"This family is a mess."
"Amen, sister!" Ethan says from the couch, where he sits next to his twin sisters.
Elliott, Jonas, Addison, and Flynn sit on the other couch. I'm in the front of the room by the tv, an easel with the words, "Konnecting Kennedy Kit," written in sharpie on a large piece of paper. Yes, I thought of the title myself.
"Why am I here?" Flynn asks, his hand raised in the air as if in a classroom.
"You're part of the mess," I say. "Three days ago, Rose almost died. In fact, half of this family almost died. That was the climax of this horrible mess. Now, we have to pick up the pieces and glue them together before Jonas feeds Bethany another turkey leg."
Bethany giggles from her playpen.
"So, who would like to go first?"
"Did you make a slideshow or something?" Elliott asks, his arms crossed over his chest.
I smile. "Thanks for volunteering!" I flip over the large sheet of paper on to the next one that has "Elliott" written in marker.
"Oh my God," Elliott mutters under his breath, rubbing his forehead.
"So, it all started on my first day working here. I saw the very first glimpse of an Elliott v. Jonas fight." I take a minute to write that on the sheet of paper. "Now, I don't know why it is that you two are always fighting. Originally, I thought it was just Elliott picking on his little brother. The longer I've been here, the more
I realize this isn't brotherly love."
"Ivy, what's the point of this?"
"This is one of the many broken pieces. Rose, do you want to be close to death again just because your older brothers couldn't work out their dumb animosity towards one another?"
"Nope!" Rose says and eyes Jonas and Elliott.
I nod. "Exactly. So, Elliott, why don't you tell Jonas how you feel?"
"I feel like this therapy crap is pointless."
"No way, bro. So do I!" Jonas laughs.
I shut my eyes for a moment. "Listen, I'm not letting anyone leave this house until this session is over, got it? Even if that means we have to stay here tomorrow."
"But it's the Fourth of July tomorrow!"
"Hey, don't blame me. Blame the family members who refused to participate in today's activities," I say with a patronizing smile.
"Well, I have nothing to say to Jonas. He started it."
We all look to Jonas.
He groans. "Fine! Elliott, I'm still upset about what happened last year."
"What happened last year?" I ask with a raised eyebrow.
"Elliott did something that got him into trouble and that night he had this huge fight with mom. We were all upstairs listening in. He said all this shit-" Jonas stops and looks at me in horror. "I mean, crap. He said all this crap about how he felt so alone because in reality none of us are his family. He told mom that we weren't his real siblings. We're just adopted. So, yeah. That's why I have all that animosity towards Elliott."
Everyone looks down after Jonas' story. The younger kids look close to tears, barely able to understand the whole situation. I was sort of hoping it'd just be about Jonas crashing Elliott's car one night or something along those lines. Not this. I'm not a therapist yet. Hell, I haven't even started studying to be one. What am I supposed to do about this?
"Elliott, do you have anything to say to that?" I ask, unsure of the question myself.
Elliott shrugs. "I-I didn't realize you were all listening that night. And you guys should know I was completely wasted. I didn't know what I was saying."
"A drunk man speaks a sober mind," Addison mutters.
"That's not true." Elliott runs a hand through his hair. "You guys are my family; I love you. I lost my mind when I got the phone call from Ivy about the crash. I was so scared that I'd lose one of you." He turns to look at his younger brother. "And, yeah, Jonas, I was worried about you too, idiot."
Jonas nods, a faint smile on his face.
"Good, good. See, that was good!" I say excitedly. "I already feel this room getting cleaner! Speaking of clean, now we have to address the Elliott Kennedy v. Flynn McClean issue." I write that under Jonas' name.
"I'll start," Flynn volunteers. "I have known Elliott his entire life. I know him better than he knows himself. Numerously, I've asked him to stop diving because too many times have resulted in him being hurt and sometimes even going to the hospital. Yet, he lies and lies and lies. And lies! I obviously want what's best for you, but I don't want to be lied to. If you just talked to me about your so-called passion for diving, I'd probably be there supporting you with 911 dialed in my phone in case anything happened."
I can't help but smile. That speech was very sweet of Flynn, his friendship for Elliott important to him and this family.
"I'm sorry for not telling you the truth," Elliott apologizes. "I knew if I told you, you'd get all mad and start yelling at me like you did when Jonas told you about Yogi. Since you know me better than I know myself, you know that I don't like talking about feelings and...crap."
I nod at the avoidance of a swear. "Good. So, Flynn, do you forgive Elliott?"
