Chapter Two

Erin's POV:

"So are you gonna text him?" Oh Avery.

Yes I did lose. Yes I did get his number. Of course Avery wouldn't let me leave without it. And who was he, thinking he was god and that I would just run straight into his arms so he could run away with me to his bedroom. To me, he seems like a jerk. Yes he's good looking. No he's not for me.

"No Avery, I'm not." I finally say, and she looks genuinely sad, and I kind of feel bad. Maybe just a teensy weensy bit.

"I just wanted to play matchmaker, seems like this shouldn't be my job. That Nina or whatever from school can continue to be one, not me." She says with a smile on her face. It's true, recently she's been trying to hook me up with any good looking guy she sees. And recently, she's been seeing a lot of good looking guys.

"He just seems like a jerk. So overconfident. He probably has girls running to him, but that won't be me. Besides, I've never seen the guy before. He could be a tourist from across the world for God's sake!" I say and we both laugh it off, and get in Avery's car.

Once we get to Avery's house, I give Aidan, her 12-year old brother a quick wave, before rushing up to her room after her. We plop down on her bed, and decide to change into more comfortable outfits. Avery hands me a pair of sweats and I keep on the Vans t-shirt I was wearing.

We decide to bake cookies, just enough for the three of us, because Avery's mom works late and probably won't be home until a little after 8. Her dad, she doesn't even want to know where he might be. Her parents got a divorce when she was six, so she doesn't really talk much about him, not that she knew much as a six year old anyway. Just that her dad "didn't love her mom anymore." We put the cookies in the oven and decide to watch Netflix shows for a bit, Aidan joins us too.

Soon enough, the cookies are ready and after eating two handfuls each, Aidan is asleep across the main couch, leaving Avery and I crammed on the two-seat couch.

I know, we're fatties.

I turn on my phone to see 6:07 on the screen, and with that my eyes flutter close and I drift into a deep sleep.

***

"Mom, told me I could eat that slice!"

"Well, you ate the second last one so I should get the last one!"

"You're not being fair Avery. She told me, not you, I could have it."

"No, I want it, I haven't had pizza since that night, you took it to school two days after that!"

"Avery stop arguing and just give me the pizza!"

"How about I have the slice? I'm actually hungry." I pipe in, as my stomach grumbles.

Just then Avery's mom, walks down the stairs and agrees with me, also saying hi and walking over to the kitchen. Avery, hands the box over to me and I munch on the pizza, as both of them stare me down with eyes shooting daggers.

I get up to throw the box out, just when my phone beeps with a text. I didn't text anyone today. But it could be Reagan, or any of my siblings or my parents telling me to come home. I lift my phone to see a "hey" from nose piercing boy? Confused, I look towards Avery who has guilty written all over her face.

I drag her up the stairs and into her room, locking it shut, knowing her mom wouldn't be too happy with me yelling at her when she's in the next room. As soon as I can, I scream at the top of my lungs,

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!?!"

She simply responds with "I just thought you should've said hi," while shrugging her shoulders.

"But you said hey." I correct annoyingly.

"So, he said hey. What's the huge problem here?" She asks, confusion lacing her words.

"Why did you text him? I told you he was a jerk!"

"He seemed kinda sweet though, just a little bit cocky and full of himself. You're like that sometimes too you know." She notes with a nod.

I just scoff at her comment. I decide to pack my things to go home, it's been a long day.

When I get home, I notice my brother, Evan and twin sister Evelyn aren't home yet. Of course, they're always coming home late.

"Mom, Dad!" I let my voice echo through the house.

"In the kitchen!" My mom yells back.

I walk in to see her trying to bake some chicken pie, at least the frozen ones from the grocery store.

"Hey honey, I found these at the market by my workplace for a buck each, one for each of us. I thought we could try them, but I already burnt one." She says, with a sheepish smile.

My mom has never been good at cooking, so we are always trying these new things. To add on to that, she barely cared about her grades. Really regrets it right now; she doesn't have a stable job, so she doesn't make much money. My dad has a somewhat good paying job, which is probably why I'm alive right now. It takes great potential to live with my mom, and I'd like to say I'm really proud of him.

Just as we speak of him, here comes my superhero, stomping down the stairs, like he always does.

"Hey pumpkin." He says and gives me a side hug. I haven't seen him in two days because he's been working extra shifts to make up for all the money we spent on vacation this summer.

We wait for Evan and Evelyn, but they don't seem to show up, so we begin to eat without them. I'd have to say, the chicken pies aren't too bad. Just as I stab my fork into the slightly burnt crust, the door thrusts open and Evan walks in, drowsily, reeking of alcohol, with his bulky backpack, hanging from his right shoulder.

It's late now, probably 11, and dad isn't really okay with this. He scolds him and follows him up the stairs. I'm sure he tucked him in and wished him goodnight, like he does every time. He's a huge softie.

Seconds later, Evelyn walks through the door, her eyes glued to her phone and a genuine eye to eye smile plastered on her face. It's not normal to see her so happy, not that I talk to her much anymore. As soon as we began high school, we started to drift apart, took after different things, and had different likes and hobbies. We are identical twins, but if you hadn't seen us, you wouldn't know we're related.

Mom pipes in with a "hi," to which she turns her head awfully quickly to acknowledge us.

She mentions a quick "hey," before rushing upstairs. After we finish eating, we sit on the couch, and mom flips through channels, finding something

interesting to watch.

Evelyn comes down the stairs in her black tank top and shorts, grabs her food and plops down on one of the empty seats in the couch. Dad seems a little unsure, but asks anyway.

"Do you know anything about Evan?"

"Nope, is he home? This morning he said he was gonna go out with friends to a few places." She says with a mouthful of food.

"Seems like one of those places was a bar."

"He came home all drunk didn't he?" She asks, not surprised at all.

Dad responds with a curt nod. And the sound of the channels changing echoes throughout the room.