All the Stars

☆ Up and Atom ☆

     I've officially been eighteen for a week. It's also been a week since I heard from my soulmate. I've been checking my arm almost every hour just in case I missed the feeling of him writing. So far he had said nothing.

     "Charlie can you pass me the pepper?" A small voice whined, bringing me out of my thoughts.

     Sighing, I looked at the blue eyes across the table. "Logan, just reach for it yourself, it's not that far."

     Logan glared at me as he reached for the pepper. Just as he was about to grab it, he knocked over his glass of milk. Logan's eyes went wide as the milk was spilled down the table and onto his twin.

     "What the hell Logan!"

     "Levi, no swearing." Mom sternly said.

     Levi glared at her before pushing his chair back and running out of the room. I could hear him stomping up the steps.

     Mom started massaging her temples. She was easily stressed out when it came to the twins. "Logan, go get a towel and clean this up. I'm gonna go help Levi so he doesn't make a mess upstairs."

     Logan rolled his eyes as mom left but got up to go to grab a towel. If she wasn't trying to teach him to clean up behind himself I would've helped out.

     Mom already has a lot to deal with. She owns a small bookstore downtown on top of watching two twelve-year-olds that seem to have a knack for trouble. Our older sister Sophia would usually help with them but she's busy enjoying life at college.

     That's where my dad comes in. Whenever he's not working he tries to give mom a break from watching the boys. That doesn't happen a lot until the summer though because he works as a science professor at the University of Denver. He's always bringing home reports to grade, which is actually how I became so interested in astrology.

     When we were younger dad wanted to spend time with us but also had to grade his students' papers. That's when an idea hit him, he would read the reports to us and grade them as he read them.

     One time he assigned his students to make their own story for a constellation as extra credit. For two weeks I got to listen to some of the most creative stories I'd ever heard. That spiked my interest in astrology, and ever since then I've been addicted to it.

     My thoughts were interrupted by Logan as he walked back into the dining room. Dad and I were still eating and watched as he soaked up the milk.

     "You missed a spot." Dad jokingly said as he pointed at a random spot near the puddle.

     I held back a laugh as Logan glared at him. He made a face like he wanted to say something, but instead grabbed the towel and left. It was probably better left unsaid. Logan was good at making situations worse with his words.

     Seeing that everyone was either gone or done eating, dad looked over to me. "So much for a family dinner."

     "If it helps, the spaghetti you made tasted great."

     Dad smiled at me. "We should probably start cleaning this mess up."

     I nodded and started clearing the table.

☆      ☆      ☆      ☆

     A yawn escaped my mouth as I climbed the steps. It hadn't taken long at all between the two of us to clean up.

     As I got to the top of the steps, I saw Logan creeping out of the bathroom.

     His face turned to excitement when he saw me. Walking towards me he motioned for me to lean closer. I rolled my eyes but obliged him. He cupped his hands to my ear and started whispering.