Presley
Caleb made us test again for our certification. The testing would last three weeks. We had to go through a physical, mental, and written test to keep us current. I didn't mind since it refreshed everything I learned since I became a paramedic.
Nora started dating Drake. Most people would consider that a good thing that Nora isn't pining over my cousin. Nora isn't most people, and neither were we. Have you met my family? Crazy doesn't even cover the shit we pull.
Did I mention my brothers are up to something? The better question is when aren't they up to something?
Nora and I hung out during my break from testing and classes. I needed a breather from my brothers, and she needed a breather from Drake. We sat in the coffee shop, drinking coffee and talking.
"How's it going with lover boy?" I asked, sipping my coffee.
"I don't know. How's it going with Kaylee?" Nora questioned, changing the subject.
I lowered my cup and looked at Nora. "Kaylee and I are partners," I replied.
"Partners turn into friendship, then become lovers," Nora retorted.
"You sound like my family," I mentioned.
Nora shrugged as the bell chimed, and Kaylee entered the coffee shop. She walked over and sat down at the table with us.
"I thought you were doing the physical portion of the test today?" I asked Kaylee.
"Captain Gray scheduled me, but Cass had an issue," Kaylee mentioned.
"What issue?" I asked.
"Oh, thirty pounds, give or take," Kaylee answered, making me chuckled, and Nora giggled.
"I told Cass to lie off the donuts," I mentioned.
"Yeah, the crew was regretting going out last night. Testing with a hangover must truly suck," Kaylee remarked.
That made us laugh more. Kaylee looked at Nora.
"How's it going with Drake?" Kaylee asked.
"Well, it's going," Nora answered.
Kaylee and I looked at each other, then looked at Nora.
"As in, you're taking it slow or not at all?" Kaylee asked.
"As in, I'm testing the waters with my toe," Nora mentioned.
"Pinky toe doesn't count," I retorted.
Nora gave me a look, and I shrugged. The three of us talked as two of my brothers found us in the coffee shop. Now, you would think my brothers would let nature take its course. No, that would be simple. I was perfectly fine, avoiding my feelings and Kaylee. We'll revisit that in a moment.
Pat and Pax walked in and over to our table, then joined us. Nora and Kaylee stared at Pax.
"What? Haven't you seen a guy with a shaved head?" Pax asked, unamused.
"Why would you shave your head?" Kaylee asked.
"I didn't. Parker did," Pax grumbled.
"Only because you shoved ice cream down Park's drawers," Pat reminded Pax.
"Semantics," Pax said, shrugging.
"Okay, what do you both want?" I asked.
"Who says we want anything?" Pat asked.
I saw Pax look around as if a fly distracted him. Anytime my brothers were up to something, Pax acted distracted. Did I mention Pax couldn't lie?
Pat elbowed Pax, whose head snapped, looking at us. "What?" Pax asked us. "Why are you looking at me like that? Do I have something on my face? Well, bye," Pax said, getting up and leaving.
Pat put his head in his palm.
"What's up, squirrel boy?" I asked Pat.
Pat sighed and spoke until Parker yelled, "Yo, dipshit! Chase down the other dumbass!"
"Well, bye," Pat said, getting up and leaving.
Nora glanced at me, and I sat there, shaking my head.
"You have an interesting family," Kaylee mentioned.
"You don't know the half of it," I said while sighing.
Parker walked over and turned a chair around, then sit on it backward.
"What's up with crazy one and two?" I asked.
"What isn't up with the demon twins?" Parker asked me. Parker looked at the three of us sitting there. "Since I have you all here, we are going to a Halloween festival."
"Why?" Nora asked.
Parker gave Nora a look and shook his head. "Listen, peanut gallery, we are going, and you're coming. You can bring Bob," Parker told Nora.
"Who's Bob?" Kaylee asked.
"The loser that Nora's dating and not our cousin," Parker answered.
"Drake isn't a loser," Nora replied.
"Well, he isn't Matthew. So, yes, that makes him a loser, and you have a terrible taste in men. You got Pat to dress as a woman for crying out loud," Parker exclaimed.
I diverted my eyes, and Parker looked at me.
"You aren't innocent either. You helped turn our brother into a woman. Do you know how long I had to explain to Ma and Pops why Pat played dress up?" Parker questioned me.
I rolled my eyes while Kaylee looked confused. Nora covered her face with her hands.
"Why do I miss all the good things?" Kaylee asked, surprising us. We all looked at her strangely.
"Are you on crack?" Parker questioned.
"No, but my family wasn't like this growing up. I wish they were because it would be more entertaining," Kaylee mentioned.
"What about other girls?" Parker inquired.
"What about them?" Kaylee asked with a look.
"Let's say hypothetically; you dated a guy. Would you question if another chick was prettier than you?" Parker questioned.
I looked at Parker incredulously.
Kaylee thought about it. "Why would I question if another girl is prettier? That's like comparing ice cream and cookies," Kaylee answered.
"Say what?" Parker asked, confused.
"There's no comparison. If you think about it, cookies and ice cream are great in their way. Cookies and ice cream are sweet, and you can have both together or separate. Plus, I look at it this way, if one is better than the other, then you go with the better choice. It's a preference," Kaylee explained.
I looked at Kaylee with intrigue.
"So, what you're saying is if you were dating a guy and he talks to another chick, you wouldn't get insecure?" Parker questioned slyly.
I looked at Parker and shot him a glare. I knew what he did, that rat.
