The One and Only [COMPLETED]

Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Andrew's POV

"Dude, I am so going to kick your ass," I say.

"In your dreams, loser," Adam responds, eyes glued to the television.

I chuckle, slamming my thumbs down onto the buttons on the game control.

"Boys," Karen's voice calls from the kitchen. "Time for dinner!"

I sigh, keeping my focus on the video game in front of me. "But Karen, I'm about to destroy his ass."

"Correction," Adam says, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. "I'm about to destroy your ass."

"Language you two," Karen scolds.

"Yes ma'am," my brother and I say in unison, then give each other knowing grins when we notice.

"Besides," Karen continues. "Y'all have been at it for hours now. If you keep playing, your brain will be functioning like a video game twenty-four/seven."

"Uh huh," Adam mumbles, all attention back onto the game as if Karen isn't even there. "Great."

I chuckle, trying to shoot at Adam's character, but he keeps dodging me. As much as I hate to admit it, the kid's got skill. I've never had anyone to play against, but it's clear he's had plenty of practice.

As if on cue, he manages to land a knife into my character's gut. Big, red letters flash 'Game Over' on my side of the screen.

Groaning, I drop my controller onto the floor, letting my head collapse onto the back of the couch.

Adam jumps from the couch and does a victory dance. "Yes! You loser, I told you I was going to win!" He punches the air repeatedly, nearly hitting Karen in the face who's been watching us with fake annoyance. But even she couldn't hide the tiny smile on her face.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," I grumble, standing from the couch. All of a sudden I'm feeling pretty hungry.

"Okay, you silly boys," Karen rolls her eyes, heading into the kitchen. "Let's eat dinner."

I let Karen and Adam lead the way, pondering the time I've been here. Tomorrow marks the second month I've been here. When I first arrived, things between me and my brother were very, very awkward. It remained that way for the next few weeks too. But over time, we started getting used to each other and things just fell into place. Now, you can't get us to shut up.

It's been nice having a brother. It feels like I have a real family again. Technically, it's just the two of us, but I've considered Karen as my mom for a while now, and that's not going to change. In fact, I can't even picture the day the stops being my mom, because it's never going to happen. No matter how angry I get with her, she's still the closest thing I have to a mom.

But with her comes Hailey.

Don't get me wrong, Hailey and I are on... decent terms. We talk every now and then (i.e. twice a month), but things are still a bit shaky between us. She'll be starting her Senior year soon, so hopefully that means a fresh start for both of us. As cheesy as it sounds, there will always be a place for Hailey in my heart, but I think it's good for us to get a break. If it was meant to be, true love always prevails. For now though, I think I'll use this time to tie my family back together. Hopefully, we'll get to a point where we can be friends without things getting weird. There's so much I want to tell her, but we're just not on those terms yet.

I take a seat at the table, across from Adam. Karen sits at the head of the table. I eagerly take a bite out of the lasagna in front of me. Karen makes the best lasagna, hands down.