"Ivy, we didn't mean it!"
"Don't go!"
"You can't leave us!"
"Put that shoe down right now!"
"Ivy! Ivy!" Jonas starts chasing me through the house, trying to take my shoes from me. "Ivy! Give it! Give it!"
I stop in my tracks, Jonas colliding into me due to the short notice. I stumble back a little, but balance myself and Jonas out. "Alright. We all need to calm down."
"You can't leave, Ivy! Who is going to take care of us? Our mom isn't coming home until like a year from now!" Rose cries.
"She'll be home in less than three weeks," I remind. "I called a friend to watch you guys. He'll be starting tomorrow. Your mom is completely onboard with it."
"It better not be Jake Acker. Did you hear what he did to Brianna? Plus, when he babysat us last night, he gave Ethan beans. Beans, Ivy." Jonas gets right in my face. "Beans!"
I pat him on the back to calm him down. "It's okay. I didn't ask Jake to watch you guys. He proved he can't handle it yesterday."
"Well, whoever you picked, they're not good enough and we don't want them. You can't leave," Addison says stubbornly. "I need you to be with me when I go school shopping! You're the only one who knows what I can wear with this dumb boot."
"I need you too, Ivy!" Crystal adds.
I smile softly. "I'll still be around. I'm just not going to be here every single second of the day."
"But I need you to be here every single second of the day," Rose says, hugging my side and flashing those adorable puppy eyes my way.
"Come on, guys." I crouch down to be closer to the height of the twins and Ethan. "I was going to have to leave eventually. With everything going on in my life, it's best for me to take this time now for myself. Can you at least try to understand this?"
They nod slowly.
"You can't just see Elliott though," Crystal says. "That's against the rules. If you come over, we all get to hang out with you in equal increments of time."
"Increments. That's a big word, Crys," Elliott muses as he walks into the family room, ruffling his sister's hair. "Can you spell it?"
Crystal crosses her arms over her chest. "Can you keep a girlfriend?"
"Okay, Jesus," he mumbles. "This isn't my fault. If you want someone to blame, look in the mirror."
"Hey," I hit Elliott's arm with the back of my hand. "This isn't anyone's fault."
"Except your mom's," Jonas says.
I point at him and nod my head. "Yes, exactly. She's the one to blame here. I'll leave her phone number on the ledge for you guys to prank call her fifteen times a day."
"Uh, Ivy, Ethan's unpacking your suitcase," Addison informs.
I whip my head around to see the little boy throwing my clothes around the room. "Ethan! Stop!" I run over to him and pick him off the ground and into my arms. "What are you doing?"
"I don't want you to leave me!" he says in a whine, kicking his feet. "Stay!"
I frown, my heart tightening. "I promise I'll come visit all the time. I'll see each of you in equal increments of time."
"I want all the incraymins," he mumbles in a concerned voice. "I miss you."
"Aw, buddy." I kiss his cheek. "I'll miss you too."
"She's my girlfriend," Elliott says and takes Ethan from me, holding him by his feet and flipping him upside down. "You woman stealer."
Ethan starts giggling. "Help!"
"Be careful with him, Li," I say as he starts swinging his little brother around.
Addison helps me repack my things in my suitcase while the rest of the kids start messing around. "It's going to be weird not having you around all the time."
"Yeah, it'll be weird for me to not be here all the time. This house started to feel like my own home."
"Well, I mean, you're like family now. It sort of is your home." She smiles. "And I don't mean it like you're going to marry Elliott because then I would just sound insane. But you are like one of us now, not family by blood, but by love."
A warmth flows through my body, and I feel my eyes beginning to tear up. I hug Addison tightly and she hugs me back. She does feel like a little sister to me. In the midst of our hug, the rest of the family joins in to create the best hug of my life. For a split second, I forget about every horrible thing happening in my life right now. I just feel loved.
After a few more minutes of talking, I finally decide it's time to go. They walk me to the front door, the twins holding each of my hands and Ethan latched on to my leg.
"Okay, everyone give Ivy a hug goodbye," Elliott announces, rocking Bethany in his arms.
Addison is the first to hug me. "Bye, Ivy. I'll see you in two days when we go school shopping!"
"Bye, Addison."
