"Expired," Emerson swipes the milk from under my chin before I can react. I groan. It's too early for this shit. I'm fucking tired. The entire house is up before eight a.m., which only happens once in a blue moon. If you're lucky Remington will be up at eleven...and that's on a good day. Today, however, is the fall fest in town. Stephanie insisted on going tonight and tomorrow, and Nona and Caden are flying in for a few days. Nona is what I call the boys' mom. Caden gets to LAX, which is an hour drive away, in three hours, at 11:15. Nona gets in at 4:50, so we'll probably just hang around the big city or something instead of having to make the drive to and from again.
The fall fest kickoff is tonight at Santa Monica Pier. They'll be food trucks and vendors; and as the sun sets a bonfire and pie eating contest. I'm guaranteeing Remington taking the crown for that one.
I stab my fork into the scrambled eggs Stephanie places in front of me. I'm so fucking hungry, and I love the way she makes them....with just the right amount of salt and pepper. It's amazing. There's toast next to it, which I'll get to in a bit. I rest my head on Emerson's shoulder as I shovel another spoonful of eggs into my mouth. My phone vibrates on my lap, and I'm surprised to see Caden's contact pop up.
Caden: GAY ON A PLANE
Attached is his view of the sun rising through the clouds. It's beautiful. The fluffy clouds are painted pink, purple, orange, and yellow. It's a gorgeous land from 20,000 feet up.
Me: YOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SAY SOMETHING REALLY DEEP AND MEANINGFUL AAAAAAND
I eat some more of the food on my plate before another text comes in.
Caden: THAT WAS S O BEAUTIFUL I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT
I roll my eyes. He's a weird one. Which perfectly makes sense. We work well together. Opposites attract. I'm weird, but not as weird as Caden or any of the boys. They're next level. It may be the kids at school just getting in my head, but the World may never know.
Once I'm done with my breakfast, I accept a kiss on the head from Emerson before running to the staircase. I encounter Christine, our housemate and Emerson's herbalist friend, on them. She smiles at me, but I just drop my head and continue up the steps. I'm not good with new people since the rape and I haven't been around Christine long enough to be comfortable with her.
In my room, I grab a white and black striped, tight sweatshirt. I'm just about ten weeks. It's October 3rd, which means Remington hasn't shut up about Mean Girls all morning. My stomach is barely protruding, but it's there and pressing against the sweatshirt. My hands land on either side of it. I smile. For the first time, there's proof to the naked eye that there is a human within me. You can't really see the small bump unless I'm standing sideways, but it's there.
"Emerson!" I call out as I place a Zofran on my tongue and a few more capsules in my pocket. "Emmy!" He's in the doorway soon after the second call. "Can I have an orange Popsicle?" Emerson smiles and nods, heading back downstairs to the kitchen. My cravings have been insane lately. Everything from spicy foods to sweet candies to ice cream and just about everything in between. If it exists on this planet, chances are I've craved it at some point in this pregnancy. Rye toast with butter is another big one. I'm the only one in this house that eats rye bread, yet we go through it quite quickly.
I top off my outfit with a pair of black skinny jeans and my black combat boots. I tie up the laces before heading downstairs. It's ten after nine, and Sebastian's banging on the door of the bathroom Remington's waltzed into. He takes forever getting ready. Emerson used to be as bad as him, but then he just stopped caring. "C'mon, Rem!"
"I'm doing makeup!" Remington yells back through the bathroom door. Sebastian groans.
"Jesus fuck dude! I don't trust L.A. traffic!"
"Give me two minutes!" Sebastian groans once more, but heads back down the stairs nonetheless. He joins Stephanie and Emerson in the car, where I wait for Remington at the island. I suckle on my Popsicle and kick my feet back and forth. As if the boys didn't make me feel short enough, these bar stools sure do the job. Christine enters the kitchen to grab a banana, but I don't speak to her. I keep my head down looking at my phone. I continue to refresh Instagram, every time a new influx of photos entering. Remington finally comes down the stairs, and I attach myself to his side, walking with him to the car.
*****
"Caden!" I yell, running to him and throwing my arms around his neck.
"Lottie!" He giggles, hugging me close. I stumble around a bit in his arms, our feet seeming to have minds of their own, drifting to and fro but keeping us standing. "I missed you," Caden mutters into my skin.
"I missed you, too. The boys aren't allowed to tell you what we're doing tonight, just so you know."
"Oh come on!" Caden yells, huffing. "That's no fair!"
"Very fair," I stay in his arms, our feet holding us in one place. "Fuck I missed you."
"I'm here for a good time; not for a long time." I laugh. Eventually, the hug breaks and I head back to the boys. Sebastian grabs me and lifts me up into his arms. Emerson and Remington exchange hugs with Caden, before Sebastian carries me the entire twenty minute walk to Denny's.
"Why couldn't we have taken the car?" Remington whines.
"Shutup; we're fine." Sebastian says, shifting me around on his waist. The Denny's comes into view and he sets me down. I run to Caden and we enter the restaurant.
&&&&&&&&&
"Somebody's sleepy," Remington says as I lean back into his chest. I nod as fireworks explode up ahead; bursts of color frizzling through the otherwise pitch black night sky. Caden has the biggest smile on his face. He's the happiest I've ever seen him be when he's here. In Buffalo there's just way to much drama and bitchy people he has to worry about. Here, Caden has a good history. He can be himself. He can be free to express himself for the first time in his whole life. California, for him, is an escape.
Nona is here, gazing through her camera at the exploding color sky. She landed and immediately hugged me, carefully avoiding my stomach even though I reassured her she wouldn't hurt me. We went out to dinner at i Hop shortly after she got in, where Caden threw a fit about making anyone pay for his meal, as he does every time. He lost; he always does.
Remington's hands fly to cover my ears. It's the ending of the fireworks, where they're set off back to back to back. It's too loud for me to take, even with his hands tightly over my ears. Loud noises haven't done me well since the rape. I squeeze my eyes shut and beg for it to end soon. Luckily, it's shorter than anticipated.
When we pack up everything back into the van, Sebastian starts us home. I cuddle up between Remington and Emerson, my head on the younger one's shoulder as I drift asleep.
***A/N: Hi so once again here's the link to my "When I Write" Spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/user/thenamesryanxx/playlist/55nFDikCvIovgsFOQ5lDgG. It has a wide variety of artists and music styles with something for everyone. Also, I know there's alot of Panic! At The Disco and FOB fans who read this book...so please go check out my friend Emily's account. She's an incredible writer with one Panic! book one FOB book and one fiction book. Her @ is https://www.wattpad.com/user/Emily99038 or @Emily99038. Feel free to check her out and thanks for reading. Chapters have been funky lately because I am EXTREMELY sick and Wattpad is being an overall annoying dick. Until next time,
~Ryan xx***
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A Series Of Letters {Adopted by Palaye Royale}
FanfictionFifteen year old Lottie Rose had a horrible life. Her only escape was through a form of harm to herself she shouldn't do, and music. Specifically, Palaye Royale. She's been a fan of them since the Kropp Circle days, and even though they've been thr...
