Present Time: Two Years Later
Chapter One:
My phone is ringing on the side table. With my eyes still tightly glued shut, I sigh and roll over to switch it off. I throw my hand over my face, attempting to block out the sunlight that's peeking through my curtains. I'm startled when I finally open my eyes and see my brother Luke standing motionless at the foot of my bed. He is dressed in a simple, navy blue T-shirt and dark jeans. It looks like he's ready for the day. I rub the sleep out of my eyes with the sleeve of my shirt, giving him a look of pure annoyance.
"Scared?" He asks with a smirk on his idiotic face.
I shake my head "no" at him. Idiot.
"You were, weren't you?" He teases, lifting his eyebrows. He seems so proud of himself, and for what? Scaring his little sister? Wow. Hold your applause, everybody.
I shake my head again, mouthing no. Idiot!
"Liar. You were scared," he teases with a triumphant smile.
I shove him out of my way so I can get out of bed. He stumbles two feet back from my bed and I stick my tongue out at him, trying to hold in my amusement as his eyes nearly pop out of their sockets.
"You're so rude." He mutters beneath his breath, but it doesn't go unheard.
I reach for my phone as I'm standing up, and I see a missed call from him. It doesn't surprise me, I mean, what can I say? It's Luke, after all. I quickly grab a pen and a sheet of scrap paper from my nightstand and scribble,
Why did you call me?! We live in the same house!
I throw it at him, and it hits him directly in the chin.
"Mmph." He groans, glaring at me. Whining, he unfolds the paper. "Seriously?" He asks as if I wasn't making any sense.
I roll my eyes yet again, surprised they haven't gotten stuck in the back of my head yet.
He explains, nevertheless. "Because one," he lifts his index finger, "Mum told me to wake you up, and two" he elevates one more finger and I grab it, twisting it backwards. "Ow!" He raises his voice.
I feel the need to keep going, to keep twisting his fingers back painfully, one by one. He's so annoying. Snatching the paper back from him, I write again and pass it back to him. This time, with less force.
"Thanks." He mumbles sarcastically.
But why call me?
He laughs whilst running a free hand through his dark hair. "Well, that's easy."
I raise my eyebrows at him.
"That's good ole reason Number Two. Just to bug you."
Folding my arms across my chest, I give him an unamused look.
"Come down quick, yeah?" A smile still on his face, I nod as he's leaving.
I shake my head in dismay at his antics. Luke can be a handful sometimes. For a sixteen-year-old boy who could definitely do something more useful and productive with his time, he chooses to pull lame jokes on everyone. Mostly me. How very unfortunate for me.
I get dressed, washed, and ready for the day, all in a haste. I trudge downstairs, still feeling exhausted and wanting to go back to sleep. I find Mum in the kitchen, still in her pyjamas and her dark hair tied back in a messy bun. She was standing over the stove, making one huge omelette that everyone at the table could probably share. Whilst Luke and Ethan are sitting opposite each other at the table, I join them, taking my usual seat in the middle of them both. My brothers are staring at each other, unblinking. It's almost as if they are playing a little game.
"Good morning, Jessica," Mum calls to me without turning around from the stove. "Omelet?"
Not feeling like it, I scoot my chair from the table with a shrill screech and go to the fridge. I get the milk and orange juice. I pass by Mum and point to the cereal I'll be having instead. I finish making my breakfast and grab the old, tatty and torn notebook that's always lying in the top drawer. I take my seat again with half a glass of orange juice and a full bowl of Cheerios. Just as I'm about to get comfortable and start eating, I hear it.
"Yessssss!" Luke yells, suddenly rising up from his position, which causes me to jump and Ethan to sigh loudly.
"Oh, hush, Luke." Mum scolds him without turning around. Smirking, he sticks his tongue out at Ethan before skipping through the door.
Ethan mutters, "what a loser," under his breath. He then looks at me, remembering my presence. "You okay, Jessica?"
I nod, eating a spoonful of Cheerios.
"Doing anything interesting today?"
I drop my spoon into the bowl and grab the old ratty notebook. I take a Biro out of my pocket and scribble down in black ink.
Not really. I was going to sleep in, then take a shower, maybe paint my nails and finish the homework I've got left to do. Not much to do really. Emma was supposed to come over but she's stuck helping her mum clean the house. I think Mum has something planned for me since she got Luke to wake me up.
He reads it and I quickly add,
And I don't think I can go back to sleep even if I tried now. What are you doing today?
Saturdays are made for sleeping in longer. Mum sets plates of toast and eggs down for the boys and herself. "Mum, Ethan, juice?" Luke offers, now standing before the fridge. They nod and he grabs some.
"Jessica, I've been meaning to ask you about something," she says after taking a sip of her orange juice.
I stare at her and tilt my head to the side, waiting for her to continue.
"I was reading the paper earlier, and I saw an advertisement about sign language classes for families. You, your brothers, and I could all go and learn together. It would make it easier for us to communicate, right?" She suggests softly, a smile forming on her dry lips.
A shockwave runs through my body, and all I can do is gape at her. She notices and the smile promptly drops from her face.
"Will you think about it for me? You don't have to decide now. Just sleep on it, okay?"
I nod, not wanting to disappoint her. Sign language classes would probably be useful, I know that, but at the same time, it would make everything real. It would solidify the situation, making everything sink in further. Even the thought of it was painful. Fearful. I'm not sure I can do it
"Okay, well, I'm not doing anything either today. Do you want to do something fun together since you don't have plans?" Ethan speaks up after a few minutes.