The twins hug me at the same time, followed by Ethan who refuses to let go. Jonas peels him off of me before giving me a pat on the back.
"Oh? Are you too cool for hugs now?"
He shrugs. "It's kind of lame."
I roll my eyes and wrap my arms around him. He tries to pull away when I start pinching his cheeks. I kiss him on his temple as he groans in annoyance.
"Yeah, I'm not going to miss you," he mutters and steps away.
I laugh and turn to take Bethany from Elliott. "Hi, baby!" I start talking in my most overdone baby voice yet. "I'll miss you the most! Yes I will! Yes I will! You are so pretty!"
She giggles. "Iee!"
My mouth falls open. "She just my name! Oh my gosh! Bethany!"
"I heard Iee," Jonas says. "Last time I checked, your name was-"
I place my hand over his face to shut him up. "Iee! Iee!"
Bethany keeps repeating it over and over. I can't contain my joy, spinning us around in a dance-like move. It's all fun and games until she poops her pants.
I hand her to Jonas. "Go deal with that."
Jonas holds her out with his arms stretched as far as they can be. "Jesus Christ, Beth, what have you been eating?"
Elliott and I walk out to the front porch while the rest of the kids help Jonas change Bethany's diaper.
"How are you feeling?"
"Sad," I admit.
He shrugs. "I don't know, Ivy. You're not looking at the positive side to this."
"What's the positive side?"
"You can come over whenever you want and hang out with all of the kids without having to do a single thing for them! You are no longer their slave."
I nod with a short laugh.
"Also," he pauses, "we get to be a normal couple. I can sneak into your bedroom window every night. I get to walk you home after our dates that don't involve changing Bethany's diapers. You don't have to see me shirtless and in my underwear every morning." He cocks his head. "Wait...that's on the negative side, isn't it?"
I smile and roll my eyes at his cockiness. "We don't have to act like a married couple with six kids who spend three hours trying to find a babysitter so we can go on our date night."
"Well, I didn't exactly hate acting like a married couple with you," he says with a soft smile.
"Yeah, me neither," I admit. "But the normal couple thing will be fun to try out, right?"
"Sure will, Ivy," he says and kisses me gently. "Call me when you get home?"
I nod and step past him to call to the kids. "Bye, guys!"
They come rushing downstairs to stand on the porch. Crystal and Rose have brought a box of tissues, handing them out as the whole family puts on a whole show of tears. I take a deep breath, picking up my suitcase and walking down the driveway.
Once I'm across the street, I pull out my phone and hold it to my ear, spinning around to face the Kennedy's house. Elliott picks up his phone, an excited grin on his face.
"Hey."
"Hey, neighbor."
~~
Nora helps me decorate my room with all of my things that we picked up from my old house. It was so weird seeing the 'for sale' sign out front. It just made it all so real, everything my mom did.
I felt comfortable nailing pictures of my friends from high school on the walls of my room. I printed out pictures with the Kennedy's, with Flynn, with Nora and Jett. I put old childhood decorations and memories around the room. I finally had my room. This was somewhere permanent.
Falling on to my old comforter, I feel as though my normal life was coming back, even though nothing about this was normal.
Nora and Jett were my half siblings. I have a family who genuinely cares about me. We spend hours talking and playing card games with their aunt and uncle. I get to know them better than I had before because now they didn't have to keep anything a secret.
They did travel a lot, like they had told me. But not with their mom and dad. They lived with their aunt and uncle who traveled for work. They were photographers for National Geographic. Now, the two work at the museum in town.
It was the hardest on Jett because he struggled to make friends. He always knew he was different from the other kids. He just didn't know what it was for awhile, and he's still dealing with these questions.
I don't end up going upstairs to my room for bed until way after midnight. I change into pajamas, brush my teeth, and wash my face in my bathroom, one I don't share with seven other kids.
As I go to climb into my bed, I hear a loud thud followed by a painful scream come from outside. I go over to the window, lifting it up and sticking my head over the edge to see what the noise was. "Hello?"
"Help," a strangled and pained voice cries out.
I widen my eyes and slam the window shut. That's some horror movie crap that I'm not about to deal with right now. I climb under the comforter, throwing it over my head to protect myself.
