Thirteen Summers

twenty-one

J O S I E

tw: self-induced vomiting

"Did you eat my fucking candy bars again?" Kai walked in, looking rather annoyed at Nick.

I stayed silent, watching the show playing on Nick's laptop.

We were in his room, every now and then we'd sit down and watch the show we started on vacation, we were near the end of it now.

"Depends." Nick boredly replied, not taking his eyes off the screen. "Which ones were yours?"

Kai took a deep breath, clearly trying to get ahold of himself. "Just stop eating my snacks, you fatass."

Then he left, slamming the door behind him.

Nick looked at me, grinning but didn't say anything.

I let out a sigh of relief.

I was used to Kai's anger by now, that didn't mean it didn't scare me.

We watched a little more before I retreated back to my room.

I checked my closet for a fresh pair of pyjamas and changed into them before relaxing in my own bed.

I had unpacked my clothes.

Not only the clothes I'd taken with me for vacation, but also the rest of the clothes that I'd brought with me when I moved in.

I unpacked them and put them away in my closet.

I guess that was a sign that things were going well.

I was worried they wouldn't anymore after we went back home from our vacation, I was wrong.

The atmosphere was different, lighter. I guess spending time with your family for a whole month everyday could have a positive effect on you - but oh boy, did it have its negatives too.

My siblings didn't mind hanging out with me, and I didn't mind chatting with them sometimes.

I enjoyed the company, not always because I did need my time to myself.

There were a couple things I had learnt about having siblings.

1. They could be quite annoying.
2 . Sometimes I disliked them.
3. I was starting to like having them.

All was well in the St. Claire household.

Well that's what I thought, that's what I tried to tell myself however, sometimes it seemed as if that was no longer the case.

Just a week or two after we'd returned, I noticed that my eldest two brothers were acting oddly.

Perhaps, I was overthinking it, I had a tendency to do so.

To others, they probably just seemed like regular old Cameron and Roman. Protective, bossy,

I looked into it a lot deeper, though.

Something I really disliked but still appreciated about myself was that I could tell when someone's had a shift in their behaviour.

It was a good thing because then I was aware, I could try to protect myself from whatever bad was to come.

It was a bad thing because then it stayed in my mind, all day and every day until I knew what had changed, what had I done to ruin things?

I picked myself apart, over analysing every little thing I'd done, every little interaction I'd had that could've possibly made them act differently towards me.