Last One Standing (wattys2017) (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)

Sign Of The Times

I woke up in bed the next morning, buried deep in my comforter, without any knowledge of how I'd gotten there.

My mind had been so busy trying to process my brother's words that it had stopped being coherent the second we left the cold, dimly lit hospital room. I hardly remembered getting back into Griffin's Challenger, and no memory of what happened after that cared to resurface.

When my body and mind finally decided to reconnect, I climbed out of bed and went down stairs without caring to change my clothes. One of the perks of living with a house full of boys is they almost never noticed if I wore the same clothes two days in a row.

I could hear quiet chatter from the living room on my way down the steps, seeming to grow more distant the closer I got. By the time I actually got to the kitchen, Jason and Griffin on the couch had shut up entirely. Both of them kept their eyes trained on to whichever Fast and the Furious was playing on FX.

Walking into the kitchen, I was greeted by Eliott over the stove, cooking sloppy pancakes, "Morning, Alex." he muttered under his breath. I returned his smile, but my heart knew better than to assume it reached my eyes.

There was so much I needed to tell my brothers; from the moment I found out about my mom to the fact that they had another brother lying helplessly in a hospital bed awaiting my answer. Every word wanted to leave me, but nothing ever came out when I opened my mouth.

"Those look. . . interesting." I commented, smirking. He rolled his eyes as I threw the fridge door open and scanned the empty racks for something to drink. When I finally found a couple sips of Orange Juice, I tossed the cap in the garbage and drank from the carton.

"So ladylike." Ethan appeared behind the open fridge door, leaning against it with a look of amusement, "Where are your manners, Alexis?"

I shrugged and tossed the empty carton in the trash bin on my way out of the dining room. I threw myself down on to the couch between my brother and Griffin, stretching my body out so I was draped over both of them.

"Toby is going to kill me." I stated loudly. Jace chuckled; Griffin looked the furthest thing from amused.

"I'm sure he'll understand, Alex. You got sick, there's not a lot you can do about it." Jason responded, shrugging. I nodded, sending Griffin a confused look once my brother looked away. He gave me a warning look that I didn't understand until the front door was thrown open.

Dad and Aliyah walked in with looks thrown our way. They looked as if they wanted to ask something, but decided against it and headed for the kitchen to drop the groceries off on the table.

"How was therapy?" Johnny questioned, skipping steps on his way down the stairs.

Dad grimaced, but Aliyah forced a smile, "It was a good session. We'll be going back next week."

"That's great." Johnny smiled.

"You know, it's quite odd." Aliyah's eyes fell on me, "I got a call early this morning from Sunnyview Hospital saying Griffin Young and Alexis Harrison had been there yesterday evening. Care to explain?"

Griffin caught my wrist before I could say anything, shaking his head.

"We were visiting my Great Aunt." Griffin lied. Jason's left eyebrow arched.

"Your Great Aunt died two years ago, Griff. What are you guys hiding?"

Griffin and Jason shared a look for so long that I began to crack under the pressure and intense eyes on the three of us. All of my brothers had gathered in the room, prepared to watch our brother and Griffin fight. My brother had to be the only people in the world who thrived off of fights.