Six Boys and One "Nerd"

Chapter 39 - Nerds and French Toast

Emerson's POV

I jolt awake from a restless sleep at the sound of keys jangling and our front door bursting open. My phone read 2:45 am. "Who the hell is awake this early?" I ask myself and crawl out of bed. After the horrible past few days I've had, it couldn't get much worse. I crack open my door to find the kitchen light shining up the stairs. "I could've sworn I shut all the lights off." I whisper to myself.

       I crack open the door wide enough for my lanky body to squeeze through. I creep down the stairs to find none other than my mother swallowing the last drop of milk in the carton. She had always scolded us from drinking straight out of the carton but yet here she was doing that very thing. "M...mo...mom?" I croak out, feeling my physical features involuntarily harden.

She doubles over and almost chokes on the milk. "Oh jeez, kid you almost gave me a heart attack!" She emphasized whilst coughing. I grunted in apology and found myself stalking towards her like a tiger on the hunt. "So what brings you here?" I blurt out and she raises her eyebrows. "Well this is my house isn't it?" she asks and I feel bile rise up my throat.

        "I don't really know anymore, since you're always on business trips." I spew out and she grimaces. "Sweetie can we not talk about this, I've barely been home five minutes!" She mentions whilst gesturing her hands towards the wide open front door. I sigh and walk over to the door. I quietly shut the door and walk over to my mother and give her a hug. She awkwardly pats my back.

        "I know it won't change anything but we really do miss you, fending for ourselves sometimes doesn't always work as well as you hope it does." I say and hope to find a least a sliver of concern on her face but nothing showed. She pulled away and began taking things out of her purse like small snacks and drinks that she didn't eat on the plane ride home.

        "How's your leg?" She questions nonchalantly and I frown. "It's already healed, just an ugly scar to remind me that I forever dislike sharks." I say with a chuckle and she nodded in response. "Alright well, I'm going to be gone before you wake up tomorrow." She mentions and I frown but bow my head in defeat. She starts to walk towards her untouched room but stops short and looks back at me over her shoulder, "oh and don't mention that I was here to Easton, I don't want him to be upset."

        She doesn't wait for a response and her door clicks shut. I take that as my que to head back upstairs. My shoulders seem to slump farther and farther down with every step I take back to my room. If it were Easton who had found her they would have talked for hours about anything and everything. Since it was me, everything was different. Easton doesn't understand that when we lost dad we lost both of our parents and he doesn't understand that I'm trying my best to protect him from her hurting him after how much her long business trips affected me in having a mother figure whilst I grew up. We're the same age but at least he had me as a mother figure, I didn't have anyone.

        I close the door to my room and lie back down on my bed. Once I get settled I look up at my eggshell white ceiling and try to let every remorseful thought leave my brain. I listen to the small amount of crickets chirping outside and the occasional low hum of a car driving by. I do nothing else, but listen. Sometimes we get so caught up in everything occurring in our lives that we forget about our surroundings, so it's nice to just peacefully listen to the noises of the night for once.

        After about two hours, my clock read 5:00 o'clock in the morning and I still hadn't fallen back to sleep yet. I hear the front door open and close and then the sound of keys jangling down the walkway. Her car door opens and she starts her car. I wait for my mom to pull out of the driveway before sighing. I haul my tired body out of my comfy sheets and hop into the shower.

      I scrub my body clean and thoroughly wash my frizzy hair. After shaving my legs and armpits I turn off the steaming water and find a clean towel to dry off with. Once dry I throw on a pair of black skinny jeans with holes in the knees and a light grey sweater. I head downstairs to grab a glass of water and down it in two gulps. I decide to start making french toast for Easton and I was about halfway through the process when I hear him pound down the stairs yawning about every four steps.

        "Well good morning sleepyhead!" I say in an unnaturally peppy voice. He jumps a little and squints passed the sunlight coming through the window behind me until he finds me. "Jeez you scared me Ems, I thought you were some random stranger because of that voice." He says with a tired yawn. I chuckle a bit and flop his french toast onto a paper plate. "Eat up brother." I say in an amused tone. He grabs a plate and scarfs down his breakfast.

       "So what has you up this early? Usually I'm up first and you're barely making it to school on time." He questions with raised eyebrows. I shrug and shove the rest of my french toast in my mouth. "Couldn't sleep." I say with a mouth full of food. He nods and I look down at my empty plate. I hated lying to my brother.