Chapter 18 #3
I got texts every morning from Murial—usually pictures of paintings she thought I should learn about.
Sometimes, I did her homework, but only if I liked the look of them.
Bethany’s morning texts usually were about her OOTD—I was so bad at social media, I didn’t know it meant outfit of the day until Julian kissed me and explained it.
I didn’t expect her sense of humor, but I appreciated it.
Tiffany still sent me texts here and there, also about artwork.
If I had to have one consistent conversation with her, I wasn’t upset it turned out to be about art.
We would be losing a water polo match at the end of the week.
Sarah was stressed about it, so if I could magically become a better player just to perk her up, I would.
Unfortunately, I had pretty much plateaued.
The twins were still ranked number one in New York after their beating in California, which was nice.
Then Julian had to stay home in the mornings, not going in early anymore because of a shoulder injury. Jeremy sometimes faked it to get extra time at home, but Julian really got hurt, so it worried me.
I pressed the ice to his shoulder while he leaned against the counter, my legs bracketing him as I sat there. Being Jules, he remained cheerfully pleasant despite his pain.
“Just think, maybe it’s a real permanent issue. Maybe something with a growth plate or something. Then, I won’t have to play the rest of the season.”
I shook my head, rolling my eyes at his theatrics. “You would still go cheer and advise. You’re the captain. Besides, if it is serious, it might mean surgery. That would suck.”
“It would.” He sighed. “But I love this. Not the ice, but leaning between your legs in the kitchen is sort of heaven.”
Phoenix thumped around the kitchen, uncharacteristically grumpy. He woke up that way, so he noisily clattered coffee cups and grumbled as he went to get coffee.
“Something wrong?” I asked. He hadn’t slept well since the darkweed incident, bad dreams plaguing him each night. I usually awoke to him gasping, trying to protect me, so I held him when I noticed.
He shook his head. “Honestly? I’m kind of pissed because Julian is home right now.”
I blinked, surprised. “Really?”
Jules sighed. “Why is that?”
“Because this is my alone time with her. Every morning, before school. We have a routine, and you’re breaking it.”
He poured coffee into his cup, scowling the entire time. He handed me a coffee, but he ignored his brother—intentionally not getting him one, I thought.
“You have alone time with her all day long. We can’t even see her in the hallway. Not to mention, you sleep next to her every night. I hurt my fucking shoulder, so I am not going to feel bad because I get a few extra minutes with Alatheia for the next couple of days.”
Phoenix glared at him. “Don’t act like you wouldn’t be feeling the same way if I infringed on your time with her.”
“I have no solo time with her. Actually, I intend to take some tomorrow, and thanks for the reminder.”
He didn’t lie, since it was their birthday.
They said what they wanted from me was one-on-one time.
Their plan? I would stay in bed to watch movies with Jules all day then go out with Jeremy in the evening.
That would be after their family dinner, but nobody bothered to fill me in on the specifics of what they considered that to mean.
I also had to make a cake.
I didn’t know how to respond to them fighting for my time, so I got tense, because anxiety was my coping mechanism. I decided to ask Dina, since she had experience being an outsider then marrying into a close-knit group of brothers.
For the moment, I should at least say something. “When you get like this over me, it makes me nervous inside. I worry I’m not giving you sufficient attention, and things will explode. Regardless, the only logical solution will be to get rid of me.”
Only a few weeks ago, I wouldn’t have found the courage to admit it to them, but I wasn’t sure it meant an improvement that I did.
I rushed to add, “I know you’ll say it’s not true, that you would never, but I needed to tell you how I feel. You guys can believe what you want, okay?”
Julian moved to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Phoenix.
“You already know what we will say? You just told us you do, and I never knew you were psychic. It must come in handy. Meanwhile, Phoenix and I have been swiping at each other verbally since we were old enough to talk. He’s the baby who made me give up my pacifier. ”
He scrunched up his face at his brother, nudging him with his shoulder. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
“You were born, and they decided I was too old for a pacifier. At a mere thirteen months of age, yet they ripped it away. . .because of you.”
Phoenix stared in bafflement at Julian. “You can’t possibly remember that.”
“No, but Granny told me about it.” He smiled. “She wanted to make sure I didn’t forget, so I could hold my resentment forever.”
Phoenix actually laughed then poured Julian a cup of coffee.
I took a deep breath, because somehow, it all still worked.