Vivid

Chapter 9

"Aaron likes you. He just won't say anything" Rosie said looking up from her empty bowl of soup to talk to me.

"We all can see it. From what we can see you like him too" Hannah added.

"I do like him back. I like him a lot. I just don't want to mess things up" I said, taking Rosie's bowl and refilling it.

I walked back and handed her a bowl. If he likes me back then why doesn't he say something?

"Maybe we could convince him to ask you out. I mean, we have the power of being his siblings!" Sarah said laughing a little and looking at the other girls.

Their mom walked in and told them to hush before they "spill'' all Aarons secrets to me. I laughed at how sweet she always was to everyone. I laid down on the couch to take a small nap while Aaron was gone and fell asleep for longer than I meant to.

When I woke up I was being held by Aaron watching rom-coms. Aaron looked at me with a soft expression that looked a little worried.

"You slept for an hour. Have you been sleeping at night?" He asked, holding me closer, a part of him knowing the answer I was going to give him.

"Yes but not exactly enough. I stay up late cleaning, reading, doing homework, or just staring at my ceiling" I said looking at him and leaning closer loving the comfort I got from being around him.

"You gotta stop that," He said, looking down at me.

"Thanks, Mr obvious!" I said laughing a little.

Thankfully Aaron caught the joke and laughed too. I tried to pull away from him and get up but he just held on tighter. After a bit of struggling; I stopped trying. I just relaxed for a little while with Aaron until I got a call from my mom telling me to come home.

I said my goodbyes and Aaron offered to walk me home but I protested. I took my bag but left the book with Aaron so I wasn't so worried about it. As I was walking the streets and forests seemed calmer and more beautiful in the light of the moon. It was breathtaking.

The same sights I see everyday looked so much better than usual. I got home and went inside to see Sofia asleep on the couch again. She sleeps everywhere that isn't her bed.

I was wondering where my mom was since she wasn't anywhere nearby. I walked up to see her passed out in her room. I guess when Sofia fell asleep she decided to take a 'nap'. She got really lazy when dad died.

The government gave us millions of dollars just because I had a special dot. That's how we have been getting by. Without it we would probably be homeless or even worse dead. I rolled my eyes and tossed my backpack into my room.

I went downstairs to bring Sofia up to bed. When I bent down to get her she woke up. I hushed her back to sleep and I carried her upstairs. I tucked her in like I do almost every night and stood in her doorway an extra moment to make sure she was really down for the night.