“Thank you. I’m fine with whatever you get.”
He nodded, slipping back out of the door, and he headed towards the elevator. He passed Devon on the way, who asked him if he knew where his mother was, to which he’d simply shaken his head no. He had no intention of having any part in her drama.
11
Jalen looked up at the sound of her name being called to find Nathan coming towards her with a princess dress in her hands. They were currently at the store looking for Halloween costumes. They still had a couple of weeks, but since the store was having a sale, she decided now was the best time to get them all.
She smiled at her little sister, squatting down so that they were close to the same height. Nathan came to a stop in front of her with a beaming smile.
“I want this one! It’s so pretty!”
“It is very pretty,” Jalen said, and it was. Though she was sure that her little sister had chosen it more so because it was blue than for the style of the actual dress. “Did you find a crown to go with it?”
“It comes with one,” Nathan informed her, turning the dress around for her to see the crown attached to the back.
“Okay, we’ll get this one for you.” She stood up, taking the little girl’s hand. “Let’s go find the others. I’m sure Kodi is scrambling to see where you ran off to,” she told her.
While Jalen had no issues disciplining any of her sisters, she liked to give the twins gentle reminders of things she’d asked them not to do or be cautious of. She was a firm believer thatwhen you attempted to keep a child from doing something by scaring them, it caused them to be fearful of all things.
Nathan gasped. “Oh, no! I’m sorry. I’m not supposed to walk off like that.”
Jalen squeezed her hand gently. “We all forget things sometimes. Let’s try to be more careful about that, okay?”
“Kay!” Nathan exclaimed, leading Jalen back the way she’d come from.
Sure enough, she could see Kodi weaving through the different racks, Omari on her hip as she searched for Nathan. Her little sister let her hand go, and she ran over to Kodi.
“Where did you go?” Kodi questioned, and Jalen could tell her sister was trying to keep her voice even.
“I went to show Jalen the costume I wanted.”
Kodi looked up as Jalen approached from behind Nathan. “I’ve already talked to her,” Jalen informed, and she watched Kodi deflate.
The action made Jalen’s heart sink a little. While it was normal for older siblings to worry about their younger ones, she resented the fact that her seventeen-year-old sister worried like a parent. It wasn’t her job or her responsibility. It made her despise their mother all the more.
Jalen knew she had chosen to take on the role she now played because she didn’t want them to be separated, and she honestly didn’t mind taking care of her sisters. It allowed her to form a bond with them that she knew wouldn’t be shaken by anything.
She simply wished that her little sister could be a normal teenager. Although she would never complain about the extra help.
Omari showed Jalen the costume she’d chosen, which was a cowgirl costume with a red hat. It reminded Jalen of the cowgirl from theToy Storyfranchise. She wasn’t surprised that she had chosen something like that. Omari had an obsession withanything that had to do with horses, and, in her words, all horses needed a cowgirl.
“Did you find a costume?” she questioned Kodi. She knew her sister was at that age where she wasn’t really big on costumes, but she had still stated that she would wear one to go out with her younger siblings.
“Nah, I think I’ll just borrow some of your scrubs and go as a nurse.” She responded. Jalen had mildly thought for a moment about doing the same thing, but she was sure Mikal wouldn’t let her hear the end of it, since it would be like everyday clothing to her. Speaking of the younger girl, she and Landon were approaching them.
“Did you both find a costume?”
“Yeah, I’m going as Gamora. I found this really awesome costume, and Landon said she would help me paint my face and hands.” Mikal told her excitedly, and Jalen couldn’t help but smile at her before turning her attention to Landon.
“What about you?”
“She tried to talk me into being Nebula, but I figured that was just too much work. So, I’m going to be Michael Meyers,” Landon told her with a smile.
“You know it’s weird that you have this strange obsession with murderers from horror movies, right?” Kodi asked before turning to Jalen. “We should probably get her tested,” she tacked on teasingly.
“Shut up,” Landon demanded, rolling her eyes. She then held a costume up. “I chose this for you. You’re going to be Moana.”
Jalen raised a brow. “I am, huh?” Which simply received a nod from Landon.
