The volume of the music is really loud, so loud that I think I might go deaf as soon as I leave here.
Jace and I came to the club, as we do every third Friday of the month. It has become a sort of tradition for us.
Jace pulls me by the arm and we head to the bar.
You can’t face a night like this without alcohol.
Behind the bar is a girl with black hair, who immediately approaches us as soon as we sit on the stools.
She smiles at us. “What can I get you?”
My cousin shamelessly checks her out from head to toe, then winks at her and licks his upper lip. “You, if possible.”
Stupid hormones. Jace acts like a girl with PMS who has her hormones on overdrive.
The girl looks at him with disdain, then her gaze shifts to me. “What can I get you, beautiful?” With that, she opens a couple of buttons on her blouse to highlight her chest, and through all this, she’s looking at me and not Jace.
“Are you ready to see my new hair color?”I’m back at the Reid family house because Skyler asked me to come over right away, saying she needed to show me something super mega hyper important.This time I categorically refused to run to avoid falling into a manhole and ending up eaten by the clown instead of at the pond.As if that clown actually existed and could eat me. Aunt Mary’s cakes are scarier.Now we’re in the living room. James, Connor, and I are sitting on the couch while Skyler stands in front of us, with a yellow towel on her head.Connor sighs. “You keep dyeing your hair. Why are you making such a big deal about it now?”Sky points at me. “Because she’s a girl, and these things matter.”James looks at her confused. “So what are you and Connor doing here?”Skyler gasps theatrically, pretending to be shocked. “Oh, but you two aren’t g
“Sweetheart, put this in the car too,” my mother says to Dad.It’s been at least an hour that Mom keeps grabbing things to put in the car, as if we were moving to another continent.My mother is all excited; she loves the sea, while my father has the expression of someone who might as well just kill me, please.I chuckle watching them. “Mom, we’re only going to the beach for one day, not for a month.”She looks at me condescendingly while putting another bag in the car. “Yes, but what about the umbrella? And the deck chairs? And the towels? Let’s not forget the lunch, the drinks, the sunscreen so we don’t catch fire, the cards to pass the time, the flip-flops so our feet don’t burn, a spare swimsuit in case you lose a piece in the water, and I hope that doesn’t happen because it’s embarrassing. Then there’s also the straw hat for taking cute pictures, then you have to bring sung
“Woman, do you have any food?” I approach my mother, who immediately throws a towel in my face, along with some sand.I start rubbing my eyes, trying to get the sand off, and at some point, my dad shows up with a bucket full of water and dumps it on my face.My eyes burn even more since it was sea saltwater, so I start feeling around for my backpack, grab a bottle of water, and my towel to clean my eyes.I feel like they wanted to kill me, I swear. Now my eyes will be so red it’ll look like I just smoked a joint.I glare at the people who are supposed to be my parents, but right now they’re acting like two serial killers. “You know there’s another room for the baby in the house, so there’s no need to kill me to make space.”My dad makes a puppy-eyed face. “But I was just trying to save you; it’s your mother who’s the serial killer.”I blink a couple of times.But
I let my head drop onto the desk surface, now resigned to the idea of understanding anything.“I want to know who invented math,” I murmur, disheartened.I've been sitting in my room for at least two hours trying to do homework, but I don’t understand anything.Out of twelve expressions I've worked on, only two were correct.The most ironic thing is that on the last day of school, the teachers bid farewell to the students saying, “Have a good vacation and have fun. Make sure to do your homework.”It’s a unique contradiction.Or you get the teacher who, since June of the year before, couldn’t wait for the vacations to come back, and therefore says goodbye to everyone by saying, “See you in September, you little brats!”Well, my chemistry teacher was part of the second category and, thank God, he refused to give us any summer homework. His justification was, “Then I’ll have to check th
“So, Brianna, do you have a boyfriend?” It’s been about fifteen minutes since Mrs. Porter and I have been chatting.Or rather, she keeps asking me questions while I keep answering, hoping to escape as soon as possible.“Good, good, the boyfriend is with someone else!” I hope that by using my terrible jokes, Mrs. Porter will stop inviting me to her house.Now that I think about it… what is Mrs. Porter’s first name?I have no idea.It’s almost normal talking to her when she’s not rambling on about her husband.“Did you see Mike? What did I tell you? Boys today aren’t as faithful as they used to be.”Scratch that.Then she turns to me. “You know, Brianna? Before I met Mike, I was with a guy I thought was really the love of my life. And do you know what he did?”Someone please pull me out of this conversation.I shake my head in denial.
