The Leap [✔]

Chapter Three

Time crawls

Inching forward

every second seems

like an hour

trying to overcome these horrors

as I climb over an overbearing wall

of friendship, family,

and the aching temptation, desire.

Chapter Three

***

The next morning, the shrill voices of my brothers pry me away from a peaceful sleep. I pull the pillow over my head, covering my ears, trying to block out their obnoxiousness. At first, my thoughts are jumbled as I try to remember why in the hell they would be up this early in the morning. Then I realize that it's the first day back to school, my eyes widening. I sigh and close my eyes again, wishing the day away.

"Emma Jean! Wake up!" My mom shouts outside my bedroom, waking me up just as I start to drift asleep again. She pounds her fist against the door one more time before moving on to the next, not leaving time for me to respond.

In the next few minutes, I manage to wrestle the blankets off and dress for the day into a pair of black jean shorts and a dark purple t-shirt. Peering out my bedroom door, I listen for the tap running in the bathroom. It is. I should have taken a shower last night, because I won't get a chance this morning with all the boys getting ready for school too.

On my way out of my bedroom, I glance into the full length mirror on the back of the door, checking myself out. When I see my hair, my eyes widen and I grab my brush from my dresser and brushed it out. My hair is being aggravating, so I decide to put it in a ponytail. When I'm satisfied, I slip on my grey flip flops and head downstairs with my backpack slung over my right shoulder.

Downstairs is a disaster.

Mom is trying to clean Joey's face but he keeps squirming around and just as Dad sits down at the table, he gets loose from my mom and runs. He bumps into the table as Dad takes a sip of his coffee, spilling the coffee all over dads shirt. Dad curses and she lets out a frustrated sigh.

"I guess now would be a bad time to say good morning?" I question as I finish walking into the kitchen, smirking at the scene. Dad stands glaring at Joey, who gives an uneasy smile and runs up the stairs faster than the speed of light. Mom bursts our laughing and shakes her head.

"Good morning sweetie," she says as she pecks me on the cheek. Then she turns around and sprints towards the stairs, calling for Joey. Just as she reaches the bottom step, she turns around and faces me.

A look of sadness passes over her and my heart hurts.

"Honey, don't forget about the basketball game tonight, okay?" she asks. "I know you said you didn't want to go, but its to honor your brother. I think it will be good for us."

She's talking about the honorary game tonight that the school is hosting. The senior boys basketball team, the team that Aidan, Ben, and Austin play on, is playing against their rivals to honor Tyler.

I forgot about it.

Nodding my head slowly, I try think of a way to get out of it. "Yeah, okay," I say, watching as my Mom sprints up the stairs. Aiden walks down, skipping the last three and Ben follows him. In the kitchen, Dad sits back down at the table, wiping his shirt off but I can still see the stain.