"What is this?"
"How long do you think this has been going on?"
"Who said this was okay? We told her no boys."
"Did any of you know about this?"
When the swarm of annoying voices and questions didn't stop, my eyes opened to find the source. My heart almost jumped out of my chest as I saw my brothers standing over Jace and I, in his room.
"Oh my gosh! What the- what are you doing here?" I asked while looking at them as if they all had six heads.
"Don't worry about what we're doing-" Carson started.
"What are you doing here-" Cameron continued.
"In bed-" Charlie added in.
"With a boy?" Cal finished.
I froze in shock. These clowns were even crazier than I thought.
"How did you even find me?" I said from Jace's arms. He was surprisingly still sound asleep next to me with his arms sleepily draped on my waist. How cute.
"Find my iPhone is a thing, Caden!" CJ said as he shook his phone in my face. "So, this is the boy responsible for taking away your innocence?"
"Who said that?" I said awkwardly as I attempted to shield my half-naked body even more than it was by Jace's T-shirt.
"Sis, I know you think we were born yesterday but we can all see you're not wearing any proper clothing under those sheets." Casey shook his head and the jaws of the rest of my brothers' dropped in sync.
"Wait... Are you really not wearing any clothes?" Carson questioned.
"No, she has to be," Cameron replied while eyeing me down.
"Are you?" Cal asked.
"Don't ask her that, of course, she is," Charlie said.
"On the top... But what about the bottom?" Casey questioned.
"Dios Mio! Can we not have the subject of nudity and our baby sister in the same sentence?" CJ whined like the 22-year-old baby I knew he was.
I was practically burning up from embarrassment. I couldn't believe this was happening but then again, I knew it was coming. They were being ridiculous!
"Can you guys relax and talk like normal people for two seconds?" I sighed, too shy to spare a glance over at Jace to see how he was processing this.
"That's absolutely impossible," Cameron started.
"Don't act like you don't know who we are, Caden," Casey finished.
"Well regardless of that, this is unacceptable. He needs to get out... Now." Charlie barked at us from the door.
"Agreed," CJ said with a swing of his bat. Why does he have a— You know what, I'm not going to waste my brain cells on the reasons why CJ did things the way he did them. "Never again."
The boys started to make their way towards Jace and me to throw them out but, I found myself jumping in their way instead. I was tired of them stifling me in a place where I was actually flourishing.
"Why? Why can't I stay?" I asked over Jace's body. "What's so wrong with me being around a boy that's not related to me?"
The boys froze for a second before they all looked to CJ for a response.
"He's not right for you," he said.
"You don't even know him!"
"I don't have to know him to figure that out, Caden."
"Yes, you do! All of you do. It's not fair that you all get to do whatever you want with every girl that comes your way while I'm stuck by myself, clueless to what love is," I explained. "I deserved to be loved by someone else that's not directly related me. I deserve to wake up next to someone who genuinely cares about me because they want to, not because they have to. I deserve all the kisses, the fights, the dates. I deserve it all because I want it all."
I didn't notice the tears falling down my face until I felt Jace's hand brush my shoulder.
Oh, great. Emotions.
"Caden-" Casey started but I had to cut him off. After 21 years of hearing their excuses for denying me a healthy part of life, I was finally tired of hearing it.
"I love Jace, okay? He's the best part of every day and I honestly have no regrets being with him. I love him."
My brothers simply stood in the front of my room, frozen. And in a way, I was too. It was the first time I'd said it out loud to someone else other than myself or Jace.
"It sounds better every time I hear it," Jace smiled at me with the goofiest grin I've ever seen him wear.
"Yeah yeah," I replied softly.
I kissed him tenderly, not caring about the loud reactions of my brothers. I didn't care because I was too busy being in love...
Wow, have I really changed.
__________
Jace and I ended up spending the rest of the morning together in his room. We were back on the topic of his family and in the end, he explained to me how he needed a little bit of time to figure things out. It sucked but I understood. I had to do the same with mine.
"I feel bad that this has to happen right after you've confessed your undying love for me-" he stopped to flash me his charming smile as I laughed at him. "But, as you've shown me, this is something I need to do."
"Showed you? When did I do that?"
"When your brothers broke into my house to find you. Despite all that has happened, they still look out for you."
"And we always will be, you clown!" CJ yelled from the other side of Jace's locked door.
We weren't able to get them to leave his house but they did agree to sit on the other side of the door until I decided to leave.
"As will I CJ, as will I," Jace replied playfully. "I hope you can understand?"
"Of course I understand, take as much time as you need."
He pecked my forehead seconds before he wrapped his arms around me.
"I love you," he whispered into my hair.
"I love you too." I pulled away to kiss him. "Please keep me updated."
He nodded his head in response. I decided to leave him to it.
I walked out with my heard of idiots trailing behind me as I bid Jace and his family a temporary farewell.
YOU ARE READING
Fried Burrito
Чиклит"Adulting isn't hard," said nobody, ever. Dealing with the highs and lows of life that comes after hitting your twenties seems like nothing for Caden as she continues to strive to new heights within her aspiring career. But, with graduate school ha...
