Only a Game (Olympus Drive Chronicles)

Chapter 13: I'm too beautiful for the ridiculous things that happen to me

Dean

I lie on the sofa, trying to breath and remain conscious. Breathing hurts. Everything feels wrong. I've had nothing to drink or eat all day. Why is being me so wrong? I don't want to be the way I am. I don't want to hurt anyone. I admit that waking up to being surrounded by grape-vines, with dancing, naked, drunk people in my house, was not a good thing. Not a good thing. I understand that and did ask them to leave. My mother was not actually pleased. That's why I'm at my dad's now.

"Why aren't you in school?"

"Why aren't YOU in school," I squint at my younger half-brother. Isa. He's only, like, six. But he's still supposed to be in school. And I still feel like I'm dying.

"Because I have to go to the doctor to get my legs looked at," he's playing with a toy robot at the coffee table. He has to wear leg braces. I don't really know why. He has a medical condition. That's all I know.

"So why are you here and not at the doctor?"

"The Evil One forgot and left me here," he says.

"Where is she?" I ask, terrified. He calls his mother the Evil One for a lot of really great reasons. I am very afraid of her.

"She went to the doctor."

"And forgot you for your own doctor's appointment??"

"Yeah, I guess."

"So who's gonna take you to the doctor?" I am hoping this doesn't involve me. I can't stand without blacking out.

"I don't know! Thyme is going to get dad," Isa says, still playing at the table. Thyme is his and I's oldest brother, who is about five years older than me.

"Hi, little dude, come on-- dad is here but he's not sober enough to drive so I'm doing it then he's dropping me off at the airport I don't know how that works---oh hey Dean you're here?" Thyme walks in, looking at his phone, but clearly seeing me before sitting mostly on top of me. He's in his usual state of wearing cargos, a tight t-shirt, several unnecessary weapons, and what looks like a pint of somebody else's blood.

"Yes---I'm here, ow---"

"Here, do you want to see pictures of my kids?"

"Your kids aren't born so no," I say, arm over my eyes.

"Yes but there are TWO of them," he says, cheerfully, moving my arm off of my eyes and showing me a grainy ultrasound picture, "I'm flying out tonight but I'm gonna come back before they're born."

"Okay," I don't know why he thinks I'll remember all this. Or care right now. God, I feel sick.

"Aren't they special? See that one right there is bigger than that one---the bigger one Anna says kicks her all the time---"

"Yes---I'm very happy for you --why are you---oh shit," now I remember why he's doing this to me.

"Yeah. You're the one who got us drunk when they were conceived, so you have to babysit, Anna says," he says, cheerfully, crushing me off the sofa so I am on the faded rug that's scattered with Legos.

"I hate you," I growl, just lying there.

"Here, Isa look, this is the ultrasound we got this morning---Dean are you throwing up?"

"Nope, nothing on my stomach, all good."

"Why are you here anyway?" he asks, moving me with his foot, "Shouldn't you be in school?"

"Funny thing, I am not trusted around large groups of people. Tend to get them drunk and high, so no more college for now," I say, lying my head down on my arms, "I'm not even staying with my mom now, I'm staying here."

"Do you need somewhere to stay? Anna's alone anyway all the time she wouldn't mind," he says, nicely, while pinching me.

"I'm staying here," I sigh, trying to crawl back onto the sofa. He's still on it. He knocks me back off.

"Okay, it's up to you. But the Evil One is here," he's referring to his own mother just so we're clear.

"Good, maybe she'll kill me," I mutter.

"I just got a really weird phone call---Isa, why are you here? Your mother? Was supposed to take you to the doctor? I'm trying to send him off to another continent? And get him off of this one? Oh my god I took one phone call while he walked in the house---he was clean now he's covered in blood---- why are you like this?" our dad walks in, staring at his phone.

"Mom forgot me," Isa says.

"I'm going to the airport," Thyme says, walking upstairs for no apparent reason.

"You had better be; Lucifer's abs why do you do this to me Dara's already doing damage control------hi Dean we're glad you're here—"

"Shut up," I mutter.

"----so, I just got a really weird phone call someone in Greece claiming to have one of you kids? Except I think I have all the kids?" my dad says, frowning, "I counted twice?"

"Weird," Isa says.

"Yeah, not like you don't have ten illegitimate kids," I mutter. I'm one of them, by the way.

"Okay well, Dean you're not doing anything, why don't you go to this address I'm texting you and see if you find a sibling there, huh?" my dad says.

"Wait---what?"

"You're not doing anything! It might be fun for you," my dad says, shrugging, "You can't go to school."

"It's dangerous to go alone, take this!" my brother Thyme, physically carrying over and dropping my friend Maya on top of me. Maya's family are weird and religious so she kind of just lives here. By choice. Which I realize is weird but her family is actually worse. I know that's saying something. I know. She just got carried from one room to another and dropped on someone and she isn't surprised anymore.

"What? No? I don't want to? Do anything?" I moan.

"Why not? You started a rave in your mom's house last night—"

"Not on purpose!"

"And for no apparent reason there are now grape vines all over her house—"

"Not on purpose!"

"It still happened! So go do this, please?"

"Your solution to my problem is 'ah go do your weird thing in Europe?" I ask, putting my face in my hand for this conversation.

"Yeah! Why not? My solution to your brother is have him do his weird thing in whatever continent I'm not on," my dad says, very confidently for someone whose super-powered-child management plan is to send them to different continents that he's not on.

"Let's go. I've always wanted to go to Europe," Maya says, climbing off of me.

"See? Your friend Maya who lives here now------why does she live here? Never mind I don't care, no child support so don't care- ----wants to go. Just go—blow off steam. Have some raves in Europe where it won't affect me personally."

"Fine," I growl, "What is it I'm supposed to be doing again?"