Chapter 18

Adrian blinked awake, his body still feeling heavy and sluggish from the past few days. The room was dim, early morning light barely peeking through his curtains. He turned onto his side and checked his phone.

5:45 AM.

That was way earlier than he usually woke up. The house was silent, no signs of his brothers stirring yet. Maybe he could go back to sleep... but his stomach growled, loudly.

He sighed. He hadn't eaten enough this week despite the pizza last night, his body still felt weak, like it was running on fumes. He needed food.

Pulling himself out of bed, he threw on a hoodie and quietly padded downstairs, trying not to wake anyone. As he stepped into the hallway, he saw Easton just heading out the front door, keys in hand.

"You're up early," Easton said, surprised.

Adrian shrugged. "Couldn't sleep."

Easton studied him for a second, then nodded. "Well, I'm off to work. Don't burn the house down."

Adrian rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah."

With that, Easton left, and Adrian was alone.

For a moment, he just stood there, enjoying the rare silence. No teasing, no arguing, just peace.

His stomach grumbled again, so he made his way into the kitchen.

Adrian knew exactly what he wanted: eggs.

He still craved them after last night, so he decided he'd make some.

But, of course, Elijah and Easton always made sure the pans were out of his reach. They didn't trust him to cook, which was so unfair. It wasn't like he was completely helpless.

Determined, he dragged a chair over and climbed onto it. Stretching up on his tiptoes, he barely managed to grab a pan from the top shelf. He wobbled slightly but hopped down without dropping it.

"Ha! Take that, Elijah," he muttered triumphantly.

He set the pan on the stove and poured some oil in.

Next, toast.

He grabbed two slices of bread, popped them into the toaster, and pressed the button.

He needed water.

Turning to the cupboard, he saw, the glasses were on the top shelf.

Again.

"You've got to be kidding me," he muttered.

Frustrated, he hoisted himself onto the counter, carefully reaching up for a glass.

Just as his fingers brushed against one, disaster struck.

The glass slipped.

Then another.

Before Adrian could react.

CRASH.

The sound shattered the quiet morning.

Adrian yelped as he lost his balance and tumbled off the counter, landing hard on the floor. A sharp pain shot through his arm.

Then he saw the blood.

A shard of glass had sliced through his forearm.

Pain bloomed instantly, sharp and stinging.

Adrian gasped. His vision blurred as panic bubbled up in his chest.

And then—

Then, he started to cry.

The loud crash was enough to wake the entire house.

Doors slammed open upstairs. Heavy footsteps pounded down the hall.

"Adrian?!"

Elijah was the first to reach the kitchen, followed closely by Henry, Miles, and Alex.

When they saw him sitting on the floor, surrounded by broken glass, tears streaming down his face, their expressions immediately changed.

"Oh, shit," Henry muttered.

Miles and Alex winced. They hated seeing Adrian cry.

Elijah, still half-asleep but instantly alert, moved forward. "What happened?"

Adrian just sobbed harder.

Without hesitation, Elijah stepped forward and crouched down, scooping Adrian up into his arms.

Adrian clung to him automatically, burying his face in Elijah's shoulder. His whole body was still shaking.

"It hurts," he choked out.

"I know, buddy. I got you," Elijah murmured, his voice calm and reassuring.

Henry nudged the twins. "Go put on your shoes before you step on glass."

Miles and Alex quickly ran off while Elijah carried Adrian into the living room, settling him down on the couch.

"You're okay," Elijah assured him. "Just breathe."

But Adrian did not want to let go.

Elijah sighed, then turned to the twins, who had come back. "One of you, sit with him."

Miles plopped down beside Adrian, slinging an arm around his shoulders. "There, there, baby bunny," he teased.

Adrian groaned but leaned into him anyway.

While Elijah cleaned up the glass, Henry sat down beside Adrian and inspected his arm.

"It's not deep," he announced.

"Still needs cleaning," Elijah said from the kitchen.

Henry grabbed antiseptic and a bandage.

"This is gonna sting," he warned.

Adrian whimpered as Henry dabbed at the cut. "Ow—!"

"Quit whining, baby," Henry said, but there was no real bite to it.

Finally, he pressed a band-aid over it.

It was pink. With My Little Pony on it.

Miles and Alex immediately burst out laughing.

"Aww, look at that!" Alex grinned. "It's so cute."

"Shut up,put a different one on," Adrian muttered.

Henry smirked. "Nah, it suits you."

Adrian huffed, but the teasing was helping.

The pain, the panic, it wasn't so bad anymore.

Elijah clapped his hands as he walked into the living room. "Alright, breakfast. No arguments. Adrian, you're not cooking, so what do you want?"

Adrian hesitated before muttering, "Eggs." as he was still craving them.

Elijah nodded and got to work.

Once breakfast was eaten, the boys hurried to get ready.

On the drive to school, the twins couldn't resist teasing Adrian.

"So... you really let Lucas see that wedgie, huh?" Alex grinned.

Adrian froze.

He had forgotten about that.

Miles cackled. "Damn, he probably laughed so hard."

Adrian groaned. "Shut up!"

Even Henry smirked. "Yeah, I wonder how many times he looked at the picture."

Adrian turned bright red. "I hate you guys."

Elijah sighed. "I'm sure he just found it funny and moved on." Then he turned to Henry. "And you remember you're grounded. Straight home after school. No friends over."

Henry groaned loudly. "Ugh, fine."

The conversation shifted to football, but Adrian tuned it out. He hated sports.

The twins immediately ran off when they saw their friends.

Adrian and Henry walked over to Leon and Lucas.

Leon smirked. "Nice punishment, Henry."

Henry grinned. "Thanks."

Even Lucas snickered.