My phone buzzes next to me, which only scares me more. I try my best to ignore it, but it doesn't stop ringing.
"Ivy, did you hear that?" Jett asks, poking me under the comforter after sneaking into my room.
Embarrassed to be caught hiding, I slowly lift the comforter over my head. "Yeah."
"Do you think it's a ghost?"
"No," I say, which isn't technically a lie. I decide not to tell him that I think it's actually a serial killer rather than a ghost. "No, of course not."
He nods. "Right. So, do you want to come with me to see what it is?"
What I wanted to say was, "no!" But what I really ended up saying was, "sure, bud."
Moving out of bed, I nearly punch Jett out of fear when my phone starts buzzing again.
"Jesus Christ, Ivy, it's just your phone!" Jett screams, holding me by my shoulders.
I nod. "Sorry." I answer the call. "Hello?"
"Where is your boyfriend?"
I raise an eyebrow. "Flynn? What are you doing calling me this late? You know moved out. I have no idea where he is."
"Well, I was staking out in front of the house just to check things out, and Elliott just drove away! Who is supposed to be watching the kids? How can I ever take care of them when Elliott is just running around like a shady punk?"
"First of all, Flynn, you need to calm down." I motion Jett to follow me as we make our way downstairs. "The kids are fine, especially because Addison is home. We all know she's more mature than Elliott anyway. Second of all, why are you staking out in front of their house?"
"I'm just nervous," he admits. "Like, you put me under so much pressure."
"You offered," I remind.
He sighs. "Yeah, but I didn't think you'd actually quit!"
I smile and grab a knife from the kitchen, handing it to Jett. "Look, go home and sleep. It's not as stressful as it seems. The kids already love you and Elliott has started to pitch in a lot more with cleaning and making dinner."
"He's not whipped for me, Ivy!"
"Flynn, he stopped diving for awhile because of your fight earlier this summer, remember? You're his best friend. You're the only one he's truly whipped for."
"Okay, thanks for making us sound like gay lovers, Ivy," he laughs.
"Yeah, yeah, anytime. Do you happen to know if Nora played softball?" I ask, looking in the garage for a bat.
"Uh, I don't think so. Why are you asking?"
"No reason," I say after finding a metal bat in the corner of the garage. "Bye!" I hang up the phone and turn to Jett. "Alright. Now, if anything happens to me, I want you and your sister to know that you are the best siblings I have ever had."
Jett smiles. "Ditto, Ives."
I make the sign of the cross before spewing out a wishful prayer. Jett and I slowly walk to the back of the house, weapons in hand. I go first, opening the back door and stepping outside into the wet grass.
There's movement from the side of the house, just below my bedroom window.
Jett squeals in horror, clutching on to my waist tightly. I spin around and motion him to be quiet. He nods and straightens out his robe, as if he didn't just blow our cover.
"Hey!" A hunched figure limps from around the house, the darkness masking his identity.
I scream. Jett screams. The hunched figure screams.
It all happens in a blur. Jett lunges forward with his knife, just as I make-out the familiar facial features of my beautiful boyfriend.
"Dude, did you just stab me?"
I drop my bat and run over to Elliott. "Oh my gosh! You scared us half to death! What were you doing?"
"Uh, excuse me, I've just been stabbed here," Elliott says loudly.
I shake my head in a frenzy. "Oh, right! Right! Where are you hurt? Is it serious?"
"I don't think so," he says in a strained voice. "He kind of grazed my cheek."
"Which cheek are we talking about?" I ask, slowly helping him walk back inside the house.
"My face cheek, Ivy," he says as if I was supposed to know this. It's very dark outside and Jett does not have the best aim when it comes to stabbing people.
I nod and turn on the kitchen lights.
"Look, man, I'm so sorry about this," Jett says to Elliott. "I didn't mean to stab you. I honestly thought you were a mass murderer."
"Jett, go get the first aid kit," I demand, pushing him aside to wash Elliott's face with a wet kitchen towel.
He gives me a thumbs up before sprinting upstairs.
"So, what exactly were you doing tonight? Flynn said you snuck out and drove off. How'd you end up at the Jenkins' house?"
He shuts his eyes when I touch the towel to his cut. "Well, I left to go get some things for the surprise date we were going to have before I fell while trying to scale the side of the house."
