Drowning

ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝟡: 𝕋𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕝𝕖𝕥'𝕤 𝕡𝕝𝕒𝕪

Once we finished our lunch, we said our goodbyes and parted ways. 

"So I saw that there was a lot of tension between Cora and Axel. What happened with them?"

Harper and I were skating to our house. We were only a few blocks away so we decided to take our time. 

"Yeah, they were together for a while. It went smoothly for a while. That was until Cora became friends with the popular kids. Axel wasn't too happy with that. It's not that he is overbearing or doesn't let her be friends with other people. It's just that Cora started to, uh- how do I say this? Cora started to not be herself. She changed her style, her personality, everything about her. It wasn't the Cora we knew. She made a mistake and Axel broke up with her. Then, she realized what she did and she came back down to Earth and apologized to him- to everyone. Axel just couldn't go back to dating her and she understood that." 

"Wow, that's sad. I'll make sure to not befriend the popular kids."

"Not all of them are bad, just the ones who wear pink skirts and leather jackets."

I nodded my head and chuckled.

We were almost home and my nerves started kicking in.

"I'm nervous."

"About what?" Harper asked while we swiftly turned right. 

"Getting caught."

She stuck her foot out off the penny board. I cringed. Her poor shoes. 

"The Bailey Jones is nervous about getting caught by her stupid, dog-like brothers. I can't believe you're my twin."

"Hey! I'm not the one who got grounded this morning."

"Technically you are."

"I was just trying to stand up for you. But fine. If you want to get lectured, be my guest."

I made sure to make my grand exit by speeding up ahead of her. I slowed down once I reached the front of the house. Everyone's car is here. 

"Jeus-us-" Harper panted, trying to catch her breath. "Why couldn't you just wait for me."

"Shhh." I pointed to the driveway. Her eyes flashed with fear, but it disappeared in a second.

She grabbed my arm and lead us to the back fence. "You're going to give me a lift up so I can grab the lock on the other side."

"Are you serious? The fence is too big."

"Would you like to walk in the front door?"

I held my words.

"Exactly. Now give me a lift."

I held my hands together under Harper's foot and held her up. She bent over the fence and grabbed a lock. I looked around to see a boy who looked similar to Holden. I stepped on my tippy toes to get a better look.

"What is Hol-"

Thump.

My hands felt light. I was staring at the fence.

"Oh my, Jesus! Harper! Are you okay?"

"Harper"

"Haaaarrrppppeeeerrr"

"Are you alive?"

Silence. Shit.

"Are you alive?" Harper says in a mocking tone. The fence opens up thanks to a now angry, dirty Harper.

I picked a leaf out of her hair. I gave her a small smile. 

"Oops."

☏☏☏☏☏☏☏☏☏☏☏☏☏☏☏☏☏☏☏☏☏☏☏☏☏☏☏☏☏☏☏☏☏☏☏☏☏☏☏

We managed to climb up another tree and into Harper's window. The house was suspiciously quiet, considering that there are 5 boys under the same roof right now. I walked to the hallway. Nothing in the hallway. No screaming, no video games, no TV. What's going on?

I went to my bathroom and took a shower. It was already pretty late. I got my pajamas together. It's not like I am planning on going anywhere. 

It consisted of a hoodie and a pair of shorts. I know, that's barely pajamas. 

After my shower, I got ready and watched some TV. 

Knock, knock

"Yeah?"

"Dinner is almost done. Come down."

"Okay!"

I had no clue who was talking. I could barely hear. I was busy with my 'Criminal Minds' to be paying attention. 

I really hope whatever they said, wasn't important

I continued to watch my show until my door opened again.

I swear there is no privacy in this house. 

"Aww. Thanks for knocking. That was real nice and considerate."

I look up. Levi was leaning on my doorway with his arms crossed. His eyebrows were up either because he was shocked that someone would talk to him that way or he was angry because someone talked to him that way. Probably both.

"Dinner. Now." He walked up and grabbed the remote out of my hands.

"Hey!" He turns off the tv.

"Do you even know what being grounded means? No TV." He pointed the remote at me.

"No computer." He went to my desk in the corner and grabs the laptop.

I wasn't planning on using that anyway. 

"No phone."

He walked to me and held his hand out. 

"I'm sorry, are you expecting me to actually give you my phone?" I chuckled.

"In your dreams."

He scoffed. "Fine. If you want to be like that, deal with Jake. I don't have time to deal with a 16-year-old girl who doesn't know how to respect her family."

He started to make his way to the hallway with my remote and computer in his arms.

I scoffed. "You really think that I'll respect you guys. Respect is earned. It's not like I wanted to come here. I forced here."

He turned around. His jaw was clenched. Oh, he's mad, mad. 

"You were sent here for a reason. Don't think that I wanted you here either. I didn't even want to hear your name."

His eyes softened after he realized what he said. "Bailey, wait." He reached out to grab me, but I was already on my way downstairs with tears in my eyes. 

He didn't want me here. Just like the rest of them. Fine. If they want to play that game,

then let's play.

960 Words

7/11/2020