Riley's pov
~
I walked in the kitchen and smiled.
"Yay! Pancakes!" I said happily.
"Mommy said that these are special pancakes." Said Auggie, my 6 year old brother.
"Oh really?" I grinned. "Mommy is a liar."
Auggie shook his head. "Riley stop! These are special pancakes!"
I laughed. "Whatever you say Auggie."
I sat down and ate my "special" pancakes. There was a knock on the door. I got up to answer it, but of course Maya didn't wait for me to open the door.
She walked grinning. "Morning Riles. Ready to head to the hell hole?"
My mother raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. She didn't like when people cursed in front of Auggie.
Maya knew that, but she tends to do whatever she wants.
"I'm coming" I said. As I grabbed my backpack I noticed Maya eyeing Auggie's pancakes. When she saw me looking at her, she quickly diverted her gaze to the door.
"Ready to go?" She asked.
"Um...yeah. Maya? Are you hungry?" I said.
She smiled. "Nope. Let's go."
Anyone else would have thought they imagined it. That Maya was actually fine. But she wasn't. I saw right through that fake smile if hers. And my job was to turn that fake smile into a real one. No matter what it takes.