22. Jace
twenty-two
Jace
“Cupid…Where do babies come from?” I’m blinded by a mess of dark brown curls, a neon pink face, and large innocent brown eyes as Delilah stares into the depths of my soul—you know the exact look that I’m talking about, too. If you’re around kids, that is.
I don’t get paid enough for this.
“Buttholes? I don’t know, kid.” I chuckle weakly as she huffs, folding her tiny arms over herself. I mask my smile as Delilah’s light yellow princess crown tilts on her head when she plops down next to me on the couch.
Tonight, I’m on little sunshine—also known as mayhem in a child's body—duty. Hanging with Delilah always brings me a sense of warmth…and confusion. Because even though she’s only four-years-old, she’s more progressed than most kids her age and asks the craziest things.
“When will you get a girlfriend? I think Uncle Lake has one…” Delilah whispers to me as if we’re sharing the greatest secret known to man.
Reeling back, I cock my neck at the nosey four-year-old, gently plucking her forehead. Sighing, I pull her into my lap.
“When you can successfully count to fifty.” I chuckle, tickling her. But as she giggles and laughs at me, my mind wanders elsewhere.
Sienna .
Her smile, the way she lights up a room without even noticing.
Everything about her is beautiful.
I know that I claim and say that she’s mine, but I wonder if she actually believes that. How can I show her that she is ?
As Delilah calms down and my thoughts continue to spiral, my hand itches to paint. I’ve got to get whatever this is out of my system before I start to overthink my every life's decisions.
Derek’s in the kitchen, presumably making salmon alfredo—his usual. Groaning, I run a hand through my hair. I’m tired of salmon fucking alfredo, give me a burger or something, I beg.
Thinking about my situation with Sienna is making me crazy. I don’t even understand why we’re keeping this a secret—I mean I do , but I don’t at the same time. Cleo tends to overreact…a lot, but would it truly be the worst thing in the world if Sienna and I dated?
After taking off my cow print face mask and washing Delilah’s face off, I find myself sketching while the toddler watches cartoons.
My hands move on their own volition, sketching and drawing to their heart's content, and I don’t even realize what I’m drawing until my phone rings. The sound snatches me back to reality and my heart stutters.
Sienna stares back at me on the page. Her smiling, dancing, everything.
The page is filled with sketches of her in every state, whether it’s happiness or sadness.
Her beauty is something that philosophers preach about and study to grasp.
She’s ethereal and unreal. The face that artists dream about—I know I do.
Another loud ring of my phone has Delilah cutting a sharp glare my way and me answering it blindly as I smile at her.
“Why haven’t you been answering my calls, dude? I called you ten times this week.” My brother Jackson's voice is agitated as the line comes through.
I sigh, messing up my hair as I run a hand through it.
“There’s this thing called do not disturb , Jackie. I think the name is pretty self-explanatory,” I whisper as I double check that Delilah is okay before heading to the foyer to continue this conversation.
My older brother Jackson is the kind of guy you don’t want to piss off, but has no qualms about annoying the rest of society.
I have no idea how my sister-in-law, Corinne, puts up with his annoying ass.
Everyone likes to think that the youngest siblings are the annoying ones, but no one pays attention to the irritation that is known as the oldest child .
Jackson huffs on his side of the line, clearly unamused with me. “Mom told me that you’re not being serious about this whole marriage thing, munch—”
I roll my eyes at the use of his childhood nickname for me, ‘munch’, short for munchkin. Fucking stupid, if you ask me. Heaving a sigh from the deepest crevice of my stomach, I roll my head up to the sky.
“I’ll tell you the same thing that I told Mommy dearest…I’m nineteen ! As in one nine—nineteen. I’ll get married off the day that Asa decides to date anyone other than his computer and the company's stocks. Until then, get off my back.”
Jackson doesn’t respond immediately, allowing me to stew in my anger for a second too long before he lets out a sigh.
“This family will be the death of me…Just know Mom is on all of our asses to get you to start dating. Don’t shoot the messenger, munch.” He chuckles heartily as I groan.
My mother is up to something, I know it. There’s a gnawing feeling at the back of my head whenever she calls me. Whatever my mom has planned, I hope she knows that I have something even better already in store…If I can understand how Sienna truly feels for me, that is.
By the time Jackson and I finish our conversation, I realize that Blake’s home, talking with Derek in the kitchen after being out late. Charlie, Braxton, and Alec all get to the house a little later and we all eat dinner together before shifting to the living room to play some games.
Charlie, Braxton, and Derek—all assholes who don’t live in this house—have the time of their lives playing a game against some other user while Alec plays with Deli. I’m sketching in my notebook yet again when a body plops down next to me, a beer outstretched for me.
Blake raises a brow as I eye him and the silent offering of beer. He’d had a bottle of water with him for himself. Taking the beer, I place it on the table in front of me as he gets comfortable next to me.
“You’re drawing?”
I look up from my work momentarily to eye him. “That’s usually what people do when they have a sketchbook open,” I say jokingly as he purses his lips, smacking me upside my head .
“Well duh, asshole. I mean you’re actually drawing and not just doodling. Is it a girl?” he asks, his nosiness getting the best of him as he tries to look over my shoulder at the unfinished work. Clutching the sketchbook to my chest, I glare at him.
Why does everything have to be linked back to dating or a girl—I mean Sienna is the reason that I picked my pencil back up—but still. A guy can’t just sketch the woman he’s been in love with his whole life without everything being about her?
“Pshh… no,” I scoff unconvincingly as he smirks, his eyes widening.
Oh please, no…
“It’s a girl!” the asshole shouts, jumping up off the couch, snagging the attention of the guys and Delilah.
“Congratulations?” Charlie chirps, receiving a laugh from Braxton as Delilah claps and Derek furrows his brow. These reactions don’t deter Blake’s excitement in the least. Instead, he starts dancing as if he won the lottery.
“You like someone!” he cheers. “I know who, too!”
My heart proceeds to plummet to the lowest pit of Hell. Sienna and I have been nothing but secretive this entire time. I haven’t even been around her with Blake present besides at the football game.
“I don’t think you do—”
“Oh, I do! I mean it’s kinda weird for you to be blond and like blondes, but–”
Oh for the love of God.
I’m going to need a forklift to pick up my jaw from the ground. I don’t even need Blake to finish his sentence. Matter of fact, I don’t want to hear the rest. The guys start hooting and hollering, all now aware of our conversation as I flip them off, grabbing my art supplies with me.
“Don’t be such a P-U-S-S-Y, bro!” Braxton jeers, and I make sure to emphasize my lifted pinky finger as I leave the room, the sound of my friends laughter mocking me the entire walk to my bedroom.
When I enter my room and flicker on the lights, my eyes snag on Sienna’s list on the desk and then on the old Halloween mask from last year hanging up on my wall. A small thought expands in the back of my mind as I look at the items, and I know just what I’ll use them for.