Forever and Always

Chapter One (Part One)

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Word Count | 2,217

*TWO MONTHS EARLIER*

"If you clean a vacuum cleaner, do you become a vacuum cleaner?" I turn from side to side, inspecting my reflection in the mirror. In the glass, I see my twin sister, Kennedy, behind me. She shakes her head at me, smiling.

"Honestly Sav, sometimes you have the weirdest thoughts," Kennedy says with a laugh.

"But doesn't it? I mean, think about it," I persist, smoothing my knotted white shirt. It goes perfectly with my white and mauve shorts.

"Does it even matter? It's not like you've ever cleaned a vacuum cleaner," Kennedy reminds me. She lifts her brown hair up and tilts her head. "How should I wear my hair tonight?"

Hands on hips, I consider her. Kennedy is on the short side—5'3—and slender, with long, wavy, golden hair and hazel blue eyes. Personally, I think any hairstyle would look gorgeous on her. My sister is a beautiful person, inside and out. "Hmm." I tap my chin. "A waterfall braid? Or better yet, a half-up waterfall braid!"

"Ooh perfect! Should I do your hair the same way?"

"As long as you don't rip my hair out," I tease, grabbing her hairbrush.

Kennedy laughs again. Her laugh is almost lyrical, whereas my laugh sounds like a donkey—loud and braying. "I'll try to leave some hair for you." She winks.

She perches on the edge of the bed, and I sit behind her. Crossing my legs, I start brushing her hair. It's silky smooth and smells like her coconut-scented shampoo. "I can't believe we're turning fifteen today," I comment.

"I know, right? I still feel like I'm eleven or twelve," Kennedy says. She sighs and drums her fingers against the bed. "Birthday parties are stressful—especially when your brothers are doing all the planning."

"And when one of those brothers is Dylan." I giggle. Dylan is our sixth oldest brother, and a little . . . less than responsible. He's twenty-one, and lives in New York most of the time, so he's on the wild side. Living on your own in a city like the Big Apple can make you that way.

Thankfully, our other brothers are more controlled. There's seven in total: Jackson, Luke, Cole, Donavan, Josiah, Dylan, and Fletcher. Sometimes I say I have eight brothers, though, because our cousin Shawn lives with us.

Everyone besides Dylan is pretty chill (okay, I lied, Josiah isn't, but I swear everyone else is). Not all of them live with us right now, though. Luke and Josiah are in Melbourne, filming a movie, and Donavan is a Marine guard at the US embassy in Kuwait. Then there's Fletcher, who's on tour with his band, FREE (Fletcher, Ryder, Eli, and Ethan, the members of the band). Last I checked, they're in the Philippines. We have three dogs to make up for their absence: Beau, a golden retriever, and Atticus and Harper, Blue Merles.

"At least Jackson is in charge. Maybe things will turn out okay," Kennedy says.

I snort. "Yeah, and I'll get on the honor roll. Fat chance of that happening." I start on the braid, sectioning her hair off into different parts.

"If it gets too crazy, we can go grab pizza and hang out," she says. "We could see a movie, too. You know, have a girls-night out."

"I'm down for it," I reply, "as long as we grab some snacks from the kitchen first. Jackson said he's making Reece's cupcakes, and I'm not missing out on those."

"Oh don't worry, we'll take plenty of food with us," Kennedy assures me. She frowns all of a sudden. "Fudge, I just remembered that we can't go anywhere without a car."