All Four Of Me

Chapter 29

KENZIE

"Maddie?"

"Yep, that's me." Maddie answers with one of her patented friendly smiles while rocking back on the balls of her toes. I swear this girl has enough energy to light up an entire city, and after the turbulent rest patterns I have endured over the last couple of days I find it almost exhausting just watching her greet everyone in the room.

Like seriously, how is she able to smile that big? doesn't it hurt her face?

"You're Jacob's little sister?" It makes sense now why I had thought Jacob looked familiar the first time I met him. They share the same physical traits as each other, their dark chestnut hair and striking blue eyes being the main similarities, but thinking back on it I can tell that their personalities are also quite similar.

"Don't worry Kenzie, most days I'm surprised that I'm related to this loser too." Maddie shrugs nonchalantly, a cheeky smile lighting up her face as the others laugh in response. Jacob on the other hand drops his face into a dramatic pout at their reaction, which only fuels their amusement towards the situation further.

"She's so mean to me, I swear." Jacob shakes his head in mock sadness before sending me a cheeky wink. What he doesn't know is that he is seeking support from the wrong person, because if he thinks that sweet, bubbly, caring Maddie is mean to him then I would hate to know what he would have to say about me if he spent more than an hour in the same room as me.

It's not that I am "mean" in the literal sense of the word, but my reluctance to form relationships with other people is stronger than any desire I have to be liked by other people, so in most cases my blunt refusal to engage in social situations makes me come across as a bit of a bitch.

"It's ok Jakey, I still love you. Even if you were dropped on your head as a baby." Maddie retorts sweetly while turning towards her older sibling and gently patting his cheek.

"Right, I'm sure you do. Just remember who's buying all your birthday presents this year." He responds playfully before ruffling the top of Maddie's hair in retaliation.

"Argh! You're so annoying, can you for once not be a complete weirdo?" She huffs in response while fixing the strand of hair that had ben displaced by Jacob's brotherly teasing.

"I probably could, but this is way more fun." Jacob shrugs unapologetically while Maddie pins him with an unimpressed glare. "Anyways, it was nice to see you all again, but I better get going. City traffic is bad enough on the best of days, let alone on the lead up to Christmas and if I'm going to have any chance of scoring a parking spot at the hospital then I need to get there early."

"You do know it's the middle of the day and the carpark is probably already full, right?"

"Yes Madeline, but some of us work night shift on a regular basis and find this time of the day particularly confusing, like is it meant to be day time or night time? Am I meant to be awake or sleeping? It's all very complicated."

"Righto then, don't forget your headlights, it's looking pretty dark out there." She deadpans while lowering her head slightly to see out the kitchen window into the backyard.

"Hardy har har." Jacob mutters sarcastically before kissing the top of Maddie's head, much the same way Chris does with Mitchell, before turning his attention towards the other guys in the room. "I love you my little princess, even if you are a pain in the ass at times."

"Love you too, snot brain." She responds while wrapping her arms around his torso in a loving embrace.

"Thanks again for having her here on such short notice, I really appreciate it." Jacob says while simultaneously pulling his keys from the front pocket of his jeans.