❝You're gonna be happy, ❞ said life, ❝but first I'll make you strong.❞
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A story of how a family reeling from loss and pain can come together and realize that there is beauty in the mess of life.
In the wake of their mother's death, five siblin...
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— Theo —
IT WAS NEARING seven o'clock when the boys had ceased swimming in the pool and along with Riley, had padded into the house with dripping hair and soaked through towels.
Except — in the usual Jackson manner — their entrance through the door was a chaotic shamble of panicked screams and a fluid stream of curse words.
I glared pointedly at them as water splattered across the freshly cleaned floors as Julian raced towards me in the kitchen with frantic alarm written on his facial features. Not far behind him, Milo trailed him with a carefree pace as he eyed Julian's panic with amusement.
"What the hell-" I managed to yell before Julian rammed into me and darted into the corner of the kitchen.
I dropped the bowl of grated cheese in my hands onto the counter with a manner that caused the bowl to clatter and spill but I didn't care at the moment.
Julian had leaned his weight onto the counter, his elbows supporting his weight as his eyes darted back in forth as if searching for any sign of danger. He was barefoot and only donned his swimshorts and a light towel that covered his broad shoulders and lean figure.
The boys had changed into swimshorts after diving into the water with their school uniforms. It was a struggle to untangle their clothes that had clung onto them and made it equally difficult to even swim in.
"Julian," I emphasized, sastified that using his full name had garnered his full attention. "You better have a good fucking reason for this because it's taking a lot of restraint not to throttle you-"
"-Oh, someone is definitely going to get their ass whooped today," Riley's threatening voice interrupted me.
I turned around, my eyes immediately narrowing on her drenched hair and the rapid dripping of pool water from her waterlogged sweater and jean shorts. She was shivering yet her steely gaze was pinned on Julian.
I let out a heavy breath as my eyes pinched shut in an attempt to rid the headache that was forming. I turned to Julian with exasperation. "What'd you do now?"
"Nothing life-threatening," he assured me like he was capable of worse.
I risked glancing at Riley who inched gloweringly towards Julian. I had enough experience with their antics to connect the dots.
I looked at him pointedly, willing him to divulge the truth.
Julian sighed. "Fine. So I may have threw her into the pool- But in my defense, it sounded like a great idea in the moment."
