Effortless

Eleven

I was at my house studying, like always. Emerson and her boyfriend, Benji, were cuddled up on the couch. I studied at the kitchen table, trying desperately hard to ignore them. Easton was in the bedroom so I had no desire to spend my time there as well.

I had thought about asking my sister about helping out Javier's little sister. She was in an okay mood at the moment so I figured she'd have a better chance of agreeing. I wasn't doing it because I wanted to be nice to Javier, I was doing it because I wanted to be kind to his sister. At least that was what I kept telling myself.

I was about to try and bring it up but didn't get the chance.

"Baby Richardson." Benji called me.

I rolled my eyes as I took out one of my earbuds. "Do you realize how stupid that name is? I'm only one year younger than Easton and Emerson."

Benji laughed, despite the fact that I was not joking. He got up from the couch, making my sister groan in annoyance. He sat down in the chair next to me at the kitchen table and pulled out his phone. I watched in confusion as he searched for something on his phone.

"Got it." He mumbled. He then showed me the screen of his phone. "I am throwing a party and I want you there."

Emerson immediately took notice of what her boyfriend had said. She rapidly shook her head and dramatically exclaimed, "No!"

Benji ignored his girlfriend. "Will you come?"

I did not know what to say. I liked going to parties but not parties thrown by my older siblings' best friend and boyfriend. I couldn't understand why Benji would want me there anyway. His best friend and his girlfriend were telling him not to have me there, yet Benji all of a sudden didn't care. Benji had been in my life for a few years but he had never invited me to one of his parties.

"You want me there?" I asked.

"No." Emerson joined the conversation. "Ben does not want you there."

Ignoring Emerson yet again, he smiled genuinely. "I want you there. My parents are out of town next weekend so I wanted to do something fun. You can invite as many of your friends as you want. Please, be there."

Well, a party is a party and I liked parties.

"Okay, bet."

-

"Are you drunk?" Easton asked me, disappointment evident in his voice.

Ah, this is a trick question.

"Are you drunk?" I whispered as I giggled and made myself comfortable in my bed.

It was later than night, Emerson was already fast asleep in her bed on the other side of the room.

After Benji left, Emerson had given me an earful and threatened to pull off my fingernails one by one if I went to the party. Though I knew her threats were empty, it still sent a shiver down my spine. She could be scary when she needed to.

As I attempted to study on my bed, Easton had just come out of the bathroom having just taken a shower. Easton mumbled something under his breath that I didn't catch. He had said it too fast and it was like he jumbled his words together. Or maybe I was just drunk. Probably the latter.

I watched as Easton walked over to one of his drawers and pulled out a white box. He walked over toward me, almost tripping on a pile of clothes in the middle of the floor. I had no idea whether the clothes were clean or dirty.

He handed me the box with a sigh. "Since I'm the reason that your last phone broke."

I inspected the box and eventually realized that it was a new smartphone. I grinned as I threw my arms around my brother and squeezed him tightly. The hug didn't last long because he quickly pushed me off.