BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
I groan and roll over, pressing the snooze on my alarm. For a split second I contemplate snuggling deeper into the safe haven that is my covers, but I already know that it isn't worth it.
My parents are both lawyers. The kind with insane hours, constant emails, and cases that apparently can't live without them. Most mornings, I don't even know if they never came home from the night before or left before the sun came up. I've stopped asking.
It's just kind of... normal now.
And sure, I get it. Their jobs are the reason we have the house we do, the reason my little sister Kaylie and I get to live the kind of life most people would probably call lucky. Privileged, even.
I know all that.
But still—sometimes I wish they were around to actually see what that life looks like. To see me.
I shake the internal thoughts away and make my way to my bathroom, only to find my little sister Kaylie already in it. My bathroom. And yeah, I know, like what the heck Elyse you're being so selfish it's just a bathroom. But trust me you don't know how bad it is to share a bathroom with a girl as chaotic as Kaylie. She's a whirlwind with her dark red highlights flying as she rushes around my bathroom. It's already a mess.
I clear my throat, "Uh, good morning."
"Oh, hey, do you know where your uhm, your," she motions with her finger up to her eyes.
I gesture with a motion of my head, "Drawer."
She yanks it open, and rustles around in it for a second before pulling out my black eyeliner. "Thanks," she mumbles as she applies it, " just ran out yesterday."
I nod smiling slightly. My sister has a unique sense of fashion. She definitely isn't emo or anything like that, but she loves to have bold dark colors highlighted in her glossy brown hair,- that she DIYs of course- and she dresses confidently with a little bit of edge, not afraid to wear patterns like cheetah and camo. I don't dress like that, but I think it really suits her.
"So," I start, "how'sss..." I try to remember what boy she'd been talking about recently, but honestly it's hard to keep up with this girl.
"Jace? Oh, he's fine, good," she shrugs.
Huh, weird I could'a sworn it was Sean or Seth or something like that.
"We're actually hanging out tonight." Her grey eyes shoot up and look at me through the mirror. "You should totally come with us."
"Oh," I chuckle slightly, "I don't know about that."
"What? You have other plans?" she asks smugly.
"Okay, rude." I say, glaring at her. She raises an eyebrow.
"Really Kaylie? You want your older sister to go with you on your date?"
"Okay, first off, not a date, second, when's the last time you went out, like actually? And Harper's house doesn't count."
I let out a sigh of exasperation. "Kaylie..." I start.
"No I'm serious, you can't stay here forever." She turns around to face me and crosses her arms.
"I'm not planning to Lee, I just..." I trail off.
"C'mon it'll be fun, it can be like a double date." Kaylie says grinning.
"Oh yeah? Me and who? And you just said it's not a date" I scoff.
"Oh, I don't know... Jordan," she says quietly, turning her head to the side.
"Are you kidding me? Stop."
"What?" she exclaims, throwing up her hands. "I seriously don't understand how you can't like a guy who looks like that."
"Ew. You're disgusting," I shout shoving her out of the bathroom.
"What do you mean, he is so-"
"Kaylie!" I exclaim, "You're fourteen!"
"Almost fifteen," she sings as she turns to go into the hallway.
I roll my eyes in disdain as I fling shut the door. I sigh and look in the mirror. If Kaylie ever decides to become a matchmaker, the world should be very, very scared.
Especially me.
Ten minutes, one protein bar, and a very rushed attempt at mascara later, I'm out the door and into the chaos that is morning traffic in the suburbs of North Dakota.The only thing worse than a Gallagher in your neighborhood?A Gallagher in your first period.