Beautiful Secret

Chapter 3

Nicole's POV:

*Ten days later*

The yard work wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Having a few people cleaning helped a lot too. Yeah, I have a lot of siblings, 5 to be exact. I don't find that embarrassing, apparently my older sister does. She didn't tell her in-law's that she had that many until her wedding day. Oh well.

I'm the second oldest. I've always acted like the oldest. Our dad left us when I was 11. Yeah, it's been quite a while now. It hurt me at first, now I just don't really care. I barely see him; I usually see him twice a year. Is it bad that I think that's too much?

I was brought out of my thoughts when my phone buzzed beside me. I grabbed my phone and took out my headphones. A messenger notification popped up on my screen. I hastily opened the message and smiled as I read the name.

From Korbyn: Yeah, I got home okay. Sorry, I don't use this a lot

From Nicole: That's okay. How are you doing today?

I set my phone down and put my headphones back in.

"Nicole! Nicole! Come downstairs right now!" my mom shouted up the steps.

I pulled the headphones out hastily and made my way down the stairs. I made my way over to where my mom stood in the kitchen.

"What did you need?" I asked her calmly.

She turned around to look at me. She let out a large sigh. "Your younger brother," gesturing to Nolan (who is almost 15), "has decided it would be funny if he broke the blower. Could you look at it and see if you can fix it?"

I give her a look, "I can take a look at it, but I don't know what good that would do."

"Thank you. I appreciate it. He's going to have to buy us a new one if it's broken," she said as she shook her head in disapproval.
"He's a boy. They do dumb things," I try to explain to my mom.
"That's a pathetic excuse," my mom huffed.
I chuckle as I nod my head, "I'll see what I can do with that blower."
I inspected the damage that my brother inflicted on the blower. Let me be the one to tell you, I'm not a handy man. I have fixed things, but they weren't yard equipment, that's beyond my skill level. I played with it long enough to keep my mom happy. I wouldn't be surprised if I made it worse. I returned to my room, feeling sorry of the blower. What did it ever do to Nolan? It was a helpful tool.
RIP
I looked at my phone to find 3 messages, 5 snaps, and 2 messenger notifications.
I promise, everyone of these replies came from a conversation I started. People only like me because I care about listening to them. They don't really care about me, but that's okay. My eyebrow arches in interest as I read one of the messenger messages.
From Korbyn: I'm awesome 😉, how are you?
A small laugh leaves my lips as I roll my eyes, such a guy.
From Nicole: That's not even true. I'm doing alright.
I walked over to my bed and grabbed my most recent read, Unbroken. One of the best stories out there. I was surprised when my phone buzzed on my nightstand. I walked over to it curious.
From Korbyn: You know it's true, no cap
From Nicole: I know you're not, but you don't seem to understand that
I waited a few minutes for a reply. I didn't receive one, so I decided to walk away. My mom tells me I shouldn't be on my phone a lot. She has a kid plan on my phone. That means only 20 contacts. Snap and insta are checked constantly. I have restricted hours on those. Oh well, I do have my 20 contacts filled. My mom said she'll change the plan to unlimited when I'm 18. She better. She doesn't know I have messenger, so she doesn't check that. If I want privacy, I have to keep it a secret. I set my book down after reading a few chapters. I headed down to the kitchen to get dinner.
"I wasn't sure if you were going to eat dinner today," I was startled by my mom's voice.
"You're still awake?" I send her a confused look. "It's 9:30, didn't you want to go to bed early?"
My mom nodded her head.
"Then go to bed, I'll clean up the mess I make," I promise.
"Thanks Nicole. Sleep well, I love you."
"Love ya too!" I chirp as she walks out of the kitchen.
After I finish my dinner and clean the kitchen, I head back upstairs. I check my phone and see a notification.
From Korbyn.....