8 ~ Thomas
"So why did you move here?" I kick a pebble down the side walk.
"Oh, ya know, family problems." Valerie shrugs, her hair was pulled in a pony tail, to keep her hair out of her face.
It was kind of reassuring, to know that I wasn't the only one who didn't have the best home life.
" yea, I know." I fumble with my book bag strap, the heavy books weighing down on my shoulders.
She looks at me. " you know?" Small strands of hair hits her face as a gush of cold air sweeps up all the leaves from the ground.
I nod, watching the leaves move across some old lady's yard.
She hums. " If you ever need to talk, I'm here." She gives me a soft smile.
I return the smile. " as for you too."
Valerie stops in front of the house we met at, her house. " well, I'll see you around, yeah?" she walks up the drive way, stopping to look back at me.
" Yeah." I wave as she opens her door and slips inside.
I smile to myself as I continue down the sidewalk. To day has been great, aside from Seth and his idiotic friends.
Thankfully, I haven't seen them much today. They always try to ruin my day.
I open the door to my house to the smell of ham, although I prefer turkey, my mouth waters.
"How was your day?" My dad calls from the couch.
"It was great! I even made a new friend." I smile at my dad, he grins back. " That's great, son."
My mom gives me a soft smile. "Dinner will be ready soon, wash up Hun."
I glance upstairs to meet the glaring eyes of Calum. I wipe the smile from my face. Why the heck is he mad now?
I just sigh, passing him to get to my room, wanting to finish my homework before dinner.
"Thomas." Calum calls after me, his voice was soft, but I don't think much about.
"Yes, Calum?" I toss my bag beside my bed, turning to look at my brother.
"Who was that girl you were with? The one with the red streak in her hair?" He tilts his head to the side, looking at me for an answer.
I know where this is going. "Why do you want to know?" I hiss, mood changing drastically.
"I just want to know, she seems...cool" he shrugs, but I'm not sure if that's really it.
"She's my friend." I notice the papers on my desk and straighten them in a neat pile, avoiding the question.
"No shit" he pauses and I glance at him. " whats her name?" He crosses his arms,
something he got from my dad when he's mad.
I shrug, hopefully he just drops it. "Why won't you just tell me Thomas? It's not that big of a deal" he snaps at me, his face tight with annoyance.
I look at him for a moment, anger slowly rising in me. Why can't he just leave me alone like usual?
"I don't want to share. Not anymore. I know she's 'your type' and she's the first person that's nice to me beside Liam and Niall and you'll just steal her." I tug at my hair, frustrated that one of the few things I have to my self will slowly be taken.
Before I could even process how selfish and rude my words were, Calum distracted me.
" I steal everything? Come on, Thomas. I've ever stolen anyone from you. You're the fucking angel who everyone loves." He words were sharp, but what really caught my attention was the fact that his voice cracked at the end.
I freeze, taken aback. I watch him blink rapidly, eyes looking anywhere but me. Regret spreads in my stomach. I've never thought of it like that.
He turns to leave, mumbling a soft "forget it."
"Her name is Valerie." I call out just before he shuts the door.
I swallow hard, the lump of regret building. Am I really that bad? Do I take all the attention?
I can't help it, mom and dad have always pushed me since I was little. I can remember dad frowning at Calum because he didn't understand his ABC's as fast as I had.
I drag my book bag to my desk, pulling out my binder and grabbing the worksheet.
I stare at it. I want to finish this, I really do, but I simply can't focus.
My mind keeps going back to the sadness in Calum's voice. I always thought he was never good at school because he never tried, but maybe he did try.
Maybe he tried, but because he doesn't learn as fast as me, he never got any credit, so he just gave up? I don't know. Maybe he's just lazy.
Maybe he's rebelling against my parents for more attention? They only seem to notice him when he does something wrong.
I sigh, rubbing my temples. I just don't know. I bite my lip, is Calum sad? Its hard for me to think that he's depressed, he never seems sad, but what I just saw, confused me greatly. I can't help but worry now, because he always keeps him self, and I've heard that's not good for you.
I push my homework away, knowing that I can't do it right now. I'll finish after dinner.
Speaking of dinner, it should be ready by now. I lick my chapped lips, stomach rumbling, since I skipped breakfast.
I walk down stairs to see everyone's already at the table, digging into there meal.
I sat down, across from Calum. I studied his face while I shoved my spoon into the mashed potatoes.
His hair was wet and sticking to his forehead, in pajama bottoms and a t - shirt He seems a little out of it, starring off into the distance, occasionally taking a small bite of food.
My moms voice makes me take my eyes off of my brother. " How's debate club?" She asks, wiping her mouth with a folded napkin.
"It's good. A new member joined." I state, taking a sip of my water.
My dad hums, placing places a piece of ham in his mouth. "Is that so? Do you think he'll be a hard debater?"
I chew a green bean, looking at him. " she . I think she will be a great debater, got a little taste of it today."
He clears his throat. "Ah, well, ya know what they say, wife's always right." He jokes, lifting his glass to his lips.
I chuckle half heartedly, but glance back at Calum. He was staring at my dad, chewing on something.
I hate it when he stops talking. Even a snark remark would be better than silence.
"What's the new topic?" My mother holds a hand in front of her mouth, to try and hid the fact that she was talking with her mouth full.
" it's the death penalty." I glance at her. She seems shocked by the subject, I don't understand why.
"are you for or against it?" Calum's voice surprises me as I look at him, a weird expression in his face.
" I uh, I'm for it." I look at my plate, quickly placing the last bits of food into the mouth.
He scoffs, shaking his head, before getting up and walking back up stairs.
I watch him slam his door, confused as to why he left so abruptly.
Why did he care what side I'm on? Last time I checked, he was complaining that debate club was 'a stupid waste of time'.
"Don't get upset over him yeah? He'll never be able to do what you do." My dad pats my back, glancing up stairs.
I gape at my father, surprised and a bit angered that he would say that about his own son.
I look to my mom, to see if she would stand up for Calum, but she sits quietly.
I wonder if Mali was here tonight, and not out having dinner with friends, would she have stuck up for him?
But one question burned in the back of my mind.
Why didn't I stand up for him?
A|N
I decide to update again, early. You're welcome.
I don't really like the ending of this chapter but oh well.
So, I'm going to post the intros to the sister books/ series in like 15 minutes.
Please go read them!! I'm really exited, I have a book for each boy, and I think y'all will like them.
Don't forget to vote if you liked it! Love ya ❤️❤️