OVER DINNER, PARKER doesn't stop bringing up the topic of basketball to Mr. Olson. Luckily he seems just as eager as Park to talk about it, so that's good, but it's a boring conversation.
"So, Maddie, you and Sammy have some classes together?" Mrs. Olson asks me.
"Yes ma'am. We have Anatomy and Precalculus." I reply, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear.
"How're you liking Newport?"
I chew on my bottom lip and think for a second. "It's lovely but it's different. I'm sure I'll learn to love it but for right now I'm still gathering." I reply with a small smile.
She smiles back and pats the back of my hand. "I hope so, sweetheart."
Our conversation is cut off when I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn to my left to see Sam.
Yes, lucky me was sat right next to him.
"Yes?" I ask, trying to be polite considering his parents are right here. And cause the boys would probably ream me if I was rude in front of perfect strangers. Not that they know Sam and I aren't exactly 'perfect strangers'.
"I was just wondering if you wanted the dinner rolls?" He asks, smirking a little. He's holding a basket of homemade rolls, just the smell making my mouth water.
"I'd love one, thank you." I reply, grabbing one and putting it on my plate before handing the basket to Mrs. Olson.
As soon as everyone is in a conversation, Sam kicks my foot under the table.
"You seem tense." He murmurs amusedly, giving me a stupid smile.
I roll my eyes and sarcastically say, "You're observant as well as beautiful, Sammy."
His stupid smile falls and I snort, before covering my mouth quickly. I have the worst laugh.
"I think I like Sammy better, actually. It's got a nice ring to it."
He just shrugs nonchalantly and smiles again, shoving some bread in his mouth. "Sure." He just shrugs.
"That whole good boy act earlier was really a dick move." I whisper, narrowing my eyes at him.
He smiles wider. "I think Emmett likes me." He says around a mouthful of food.
"Cause you're a bloody liar." I accuse, rolling my eyes.
"No, I just know how to sway people."
"Oh, just like how you swayed me?" I reply, kicking his foot under the table, except much harder than he did.
"Stop with the footsies, Ems. My parents and your brothers are here." He whispers, winking at me.
"Why do you call me that? Can't you just call me Maddie like everyone else?" I say, trying not to let my voice pick up volume.
"Your brothers call you princess."
"Yeah, cause they're my brothers. You are in no position to be giving me names." I say, ripping a chunk of my bread off and shoving it in my mouth.
"So I can't call you princess?"
"No." I snap.
"Or MJ?"
My glare is the only answer. He raises his eyebrows and nods.
"And I think Ems is definitely not an option, but I'm not dropping that one. I like it." He hums, making me roll my eyes and pinch his arm under the table.
"Young lady, you cannot keep your hands off me can you?" He says amusedly, smiling again.
"Don't blame you, really. I'd do the same thing if I was in your position." He murmurs to himself.
"You are so full of yourself, you know that?" I hiss, tugging on the end of my braid for the umpteenth time today.
"I was going to make a highly inappropriate comment, but considering my mother is a mere few feet away, I will save that for another time." He says, giving my hair a tug as well.
I pull my braid out of his hand and roll my eyes, shoveling some mashed potatoes into my mouth. I'll just focus on these instead of him.
"You are so easy to annoy, you know that? Considering you have so many siblings I'd think you would've kind of found a way to ignore it, but you cease to surprise me. It's lovely, really." He murmurs, watching me eat.
I pretend I don't hear him and cut into my chicken breast.
"Oh, so now you ignore me? This should be fun. I wonder how long we can keep you silent." He says, resting his hand on my knee under the table.
I jerk away from him and turn to Mrs. Olson, hoping to start a conversation. Anything to shut him up.
~•~•~
"Dinner was nice." Winn says over breakfast the next morning.
I have two reasons I'm so freaking glad it's Saturday. One: I got to sleep until eleven. Two: I don't have to see Sam again.
They all agree and I just grunt, sipping on my orange juice. They turn and look at me, looking confused that I'm not completely and utterly in love with the Olsons.
