Chapter 1

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Being the middle child was like mind death. You'd probably think I was over exaggerating but you'd seriously have to be a middle child yourself to understand. You either get blamed for everything or get fussed to for everything. In family lifestyle, there was no side for the middle kid. The parent either took the side of the oldest or the youngest - and you were just..Stuck in the middle. Currently, my mother was nagging about how I am not a good big brother to my twelve-year-old sister, Narda. Why was I the one being fussed at? Shouldn't she be nagging at the oldest sibling, Milo? 'Cause that guy was like a duck that couldn't swim when it came to good family skills. Milo sent me a goofy glare from the corner of his eyes that literally made me want to jump from the sofa and slap him.

"Milo, are you listening to me?! My, my, my..." She groaned, slamming down the oven's mit.

Her black, mid-lengthed hair was thrown up into a seriously messy bun. She was dressed in a stained yellow tee with khaki capris that stopped above her kneecaps. Mom had a tanned olive skin tone, and when she wore yellow, it usually brought out her complexion's glow. She wasn't looking too pretty right now though due to the very arched eyebrows that made her resemble Red from Angry Birds. I cleared my throat and tried as hard as I could to avoid her demon-summoning glare that was mentally throwing shards in my eyes. Mom had quite a temper on her when it came to unstoppable rants that were (usually) about me and (always) unfair. Does it sadden me? No. I'm used to not being that "good enough big brother" and "good enough son" despite me being her only child who has a very high IQ.

"Why can't you be more like Milo? He never upsets his sister." She scoffed, placing a hand on her hip.

"He never acknowledges her existence either." I muttered to myself with a roll of my eyes.

"Did you..Did you just roll your eyes?" She squinted her eyes, taking slower steps closer to the brown couch I sat on.

When you rolled your eyes and mom caught you, it most likely meant that she was about to kill you. My mother is super strict and has no boundaries when it comes to being tough on her children. It's so annoying how half the time she's your best friend, and the other half she's like the principal from 'Matilda.'

"No, ma'am." I said quickly with a gulp.

"Rosità!" Yelled my Aunt Laurel from upstairs.

"What?!" My mom yelled in reply without taking her stare off of me.

"I need you up here!" She yelled back. My aunt and mom were twin sisters. Though they looked alike, they were almost nothing alike. Mom had different personalities of sweet and cruel, but Aunt Laurel had just one side ; generosity. To me, she was nothing but a happy spirit and I think she was like that her whole life. Aunt Laurel has shorter hair than mom. She gave herself a neck length bob that would suite the reading glasses she wore. How I ended up in a family where all the people looked good besides me who looked like Shrek? I have no idea.

Casting a glance at me one more time, Mom jogged over to the staircase and headed up. The creaks and groans from the stairs she stepped on sent a tingle through my body. Those were sounds that really yanked on my nervous system. I sighed to myself.
"Sorry, bro." Milo shrugged while eating his soggy ramen noodles. Mom cooked today, but the enchiladas were left in the oven too long and got burnt. That resulted in us just eating whatever we found in the pantry for tonight.

"No you're not." I scoffed.

"Yeah, you're right. But ay, it's not that serious." Milo said, giving me a thumbs up.

I shifted my glance over from Milo to Narda. When these two walked Earth, the devil must have recognized them as his favorite demons who liked to curse teenager's worlds. Narda had a grin matted on her face that I wanted to smack off so badly. She had long, dark brown hair that was usually tangled due to her un-neatness with hygiene. When I didn't speak, she took that as her chance to throw one of her glitter glue bottles at the side of my head. A loud bop filled the air before the silent drop of the bottle. Pain and irritation began building up at the side of my head. I groaned, letting my hand attempt to massage the throbbing place.

"Sorry!" She giggled.

I'm so sick of this household. Words wouldn't be able to explain my feelings towards them. It's not cool being invisible, and the only time you're visible is when you're getting lectured. Well, that's just being a middle child. I got up off my feet and began to drag my heels along the wooden tile, getting closer and closer to the staircase. My yellow Pokemon socks didn't have a suitable response to my apparent slouching. Before I could slip and crack my skull open, my hand grasped onto the railing just in time.

"Saved by the rail." I said, chuckling at my boring humor.

As I started climbing up the stairs, the sounds of my mother and Aunt screeching at each other became more clear to my ears. My mother's voice was filled with anger and pettiness while my Aunt's voice was a very calm tone. Whatever they were arguing about would be forgotten in like two seconds since they always do this twin forgiveness thingy. Aunt Laurel would be leaving to go back to Venezuela tomorrow night, so maybe that's why they were ranting at one another - because mom doesn't want her to leave. Aunt Laurel was the only person who made mom laugh to be one hundred percent honest. She may be filled with liquid ; blood, but her heart was a solid, sharp, stone half the time and I'd never know why.

When I made it into my room, I closed the door with the heel of my foot. The mirror that was latched onto the door was rocking slightly. "Gotta close it softer." I sighed to myself. I've broken mirrors three times in a row all because I couldn't close them softly.

I looked over at my gray digital clock sitting on my bronze nightstand besides my bed. It read 9:30 PM. I walked over to my window and opened the curtains just a little. Moonlight began to reflect from my mirror. Being able to finally move closer to the beach where the moon beautifully sparkled was such a satisfaction for my low self esteem. If I could, I'd just stare at the moon forever and forever and forever each night.

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