The Broken Girl and The Golden Boy

Carpool Buddies and Dino Nuts

Chapter 6: Justin

My body ached all over from the ten extra laps Coach had made me run for being late to practice. And I had to get up early to pick up Piper and Sadie this morning. Stretching out my sore muscles, I sat up with a groan and stumbled out of bed. I wasn't used to the extra workouts anymore - nobody had ticked coach off since my sophomore year. I shuffled down the hallway like a zombie and opened Leo's door.

"Wake-up, kiddo," I said, my cheerful tone giving nothing away.

"Ugh, five more minutes," Leo mumbled, burying his face in his pillow.

"Nuh-uh," I shook my head, walking over to pull his blankets away, "Not today. We need to pick up your girlfriend before school today."

Leo's head shot up at the mention of Sadie and he narrowed his eyes at me. "She's not my girlfriend," he denied, punching me in the arm. I winced and my little brother teased, "Aw, what's a-matter, Justie? Did that hurt? Maybe you should have Piper kiss it better." He smiled impishly and wisely rolled away before I could get my hands on him.

"Punk," I grumbled, rubbing my arm and turning to leave. The little punk just laughed at me.

"Get dressed, kid," I called over his cackling, "Be down in five minutes or you don't get any breakfast." Ha! That shut him up, I thought. I heard him muttering under his breath, something about domineering, demanding, obnoxious older brothers. Huh. His vocabulary had improved since last week.

I went downstairs to throw something together for breakfast, finally settling on yogurt with sliced strawberries. Leo slid onto one of the stools at the island right as I set down the two bowls.

"Yuck," Leo scrunched up his nose, "Yogurt again?"

"Would you rather have soy milk and bran? Or maybe a gluten free muffin?" I suggested, rolling my eyes.

"Ugh," Leo rolled his eyes too, "Does mom ever buy real food?"

"Nope," I replied, "So shut-up and eat your yogurt." I grinned at him and after a minute he grinned back. He took a heaping spoonful of the cream-colored goo and shoved it in his mouth. Making a face, he swallowed hard and pretended to fall over dead.

"Alright, you drama queen, get up off the floor and we'll grab some donuts on the way to school," I said with a chuckle. Leo jumped up in an instant, pumping his fist in the air like he'd won the lottery. He scrambled off to grab his school bag and I put the leftovers in containers and stuffed them in the fridge.

"Got your lunch money?" I called to Leo.

I listened to my voice echoing through the enormous, near empty house before I finally heard Leo shout back, "YES!"

I nodded to myself before yelling to him, "Don't forget to brush your teeth!"

"Yes, Dad," he grumbled, suddenly appearing beside me.

"Yes, Dad," I mimicked.

"Dork," he said with a snort.

"Race to the bathroom?" I suggested, ignoring the insult.

"No w-" he started to say, but I lost the rest of his words as he sprinted away.

"HEY!" I exclaimed with a laugh, barreling down the hall after him. I shook my head and shot a mock glare at my little brother as I stepped into the bathroom.

"Geez, Justin," he said, putting toothpaste on his brush, "I thought you wanted to race. You took forever to get here."

"Just brush your teeth, you little cheater," I said with a frown.