Presley
I made a cup of coffee when I heard pounding on the door. Who the hell is here at eight in the morning? I answered the door and saw my grandpa, uncles, and aunts standing there.
Nixon looked at me. "It's about damn time someone answered the door. Thanks to these two twits, I'm missing my beauty sleep," he said, pointing at Nolan and Luna.
"Eh, you're still ugly," Nathan said, walking past Nixon.
"You should know," Nixon retorted.
"Truth hurts, doesn't it?" Noah asked Nixon.
"You mean like your quick shooting? Did you learn control yet, or do you get a case of blue balls often?" Nixon asked Noah.
Noah glared at Nixon.
"Remind me to buy you a cake," Nixon told Noah.
"Coming from the guy who prays to keep it up. Good luck, brother," Nolan commented, patting Nixon's shoulder. Nixon smacked Nolan, and Grandpa separated them.
"I'm hungry," Larkin announced, walking to the kitchen.
"When aren't you hungry?" Lakin asked, following Larkin.
Lyric sighed, and Luna giggled. They hugged me, and I hugged them back.
"How are you doing?" Luna asked me as the others looked at me.
I gave Aunt Luna a look.
"Do you mean that everyone pushes me to be who I was? Then peachy," I answered, my tone curt.
"Luna, let's make sure Larkin doesn't eat all the boys' food," Lyric suggested, escorting Luna into the kitchen.
I cursed silently to myself.
"I didn't mean that," I whispered, shaking my head. I felt like shit. Luna is my favorite aunt, and Uncle Nolan is my favorite uncle.
"Hey, it's okay," Nixon reassured me.
I looked at Nixon, furrowing my brows.
"Presley, we get it," Noah reasoned.
I walked over and sat down in a chair.
"I feel like I'm drowning, and I can't stop it. I can't breathe," I said, my voice cracking as I put my hand on my face.
Grandpa sat down in front of me.
"Presley, look at me," Grandpa said.
I lowered my hand and looked at Grandpa as tears fell down my cheeks.
"When you lose someone, you suffer. Grief consumes you, and you become lost. Then one day, that veil lifts, and you move on with your life. Yes, death changes you, but it's the love of your family that helps you survive," Grandpa explained.
"Who told you that?" I asked sniffling.
"Your Grammy Gray when your grandad passed away," Grandpa answered.
"It was the same with Uncle Jonas and Uncle Cayson," Grandpa added.
"I just want this ache to stop and breathe," I said, my voice cracking, then I cried.
I felt hands touch me as I looked and saw my aunts offering comfort.
Lyric moved and knelt in front of me. "You're drowning. You can't breathe. You're lost. You want to lock yourself away. You don't want anyone but the person who isn't here. You never think the feeling will go away, then one day it gets better," Lyric explained, holding my hands.
I nodded.
"That is grief, Presley. You learn to live without the person with the help of others. Do you know who asked your uncle Michael to help me?" Lyric asked me.
"Grandpa?" I asked.
My uncles snickered, and Grandpa shot them a glare.
"No, it was your uncle Major. He called Michael," Lyric answered.
Luna change spots with Grandpa. "Your uncle Major had a hard time with his parent's death. It caused problems with us because he became terrified that I would leave him," Luna said.
"Are you sure it wasn't because of your insecurity?" Larkin asked.
We all looked at Larkin.
"Hey, you can't leave pieces out of the equation," Larkin added with a shrug.
"You're a big help," Lakin mentioned.
"I'm not sugar, I don't coat shit," Larkin remarked.
"And that's why Lark is my favorite," Nixon smirked.
The sisters started arguing along with the brothers.
"Damn, you suck at this," Nolan announced, making everyone stop. "Presley is angry at Eliza, that's why he's having a hard time."
I looked at Nolan with furrowed brows. He walked over and changed spots with Lyric, sitting next to Luna.
"Look, we will screw this up because it's what we do best. I mean, have you met us? We suck at these things, but it doesn't mean that we won't stop trying. Don't stop living because Eliza died. I don't think she would want that," Nolan advised.
"Eliza was better at this than I am," I whispered. A wave crashed over me as I gasped. I felt my chest tighten as I gripped my shirt.
"Presley?" Nolan asked.
I felt my stomach erupt and got up, running upstairs. I ran into the bathroom and heaved. That alerted my brothers as they came out of their bedrooms. I gripped the toilet and emptied the contents of my stomach.
"Make it stop!" I screamed.
Someone stabilized my head as I continued.
"Please!" I begged.
"Deep breaths," Parker whispered.
My stomach revolted as I kept heaving.
"Shh," Parker whispered.
"I can't," I said, gripping the toilet.
I felt other arms around me.
"We got you, little brother," Payton whispered.
I finally stopped. I loosened my grip as my brothers helped me to sit down on the floor. I sat there dazed as Pax cleaned me up. Patton cleaned up my mess. Then I broke. I cried as my brothers comforted me while the rest family watched us.
"Let Lex know that the boys are taking care of their brother," Nixon whispered to Grandpa, who nodded.
After my brothers helped clean me up, they brought me downstairs. I sat on the couch, feeling exhausted. When you don't sleep or eat, it takes a toll on you. The medication wasn't helping, and told no one.
