From The Other Side

9. family

NINE
family

Friday, March 7th

"Dylan, you ass! I had my name on those last two slices of pizza, and you still fucking took them!"

                   Isaiah sat at the kitchen table, headphones in but nothing playing, forced to listen to his brother and sister. All he wanted to do was finish his homework in peace, but his mom had re-painted his bedroom walls (she'd been wanting to do that for a while), and he wasn't keen on huffing paint fumes. So there he sat, watching another fight take place.

                   Dylan scowled. "Dad said you didn't like leftovers!" he retorted angrily, arms crossed against his chest.

                   "I didn't—what? You have lived with me your whole life! You should know that the only leftovers I like are pizza and desserts!"

                   "But Dad said—"

                   "Who cares what Dad said?" Jordan cried, fisting her unruly curls into her hands. "It had my name on it!"

                   Isaiah let out a loud sigh that caught the pair's attention. They both whipped around to look at him, Dylan confused and Jordan pissed. He blinked at their reactions, opening his mouth to speak, then quickly closing it with pursed lips. Jordan arched a brow in silent question.

                  He blew out a breath. "It's not that big of a deal," he finally grumbled. "Stop yelling and eat something else."

                   Jordan scoffed. "I know I can eat something else," she snapped, then pointed her finger at their little brother. "I'm mad because he had the audacity to steal my shit."

                    Dylan was being his thirteen year old self and mocking Jordan behind her back, creating exaggerated facial expressions and turning his hand into a makeshift puppet. Isaiah bit back an amused grin, one that Jordan took notice of and spun around to see what he was looking at. Dylan immediately dropped his hand and forced a cheesy smile.

Jordan rolled her eyes. "You're such a little shit," she hissed. "So annoying."

Dylan exchanged a wide-eyed look with his brother, then brought his gaze back to Jordan's. "You on your period or something?" he asked, both genuinely curious and teasing. She clenched her jaw.

"I am not on my period."

"You sure?" Dylan inquired, raising an eyebrow. "It seems like it."

Isaiah covered his mouth to hold back a chuckle, but it came out anyway, muffled and loud enough for Jordan to hear. She looked between her brothers, absolutely livid. "Both of you can go choke," she grumbled, marching out of the kitchen to escape to her room.

"She's crazy," Dylan said, shaking his head in disbelief. "She gets mad at me for the dumbest stuff."

"To be fair," Isaiah replied, waving his pencil in the air, "you do steal her stuff. Like her hair products a couple weeks ago. You took some of her skin care stuff, too. I'm pretty sure you even stole a hoodie—the all black one. And—"