I pour my lip. "Aw, that's so cute. And also sad. And dumb. What were you thinking?"
"I was thinking we could be a normal couple. But then your half brother stabbed me in the cheek."
I laugh and take the first aid kit from Jett when he comes back downstairs.
"Again, I am so sorry about that," Jett apologizes.
Elliott smiles and pats Jett on the back. "Glad you were there to defend Ivy." He winces when I clean the cut with disinfectant. "Not so glad about the whole stabbing though."
"Hey, now you'll have a cool scar on your cheek," I say. "That's so much more Harry Potter like than Flynn's chin scar. You finally get to be the Harry Potter."
"I don't want to be the Harry Potter anymore," he says with a sweet smile, his hands wrapping around my waist and pulling me in between his legs as he sits on the stool. "He doesn't get the Hermione." His lips lock on to mine, a satisfying kiss taking away all thoughts.
"He does in the fan fiction I wrote," Jett says.
We turn our heads to stare at the boy who is shoving fifteen grapes in his mouth at once. I take a step back from Elliott and clear my throat.
"You should go to bed, Jett."
"Actually," uncle Vic says in a firm voice, "you should all go to bed."
Jett sprints out of the kitchen, throwing his grapes all over the floor. I stand still with my hand in the air, just about to place the bandaid on Elliott's cheek.
Elliott jumps out of the stool and places the bandaid on his cheek. "I'm sorry, sir. I just tripped outside into a rose bush and-"
"Go home," Vic says sternly.
Elliott nods and stumbles as he walks backwards to leave the house, flying out the backdoor.
I click my tongue and awkwardly try to sneak past Vic.
"Ivy, we don't allow boys in the house past curfew. I know you're eighteen and technically are allowed to do whatever you want, but as long as you're living under our house, you have to follow our rules."
I nod, unable to keep a stupid grin off my face.
Vic looks at me suspiciously, probably confused as to how I could be just so happy right now.
"Thank you," I say, stepping forward to give him a hug.
He reacts slowly before patting me on the back. "Uh, yeah, anytime?"
I laugh and skip upstairs. I've never had parents around to give me rules and a curfew for boys. It probably sounds crazy, but I've always wanted someone to check what I'm doing, to make sure I'm okay. It shows that they care. They want what's best for me.
After the long day, I fall asleep easily. For the first time in awhile, I feel effortlessly happy. I don't have to worry about how to entertain the kids, or what to make for breakfast, or looking good for Elliott pretty much every morning. I don't think about what my mom has done, at least not tonight. I only think about the positives of my future with my family, with Elliott, and eventually college.
I can't remember the last time I slept past six in the morning. Today, I wake up after noon. Can you believe it? No one bothered me until noon. I just woke up naturally. Another positive sign of my fresh start.
"Hey, Ivy, Vic and Jackie have already left for work. How'd you sleep?" Nora asks. "I made you French toast!"
I nearly pass out. Here, I have my own slaves! I am no longer a servant, and it has never felt so good. "Thank you, Nora. I slept really great."
"Good." She places a plate of French toast at the kitchen table and motions for me to sit. She takes a seat next to me, her make-up and hair all done to perfection. "I'm actually leaving for work soon too, so it'll just be you and Jett today."
I nod and take a bite of the toast. "Where are you working?"
"The pizza place in town. You know it, yeah?"
"Yes, I know it," I laugh. "My friend Martin works there."
"You know Martin? He's such a legend!" she exclaims. "I heard he delivered almost three-hundred pizzas in one day!"
I nod, not even surprised in the slightest. "He's the most loyal guy I know. He'd deliver a hundred more if asked."
"Why didn't you ever date him, huh?" she asks, nudging me with her elbow.
"Uh, I had no time for boyfriends, Nora," I say. "Work is my life." I hold up my finger. "Correction. Work was my life."
She smiles. "I work and I have time for Flynn."
"But will Flynn have time for you?" I ask.
"What are you talking about? Flynn hasn't worked a day in his life!"
"Well," I pause, "he's my replacement over at the Kennedy's. He's been there since eight in the morning."
Nora raises her eyebrows in shock. "What? I didn't know this!"