Nixon made a call as I sat there. I wanted to feel normal. Thirty minutes later, the front door opened, and Dr. Shaw entered and sat down, looking at me.
"Presley, when's the last time you slept?" The doctor asked me.
"I close my eyes and but I can't sleep," I mumbled.
"When's the last time that you ate?" Dr. Shaw asked.
"I'm not hungry," I answered.
I sat there, numb. I was so tired and wanted to sleep but couldn't.
Dr. Shaw stood up and looked at my family. They looked at him, then Dr. Shaw reached into his bag and pulled out a syringe. I felt a sharp poke, then my eyes closed. He laid me down, placing a pillow under my head.
I drifted off to sleep and stood in the middle of a road. I saw the road branch off into two different directions.
"What are you waiting for? Pick a path," Grammy said.
"I don't know which path to take," I answered, looking at both paths.
"One will lead you to difficulties, and the other will lead you out. It's up to you to choose," Grammy told me.
I looked at Grammy. "You're a big help. Shouldn't you give me words of wisdom?" I questioned.
"Okay, don't take the hard road," Grammy answered.
"That doesn't help. Which road is it?" I asked.
"How should I know? I'm taking a dirt nap," Grammy replied.
I shook my head and looked at the two paths. I took a deep breath while picking one. I'm unsure of which path I took. All I knew is something was waiting at the end for me. I walked, finding obstacles in my path, and made my way past them.
It took some time, but I came to a clearing with bright, clear skies. I shielded my eyes until I saw someone standing in the distance. I lowered my hand and walked towards the person. When I reached the person, I touched their shoulder. The person turned, revealing who they are.
I woke up gasping as Grandpa calmed me. I looked at Grandpa.
"What happened?" I asked, rubbing my eyes.
"Jordan gave you a sedative to sleep," Grandpa answered.
"How long did I sleep? Was it two hours?" I asked, scoffing.
"No," Grandpa replied. "Presley, you slept for two days."
I looked at Grandpa, shocked. I looked around with confusion.
"I missed class and my shift. The chief will fire me," I mumbled, furrowing my eyebrows.
"Jordan made a call to the school, and I contacted your superior. We let both know you were sick," Grandpa explained.
I rubbed my eyes.
"We worry about you, Presley. I watched Lyric go through her grief. You feel helpless," Grandpa said.
I didn't want to discuss this with anyone.
"I can't," I said, getting up and going upstairs to my bedroom. I know people don't understand, but how can you explain how you feel when it's difficult for you? You can't.
Nash
I sat there on the coffee table as Nixon came into the house.
"I see Sleeping Beauty awoke," Nix mentioned.
"Yeah, and he's refusing to talk," I said.
Nix looked at me.
"I watched Lyric struggle with grief, and Michael helped, but who will help Presley?" I asked, looked at Nix with concern.
Nix walked over and sat down on the couch in front of me.
"Nash, when someone dies, people grieve. Every person differs from their grief. You can't force them to talk, and you stand there, helpless. Remember when we lost Grandpa George. Maggie wanted to console you, but you refused. Why?" Nix asked.
"I lost no one before Grandpa George. I didn't know how to handle it," I answered.
"It's the same thing with Presley. He lost no one close to him before Eliza. Even with Aunt Dominique and Aunt Karen, Presley didn't know them. Death affects us differently when we know the person," Nix reasoned.
I sighed. I knew Nix was right. You want to help the person who's hurting, but you can't if they refuse it. It's a double-edged sword.
Presley
I took a shower and dressed, then snuck out before anyone else offered help. I needed space, and I couldn't get it at home. I text Nora to meet me at the coffeehouse. I didn't want to go to the bakery and deal with my brother or anyone else that showed up.
I walked into the coffeehouse and ordered a coffee, then found a booth to sit in at the place. Yeah, I was hiding from my family, but I didn't care. Ten minutes later, Nora showed up. She got her coffee and joined me.
"You're hiding, aren't you?" Nora asked me.
"I need space," I answered, sipping my coffee.
"Yep, you're hiding," Nora added.
"My grandpa, Uncles, and Aunts came into town to help me," I mentioned.
I watched Nora's color drained from her face.
"Don't worry, Matthew didn't come with Aunt Lyric," I said.
"I don't know what you mean," Nora lied.
I looked at Nora suspiciously.
"Stop looking at me like that," Nora demanded.
"Then admit that you wish Matthew came here," I reasoned.
"I admit nothing. Matthew doesn't want me. I faced the truth and moved on with my life," Nora lied.
"Uh, huh," I mumbled as I sipped my coffee.
"Can we forget about Matthew?" Nora questioned.
"Not until you admit that you love my cousin," I countered.
Nora looked at me, unamused. I smirked.
"I have bigger issues than Matthew. Drake wants to go to the Apple orchard, and I don't want to go with him alone," Nora said, cringing.
"Why not?" I asked.
"Because I worry that Drake might expect more from me. It's not like I have luck in the guy's department," Nora told me.
"You want me to accompany you on this magical trip to the Apple orchard, don't you?" I asked.
Nora smiled at me. Great, that's all I need is to tag along on a date with someone. I didn't even want to hang out with people, let alone chaperone a date. That gave me an idea. If my brothers want to make sure I'm okay, then they're coming with me whether they like it.