The Five Musketeers

Chapter 7 - The Fam

"I jest to Oberon and make him smile When I a fat and bean-fed horse beguile, Neighing in likeness of a filly foal".     

~Puck, A Midsummer Night's Dream. Act 2 Scene 1,

        Jess bolted down the stairs. She had so much momentum she couldn't stop herself quickly enough, and ended up smashing into the wall four feet away from the base of the staircase. The wall vibrated and blinds smacked against the window, making a buzzing noise.

        Not pausing, Jess sprinted into the living room, slipping on a rug and sending it flying against a bench by the front door. Panting, she arrived and crept forward slowly. Jeff came into view, lying prone on the couch, a huge, loopy grin on his face, an arm thrown haphazardly over his eyes.

        Looking at her mother, Jess widened her eyes and nodded her head. Taking a seat on the ottoman, Jess leaned forward and peered at her twin brother. Her little sister, Brianna, was sitting in a chair opposite them. Bri had her phone out, video taping Jeff.

        Pasting a gentle smile on her face, Jess leaned towards him with what she hoped was a kind expression on her face. Her kind face wasn't used very often, and as a result her mouth twitched and eyes widened a bit too much, giving the impression of a mentally unstable great-aunt.

        "Hey, Jeff. How are you doing, bud?" Jess made eye contact with Brianna, and gestured for her to zoom in on him.

        Jeff swung his arm away from his head, and snapped his neck. Seeing Jess, his eyes lit up and his goofy grin grew into something even bigger, something manic. Rolling his neck towards her, he opened his mouth. Bloody, pink-tinged gauze rolled out and fell onto a towel on the carpet. The little balls of gauze landed with a little plop and lay there, soaking the white towel with a mixture of saliva and blood.

        Jess screamed and fell off her perch, scrambling away. This was the stuff of horror movies. Brianna dropped her phone and ran into the kitchen, hugging their mother and refusing to look at her possessed older brother.

        "MOM! What the hell?" Since hanging out with her friends yesterday, Jess had forgotten her mother's strict rule on cussing. She remembered immediately after.

        "Language, Jess," she snapped. Prying Bri's arms off her neck, Jess's mom walked towards Jeff. She smiled and ran her fingers through his hair, cooing slightly and bringing a straw to Jeff's gaping, grinning mouth.

        Jeff had always been a mama's boy. Disturbingly so. It had probably stemmed from when Jeff had been sick when he was little and needed to be taken care of more so than most boys his age. He had been spoon fed meals, carried to bed, and bathed to his heart's content by their mother.

        This disgusted Jess, who certainly had nobody spoon feeding her anything. She wasn't even a daddy's girl. That was Brianna. Being nobody's favorite totally sucked. And no matter how many times her parents tried to tell them how they loved all three of them equally, Jess still stood in the corner smirking, because she knew it totally wasn't true.

        Pushing her thoughts aside, she looked at Jeff again, and suddenly remembered. "He got his wisdom teeth out, right?" 

        Her mom gave her an unimpressed look while shoving gauze back into Jeff's mouth where his teeth had once been. Jess pretended Jeff didn't have a strange pair of hands shoved down his throat and tried to carry on a cordial conversation with said women who had her hands down someone else's throat.

        "I can't believe you didn't remember. Your brother would have absolutely remembered something so important in your life, isn't that right, Jeffy?" In response Jeff blew a raspberry and started shimmying his shoulders.