Adrian's face burned. "You all suck."

Diana rolled her eyes. "Stop picking on him." Then she turned to Henry. "Where's Elijah?"

"He already left, had to get to work."

Leon and Adrian went off to find their friends.

Lucas fell into step beside Adrian. "Don't worry, I won't tell Chloe or Sophia about your wedgie. Or show them the picture."

Adrian immediately lunged for Lucas' phone. "Delete it!"

Lucas laughed, holding it out of reach. "No way. It's funny."

As Adrian and Lucas reached Sophia and Chloe, the two girls were already deep in conversation, but they looked up when they saw them.

"Hey, losers," Chloe greeted with a smirk.

"Hey," Adrian said, trying to act normal despite his lingering embarrassment from earlier.

Sophia tilted her head. "You okay? You look kinda red."

"Yeah! Just... hot," he said quickly.

Lucas smirked but didn't say anything.

"Yeah, right," Chloe said, unconvinced. "Anyway, let's go before Mr. Lewis gives us one of his legendary death stares."

The group made their way to first period.

The morning went by in a drag. First-period math was horrible as always, especially since Adrian was still failing it. He barely paid attention, doodling in the margins of his notebook instead.

Lucas noticed and nudged him. "Dude, you good?"

Adrian sighed. "I hate math."

Lucas chuckled. "Yeah, that part's obvious."

Mr. Lewis shot them a look, and they both quickly shut up.

By second period, Adrian was more awake, and history with Chloe and Sophia was slightly better. Chloe, however, spent most of the class passing Adrian dumb notes.

One read: Mr lewis is an asshole.

Another Read: Lucas keeps looking at you.

Adrian immediately turned to glare at her, and she just grinned.

"Relax, it's cute," Chloe whispered, winking.

Adrian opened his mouth to argue, but before he could, the lunch bell rang.

"Saved by the bell," Sophia teased, grabbing her bag.

"Shut up," Adrian muttered, stuffing his notebook into his backpack.

As they made their way to the cafeteria, Adrian stuck close to Lucas and the girls. The cafeteria was packed, students pushing past each other in every direction.

"I swear, this place gets worse every day," Lucas grumbled.

Sophia nodded. "Agreed. If we don't get in line now, we'll be stuck eating whatever's left."

Lucas turned to Adrian. "You coming?"

Adrian hesitated. He wasn't sure if he even wanted to eat. "Uh—"

Before he could answer, someone bumped into him from behind, sending him a step forward. When he turned back, Lucas and The girls had already been swept up in the crowd.

Panic crept up his spine.

Great. Just great.

Adrian tried to push his way forward, scanning for any sign of his friends. The cafeteria buzzed with chatter, laughter, and the occasional shouting. Too many people, too many moving bodies.

He had just been about to turn back when someone grabbed his wrist.

He knew that grip.

His stomach twisted before he even looked up.

Tom.

Before Adrian could react, Tom yanked him away from the cafeteria, down a quieter hallway near the back of the building, where no one was around.

"Look who it is," Tom sneered, shoving him against the wall.

Adrian swallowed hard. "Leave me alone."

Tom smirked. "Why? So you can go cry to your boyfriend?"

Adrian's face burned. "He's not my—"

Tom cut him off with a sudden, hard punch to the stomach right where his bruise from Monday was.

Adrian gasped, his knees nearly buckling, pain blooming deep and sharp in his gut.

Tom laughed at his reaction, then shoved him again for good measure.

"Still so pathetic."

Adrian clenched his fists, heart hammering. He wasn't going to just take it.

He tried to shove Tom back, but the moment he moved, Tom grabbed him by the collar and punched him again even harder this time.

Pain exploded through Adrian's stomach, knocking the breath out of him.

He coughed, doubling over as he struggled to catch his breath.

Tom snickered. "That's what I thought."

And then, as quickly as he had appeared, Tom was gone, leaving Adrian hunched over, clutching his stomach.

It took him a moment to gather himself. His whole body ached, and he could already feel a fresh bruise forming.

Adrian sat through his next classes in a daze. His stomach ached horribly, but he forced himself to sit straight and pretend nothing had happened.

Lucas noticed he was quieter than usual, but Adrian brushed it off when asked. "Bathroom," he lied.

The final bell rang, signaling the end of the school day. Adrian grabbed his bag quickly, eager to leave, but Lucas stopped him.

"Hey, I was thinking... Can I sleep over tonight?"

Adrian blinked. "Really?"

Lucas grinned. "Yeah. I don't feel like dealing with my dad tonight, and your house is way more fun."

Adrian beamed. "Let's go ask your mom."

The moment they found Diana, she agreed, but on one condition. "Only if Easton says yes," she said with a knowing smile.

Adrian immediately grabbed Lucas's wrist and dragged him toward the car. "Come on, he'll say yes."

When they reached the car, Easton was already there, leaning against the driver's side door. The twins and Henry were arguing about something as usual.

"Easton, can Lucas sleep over?" Adrian blurted out before anything else.

Easton sighed dramatically. "Ugh, more chaos in my house?"

Lucas laughed. "You love me."

Easton rolled his eyes but smirked. "Yeah, yeah. Fine, but if you two keep me up all night, I'm throwing you both outside."

The twins groaned.

"They're so loud," Alex muttered.

"They giggle like little kids," Miles added.

"We do not!" Adrian protested, crossing his arms.

Lucas just grinned. "Oh, we definitely do."

.......................................................................................

Word count: 1829

Hey Guys Thanks for reading this story so please be nice and kind. I am sorry if there are any spelling mistakes or bad grammar.

Thanks for reading this chapter and please vote and leave a comment.

More chapters will be coming out soon.

*EMMA HETHRON*