"It was super last minute. Don't be offended," I say and stand up to put my plate in the sink. I start doing the dishes.
Nora takes the plate out of my hands. "Ivy, work was your life. Go relax and call your boyfriend or something. Or call Martin."
"Both options are essentially the same, Nor," I joke and walk over to their family room where Jett is watching some game show I've never heard of.
"How's Elliott?"
"He's fine, Jett. You didn't send him to the hospital," I remind. "He's gotten worse cuts before."
"Ooo," he coos. "How hot and dangerous!"
I squint my eyes. "Being dangerous is not hot."
"Okay," he says unbelievingly. "Whatever you say."
"What? It's the truth. I am not attracted to that at all."
"Alright." He sits up in the couch. "There aren't any hidden cameras here, Ivy. You're not going to get pranked by Ashton Kutcher. So, why are you lying to me?"
"I'm not!" I laugh at his dramatics. "I'll have you know that I totally shut Elliott down after he pulled the whole 'I'm dangerous and hot' stunt. It wasn't until he started being sweet to his family that I swooned."
Jett pretends to gag. "You're so basic and boring. I'm so nauseous."
"Jett! I am not boring!"
"Boring!" he accuses, sticking his finger straight in my face. "Ivy is a boring human being!" He laughs at his own jokes. "Have at least shared steamy love monologues to one another?"
I raise an eyebrow. "Steamy love monologues?"
"You know," he says and swirls his hand around, "the I love you's and the making out and the shouting off rooftops about how much love you two have for one another."
"Yeah, that hasn't happened and I don't think it will anytime soon," I say with a laugh. "Rooftops are much too dangerous."
Jett slaps the leather couch. "You're so boring!"
"Jett, stop harassing Ivy. She can be as boring as she'd like," Nora says, walking into the family room to kiss the top of her brother's head. "I'll see you guys later."
"Bye, Nora."
I stand up from the couch to lock the door after her, knowing that Jett and I are the worst people to leave home alone considering he stabbed someone the last time we heard a suspicious noise.
"What do you want to do?"
"I don't know. What do you want to do?"
"I don't know." Jett pauses for a long time. "What do you want to do?"
"Ugh, you are so boring!" I laugh and throw a pillow his way. "Come on, let's go to the Kennedy's."
"Missed them that much already?"
I shrug and bite my cheek. "Guilty."
We walk over to their house with Myrtle. Although it should've been a one minute walk, it ended up taking ten minutes. Myrtle peed three times. Honestly, I didn't even know turtles peed. Well, I knew they peed. But I just didn't think about it that long.
I ring the doorbell, feeling a bit out of place to be on this side of the house. There's a loud bang from inside the house, followed by numerous screams and more bangs. I look to Jett nervously.
Flynn opens the door, Bethany in one arm and Ethan in the other. Crystal and Rosie are punching him in the back while Addison and Brianna are in the background fighting. Jonas and Mikey are watching the fight, popcorn in their hands. I spot Elliott behind all the chaos. He waves his hand cutely.
"How's it going, Flynn?" I ask, stifling my laughter.
He shakes his head, gritting his teeth. "I love this job!"
I laugh and move past him to go to Elliott, stepping over a heap of Legos. Elliott gives me a high-five before dropping our hands into a comfortable hold.
"I'm so glad you quit," he says, tugging my hand and leading me upstairs to his room.
~~
AN:
okay I liked writing this chapter I liked it a lot hopefully you liked it too thanks everyone love ya mucho
I don't know if I'll see you by then, soooo HAPPY THANKSGIVING! not that I care about social norms (I changed my wallpaper to Christmas themed on Halloween), but it is now officially acceptable to start listening to Christmas music and decorating the house!
another painful chapter where Ivy and Elliott don't tell each other that they're in love how annoying why is this author so obnoxious like they love each other so just let them say it!!!!!!!!!!!! #teamiviott
who wants Jett and Nora to be their siblings? who wants Elliott as a boyfriend? who wants French toast?
if you said 'I do' to any of the following questions, than like this video and leave a comment in the box below!! thanks for watching guys! wait for next week to see who I'll do a collab with!
ok but serious note: I'm going to write a mystery/thriller story who wants to read it??
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