bones Ω a.i Ω

1

My mother and I sat in the living room of my studio apartment. She dropped two lemon sugar cubes into her tea cup and stirred, her spoon clanking against the glass.

"Tell me darling," she started off. "How are you?"

I repositioned myself and sipped from my bottled water. I shrugged nonchalantly. "I've been fine."

"Good, good." Mother patted my knee lightly and sipped.

I nibbled on my thumb nail, nail polish particles landing on my tongue. When my mother wasn't looking, I wiped my tongue on my napkin, removing the bits of nail polish.

"Your sisters are getting married. As well as your brother.  They all planned on getting married at the same time."

She has been hinting at me that I should meet someone and get married ASAP. That's just not going to happen. Not after my last boyfriend.

"Mom, I'm not planning on getting married anytime soon. I'm happy for Laurie, Jenna, and Ricky but it's not going to be me." I drag my finger around the rim of my bottle.

"Honey, what happened with Thomas? I liked him." She set the tea cup down and inched toward me more.

"Well apparently Thomas didn't like me anymore. Just drop it, Mom. Please." I stood and started clearing the mess on the coffee table.

"How has your eating been?" She spoke up.

I closed my eyes tight. "Really Mom? Are you being serious?" I scoff. "I have work I need to get done. You should go see if Laurie needs help with her wedding or something."

I exit with dirty dishes and into the kitchen. I hear my mother sigh and the door closing sharply. I look down at the dirty dishes in the sink.

You are in control.

I nodded and put the dishes in the dishwasher. I turn on the TV once I get to the living room and I decide on a rom-com I'm not going to watch. As the movie plays, I scroll through my Twitter timeline. My eyes droop and sleep takes me away.

×××××

My doorbell rings and I close the dishwasher, before starting it. Exasperated, I walked toward the door and I pulled it open.

I came face to face with a tall, hazel eyed guy around my age...maybe a little older. He looked at me and then a little slip of paper that was being held with his index and thumb. Another tall guy with blonde hair strode over, looking at the handsome hazel eyed guy with confusion.

"Why didn't you wait for me?!" Blondie cried.

I remained standing there, silent and taking in the current actions. Hazel Eyes stared at me, lips slightly parted. He looked too familiar.

"Oh wow I'm staring," he muttered while shifting his eyes to the ground.

I refrained from smiling. "You look familiar."

"Your brother sent me for you, I think. You're Wiley Hana right? The guys and I would always be at your house...Michael dated Laurie."

I nodded. It came back to me. "Oh. My. God! Ashton and Luke?" Luke blushed profusely and Ashton continued to stare at me. "Okay, I'm going to get my phone and keys. Give me a moment."

×××××

The guys drove me to my brother's house. About four cars were in the driveway and the front door was propped open. My brother always forgets to close the door.

I get out, closing the door behind me. Ashton made his way over to me and pushed his hair out of his face. He just walked beside me, not speaking. My sister Laurie emerges from the opened door.

"Wiley!" She squealed. She ran toward me and pulled me into a hug that was so tight, that I could die in moments.

"You're squishing me." I wheezed.

Laurie let go and tucked a strand of dark brown hair behind her ear. "Sorry. It's just been too long." She looked away from my face and saw Michael. "Hi babe." She pecked his lips and his hands travelled to her ass.

I blinked multiple times. "Y-you're marrying Michael?" My mouth hung open.

"Time flies when you don't speak to us for years at a time."

I turned to see Jenna glaring at me. Her skinny arms were crossed over her chest and her lips in a small pout. Calum wrapped his arms around her waist, taking her in for a hug.

"Hey Jen," I whispered. "Congratulations on your big day."

"Save it." She pushed away from Calum and he followed after her, closing the front door behind him. I lowered my eyes, avoiding any contact. Ashton placed a hand on my shoulder and I shrugged him off.

"Why am I even here?" I muttered. I walked up the front porch steps and pushed open the door. Walking into the living room, I see my mother with my brother. Ricky looked up with a huge smile on his face.

"Ah! Wiley! It's been too long!" He tackled me into his famous bear hug, nearly squishing the life out of me.

"I missed you too, Ricky." I allowed myself to hug him back.

"Have you gotten thinner?" He asked in confusion.

People notice. You are the skinnest in the room. Now, try to become air.

My mother cranned her neck to hear what my response was. I looked back at my big brother.

"No," I said. "At least I don't think so."

He nodded, taking in my repsonse. "Okay," he said clasping his hands together. "Angie! Come meet my sister Wiley!"

A short red head emerged from the kitchen. Piercings lined her right ear and a tattoo was placed on her prominent collarbone. Her dark brown eyes focused on mine. She smiled, holding out a hand.

"Angie. It's so great to meet you, Wiley. Ricky has told me so much about you!"

Angie is skinnier than you. You are no longer are winning.

"And I just found out about you." I chuckled, trying to keep the mood light. "You're beautiful. No wonder my brother fell for you." My eyes trailed to her perfect thigh gap and small wrists.

"Haha, you're oh so funny Wiley." Jenna sneered sarcastically.

"Listen Jenna, you may not necessarily care for me too much but I'm here now. And I'm not leaving so if you would shut up, that would be spectacular."

The room got quiet. I cleared my throat and snuck a look at Jenna. Her face was red and she looked livid -- pissed even.

"I'm sorry, Jen." I said, my voice cracking. I look at my mother. Her face was pale and hard from embarrassment.

Mother stood gingerly. "Wiley, why don't you run to the store. We're having a party tomorrow night and we are low on food."

I nodded. I twirled the keys around my fingers. "I'll come with you." Ashton said, walking behind me.