Let's Play a Game

Let's Play a Game (30)

“Happy birthday!”

That was the first thing I said to Ethan once he finally came down the stairs, but no type of emotion even crossed his face when he saw me. I thought he would have been excited, since he still was a kid and all, but he didn’t even seem to care at all that he was now eleven years old.

“Ethan’s never been a huge fan of birthdays, even his own,” Zach laughed when he noticed the frustrated look on his face. “I’m surprised he actually agreed to having a party this year. Last year he didn’t want one.”

Ethan glared at his brother and said nothing, walking right by us and into the kitchen so he could see the cake Brianna had made for his party, which was going to start soon. All I did was look in the direction he had left in, sitting down on the couch next to Zach afterwards.

“Something’s wrong with him,” I swallowed, crossing my arms over my chest as I did so. “Have you noticed?”

“No,” Zach shrugged simply, placing his arm around my shoulders now.

This bothered me a little. Not that he was putting his arm around me, but that he didn’t notice that his brother was acting strangely. He was a lot quieter than he used to be, and things he said to me were a lot meaner than his normal jokes. There had to be a chance for me to ask him what was wrong soon…

Five minutes later, the house suddenly became flooding with kids, all of them heading out to the backyard where the party was going to take place. Luckily, Brianna and Steve said that Zach and I could invite our friends over so we weren’t completely bored during the party.

Kate and Logan were the first ones to get here, and before even saying hello to me, Kate stared at my neck intently.

“Maxynn, why do you have a bruise on your neck?”

I was not expecting her to ask me a question like this, and I couldn’t believe that I actually had a hickey on my neck from what Zach and I were doing earlier. I said nothing, knowing that it wasn’t a bruise, but she seemed not to notice this at all.

“It’s not a bruise,” Ethan snapped at her flatly, and I felt my stomach drop. “It’s a hickey.”

Kate now grinned at Zach and me suggestively, and all I did was steer my way away from them and back toward the couch. I didn’t feel like being embarrassed any longer.

Zach grabbed onto my and didn’t let me move any farther, and I fought the urge to elbow him in the stomach to get him to let me go. He was holding me, so at least that made me feel a little better.

But when I saw Johnny make his way into the house, I elbowed Zach and made him let me go. It was still awkward whenever I was around both Johnny and Zach, and the last thing I wanted to do was make Johnny feel uncomfortable.

But before Johnny could even look over at us, something stopped him. Elizabeth quickly popped out in front of him, both of them laughing as he took her in his arms and he kissed her deeply.

I wasn’t the only one who was completely shocked by this. Both Logan and Kate were staring at them, their eyes wide and their mouth agape. Zach, like always, didn’t look fazed in the slightest.

“Elizabeth went on a date the other night…” I blinked, still trying to process it all. “She went on a date with Johnny.”

Zach shrugged, now wrapping his arm around me greedily. “Well, at least I can hold you now.”

I remembered Johnny telling Zach that he was going to go after a girl that Zach couldn’t have, and that was what he definitely did. Zach couldn’t steal his sister from Johnny, and it would have been really creepy if he did.