I'm comfortably lying on my bed, face down with my legs bent in the air, and I have no idea what to do.Today I was only supposed to work in the morning, and now I’m just bored.My parents have come in at least twice each, saying that instead of lying around doing nothing, I could do my homework. It goes without saying that I laughed every time.I decide to text Carly since, now that I think about it, it’s been a while since we’ve seen each other. Apparently, I’ve been too caught up with the Reid family.I try to video call her, but she doesn’t answer, and after about thirty seconds, I hang up. I try several more times, but she never picks up.How strange; Carly is usually glued to her phone.Then I check the time and realize it’s the middle of the afternoon, and it’s summer.Carly is probably sleeping.I look around for something to do, and my gaze lands on the computer.If this
I stretch out on the table to grab the bottle of wine and fill my glass, then down the contents in one go.I can’t go on without alcohol.This dinner has gone downhill.Paul and my dad are talking about soccer, or basketball, or football; I’m not quite sure which sport they’re discussing, and they’re practically shouting.Julie and my mom are talking about cooking, and my mom is bragging about how good she is at making apple pie, the very pie that I made.Skyler couldn’t come because she’s sick, and Connor is at a friend’s house.James hasn’t put his phone down for even two seconds, and I’m deeply bored.At one moment when we were all distracted, Aisha grabbed Paul’s beer bottle and took a sip, and I think she got drunk because she started laughing nonstop, so Julie made her drink some water and managed to get her to fall asleep.But can kids get drunk?Maybe she&
«Ho un'idea!» esclama James, alzandosi a sedere di scatto sul mio letto.Alzo la testa dal cuscino. «E sarebbe?»Mette una mano sul mio braccio e inizia a scuotermi come una pignatta. «Organizziamo un pizza party!» urla.Stacco la sua mano dal mio braccio e gli lancio un'occhiata assassina. «Smettila di scuotermi, non sono una pignatta.»«Scusa» farfuglia. «Comunque», riprende a parlare, «organizziamo un fantastico pizza party. Io, tu, Connor e Sky» propone. «Tu che ne pensi?» mi chiede.Faccio finta di pensarci su, anche se so già la risposta, e poi mi alzo d
December 3rdI wake up with James’s arm around my waist and his breath warm on my neck. Facing the windows, I immediately notice the snow falling outside. I smile, feeling the festive joy bubble inside me. Carefully, I move his arm off my waist and slip out from under the covers, instantly shivering. Trying not to make a sound, I grab one of his hoodies for warmth and quietly leave the room, shutting the door behind me. I yawn as I head downstairs to the kitchen, silently praying I don’t trip on the stairs—not this morning, at least.I prepare the pancake batter, and as I start cooking, I set the kettle and the coffee machine going. My plan is to serve breakfast in bed for James, though considering my clumsiness, I decide to take it up in small batches. When everything’s ready, I place a tray on James’s bedside table, followed by the plates of pancakes, and finally, the mugs of hot drinks. Once all is safely in pl
December 2nd“We need to buy decorations,” I say as I lie down next to James on the bed. “Especially for the yard.”My boyfriend looks at me, skeptical. “I’m a little scared of what you might pick out.”I sit up to grab the pillow behind me and toss it at his face. “Can you stop doubting me? I’m leaving you.”James throws the pillow back at me. “And can you stop breaking up
December 1st"Do you really want to host Christmas at our place?" James looks at me, skeptical."Why not? We've just finished furnishing the new house; it seems like a nice way to inaugurate it.""But it's a house with stairs," James protests. "And your grandparents are getting old now. Plus, you're incredibly unlucky."I roll my eyes. The first house we lived in together didn’t have any stairs—not even a single step at the entrance since it was a small apartment. Practically heaven for him. But then we wanted a little house, and now we’ve got porch steps and an internal staircase. Every time he has to go down, he prays. He’s so dramatic. He’s only fallen twice so far... and we’ve been fully moved in for just a week."The old house was too small to host both of our families. Here, everyone fits. And don’t worry about my grandparents; they’ll outlive us all, one after the other." I roll my eyes again. Alcohol hasn’t killed them; stairs certainly won’t."Brianna, aren’t you thinking abo
The next chapters are a Christmas novella set from December 1st to 25th. The events take place years after the conclusion of the main story.PLOT:James Reid never really believed in bad luck, yet he had to change his mind the moment Brianna Lester became part of his life. Everything that can be considered absurd or go wrong is just normal for Brianna. And yet, in December, everyone is a little kinder—but will bad luck follow suit? James and Brianna plan to celebrate Christmas with their families in their new home. He hopes for a Christmas miracle, while she’s already thinking about what to gift her bad luck. Will theirs be a miraculous Christmas or a Christmas of misfortune?