Flynn rolls his eyes. "Oh, I forgave him weeks ago. I just wanted my time to- pardon my French- bitch, like I deserved."
"Pardon my French," Elliott pauses with a smirk, "you're such a bitch, McClean."
"Thanks, bitch." Flynn stops laughing to look at me with a serious face. "Pardon my French."
I shake my head, hiding my laughter. "Okay, okay. Next," I flip to the next name on my easel, "Addison."
Addison waves around the room in a princess fashion. "Hello, hello. Yes, it is I. The one and only Addison who nearly killed half this family because she wanted to answer a phone call from her boyfriend, a boyfriend I wasn't even supposed to have. Does that sum things up?"
"Pretty much," I say.
"Hey, where is Mike anyway?" Flynn asks. "If I have to be here, why doesn't he?"
"Mike couldn't make it," I explain. "He's working, unlike all of you."
"I work!" Flynn defends. "In fact, I got employee of the month just this week."
"That's my boy," Jonas smiles and pats Flynn's shoulder.
"You work at your father's marina, Flynn. When was the last time you even showed up to your job?" Elliott questions.
Flynn holds up his hands. "Hey now, I'm not the one whose name is on the paper."
I nod and tap on the sheet. "That's right. Addison, I think instead of you defending your relationship with Mike in front of all of us, you can talk to either me or Elliott later today. You should just remember that you never call and drive and I'm sure you won't forget it since you can't get your license until you're seventeen."
"Okay."
"What? That's it? She doesn't have to make a speech like I did?" Elliott asks. "That's not fair!"
"Life isn't fair, Liott," Ethan says wisely.
The next sheet of paper has Rosie, Crystal, and Ethan written on it. I decided to bunch them together because I think there is one huge problem between the three of them.
"I'm just going to ask one question. It can either be simply answered or forced out of one of you." I turn to write the question on the sheet of paper for dramatics. "Who ate six bags of marshmallows in one night?"
The three of them turn white, their eyes wide as they look at one another. By the reaction, I already know the answer.
"Look, Ivy, this isn't our fault," Crystal starts. "You're the one who didn't feed us."
"I make you three meals a day and supply you with a pantry full of food."
Rose sighs. "Ethan can't be tamed."
Elliott snorts, immediately losing the smile when I send him a glare. He covers his mouth with his loosely clenched fist.
"I have no other choice but to take away all sweets for the rest of the week, excluding tomorrow because it's a holiday."
They all start complaining, telling me I'm being completely unreasonable. Jonas joins in too, adamant on getting his Cheerios back. I will say, he has been a completely different person while his Cheerios are being withheld.
"End of discussion," I say. "Now, I didn't feel like I needed to waste a whole sheet of paper on Bethany, since out of all of you she gives me the least amount of stress. There's just one thing I need her to help me with." I crouch down in front of her playpen and gently hold her cheek. "Stop pooping so much, would you?"
She giggles.
"Well, this was a beautiful family meeting. I'd just like to say that I think you are an amazing human being, Ivy. You just glued our entire family back together in like twenty minutes. I know you probably get this a lot, but you are a goddess." Jonas stands up from the couch to place his hands on my shoulders. "You are my goddess, Ivy Lynch."
I push his chest so he falls back on to the couch. "Not so fast, buddy. I saved the most stress for last."
"I figured," he mumbles and slumps on the couch.
With the sheet of paper reading Jonas, I think of where to begin. Jonas used to be my favorite, not that I had a favorite because that's wrong and unprofessional. Then he started acting out and ignoring me. I knew it was because of the bullying, but the most recent incidents are from his new set of friends. They're tainting my favorite, and I won't put up with it.
"Jonas, you haven't been the same since things with Darren," I sigh. "I know it's horrible what he did, and I feel slightly responsible because he was picking on you for the whole nannying thing. You lost a part of yourself after that and it hasn't come back."
"Who's Darren and why didn't anybody kick his ass?"
"Ivy kicked his balls," Elliott says and sends me a wink.
"Nice," Flynn comments with a pleased smile on his face.
"Ivy, I-I thought you didn't know how to p-play kickball," Ethan stutters in confusion.
Elliott laughs, finding himself amusing. "Oh, she knows how to play kickball, E."
I roll my eyes. "Anyway, I thought you got past the whole Darren thing, but you still seemed off. Finally, you decided to go to the park again and see your friends. I'm not denying that that was my idea and I still think it was good to do. But then you invited nineteen pubescent boys to sleepover on my watch."
"Nineteen?" Flynn repeats in shock. "Wait, wait, wait, did they play truth or dare?"