"You don't like them?" Parker asks, biting into a his cream cheese bagel.
"No. They're nice." I shrug, stabbing into my scrambled eggs.
"But?"
"But nothing." I reply, eating some.
Ew, they're cold now.
"I'm gonna have a shower guys." I tell them, standing from my chair. I start to leave the room, stopping when Emmett grabs my wrist.
"Okay?" He asks, his face marred with concern.
I smile and give him a side hug. "Exhausted from the week, that's all. And definitely not ready to start again so soon." I reply, squeezing his shoulders before pulling away.
"You'll tell us if you aren't, right? I promise we're here to talk if you need it." Winn says, before adding, "We might be guys who suck at girl stuff, but we handled your first period pretty well and anything else is a breeze compared to that."
I laugh and roll my eyes. "I promise."
I head up the stairs and decide today is gonna be a me day. A day to recover from this week.
~•~•~
"What is that?" Ricky asks, poking my cheek.
"Don't touch it." I reply, swatting his hand away. He's gonna mess up my charcoal mask.
"Oh, I wanna do it!" Maya squeals, sitting beside me on the couch.
She grabs the tube from my hands and squirts some on her fingertip, before Ricky quickly grabs it from her hands.
"What?" She asks, looking up at him.
"Is that alright for the baby?" He says, looking at the back of the bottle, scanning over all the ingredients and the warning label.
"It's a face mask, Ricky. I don't think it's gonna hurt the baby."
"No look! It has charcoal!" He defends quickly, pointing at the ingredient list.
"Sweetheart, the label says 'Charcoal mask'. It was implied there's charcoal in it. And besides, what's that matter?" She replies, smearing the small bit from her finger onto his cheek.
He isn't fazed by it and just continues with his explanation.
"I read somewhere that they're not sure if charcoal is good for expecting mothers."
"They said that about ingesting it." She murmurs, furrowing her brows as she gets the last bit on his cheek.
"What if it gets in your mouth? Then you're ingesting it." He defends, still glaring down at the bottle.
"Ricky, it's gonna be okay. I promise." She says, patting his arm.
He sets his hand on her baby bump and says, "Can we just play it safe and skip? I'll give you a foot massage instead."
She smiles and playfully rolls her eyes before pecking his lips. "Deal."
He stands up and says, "I'm gonna grab a drink real quick. Do you want anything?"
She shakes her head and he frowns.
"Water?" He tries again. She shakes her head.
"There's have apple juice and orange juice and decaf tea and decaf coffee and hot chocolate." He insists, staring her down.
"I don't want anything, honestly."
"I'll get you lemon water, just in case." He says walking away.
While he's in the kitchen I turn to Maya and say, "So, how you liking the whole being treated like a porcelain doll?"
We laugh and she shakes her head.
"He's protective, he's always been that way, but yeah you're right. He's a little more... overwhelming now."
I nod emphatically, which makes her laugh again.
"He's just- I think he wants to be the best. You know, best husband, best dad. And it's really, really sweet but he needs to realize he already is. He loves me and you guys and our daughter so much-" she says, but I don't let her finish cause I'm screaming excitedly.
"What? What?" She asks quickly, looking genuinely scared.
"I have a niece!" I say, bouncing on the couch.
"Shoot." She curses, biting her lip.
Ricky quickly runs into the room. "What's wrong?"
"I have a niece!" I squeal again, leaning over to hug Maya.
"Aw, you told her?" He pouts, watching me hop off the couch to hug him.
"I slipped up." She replies, but she smiles as she watches us.
"You gonna tell the boys now?" I walk back over to Maya.
I put my hand on her belly and do a weird little squeal and bounce thing. I have a niece!
"Eh, we probably should." He says, then he shrugs. "Well, it was fun while it lasted I guess."
"Boys! Come here, I wanna talk!" He yells, before walking to sit on Maya's other side. He leans over and kisses her belly, murmuring something I don't catch.
It's kinda freaking adorable.
"What?" Parker asks, jogging into the living room.
"Fine, we won't tell you if you're having a niece or a nephew then." Maya says, shrugging.
