"Don't make promises you can't keep."
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Noah Reed is lost. Fed up with his constant attitude and need for self-destruction, his mother sends him to live out the rest of the year with his father in hop...
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The house is so loud, you'd think we invited the whole neighborhood over for dinner.
In actuality, it's just my family. Though, my family might as well be the whole neighborhood, considering how big it is. There's my parents—John and Stacy—or, as I call them, Mama and Daddy. Then there's my older sister, Brooke, who is two years older than me at 18. I'm the second oldest at 16. Next in line is my younger brothers, Reeve and Grayson, twins who are both 12. Lastly, there's the baby of the family, Jacqueline (or Jackie, as we all call her), who's 4. In total, there are seven of us, which means nothing with my family is ever boring.
I've just finished setting the table, helping my mom set out everything she's made for the night. Brooke stands in the corner on her phone, not bothering to help (she's visiting home for the weekend, as she just started college this year—she attends the local university but decided to live on campus).
"Everything looks great, honey," Dad says to Mom as he enters the kitchen, planting a kiss on my mother's forehead. She offers my dad a grateful smile before bracing herself for the hardest part of the night—getting all of us kids at the same table.
"Dinner's ready!" Mom cries. The instant the words leave her mouth, loud footsteps can be heard bounding down the stairs and heading for the kitchen.
"Finally!" Reeve exclaims as he races toward the table. He and Grayson always race to see who can reach the table first, which would be annoying if I wasn't already used to it. "I'm starving!"
"Sure," I snort at my brother. "Because you didn't eat my chips before dinner, right?"
Reeve merely shrugs in response, not bothering to deny the fact that he's a little thief. "I didn't see your name on them."
I hold up the now-empty bag of chips to reveal the yellow sticky note I'd stuck to the front that reads Blake. It's hard to keep anything for yourself around this zoo, though I'm not really upset. I just like teasing my siblings.
"Was that there the whole time?" Reeve questions, scratching the back of his neck and ruffling his dark brown hair.
I crack a smile, shaking my head as I head toward the trashcan. Turning back to the table, I find Grayson studying his twin as he asks, "Dude, are you dyslexic?"
Reeve's features pinch as he glances at Grayson in confusion. "What's that?"
"It's a condition that makes it harder for some people to read," Brooke informs our brother, finally off of her phone. She lowers into her seat, which is right next to mine, smirking at the twins.
Reeve's blue eyes widen as he turns to Grayson, who mirrors his expression. They're identical, so it always gives me a headache when they copy each other. I've known them their whole lives, yet sometimes it gets hard to tell them apart.
"Dude, you know I'm not dyslexic," Reeve says as he glares at Grayson. "What? Are you trying to say I can't read?"
"I'm not saying that you can read," Grayson retorts slyly. Reeve proceeds to whack his arm, and then they're fighting.