"Yeah. This one kid asked Ivy what cup-size she was," Elliott informs.
"I have kiddy-cups!" Ethan says proudly.
Elliott takes the perfect opportunity to say, "so does Ivy."
I put my hands on my hips and squint my eyes. "Ethan, Rose, and Crystal, you're excused." I'd excuse everyone, but I want the help from Flynn, Elliott, and Addison with the Jonas situation.
"Moving on.. Jonas, I think your new friends are a bad influence on you and I don't like that they're changing you."
"I'm not changed," Jonas mutters. "Ivy, I fit in. I'm doing fine. I have lots of friends. I'm popular. I'm funny. I'm a hit with the ladies, as you know. I don't see where the problem is."
"The problem is the way you talked to Jett."
His eyes drop to his lap at the mention of Jett's name. "Ivy, I don't want to talk about that."
"Well, this is the family meeting where everything goes. We have to talk about things to work everything out so Rose doesn't have another near death experience."
"Addison didn't have to talk about Mike, so I don't have to talk about Jett. If you want something to talk about, talk about how you and Elliott have been flirting this entire week."
"Ooo," Flynn hoots. "Roasted!"
"Shut up," Elliott mutters and hits Flynn with a pillow.
Strongly hoping my cheeks aren't red, I ignore his comment about Elliott and me. "Jett is new here and he doesn't have a lot of friends. Nora says that he really thinks your cool and likes hanging out with you. What you said really hurt his feelings. Aren't you at all upset about hurting him? Because if not, then I might lose all hope for you."
"Obviously I'm upset, Ivy," he sighs. "I feel horrible. I'm embarrassed, but I was just really fed up with him."
"Why?"
Jonas rubs his temples. "It's hard to explain."
"Speaking out as a third party here, I think it's pretty simple to explain," Elliott chimes in. "Jett is gay and he likes you."
I raise my eyebrows in surprise, looking to see Jonas' reaction. He sits on the couch with his tongue pressed against his cheek, pensive and a tad worried.
"Why would you think that?" Jonas asks, his voice sounding nervous.
"I have intuition."
"Is that true, Jo? Does Jett have a crush on you?"
Jonas shrugs. "I-I don't really know, okay? It just made everything weird."
"Do you like him?" I ask slowly, unsure if that is out of line.
"No," Jonas answers firmly, believable and honest. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do about it."
"Nothing," Elliott says.
"But he-"
"Jonas, if Flynn walked up to me one day and told me he was gay, I'd be like 'Okay, want to go play FIFA?' and we'd move on with our lives."
"He never actually told me he was gay," Jonas explains. "My friends started telling me that he probably was and I started noticing the little things he does that explain it."
Addison scoffs. "You just believed your stupid friends? They don't know anything."
"I didn't just believe them, butthead," Jonas snaps. "Jett tried to kiss me."
"Wow."
I'm not that surprised, seeing everything adds up. It would explain why Jonas was so rude and didn't want to see him. I'm not saying that was right for Jonas to do, but it does give me some type of explanation.
"Yeah, I know. So, that's why I've been acting weird around him. And, yeah, I shouldn't have been so mean to him, but I'm sort of panicking here. I have no idea what to do."
"I think you should talk to him," Flynn suggests. "It'll be a little awkward at first, but he needs someone. You can clearly state you're not interested, and I'm sure he'll get over that. So, once you move past that, you'll be able to be there for him."
Jonas nods. "Okay, but.."
"But what? This meeting has gone on too long!" Elliott exclaims. "Just say you'll be a better person so we can get on with our lives."
"My friends all pick on me when I hang out with Jett," he mumbles. "I don't want to be a loser by association."
"You're not a loser by association," Elliott says. "You're just a plain loser."
Jonas frowns. "Ivy, this meeting has been completely and utterly useless." He stands up to leave.
Addison stops him. "Jonas, I've known you all your life. I feel like I'm looking at a complete stranger. A loser by association? Stop caring what other people think. When you do, you can easily become a loser yourself. Jett isn't a loser; he's himself. That's more than any of your friends can say."
"Stop making fun of my friends!"
"They're not real friends," Addison cries. "Not one of them was there to defend you when Darren was picking on you. Who was the friend who made you cookies while you weren't feeling good? Your only real friend, that's who."
"Okay, can I just say what we're all thinking?" Flynn pauses. "Addison Kennedy is my queen."
Addison hides a smile. "Ivy the Goddess and Addison the Queen. I think it has a nice ring to it."
I laugh, "me too."