His face lights up and he grins, sitting down on the recliner. The boys are just as excited about this kid as me.
"I'm here." Winn says, and Emmett just flashes us a peace sign.
"Okay, votes. Girl or boy?" Ricky asks, making the twins smile.
"You're finally telling us?"
Maya nods and Ricky just laughs.
"Girl." Parker says from his spot.
At the same time the twins say, "Boy."
I just grin and watch them. "What's your vote, Mouse?" Park asks.
"Maya slipped up and I know." I reply before letting out a small squeal. I'm kinda real freaking hyped up.
"What?"
"No fair!"
"C'mon!"
They all complain, making me grin wider.
What can I say? I enjoy having something over them.
"Okay, shut up. Do you want to know or not?" Ricky says, laughing and rolling his eyes.
They all nod.
Ricky bumps Maya's shoulder and she smiles brightly, saying, "Girl."
Parker jumps up and says, "I win!"
"Um okay, or maybe 'Congrats on your daughter guys'." I say, making him laugh and shrug.
"Yeah yeah, but I still won."
I roll my eyes still smiling widely as they all hug Maya and Ricky, congratulating them.
"I won't be upset if you name her Madeline." I tease, making them laugh.
"I like Caitlyn." Winn chimes in.
"River." Parker offers.
"Mia." Emmett says.
"Harmony." I tell them.
"Those are all lovely, we'll take them into considering." Maya says, obviously just to stunt the flow of names.
"I like Alia but Maya says no." Ricky pouts.
"Because there was this bitch that I grew up with named Alia, and I'm not going to think of her every time I see my kid."
"And besides, I told you I liked Noel since she's due the week before Christmas." Maya says, rolling her eyes.
"That's so cute!" I offer, smiling widely.
"Do not encourage her!"
"Why is that a bad name?" I ask, turning to face him.
"I just feel like it's an old lady name." He shrugs.
"Mom and Dad were gonna name me Rosemary Jade Lace." I offer dryly. If that isn't the old lady of all old lady names, then I don't know what is.
"Okay, yeah, that tops it."
"I think it's cute, Ricky. Think about it." Maya begs, resting her head on his shoulder. He nods and pats her cheek.
"I like Amanda if it weren't for Parker's insane girlfriend." I mutter.
"Oh yeah, me too." Ricky says, shaking his head.
"That is such a shame." Maya says quietly.
"Way to go, Parker." Emmett sighs.
"Guys! I didn't know!" He defends, throwing his head back.
"Well you still dated her." I say, raising my eyebrows.
"Well, I have someone else I'm interested in and if she ends up being a psychopath it's Maddie's fault." He says, shrugging.
"What? No! Not Leo!" I say quickly, glaring at him.
"Why? She's hot and she's sane."
"Cause she's a sweetheart and you're gonna ruin it for me!"
"You're acting like she doesn't have a thing for me either." He says, shaking his head.
"Only cause she doesn't realize the fact you're an asshole."
Then of course I get the lovely chorus of 'Madeline Jane's.
"You need to stop with the swearing, Madeline. We've told you this so many times." Ricky tells me.
"It's so dumb, I'm sixteen. It's fine. And besides, so one else cares if the boys swear." I sigh and pull my knees up to my chest. I'm so over this bullshit.
"Because we're older than you." Emmett says, staring at me.
"I remember Parker swearing like a sailor when he was fifteen." I point out, rolling my eyes.
When no one says anything I add, "That's some sexist ass bullshit."
This time, thank God, there's no 'Madeline Jane's
"She has a point." Maya says quietly, making Ricky turn and look at her as if she'd betrayed him.
"Oh, don't look at me like that. You guys didn't bat an eyelid when Parker was cussing up a storm at fifteen but she's sixteen and she gets yelled at for the minimal amount of swearing she does. Well, around you guys at least." She tells him.
It's so great to finally have a girl in the family. At least somebody's on my side here.
"It's just- she's the baby and-" he tries, and Maya cuts him off.
