Ragged✔|18+

FOURTEEN

CLYDE

"Two words. Fuck you."

Those are Leo's greeting words as he strolls into my room, pissed off as hell.

I pause from shrugging on my shirt to face him. "What the actual fuck?"

We're not close. Not by a long shot. We just acknowledge the fact that we share the same DNA. Getting along is more of a necessity than a requirement and as I've come to find out, a testament to the ailing state of this "family."

I don't like Wade and it's only natural that he doesn't like me either. Aspen is more of the passive kind, rarely talks unless it's completely necessary and Leo. . . my God, this kid's a mess and I mean that in the most literal way. Right now, he's mad at me for outing him to dad for not attending his therapy sessions with his doctor and also because he so stupidly revealed that he's not been taking his medication.

Dad has failed to keep this family together but he's firm on the point that we all need to have a sane mind in the avoid-each-other game we've been playing for years in this house. Hence the weekly progress reports from our respective therapists.

"Seriously?"

He flops down on my bed. "Yeah, you were supposed to have my back, man. You just threw me under the bus back there."

"I think you did that all by yourself."

Once dad mentioned the name Peyton Leo all but crumbled under the pressure of dad's intense glare. I didn't. Not because his glares have kind of become the trademark mode of communication between dad and I, but because I really didn't have anything to hide.

I've been seeing Peyton for the past one year now. I could lie and say a bunch of shit about how therapy sucks but that's not the case with Peyton. She makes 'talking to someone' fun and bearable.

"You should have vouched for me. I'm your brother."

I snort, sitting down on the bed to put on my shoes. "Don't play that card and you know very well it's wrong to skip your meds."

Thank fuck I wasn't put on them. Leo's case is different. He's way deep into whatever the hell happened with his mom. I've never asked about it, and I've never had any interest to it other than knowing she was dad's legal wife. Well, the first of many because God knows the old man didn't sit around grieving for long before taking another wife.

"But I was going to take them," he whines.

Okay, I've heard enough. I'm running late and listening to Leo gripe won't help me with my impending anxiety. "Get out of my room."

"You got anything planned today?"

"I'm going to Logan's for a brunch." I look him over. Might as well ask if he's going to tag along. "Wanna come with?"

"Logan's hot cousin going to be there?"

Right, almost forgot about Leo's  obsession with Zoe. It's always irritated me but not today. Today I'm all about positive thinking and all that inspirational shit website Peyton recommended to me.

"Perhaps. I don't know."

Which translates to definitely in Leo's dictionary because his whole face lights up with a big smile.