Addison, Flynn, and Elliott leave the family room to go to the kitchen. I hear the backdoor open and close and imagine they went outside with the twins and Ethan.
Turning to Jonas, I ask, "so, are you going to go over to the Jenkins' and talk to Jett?"
He nods. "Yeah. Want to come with?"
"I'll stay here to make lunch. You can tell Nora she can come over if she wants," I say. "Good luck, Jonas."
"Thanks."
Before leaving, he turns around to give me a hug. It's quick, ending before it even began, but it still means a lot to me. I smile, happy and hopeful to receive a hug from Jonas.
In high spirits, I enter the kitchen. Sure enough, the others are outside. They're playing tag, or some game that involves far too much running.
I can't help but feel accomplished from today. I'm not expecting all of the problems to just vanish, but I feel like it was important they got to share their feelings with one another. Maybe it was hypocritical of me to preach communication when I keep everything to myself when it comes to my family. There's something different about the Kennedy's though, something special.
"Hey."
I glance up from the boiling water for the macaroni to see Elliott has taken a seat on top of the counter. "Hi."
"I want to apologize for yelling at you at the hospital," he says, scratching the back of his neck. "I was just...scared, I guess."
"It's okay." I pour the box of hard noodles into the boiling water. "I would've been the same way if they were my siblings."
"I also want to apologize for waiting three days to apologize," he laughs. "Today just felt like a good day to get everything off my chest."
I nod. "It was a much needed therapy day."
"Yep." He watches me as I stir the noddles in the water. "So, what are you doing tomorrow?"
"Uh, I'm just hanging out with some friends. I got invited to go to this firework show at some country club in the town over."
He raises his eyebrows. "Really? Ivy Lynch hanging out with friends. What a plot twist. Who invited you?"
"Just this guy."
"Don't be so specific," he says sarcastically. "Do I know him?"
"Yeah, he's in our grade."
He stares at me for a few seconds before his eyes light up. "Oh no."
"Oh no?"
"Ivy, you're not actually doing this, are you?" He shakes his head, a grin on his face. "I can't believe you."
"What are you talking about?" I ask, crossing my arms over my chest.
"You can't go on a date with Jake Acker!" He laughs obnoxiously.
I sigh and drop my arms. "This is your fault, Elliott. You dared me to call him and ask him on a date and he asked me to go to his country club tomorrow night to watch the fireworks. I blame you."
"Why didn't you just say no?"
"I didn't want to hurt his feelings. He's actually a really nice guy once you get to know him."
"You're too good for this world, Ivy," he says in amusement, although his simple words make my stomach flip.
"Yeah, well, what are you doing tomorrow? Are you going to your grandparents like the rest of the family?" I ask while pouring the cheese powder into the water.
"Nope," he says. "Now that Flynn has stopped bitching, I'll do something with him. We always spend the Fourth together."
"Oh, that's nice."
He nods and hops off the top of the counter. "You're welcome to join us in festivities after your lovely date with Jake Acker."
"You need to drop it," I say. "It's honestly not that big of deal."
"Okay, it's dropped." He leans over to look at the Mac N' Cheese. "You know what? I've been thinking. We all had our names on the big sheets of paper today, except you."
"I'm the farthest thing from a mess, Elliott," I say matter-of-factly.
He raises his eyebrows. "I'm sorry, but aren't you the one going on a date with Jake Acker tomorrow?"
I shake my head and throw a noodle his way. "I thought that was dropped!"
He laughs, crouching down as if this is the funniest thing in his life. I continue to throw noodles at him, a total of five hitting him directly.
Grabbing me by the waist, Elliott pulls me away from the stove and spins us around so he is standing in front of the bowl. His hands are warm as they caress my hips, his laughter dying down. I tilt my head to see his face, his eyes moving from my eyes to my lips briefly. In a mere second, he moves his hands from my hips and grins.
"I guess for the first time in my life I might actually be jealous of Jake Acker." He takes an orange from the fruit bowl on the counter before heading to the backyard, leaving me more confused than an elephant in a dodgeball game.
~~
AN:
oh me oh my
I don't know whether you guys will like this chapter or not, since it was mainly just an odd therapy session filled with lengthy dialogue. hopefully it made you laugh a little. and hopefully you got some fangirl feels with the Elliott and Ivy scene at the end.
who would you cast as Jake Acker?
also I stayed up until 3:30am writing this entire chapter and idk if that's a good thing or a bad thing but I have a feeling I might regret it all when I wake up so please tell me if I completely lost my mind thanks
â¢commentâ¢voteâ¢enjoyâ¢