"Stop. Maddie is not a baby. I understand, technically speaking, she's the baby, but you guys literally treat her like it and it isn't fair." She turns and looks at me, telling me to elaborate.
"It's just- it's frustrating when I get treated like I'm still eight years old all the time. Even on Friday, you introduced me to the Mrs. Olson as 'The baby'. I know you guys are overprotective because of our pathetic excuse for a dad," I say.
Ricky flinches a little.
"but you need to realize that I'm going to be okay, not every boy is going to end up like him. He's our father and you guys are nothing like him. I just- you need to start letting me have a looser leash. Please."
Parker glares is at the ceiling, not meeting anyone's eyes. Winn is messing with his hands. Emmett is massaging his temples. Ricky is looking at Maya, holding her hands between his.
"Okay," Ricky says, looking up at me.
All the boys' heads shoot up and they stare at him.
"She's right, she's not little anymore, as much as I hate to admit it. Maddie's a really good girl, she listens to all our rules and does so, sometimes, with a good attitude. She's responsible and very mature for her age. Let's loosen her leash a little." He explains.
"Ricky, if we give her an inch she'll stretch it a mile!" Parker says, making me gape at him a little.
"What the hell does that mean?"
"It means I know the way it works. We give you a later curfew, next thing you know you act like you don't have one. I'm not gonna let it happen." He tells me, and I glare at him, snapping my mouth shut.
"Alright, Parker. That's enough. Maddie isn't like that." Winn interrupts.
"Exactly, because we don't let her have the option, because we're strict. I intend to keep it that way." He keeps going.
"When have I given to a reason to believe this?" I ask incredulously.
"Don't think I didn't see you and that Sam bastard last night." Parker says, whirling around to point at me.
"What did you think we were doing?"
"I watched you two all night! Constantly going back and forth with your flirting thing! I'm not an idiot!" He yells back.
"Obviously you are cause it was him being annoying and 'flirty' I guess, and me constantly blowing him off! Ask him! I wasn't flirting back!"
He looks a little stunned but he keeps his composure.
"Then why didn't you tell us?"
I run my hands through my hair and snap, "Cause I can hold my own!"
Before they can say anything else I stand up and shake my head. I walk into the kitchen to head up the stairs when Ricky calls, "Mads, come back!"
I ignore him and jog up the steps, more than over this conversation.
I lock my door and climb up the ladder, before flopping on my bed. Not only has the first week of school been so stupid and hectic, this weekend is shaping up to be fantastic.
My phone rings, so I answer it. It's Amelia FaceTiming me.
"Maddie, the kid isn't Michael's!" She yells excitedly, grinning at the screen.
"Then who's is it?"
"Benji Short." She replies, referring to some guy at my old school. Benji was one of the kids who was quiet and reserved, but he was cute. I'd be lying if I said I'm not surprised. He seemed like the type of kid who'd most definitely turn his nose up at a one night stand.
"Was it like a one night stand sorta thing, or are they a thing?" I ask, holding my chin up on my fist.
"Well, they were a thing then she cheated on him with Michael, so he broke up with her. Basically she knew all along the kid wasn't his but she was trying to piggyback off Mike to have someone to fork the kid off to, which is kind of really awful and twisted." She replies, running her hand through her waist long hair that I've always been jealous of.
"I mean, it's not like she could've convinced him that this little white baby was his. There'd be no trace of Asian in it."
She starts laughing loud, shaking her head at me. "Good point."
We talk for another hour, then an hour turns into two, then two into three until I forget the time and just keep talking to my best friend, who I've missed so much it hurts.
"We need to meet, right in the middle. You drive fifteen hours and I do the same, then we spend a day or two together. I miss you so much." I tell her honestly.
She gives me a sad smile. "I do too, Mads. It's fine, we'll work it out okay?"
I nod and smile back, my heart aching in my chest.
**** heyyy!
this one took me forever to write for some reason. idk why. i hope you liked it, it was more of a filler thing that some solid crap but i had fun. thank you so much for reading! 💁♀️😂
please comment and vote!
- f a i t h y