The Blackwells

4. Mom loves Halloween

Claudia

I towel dry my wet hair as I walk down the hallway, heading to the kitchen.

When I arrive at my destination, I see Zaid wiping down the kitchen island with a scowl.

"Why are you extra grouchy looking today?" I ask my cousin who's like an older brother to me.

We are practically siblings, our parents raised us like that.

"Fucking dirty, messy teenagers." Is all he says, and I know straight away he's talking about Gage and Grey.

I laugh and reach up to the top cupboard where for some reason we keep all the medicine.

My face drops when I see there's nothing in the tin box.

"Are you serious? Where's the ibuprofen, pain killers, Panadol, anything!" I groan.

I still have a slight headache and it's killing me slowly.

"Yeah, sorry about that, I had the last ones." A new voice joins in, and I turn, seeing Lainie making her way into the kitchen looking like a zombie.

She has a bright pink dressing down wrapped around her, a green beanie and then yellow slippers.

"You still feel sick?" Garrison asks, he's at the dining table scrolling on his phone.

"Just a little." She groans slugging over to the fridge and pulling out a water bottle.

"She was vomiting last night, it was nasty." Garrison shivers in disgust.

"I hope my sicknesses passes on to you." Lainie smiles sarcastically at him.

Garrison does the same back, his smile even more sarcastic looking as he shakes his head to the side.

Lainie isn't blood related to us, she's Uncle Graham's wife's daughter but Graham adopted her when he had married Angela, his wife.

But blood doesn't matter to us.

She's our cousin, same with Breeanne who is our uncle Zayden's wife's younger sister.

"Don't you have school today too?" Zaid asks Garrison, eyes looking to the clock on the wall.

"Yeah, but I have football practice the first two periods and coach says I don't have to go cause I'm his best player, I don't need anymore practice. I'm perfect." Garrison grins, flexing his arm and kissing the muscle.

Zaid snorts at Garrison's ego before walking towards the coffee maker.

I lean against the kitchen island with my arms crossed, sighing.

I'm going to have to walk over to my mom's to get some pain killers now.

"Welp, I'm gonna go back to my room and sleep all day. Goodnight whores." Lainie yawns, pushing her blonde hair over her shoulder.

"Zaid put a shirt on, weirdo." She says as she walks past him, and I laugh.

Zaid turns from his coffee scowling at her "Not everyone wants to wear a hundred layers of clothing."

She hums amused as she walks up the stairs.

"Make me a coffee?" I ask Zaid with a cheery tired grin.

"No."

Lovely.

"Gary!" An annoyed voice shouts from upstairs.

I see Garrison cringe at the nickname.

Genevieve walks into the kitchen, dressed in her school uniform.

"Let's go." She frowns at her brother when she realizes he's not in uniform.