"My bad for thinking the muffins that literally say, ‘take me’ were up for taking,” I said sarcastically. Done with the conversation, I tried to step past my brother to head for the bedroom.
When I was about to make it past him, he slid his foot out and blocked the way. He stared down at me with a taunting smirk, picking on me just for the hell of it. I guess because he missed his chance yesterday.
I wanted to keep the peace. "Can we not?"
He shrugged. "That depends on you."
I tried to move but he took a step to stand in my way once again. Already over it, I looked to my sister who was already looking with pleading eyes. She didn’t have to speak for me to know what she was getting at. Emerson was warning me to stay away from Easton because his wrath had been taken up three notches thanks to the anniversary of our mother’s death being just the day before.
My eyes found my aunts to see if she'd say something about the way he was clearly trying to cause commotion. Normally she would be in her room avoiding us all to keep her sanity, but she was currently sitting at the dining table beside us. Her attention had been taken by the phone in her hand.
"You want to go back there so you can get back on the phone with yourboyfriend," he cooed in a sing-song voice as he blew kisses into the air.
That grabbed Macy’s attention. "Boyfriend?"
"‘Just stay on the phone with me, Javier. Fall asleep with me, kiss me.’" he mocked in a baby voice.
I looked him up and down. "How old are you?"
"‘You're the only one who gets me. No one's nice to me but you.’" He balled his hands into fists and put them by his cheeks as he fake cried. "‘I love you, marry me!’"
"Boyfriend?" my aunt repeated with the same revolted tone.
"No, this is just Easton causing unwanted problems," Emerson said in a dull tone.
"Incorrect, it's just me being funny." His finger pointed upward as he spoke as a matter of fact.
My eyes narrowed. "I'm not laughing."
He shoved my shoulder in a playful, yet provoking way. "We know. You're always so serious and that's your problem. Learn to take a joke, kid."
“You eavesdropped on my conversation and now you’re mocking me for it. So, no. You aren't making a joke, you're just being a dick."
"You think because you've got somewhere to run when things get stressful that you can say whatever you want now?" he challenged with an intense stare.
"Boyfriend?"
"Are you a broken record or something?" Easton's aggression shifted to my aunt. "Jesus Christ, I wasjoking. But so the hell what if I wasn't?"
Her head jolted back at his harsh words. Partly because she didn’t expect it, and partly because she couldn’t believe he would dare to speak to her in that manner. "Excuse me?"
He scoffed. "You're excused."
"How dare you speak to me like that?" She slammed her phone on the table as she spoke with utter disbelief. Now that she was being disrespected, she became fully present in the interaction.
"Imagine caring whether Elias fucks dudes or chicks. Well…he might not be the one doing the fucking. Would he be? Hell, what do I know? My point is that it's not a big deal, Macy." His eyes darted between us all as he threw his hands up in defense. "By the way, I don’t regularly think about my brother's sex life. That's a little weird."
"I'm uncomfortable." I muttered.
"You’re right, it is weird." Emerson's face was scrunched up with disgust. "Elias is a child."
I shook my head. "No, it's weird because you're my siblings. You act like I’m twelve-years-old when I’m literally one year younger than you both.”
Emerson shrugged. "You'll forever be a prepubescent child in my head."
"He is still prepubescent, he can't even grow a mustache," Easton laughed.
"Lying is your only talent," I deadpanned.
