally prepared and ready to be consumed.
"Eat up, kiddos." She turned away to head to her spot on the dinner table. Her husband raised an eyebrow at her as if waiting for her to grant him permission to begin eating. She let out a laugh when she realized he was watching her. "Ah, yes, of course, you too, my dear. Enjoy." JJ and Asher's parents reached to scoop some of the casserole for themselves only to find the pan almost empty.
"Really, Ash? J?" their mother deadpanned, the volume of her voice rising like the tide. Asher and JJ exchanged nervous expressions, suddenly realizing the abundance of casserole that they had piled onto their plates.
"I—um—sorry," JJ mumbled, dumping half of the food onto his father's plate. Asher quickly followed suit and gave half to his mother.
"Did we teach either of you manners at all?" their father asked incredulously, his eyebrows knit in disbelief.
"Clearly not," their mother muttered under her breath. Her voice rose as she addressed her husband across the table: "JJ here has been searching for his phone. Again."
Her husband rubbed his forehead, a slight headache piercing him from beneath his skull. "Why won't he just let us buy him a new one?"
"That's exactly what I said!"
"It's been how many weeks now?"
"Too many to count."
JJ sunk into his seat, patches of red sprinkled on his face. He wanted to melt into a puddle and, more than that, he wanted his parents to stop talking about him when he was sitting right here with them. They didn't understand why he was so attached to his phone and they never would. He couldn't live without it because some girl whom he'd never met had stolen his heart like a gorgeous thief.
Fortunately, Asher swooped in to save JJ, noticing his brother's uncomfortableness. "How was work, Dad?" The conversation shifted, and JJ tried to show his gratefulness by meeting his brother's eyes. Asher simply smiled and nodded as if to say I always got your back bro.
JJ focused on finishing his meal as fast as he could. He just wanted to crawl in to bed and fall asleep. He'd never really appreciated sleep until he met Lizzy. Now he couldn't seem to get enough of it. It was as though one day all his restless nights, wide awake, tossing and turning, finally crashed upon him, leaving him utterly exhausted. "May I be excused?" JJ asked after he emptied his plate, the contents filling up and satiating his stomach.
"Of course," his mother said, smiling carefully at her son as though she was trying to piece together his mood. JJ quickly left the dining room; he didn't want to be examined. He just wanted to sleep, finish his junior year, and talk to Lizzy.
He opened the door to his bedroom and tipped over onto his bed, his face mushed against the pillows. Shadow's familiar uneven breathing approached his ears and his dog leaped onto the bed next to JJ, giving his master a bucket load of kisses. JJ figured his mom somehow noticed his melancholy mood and released Shadow from his cage. "Hi, Shadow, how're you doing?" he said, flipping over so that he could cradle Shadow in his arms. He sunk his face into his dog's warm fur that caressed him comfortingly. Shadow's paws pressed into his stomach, his energy soaring through the roof; it was all JJ could do to keep Shadow from falling off his lap and off his bed.
When Shadow finally calmed down, JJ laid back, Shadow's body aligned with his own, sleepiness overcoming them both until all that could be heard in JJ's room was the soft pattern of their snores.
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A/N:
Now we're diving into JJ's POV! I'm sure all of you are confused and wondering what the heck is going on but don't worry--everything will be explained in due time!
Please vote if you enjoyed and comment your thoughts. What do you think happened to Lizzy? I love hearing your feedback!
Wattys have officially closed but I entered this story into the competition! I guess we'll see what happens!
- Payton