Sweet Dreams, Eli

Okay, Then.

The picture above is of Zoe.

Zoe

Chloe reappears from the basement alone, looking confused.

"Where's Eli?" asks mom, she looks concerned.

"He said he wanted some time alone." Chloe replies.

"Oh, okay then, honey." Then she looks around at me and Cason, "Do you three have any homework?"

"Mom," groans Cason, "Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously. Off you go."

"Fine," he replies, and stomps off to his room playfully.

"I love you!" Mom calls after him then turns to us, "You too, girls."

I dart over to Chloe and grab her arm, "Come on, we'll go to our room." I say with a smile.

She giggles and lets me pull her up the stairs, our backpacks over our shoulders. I pull open the door and throw my bag on the chair by the window. Chloe places hers more carefully next to mine. I fall back on my bed and sigh.

"So, what do you think of Eli?" I ask.

Chloe shrugs, "He seems ... I don't know ... angry, maybe, or scared. He was kind of mean downstairs."

"Yeah, I noticed that when we met him. Was I that bad?"

"No ... well ... kinda, scared, yes, mean, no. I don't think you could bring yourself to be mean."

"I could to be mean if I wanted to."

"No, you couldn't."

"No, I couldn't" We say at almost the exact same time, and burst out laughing. After a moment I stop, "He just needs time, he'll figure it out eventually, we all did."

"Well, I hope it doesn't take as long as you, that was a lot of work."

"Hey!" I yell and throw a pillow at her head.

She grabs it and throws it back, "But, it was worth it." She batts her eyelashes, "Love you!"

"Yeah, yeah, love you, too." I sigh and glare at my backpack, "Mom's right, we should probably do our homework."

Chloe groans, "Do we have to? Doesn't adding a new member to the family get us a free pass?"

"Yeah, like that would go over well with Mr. Lewis?"

We both shudders, "It's so not fair that I have to have him too. Cason had him, you had him, hasn't our family suffered enough?" Chloe whines.

"All's fair in school and torture." I stand up and toss her her bag, "What do you have tonight?"

"Four pages of notes on the American Revolution."

"Yeah, have fun with that!"

"Can't I just have your notes from last year?"

"No way, you too must suffer, young one."

She sticks her tongue out at me, "Fine, be that way."

The two of us settle down and try to get some work down, after an hour, I'm pretty much done and need a break so I leave Chloe to her notes, and head down stairs. God, I'm glad I'm not in Mr. Lewis's class anymore.

The twins are sitting on the couch watching their tablets. "Zoe, Zoe, Zoe!" they squeal, Peyton rises up on her knees and bonces up and down.

I sigh and walk over "No bouncing on the couch," I chastise.

She immediately sits back down and pouts, "Sorry."

I shake my head at her and sigh, "It's okay, just don't do it again. I love you."

"I love you, too" she says happily and goes back to her tablet.

I decide to grab a snack and head towards the kitchen. Mom is standing at the counter, "Hey, Mom."

"Hi, sweetie," she replies with a smile, "How's the homework going."

"Well, Chloe's still got plenty to do."

"Mr. Lewis?" I nod in response. "She could probably use some fuel, then. There are strawberries in the fridge, or maybe some cheese and crackers? Dinner will be ready in about an hour."

"Got it." I head to the fridge and grab the strawberries and the cheese, then I grab a plate and crackers from the cabinet, and make up a plate for me and Chloe. "Thanks, Mom."

"No problem, honey." I start to head for the stairs when she reaches out to grab my arm. "Hey, you good?"

I turn to look at her, "Yeah, I'm great. I think this is going to be really good."

"Good." She pulls me in for a tight hug, I squeeze her back hard, "Alright, go on, get that food to your sister."

"On it." Again, I head for the stairs and rejoin Chloe in our room.

"Foooood. Give me, give me, give me!"

I hold the plate over my head, "You have to be nice," I tease.

"No, I don't, please, I need sustenance."

"Fine," I hand her the plate, "But only because I'm a nice sister."

"That you are."

~

At dinner time, Chloe and I leave our stuff where it is and head downstairs. Cason and Tyler are already sitting at the table practically salivating, not that I blame them, it's Mom's famous lasagna. I spot the twins "helping" Mom in the kitchen. I join them to put the plate from earlier on the counter, "Need any help, Mom?"

"Not that I can think of... Oh! Can you go down stairs and get Eli, he didn't come up with the other boys"

"Sure."

When I get downstairs, I see the door to Chloe's old door closed, I pause for a second, then knock.

There's no answer.

"Um, Eli, it's time for dinner." I call.

"I'm not hungry."

"Okay... can you at least open the door for a second."

I hear movement, and a second later the door swings open and bangs against the wall loudly.

"What!?" He practically yells.

"Look, I know you probably don't want come up and join us for dinner, but I think you're missing out, my Mom's lasagna is to die for."

"I don't like lasagna. Also, I thought that sister of yours said she wasn't your Mom."

I close my eyes, shocked, I take a deep breathe, "I'm adopted, yes. But she is my Mom."

"What exactly does a Mom do? 'Cause the only thing my Mom did for me was give birth, and your 'Mom' sure as hell didn't do that."

I sigh again, "Look, I came down here to get you for dinner. I get that you don't want to come, but too bad. Let's go."

"Geez, you're a bitch."

"Nope, not a female dog, sorry. Let's go." I say.