Clockwork

twelve.

POV: Erik Carter

My shoulder was throbbing again. I didn't do anything else to aggravate it, but I guess that's just life. You get burned, it hurts. You know, logic!

Anyway. Later today, I'm supposed to have Spanish tutoring with Lexi. I'm not really sure how that'll turn out, but hopefully not too bad?

I sighed and dragged myself out of bed as my alarm went off, then went about my normal routine.

It was Saturday, so I got to sleep in until 8. As I ran a comb through my hair and threw on a T-shirt, I heard Paige crying. Right on time.

×

At exactly 11:53am, Spencer decided to bring up the fact that he had a soccer game. Which was fine, except that the game was at 12. And it was a ten minute drive. Why am I always racing around and throwing kids in the car?! This is what parents must feel like. Unless they're mine, then they can spend all of their time chilling in Croatia or whatever.

As soon as we pulled up to the soccer field, a coach came over to us. Paige was in her car-seat, which I had detached from the car, and Londyn was sulking behind me, grumbling about how she could be practicing for cross-country tryouts right now.

The coach looked a few years older than me, maybe 22 or 23? He smiled at Londyn, who glared straight back, but he didn't seem fazed. Spencer was bouncing on his toes as he waited.

"Hey, are you Spencer?" Spence nodded. "Cool! My name is Coach Steele, I'm in charge of most of the games. We've already handed out the other jerseys and such, but you're only 5 minutes late, so you'll be fine. Why don't you go over to Coach Pitten will help you get your cleats on!"

My brother nodded and raced off towards the blonde girl, grinning. Coach Steele turned to me, and went over some of the small details. At the end, he gestured towards a group of family members, telling me to take the girls over there to watch the practice.

The second I looked over, though, my gaze was met with dark curls, blue eyes, and a slightly open mouth. Lexi was here. Staring at me. Not in a good way, either, she looked kind of startled.

I smiled at her and picked Paige up from the ground; she was still in her car-seat, asleep. I made my way over to her, and noticed she was sitting next to three other people.

One of them looked about Londyn's age, and he was playing with the hem of his shirt, glaring at the ground. Another looked like she was a few years older than me. And the third did not look as if he had any relation to the three, except maybe the boy. He looked old enough to be their father, but his light complexion and hair did not match in the slightest.

Lexi stood up, jerking her head a few times before coming over to me. I smiled again, and waved before grabbing Londyn's hand and pulling her over. She just rolled her eyes and kept her gaze focused on the ground.

"Hey, Lexi! What's up?" I called once we were close enough to hear each other without screaming.

"Nothing much, my little *click* brother has soccer practice right now. Does Spencer *whistle, click* take soccer?"

I nodded, setting down the car-seat. "Yeah, he's over there hugging one of his friends right now." I pointed across the small field, to where Spence had been trapped in the tiny arms of another 7 or 8 year old.

I turned back to Lexi to see she had a large grin on her face. "That's my brother, TJ. I'm glad they *click* already know each other, that'll make later a whole lot *click* easier."

I nodded, zoning out a bit as we both watched TJ drag Spencer across the field, then kick a soccer ball at him. It whacked my brother on the head, and I gasped and was about to run over, but he burst out laughing, and they both fell on the soft grass, rolling around and holding their stomachs.

However, their fun didn't last long, because the girl that was sitting next to Lexi earlier was now storming over to the boys. I heard snippets of her yelling at TJ, but not very much. "...eres estupdio... necesitas... cuidado... hospital... tele... semana..." It was all in Spanish (and very fast), so I couldn't pick up much.

I turned to Lexi with a look of confusion on my face. "What's she saying?" I asked.

She turned back to me with a smirk. "That's my sister, Bennett. She *whistle, click, whistle* basically said 'you're stupid, be careful, no TV for two weeks'. It was really *click* funny, actually." She laughed, and turned back to where Bennett was storming over to us.

"Dios mio, gracias para protegiendonos. Amen. Goodness, Xandri, TJ is so loco! He just doesn't know when to relax! That other kid could have been seriously hurt, or-" She paused, noticing me. "Uh, hi? I'm Bennett. Who are you?"

I shook her outstretched hand. "Erik. The older brother of the kid that just got whacked in the head, and friend of Lexi." I smiled, and pointed at Londyn and Paige in turn. "These are my sisters. Londyn, who's 12, and Paige, 2 months."

She looked at the girls, waving at them. "Well, it's nice to meet you. I have another brother around Londyn's age, who I'm sure is bored out of his mind. Would you like to meet him?" She turned to my sister at the last part, and Londyn shrugged, following the older girl to where she was sitting before.

I looked at Lexi, crouched on the ground and playing with Paige. I wasn't aware that she had even woken up. "You can pick her up, you know, if you want." I suggested.

I was proud of my decision when I saw the excitement on her face, and the grin she sent me before unbuckling the baby. She lifted her up gently, making "baby noises" at her and tickling her.

She looked over at me. "So, are *click* your parents back from their trip yet?"

I took a breath in before responding. "Not yet, but I got a new babysitter after the old one cancelled, so that's why I was able to come to school again on Thursday. I'm falling way behind in Spanish, though."

I scratched the back of my neck and looked down awkwardly at the grass. She laughed a bit. "Yeah, I'd assume so, since you've asked for *click, click* me as a tutor."

"What do you mean?" Does she think I have something against her?

"I mean, I'm not going to be the *whistle* best teacher. With the tics and *click, head jerk* stuff." She winced a little after the last tic, holding onto Paige a little more tightly, as if she were scared to drop her.

"That's fine with me, honestly. It's not like you don't know your stuff, so as long as my Spanish grade goes from a 72 to a 90, I'm good. My parents are very strict about grades, but we have until finals, so I'm not too worried about it."

"Thanks for the reassurance." She gave me a half smile, then shuddered, letting out a strained, "Take Paige."

"What?"

"Take her!" She shoved my sister towards me, and I barely had time to grab her before Lexi's arms spasmed, and her head jerked backwards. It was very sudden and kind of scary, to be honest. I could have sworn I heard a pop when she jolted her head up.

After a few seconds, she rolled her neck around gingerly, letting out a sigh. "Sorry. Stupid tourettes." She gave me a half smile.

"You're fine, it's not like you can control it. Wanna head back to the blanket to watch the practice?" I suggested tentatively, unsure if she wanted me to leave.

She nodded, and we walked over. I was introduced to her dad and brother, whose name was Hudson (but that interaction was short, since he was striking up a conversation with Londyn about Roblox or something).

Why do I procrastinate like this? I'm finishing this with an hour to spare, and I still have to make the title pic. Anyway, love y'all!