Of Painted Water (Logan Lerman Love Story)

Lightning Bugs and Smashed Siblings

It's an update! I told you I was trying, and this chapter was kind of hard to write, mostly because it's that awkward, after the main event kind of thing. They left the woods and now I have to decide what's going to happen. I DID ADD ROMANCE. LIKE, MORE ROMANCE THAN IN ANY OF THE OTHER CHAPTERS. LIKE MAYBE A REALLY CUTE SCENE. SO APPRECIATE IT. Love you guys.

If there was one thing that Devon Baily was incredibly good at, it was coming up with the most random things and making them work to his situation. Now, I had realized this skill of his many years ago, but never before had I seen such a prime example as I was at this very moment.

Not long after dad left without so much as a goodbye, Dev had run upstairs and grabbed a very nicely folded bed sheet. It was in pristine condition, the soft white surface seemed to glow under the light coming from the numerous flashlights mom had stationed around the house. The sheet had clearly been ironed to perfection as well.

A Devon had happily unfolded it like one would with a trash bag, before running around the dark house like a superhero. He only did that for a little while, as mom had shrieked from the second floor for him to stop unless he wanted to wake up Lucy.

In our family, it was a commonly known fact that you do not wake up Lucy. She, much like myself, has a violent temper when it comes to sleep, and can get rather ugly if given the opportunity. So instead of pretending he was the next savior of the world, Devon tucked the now crumpled edge of the seat into the crease in the couch cushion, before stretching it across and draping the other end over the back of the large recliner that we call 'The Dad Chair'.

The result was a crappy little fort that according to Logan, 'Made other forts laugh and throw rocks at it'. Even I couldn't stop the laugh from escaping my lips, but Dev merely pouted.

"Well I was trying to have fun. Do you like fun, Logan? Because if you do, then I suggest you get your lazy ass up off the couch and assist me in the construction of THE BEST FORT EVER CREATED BY MANKIND. AND OTHER ALIEN LIFEFORMS!" the last bit he added on as an afterthought, and I rolled my eyes at his need for a dramatic flare.

Logan slouched up off the couch and helped him pull the sheets tight. I was watching with rapt attention, that is, until there came a sharp knocking on the glass window embedded into the front door. The boys were too busy with construction, so I padded down the hall, thinking that it was just dad back from the gas station.

Instead, I came face to face with a man holding two square boxes that smelt heavenly. The man, who couldn't have been more than thirty or forty years old looked rather damp, and I noticed that he looked happy to be under the cover of our front porch. The black cloth on his shoulders had turned jet black, and I could only imagine how hard the rain must have been coming down.

"Er, hello?" I asked, making sure to arrange my face in a confused manner.

"Yeah, I have a pizza delivery for one Julie Baily?" he said in a gruff voice.

It was so very odd to be receiving hot pizza in the middle of a huge storm, mostly because we had no power and it felt kind of like we had been cut off from the rest of the world. To be receiving something as... normal as pizza, it was just weird. So I patted my pockets, trying to think of how the hell I was going to pay for the shit. I had absolutely nothing... sans an old button to my nice winter coat and an old piece of gum.

"I'm really sorry, but she didn't tell me that she was ordering food. I don't have the money to pay for it right now." I was pretty embarrassed, and I also felt really bad about forcing him to drive through the beast of a storm for nothing.

He waved his hand as if trying to get my attention or to wave my apology off, before shoving the boxes in my hands.

"Already been paid for. Credit cards are a beautiful thing, miss. Enjoy your night." and he walked off, right down the path and into his old car that was waiting in the drive. I was a little more than surprised, but the nice warmth coming from the bottom of the boxes felt nice on my fingertips.