The thing with my eldest brother is he's never around. He's always out there doing bigger, better things. Probably exciting fun things. He's always with his friends, his girlfriends, and if he has nothing better to do, he'll come back home. We don't talk much. Well, he doesn't talk to me.
He just doesn't bother spending time with us anymore. It wasn't always like this, though. He changed. He used to be around all the time. He used to be there for me, for all of us, when we needed him. When we didn't too. I guess it's all a part of growing up, though. I don't know.
You know those siblings, the type who argue with you about everything? The pushing and screaming, the hair pulling, and maybe even some occasional bloody noses? Ethan and I were never like that. When we were younger, he was my favourite person to hang out with. We would play dress-up, as much as he didn't like it.
I'd dress him in a frog, prince, or any other wacky costume I could get my hands on, while Luke would shove me and run in the opposite direction to avoid me doing the same to him. We'd watch Disney movies on the weekends and paint together after school. When I got older and wasn't interested in playing anymore, he'd take me to the arcade, the bowling alley, and to the cinema to watch the latest movies. It was a special thing for us. I miss doing those things with him. I miss his company.
That all stopped a while ago, though. We do talk sometimes, like when it's inevitable, or when he realizes he hasn't spoken to me in a while. But it's not often. When he stopped spending time with me, Luke stepped up and started being a better brother for me. As annoying as he is, he does keep me entertained and he takes me places with him quite often. It's been that way for a few years now. Any other time, all I have to keep me occupied is homework, yuck, my hobbies; art and reading, and of my beautiful wonderful best friend, Emma.
Ethan is watching me, waiting for a response. I feel a little shocked that he wants to do something together, but I won't pass this up. My mouth is possibly hanging slightly open. It's a rare opportunity, and I want to spend as much time with him as I can. This might be my last chance for a while. At the same time, I don't want to spend any time with him at all because he never thought to ask before today. I don't want to expect things from him in the future, to later be disappointed in the process. If he starts hanging out with me, even just one more time, I'll hope we do it again. He'll disappoint again or make excuses like he usually does, and then he'll back away again. Start ignoring me again, and I'd rather lock myself away from that. But if I say no, then my mum will get upset and I'd rather not disappoint her. Having hope is a very dangerous thing.
Maybe. But you have to ask Mum first. Luke did say she wanted me for something.
"Mum?" Ethan reads the note and then passes it to her.
She nods her head. "Of course," she says, taking another mouthful of egg. I impatiently wait for her to finish chewing. "It would be good for you guys to have some time together. Like you siblings should be doing regularly." She adds, followed by a sheepish smile. Slight dig there I like it, Mum.
"Hey!" Luke butts in, dropping his fork on his plate. "I spend time with Jessica." He objects. "At least I try to always make time for her. That's why I'm her favourite, right JJ?" He looks my way, giving me a dorky grin. I do nothing in response.
"Are you implying that I'm a bad brother?" Ethan asks with obvious annoyance in his voice. "That I don't spend enough time with her?"
"No, Ethan." Answers Luke with a smile. "I'm saying you're a horrible brother." He sits back in his chair, folding his arms. "When was the last time you took Jess anywhere? Two years ago? We went out last weekend. Got doughnuts and hot chocolate. Think I've got you beat."
"Luke, behave yourself. For the last time." Our mum sighs. "That's four times I'm telling you already this morning."
"But seriously, Mum," he groans, "it's true." He insists.
"Luke, just be quiet," Ethan says in a warning tone, now sitting back in his chair, plate empty.
"No." He taunts. "Remind me one thing, E. Where were you when Jess was being harassed by all those stupid kids at school, huh?"
I give him a dirty look that says Zip-It-Right-Now-Or-Else in bold letters. There's nothing I can really threaten him with, but I can pretend. I quickly look in Mum's direction, then back at Luke, but his lips are still moving.
"I sure as hell don't remember you being the one punching up the year nine kid last month? Do you even —"
"Shut. Up. Now." Ethan growls, clenching his jaw and bangs his hand against the table.
"No. I won't." He retaliates in a way that makes me a little nervous.
"You will, or I'll make you." Ethan snaps, standing up from the table. Now I'm actually nervous and scared for Luke.
"Oh, no. I'm so scared." Luke exclaims in a high-pitched girly voice, then he snorts. Wow, he's brave today. "We're not kids anymore. Not going to shit myself for uttering a word in front of you, Ethan."
Exaggerate much? That makes me smile.
"Luke, please cut it out and eat your food. Now!" Mum warns, with a clang of her fork as it's dropping on her plate.
Finally, he listens and just shuts up.
"Oh dear, I didn't realize it was getting worse," Mum mutters to herself, shaking her head as she stands and clears the table. I glance at Luke, quickly elbowing him in the ribs.
"Oof, what was that for?" He hisses in discomfort. "It's the truth, and you know it." He throws his arm around me.
I smile at him half-heartedly. He was telling the truth. He was trying to stand up for me, just like he always does. I just didn't want the bullying to be brought up at the table, and I didn't want it to blow out of proportion the way that it did. I mean it's bad. Really bad.
*****
AUTHORS NOTE
Hi! I hope you liked this! Let me know your guy's thoughts.
What do you think of her brothers?
What's your fave breakfast food? Personally I can't eat first thing in the morning. I get nauseous. I know it's bad seeing as it's the most important meal and everything.
See you next week for another chapter!
Lazy/Dreamy
Here's a cupcake for reading.