A Certain Softness

Chapter 1

Your POV

I'm sitting in the back seat of the car with my twin brother Michael, my brothers and I were complaining about our moms taste in music.

"We're almost there!" Mom said excitedly.

"What's that smell?" Sam asked with a slight scowl on his face.

"That's the ocean air." Mom stated after taking in a deep breath.

"Smells like someone died." Sam states while turning to look out the window.

Our mom continued to speak but I just spaced her out. Michael and myself watched the sign go by, we read the back and my eyes went wide. I turned to Michael and gave him a look that practically screamed 'What the hell'. My twin shrugged and mouthed a 'Shit', we both smirked at each other and turned our attention back to our mother and younger brother.

We got to Santa Carla, and we all got out of the car. Sam took Nanook on a little walk to stretch his legs, Michael was talking to a guy who he bought a bike off of, and mom was looking around. I was leaning on the car, looking passed the people and to the water.

Sam ran back over to mom talking about the boardwalk, she told him to give money to some kids that were dumpster diving for food. I spaced out for what felt like only a second, but then mom told me to get back in the car. I got in the car, Michael was gonna follow us on his new bike, and we headed to grandpas house.

When we got there, grandpa was on the porch laying down. Mom got worried, and said he was just a deep sleeper. Michael suggested he might be dead. Sam asked if we could move back to Phoenix if he was dead. I knew this trick, I remember it from the last time we visited, he was just playing dead. Grandpa sat up and scared Sammy a little.

"Playin' dead. And from what I heard, doin' a damn good job of it too." Grandpa said with a laugh and a smirk.

"I'm surprised you didn't remember him doing this the last time. I remembered, and my memory is shit." I said blankly while walking passed my family with all of my bags.

I walked into the house and up the stairs, normally we would all have our own rooms, but there weren't enough rooms. Me and Michael decided on our way here that we would share a room like we did when we were kids. I tossed my bags on to my bed and on the floor next to my bed.

I don't have any boxes because I never really owned anything like that. It was just a few picture frames, a few stuffed animals, and my clothes. Out of everything in the car, I own three bags and that's it. I began unpacking my bags and putting away my clothes in the dresser on my side of the room.

After a few minutes, Michael walked in with most of his stuff. He turned to me and smirked, I stared at him then turned back to what I was doing.

"How did you remember something like that? We haven't seen grandpa since we were little kids." My older twin brother said from behind me.

I shrug and continue to organize my clothes. I hear some footsteps, then some talking, and then much louder and frantic footsteps. Mikey is probably chasing Sam around, I hear shouting and then someone calls my name from downstairs.

I go down to where I hear my family, and see them standing in the kitchen. Grandpa points at me, and starts talking.

"I already told your brothers this, it's good for you to know as well. Rules! Second shelf is mine. That's where I keep my root beers and my double-thick Oreo cookies. Nobody touches the second shelf but me. There's another rule around here, and I want you to pay close attention. Don't touch anything. Everything is exactly where I want it." He says, an intense look on his face.