Five years later...I’m lying diagonally on the bed with my head resting on James's stomach, which keeps making strange noises. "James, honey, just so you know, if you're hungry, you can go down to the kitchen."My boyfriend makes a face. "But your parents are downstairs. It embarrasses me to go down and act like it’s my house."I prop myself up on my elbows and raise my torso to look James in the face. "Are you serious? We’ve been together for over seven years. Seven! You practically have residency here. You even have a group chat with my parents where you exchange embarrassing photos of me, and you still have the nerve to be embarrassed."James puts a hand on my face and pushes me back down onto his stomach. "These are trivial details, Brianna."In response, I lick his hand to make him remove it. "Do you want me to walk you downstairs while holding your hand too?" I tease.James grimaces. "No, be
“Happy Birthday, Love!”“Happy birthday, love!” James yells in my ear.I mumble irritably, turning over in bed and burying my face in the pillow.“Do you remember what day it is today?”I blindly move my left hand until I find his face. “Shh. Go back to sleep.” I then press my hand against his forehead to make him lie down.He stands up and comes to my side of the bed. “You need to get up.”I take the blankets and pull them up over my head. “I need to sleep.”James huffs. “You need to move your ass and get up.”I poke my head out from under the blankets and turn onto my left side to see him better. “I’m sorry for you, but I never learned how to twerk. I’m not as good as my grandmothers.”James stares at me without blinking.I stare back at him, waiting for a reaction.I shouldn’t have done that.
A year and a half later.I watch little Jeremy staring at me curiously while he has his fist in his mouth, drooling like a Saint Bernard. He’s lying on the changing table, waiting for me to put a clean diaper on him.How was it done again? The YouTube videos make it seem so easy...“Well, little one, what if I took you to church naked? You’re so small; kids get forgiven for everything.”“Do you really want to let him go around naked?” James leans against the doorframe, arms crossed, eyebrow raised. “You don’t remember how to put on a diaper, do you?”I give him a dirty look. “Don’t stare at me like that. It’s difficult, okay?”“He’s been home for months, and you still haven’t learned?”I throw a clean diaper at him. “Why don’t you do it?”James catches the diaper in midair and approac
JAMESI feel a foot come down on my backside rather unceremoniously.I groan in pain and try to move away, but as I turn, I fall off the bed.I snap my eyes open and sit up, massaging my cheek.I look at Brianna lying diagonally, taking up the entire bed.The passion for sumo hasn't faded.I hate waking up with her nearby because she always pushes me out of bed.Literally.I decide to take revenge.I go to Connor's room and grab one of those stadium horns, then I return to my room.I bring it close to Brianna's face and blow.She screams in fright, and I, not expecting that reaction, scream in fright too, and Mrs. Porter, my neighbor, screams in fright as well.Once we've all calmed down, Brianna looks at me in shock. "Let me get this straight, how many times did you fall off your high chair when you were little?"I give her a dirty look. "Only twice, unlike you."She n
I'm about to have a heart attack.My breathing is quick, my hands are shaking, I feel a trickle of sweat running down my forehead, and I'm sure my face is pale.Paler than usual, that is.James asked me out on a real date, and when I read the message, my heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to burst out of my chest. The date is at his house—thank goodness at least one of us knows how to cook—and I have no idea how it’s going to go.But that's not why I'm anxious. When I got James's message, I was in the kitchen with my parents, and when they saw me smiling at the screen, they asked me what was going on.But now my only question is: why did I tell my mom that the date would be at his house?Now, after calling Julie and discussing our "relationship," she's convinced we’re going to end up rolling around in the sheets since we’ll have the house to ourselves all weekend.But we haven't even rea