"Well, if I'm secure with my relationship, I shouldn't feel threatened with another girl. If the guy cares about me, he shouldn't feel the need to flirt with another girl. Talking doesn't always result in flirting, especially if the guy loves me. Plus, that's dumb to get jealous over someone else. If the guy feels the need to make a girl who he loves jealous, then he needs to reevaluate his life choices," Kaylee responded, surprising us with her answer.
I stared at Kaylee in awe.
"Well, I'm off. I need to find Payton before he makes poor life choices," Parker said, getting up and leaving.
Nora clamped her mouth shut and looked at me.
"You have bizarre brothers," Kaylee mentioned to me.
"Uh, yeah, I do," I said at a loss for words.
"I need to get going, but the festival sounds fun. I'll see you at the station," Kaylee mentioned and leaving.
I watched Kaylee leave. When she left, I looked at Nora, who looked at me, pulling her lips inward.
"Not a word," I said with a look.
"I said nothing," Nora said, putting her hands up defensively.
"No, but you're thinking it," I said.
Nora started laughing as I shook my head. We finished our coffee and left the coffee shop. I walk back to the house as I ran into Markus and Kaxon.
"Hey, cuz. I heard Cousin Caleb is your new boss," Markus mentioned.
"Yeah, he's running the station while the chief is on leave," I replied.
The three of us walked and talked.
"Isn't that the cousin that had issues with your nana?" Kaxon asked us.
"That's what Ma told us. It seems Caleb commented on Nana being a magazine, and everyone gets a turn. Nana punched Caleb in the nose and broke it," Markus mentioned.
"So, that's what Caleb meant when he asked if Nana had a mean left-hook," I mentioned.
"Nana is a tough cookie. She put up with Grandpa's bullshit a lot," Markus told us.
"Well, my nana puts up with Grandpa's mouth a lot," Kaxon told us, making us laugh.
"How did Grammy Pat handle our grandpas?" I asked.
"The same way your parents handle you and your brothers," Markus mentioned.
"We're freaking insane. The crazy train derailed and landed somewhere in BFE with my brothers and me," I said, gesturing with my hand.
Markus and Kaxon laughed.
"Are you going to the festival?" Kaxon asked me.
"Thanks to Parker, I am," I answered.
Kaxon and Markus looked at each other and smirked. I stopped them.
"What?" I asked.
"Nothing," both said at the same time.
I looked at them strangely.
"Oh, would you look at the time? I need to meet Hayden," Markus said.
"Yeah, I need to call Grampa and Dad before they lose their shit," Kaxon added.
"Well, bye," both said, leaving.
I shook my head. My cousins were acting as weird as my brothers. I swear if my family is planning anything, I will hurt them.
Kaylee
I walked back to my dorm room when someone reached out from the side of a building and jerked me towards them. "Ack," I yelped.
"Quiet," Parker shushed me.
"Can I have my arm back?" I asked as Pax let go of my arm. I rubbed my arm. "You didn't have to yank so hard."
"It's efficient," Pax remarked.
I looked at Pax weirdly and shook my head.
"Thanks for your long-winded explanation. Cookies and ice cream?" Parker asked me.
"What? I was hungry," I answered.
"Get hungry another time. We have a lot of work cut out for us," Parker informed me.
"I don't see how I'll help Presley," I mentioned, still confused with Presley's brothers' plan.
"You think our brother is cute, right?" Payton asked me.
I thought about it. "Yeah, Presley's cute," I said casually.
"And you spend time together," Pat mentioned.
"We work together. You have no choice but to spend time together," I retorted.
"Eh, semantics," Pax said while shrugging.
Parker moved towards me and put his arm around my shoulder. "See, we need you to help a brother out," Parker said.
"With what?" I asked.
"Oh, you know, fall in love with our moody brother and make him forget about his dead girlfriend," Payton answered.
My eyes popped as the brothers gave Payton a look. I pushed Parker's arm off me.
"Whoa, you wait a minute. You want me to do what?" I questioned.
"Well, you're a nice girl and pretty. Don't tell Josie I said that," Payton warned me.
I had no words for these guys.
"What my tool brother is saying," Parker said, giving Payton a look and rolling his eyes, "we want Presley to move on from that chick he wrapped himself up."
"Do you mean Eliza?" I asked.
"A name that we shall never mention like ever," Parker answered emphatically.
"I've heard so many things about Eliza. She wasn't that bad, was she?" I asked curiously.
"Yep," the brothers said, surprising me.
"Look, the chick put some weird-ass spell on our horn dog brother. Presley has a history of love and leaves em," Pax said, making me speechless.
Parker smacked Pax on the head. Pax kicked Parker in the leg, causing Payton to break it up. Pat rolled his eyes and shook his head. These guys were crazy.
"What my idiot brothers mean is that Eliza did our brother dirty. Before Eliza, Presley dated a lot, but he was upfront with a girl about his intentions. After Eliza, we watched Presley make mistakes because he didn't understand that a girl with insecurities is a different ballgame," Pat explained.
"It sounds like Presley and Eliza weren't ready for a relationship. You can't fix a person or change them. They have to want to do it themselves," I reasoned.
The brothers stopped and looked at me.
"How do you know that?" Payton asked me.
"I dated a few guys in high school. One was too insecure, and the other had issues with settling down," I answered, surprising them.
"That makes sense," Parker mentioned.
"If you want my advice, let nature take its course with your brother. When the time is right, he'll meet the right girl," I advised.
"You're right. Isn't Kaylee, right?" Parker asked his brothers, who nodded.
"Okay, well, I'm leaving," I said, walking away. Those guys were the strangest guys I ever met. I still can't believe I agreed to help them. I figure I would help them get insight, and they're asking me to fall in love. People are weird.