Not Your Average Fairytale

Chapter One

Chapter One

            Babysitting her brothers was not Wynter’s idea of a fun afternoon. The triplets, Alex, Adrian, and Andrew, were all currently playing some game involving building the highest tower of legos they could make, which wasn’t that high.

            She was just waiting for someone to call her or something so she could put her younger brother, Walter in charge. However, being the oldest one still in the house made her the qualified baby sitter.

            Adrian yawned and wandered over to the couch, curling up and almost instantly falling asleep. He could fall asleep anywhere, Wynter swore, and he did, too. His teachers were constantly telling Wynter’s parents that while Adrian was smart, he slept too much in class to keep up.

            She didn’t really know what there was to keep up with in class as a fourth grader, but she didn’t feel she needed to point that out. Alex sneezed, making Wynter rush up to give him a tissue again.

            She then sat back down on the other end of the sofa that Adrian was using as a mattress. The triplets weren’t bad to take care of, mainly because of Adrian’s sleeping habits. The only one you had to keep out of trouble was Andrew, who wasn’t always the brightest.

            He knocked over the tower for the third time, making Alex start to cry, which made him sneeze again. Wynter let out a loud sigh and began to try to comfort Alex, offering him more tissues.

            She just wished Matt would come back for the rest of the night so that she could pass it over. He was her only older brother and was currently at a college class.

            In the fall, he would start med school, and begin his training to become a doctor like he’d always wanted to be. She was proud of him, but she knew she was going to miss him once he was gone.

            With six younger brothers to take care of, she was overwhelmed by the responsibility she suddenly had to take care of them. Walter, who was only one year younger than her, was a lot of help, and between the two of them they managed the boys.

            Her mom tried to be home as much as she could, though, and so Wynter never really had to do that much of the actual work. However, this afternoon, she was left in charge.

            In walked Ryan, who took in the sight with a scowl before stomping back out. Out of all of her brothers, Ryan was the one who she had a hard time getting along with. He was always in a bad mood, unlike Walter, who was always such a happy person.

            Alex finally stopped crying right as Walter himself walked in. She looked up with relief and set Alex down. Following him into the kitchen, she turned to the sixteen year old beside her.

            “Is Leo asleep?” she asked, grabbing a soda out of the fridge. She was referring to the final member of the family, her baby brother.

            “Just fell asleep,” Walter replied with a sigh. “Should be an easy night.”

            “Why’s Ryan so upset this time?” she asked. She popped open the cold drink and sank into a chair at the long table.

            “I told him to turn down his music,” he answered. Wynter rolled her eyes, chuckling. Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she opened it lazily to find a new message from Rosalyn.

            Hey guys! Wanna come hang out? Let yourselves in, I’ll be in my room!

            It was part of a group text between the two of them and their other friend, Ashleigh. The three of them had been inseparable since middle school, when Rosalyn had moved to the small town near Chicago where they all lived.