Evangeline (Unedited)

12

D I S A S T E R

(This is really, really bad. And very short, but I have more coming soon and stuff will start heating up! Enjoy... or don't?)

I stared at Andreas as he took his turn, eyes darting from the cards in his hands to the stack in the middle. I waited impatiently, biting the inside of my cheeks as I did so. Noah had a giant smirk on his face, and because his turn was right before me, I felt nervous. I was the odd one out in that I still hadn't gotten super into the game, meaning instead of being excited and competitive, I was still being consumed by my thoughts and obstructed ability to enjoy what was at hand. Andreas placed down a pick-up 2, and at a rapid pace, everyone (including me) started slapping down the pickup cards they had. Noah's smirk fell and was replaced by a shocked scowl as he ran out of pickups, having to pick up an absurd amount of cards.

Even with my limited knowledge of the original game, I could already tell how much more intense this one was going to be.

After a while of playing my cards and keeping a very close eye on the time read on the expensive watch on Alessandro's wrist--which he caught me rudely looking at multiple times--everyone exploded into sprints every which way. I barely processed Leo hollering "jacket" until I was the last one downstairs. I looked around nervously and stood up. No matter how much I wanted to play, I couldn't convince myself it was okay to run through the house. No matter how much I wanted to, I just didn't feel like I belonged, and I felt silly trying to pretend I did.

"First!" Noah shouts, stomping down the steps. A train of curses, shouts, and unintelligible sounds ring throughout the house as he gets closer to me. I watch as his smile falters, jog slowing down. He quickly looks at the jacket in his hand and then at me, and again, before he says "shit" and throws it at me. I catch it with wide eyes, him sprinting up the stairs at lightning speed.

"Good job, Evie!" Tommy laughs, running down the stairs, having broken into a sweat. "First time luck?"

"Oh, I didn't-" I start.

"She beat me to it, otherwise I would've been first." Noah rolls his eyes, out of breath. Both of them retake their seats as the others begin piling down the steps, Alessandro walking in lazily behind everyone.

Leo looks between the two of us, a tiny grin on his face. I stare dumbfounded at Noah. This was maybe the nicest thing he had done for me yet. Leo nudges me, making me snap my eyes to him instead. He chuckles before delving into a round of teasing with whoever, but I can't shake off Noah's attention. He was watching me intently, and I reciprocated. I looked at the red, leather jacket in my hand, and lifted it slightly, tilting my head as if to say "That's not fair".

"Alright, alright, settle." Alessandro rolls his eyes at the rest of the boys. "Noah, you go."

Noah glances away from me and continues playing. The rest of the evening had everyone sprinting around the house, yelling at each other, and it quickly became very clear to me that the boys were not lying about the competitive nature of their family. Where did the gene go wrong with me?

Eventually, I did start playing more fiercely. I began to participate in object cards, including running up and down the stairs and not being last, as well as the occasional teasing about whatever brother was currently being picked on, or I had screwed over. I didn't expect to win, but I certainly didn't expect to enjoy myself. I hadn't laughed so hard in such a long time.

It was odd, and sometimes I would quiet down and just listen to the melodic sounds they made when they laughed. How carefree they sounded, how... happy. That wasn't odd, what was odd was that I was watching it. My chest aches from losing my breath laughing at one of the dumb things Timmy did, and once everyone stopped cracking up a loud sigh left my mouth, making Alessandro look at me.

"Are you alright, Evie?" He lowered his voice to me, so the others didn't hear. I appreciated that he knew I would dislike that.

"Great, actually." I look away from my cards and at him, smiling brightly. He shot one back, eyes lingering on mine momentarily.

"Good."

"Stick!" Tommy screams, making me jump. I laugh but stand up nonetheless, leading the stampede up the stairs and trying to remember my way out. I ended up tagging along behind Noah who acted like he was annoyed, but was definitely running slower than I had seen of him so far. Both of us grabbed a stick and ran back to the stairs.

I, of course, couldn't do this gracefully.

I felt my knees shake as my legs gave out when I landed on the middle step, and soon enough felt myself tumbling down the stairs, knocking Noah down with me.

"Ah!" He shouts, a loud thud sounding beside me. 

A crash followed soon after, and I felt the most amazing feeling of hitting my nose on the ground and biting my tongue all at the same time. It took me a moment to register the blood dripping from my nose, as well as the blood dripping from Noah's, and, because why wouldn't he, Leo tripping on my foot at the bottom. His arms flail wildly as he attempts (and fails) to catch himself, landing across both his twin and me.

Groans, curses, and grunts poured out of our mouths collectively.

"Disaster struck." Leo cries out, a mix between moaning in pain and laughing at the predicament. Noah tried pushing him off of us, and I internally thanked him for the second of relief.

In a heap of tangled limbs and now stained white polo shirts-- noses now dripping on the floor--one of us, and I don't even know who screamed in absolute terror. Curious about what else could've happened, I look up only to see a grandfather clock toppling over like a domino, heading straight for my face.