Laws Of Siblinghood

Chapter 22

"Zack! Come downstairs!" Carmen yelled.

I put down my headphones and went downstairs. I had told everyone about Katy's offer and they were very happy for me. They took it surprisingly well which made me think maybe they were involved in this scheme with Ms. Green.

Everybody was admiring photo frames. They all looked so happy just looking at those photos. I found myself smiling too.

"Remember the photos we asked you to pick out earlier? The framed pictures just came in. Come have a look!" Ray grinned.

She handed me a photo of dad, Carmen, me and her. It was just after the wedding. I was happy because dad was happy. It was really a very good photo.

"We're going to put this here." Dad pointed. "Just above the sofa. Anyone who enters the house can see my lovely family." He pulled Carmen closer and kissed her forehead.

"Please don't make out in front of us," Ray made a face.

Carmen blushed and pulled away while dad just laughed. Ray handed me another frame.

"I like this one a lot," she said.

It was a picture of us dancing. The same picture I saw that day. I couldn't help but smile when I saw it. If Ray demanded to keep it, I was going to steal it from her.

"I like this one too. You look extremely short." I teased her.

"At least I look young, grandpa," she retorted.

Damn! I had to up my game.

"Mom did you know Zack sings?" She said standing very close to Carmen so I couldn't mess up her hair.

"Really? I've never heard you sing," Carmen asked.

"You should. Zack, why don't you sing a song for us?" Ray grinned mischievously, the little devil.

"She's right. Bring your guitar. It's been a while since I heard you sing." Dad supported her.

"I'll bring your guitar!" Ray rushed towards the stairs.

"This is revenge for the father daughter competition." She whispered in my year before leaving.

"That was ages ago." I complained.

"As a matter of fact, it wasn't. First rule of sibling law, no crime is too old to be avenged." She said and left with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

She returned moments later with my guitar and handed it to me. An idea came to me.

"I'll only sing if Ray sings with me." I said.

"I don't even know the lyrics of the song you're gonna sing." She said trying to get out of singing.

"You do. It's your favorite singer's song." I smirked.

"That's a great idea. You both should sing," Carmen said.

As Ray grumbled and came near me, I whispered in her ear, "You're wrong. First rule of sibling law, the elder one always wins."

She looked at me like she wanted to throw pillows at me.

"We should write them down. They're hard to remember." She said.

"We'll call it Laws of Siblinghood."

I began playing the tune.

I'll tell the world, I'll sing a song
It's a better place since you came along
Since you came along

As soon as I sung the start, Ray joined in. I knew she couldn't resist singing a Rachel Platten song. We took turns singing the song and did the chorus together.

And ah, you're my favorite thing
Ah, all the love that you bring
But it feels like I've opened my eyes again
And the colours are golden and bright again
There's a song in my heart, I feel like I belong
It's a better place since you came along
It's a better place since you came along

We sang the whole song together, both of us thoroughly enjoying it. By the time we ended, Carmen and dad were looking at each other with very worried looks.

"C'mon, Ray doesn't sing that bad!" I said. I earned a smack on my arm for that.

Carmen gave dad a look and dad nodded. She looked nervous and took a deep breath before telling us what they'd been hiding.

"Kids... I'm pregnant."

Ray and I were definitely shocked. We had not seen this coming. I was going to have another sibling. There was someone else coming into the family. Dad would be worried about the baby. Carmen would be worried. Ray would be worried. This time, I didn't feel like I was going to be left out. I trusted them. I wasn't going to feel insecure of a person who technically isn't qualified to be called a baby yet.

"That's great news," I smiled at them. "There'll be one more person to annoy Ray now."

"Or one more person with whom I can team up against you." She raised her eyebrows.

"In any case, I'm very excited!" She hugged her mom. I waited till their moment was over and hugged Carmen too.

"We were worried you guys won't take the news well." Dad said.

"You both deserve this. We're happy for you and we're gonna be there for you when you need us," I turned to Ray. "Right?"

"Right." She said, her smile a mile wide.

"Let's have cookies to celebrate!" She said and ran into the kitchen.

"You just need a reason to have sweets." Carmen rolled her eyes.

Ray, however, didn't care and brought us cookies. Ever since she moved in, we seemed to have a never ending supply of those.

So we laughed and teased and cracked jokes. I looked at them and I saw my family. I looked at them and realized that whatever happened in the future, they would be there for me.

I wasn't alone.

Author's Note

That was the last chapter. I can't believe I finished it. I started writing this story in September but somewhere around October, I lost the drive to write it. A month ago, I decided to give it another chance and continue writing it. I'm glad I did that. Thank you so much to everybody who helped me through the process of writing this. I love you all. I'm going to take some time to thank some special people in the next chapter. It won't take long, try to read it.