Once Upon a Neighbor

Chapter 20

Jamie

"Get up, Jamie!" An annoyed voice called out to her.

"Go away," she mumbled, burrowing deeper into the fuzzy blanket she was wrapped in. She was so tired, unwilling to wake up entirely.

A cold wave swept over her, sinking deep into her bones until she felt frozen. She woke with a start, a bucket of ice water having been dumped on her head. Where was she? Her eyes were heavy and she had to blink multiple times to clear the blur. Ice tangled in her hair and she shuddered.

"Come on, Jamie." Another voice whispered, gentler this time. A soft hand fell on her ice cold shoulder, shaking.

"Assholes!" Jamie swore, shooting upright on the couch. It took a moment for her to recollect where she was, but as she saw the people standing above her, she calmed down.

Jaden stood with an empty bowl in his hands next to a sheepish Declan. It was obvious who the guilty one was.

"Jaden, I swear to God, I'm going to kill you!" She made good on her threat and pounced on him. After delivering a couple hard punches to him, Jamie stood up. With her hands on her hips, she felt authoritative as she glanced at the two losers in front of her. 

Huh, strange. Where was Turner? It was only Declan and Jaden in front of her, and she was on her aunt's couch, which was Turner's bed for the duration of his visit. If she was here, where was he? 

"Why would you wake me up?" She demanded. Declan licked his lips to keep from grinning, and Jaden merely groaned from his position on the floor. 

Declan's blue eyes focused on her disheveled appearance, and she suddenly felt exposed by his stare. The black tanktop she had been wearing all day had drooped way too low on her frame, revealing a lot more of her "thoracic cavity" than she would have liked. 

"I'm hungry and I want you to cook me some food," Jaden pouted. Standing level beside him, Declan nodded his head in agreement.

Jamie had forgotten how close the two boys had been when she'd lived here. While her relationship with Declan had been founded on dislike and then friendship, the redhead and her brother always seemed to get along. They were like demon spawn, always playing pranks on her and causing ruckus.

But apart from Jaden, Jamie remembered thinking that Declan wasn't so bad...

She distinctly remembered Valentine's Day one year. It fell on a Saturday that year, and the day before class they had exchanged cards for each other's mailboxes. She'd just been riding off a sugar high from Valentine's Day Fun Dip when there was a knock at the door. It had been Declan, with a gap tooth grin that stretched from ear to ear. In his arms were a pink teddy bear and a box of chocolates.

Jamie had a fond memory of the events of that Valentine's Day, and she had spent the greater part of that year cuddling with that exact same teddy bear Declan had given her.

"Ariel," Jamie whined, drooping her bottom lip. "I just woke up, and my brother has had a long trip to get here. Don't you think you should be taking care of us?"

Jaden got the hint immediately and took place right beside his twin. The pair locked arms and leaned against each other with sad eyes. Declan looked visibly uncomfortable with their move.

"Um," Declan stuttered.

Haha. You fell for the trap, Jamie mused to herself.

"We've been up North far too long. Show us the true manners of the South." Jamie purred. The whole front side of her body was wet from the ice water, but she used it to her advantage. Her skin was glistening and the low tank top clinging to her torso. She watched in satisfaction as Declan cleared his throat and looked away from her.