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Damn!

The morning sun was blinding. I was laying on the antique four poster bed, and light was pouring in through the huge window. The window that took up most of the wall and was meant to be covered in thick red curtains, from what I remember.

Trying to open my eyes, I squinted against the sunlight, managing to pry one eye half open. The other eye was determined to remain shut.

Through my limited vision, I spied Dask with his phone in hand, sitting in that stupid antique chair I fell over last night. I'm horrified by my next thought.  I remember what I did last night. During my realization, Dask had quickly approached the bed and snapped a picture of me.

I groaned and pulled the thick covers up over my head. "Close the damn curtains!" I barked out from under the blankets. Only it would have sounded like a muffled grumble from underneath the heavy covers.

I heard him laugh. I stuck my hand out from underneath the covers and gave him the finger. I faintly heard him chuckling lightly from across the room, then the sounds of the curtains closing.

I was momentarily relieved when the room seemed to become darker, less light filtered in through the blankets, to me.

"Do you remember last night?" Dask asked.

Did I remember last night. Of course I did! It's the second reason, other than the sunlight, I was hiding my face from him. Call me a coward, but I didn't want to face what I did last night, not right then. I poked my chin out from under the blanket, so he could hear the words coming out of my mouth, sounding as annoyed as I intended them to be. "Don't remind me!"

Dask laughed. "Fine."

I heard the door open and footsteps shuffle into the roo. My brother Derek's voice said, "Mom said to get dressed. We're leaving in thirty minutes." There was a pause. I heard footsteps approach the bed, before the covers were ripped off my head and Derek's face came into my vision. "What are you doing?" he asked, a bemused expression on his face.

I wasn't sure what to say, but I was relieved to take in some fresh air. It had been getting rather hot under those covers. I could feel sweat plastering my hair to my head and trickling down the back of my neck. My face felt hot. Dask's concerned face came into view.

Derek frowned. "Are you trying to suffocate yourself? Your face is red, idiot!" He bellowed, an expression of worry crossed his features.

This was too much attention for a guy, first thing in the morning!

"Get out of my face!" I snapped at Derek.

"I'm first shower," I sang out to Dask, before trying to jump out of the bed.

The only thing was, I hadn't counted on the heavy covers trapping me against the bed. I also hadn't noticed just how light headed I was feeling.

I struggled, trying to escape from the clinging mass of material. It seemed to have wrapped itself around my body. My ankle got caught within one of the embroidered sheets, and I slipped.

"Ow!" I felt a sharp pain in my lower back, as my torso twisted, and I fell over. Luckily, I only fell onto the bed, which apparently, I hadn't left.

I closed my eyes, hoping to shut out the embarrassment.

"Jo?" I heard Dask ask.

"You alright buddy?" Derek's voice came next.

Someone, shoot me now.

I felt humiliated and my brain kept going over how stupid I must have looked. I was silent and tried to shut my eyes tighter.

I squirmed within the sheets, probably looking like a giant, blind worm, in my feeble attempt to escape the layers of embroidered material that still trapped me.

I felt lightheaded. I had either been under the covers for too long, or my mammoth struggle to get out of the bed had taken it out of me.

I took in large gulps of air. I may have been on the verge of a panic attack.

Their shadows loomed over me. Dask knew I hurt myself last night and Derek was probably wondering what was going on with his strange little brother.

"He fell over that chair last night and hurt his back," I heard Dask say quietly.

There were some more quiet murmurs I couldn't understand, then someone spoke. I wasn't sure who it was. "You want some help?"

A cool hand touched my forehead and I felt myself begin to calm down. I guessed it to be Dask, because the other person had to be Derek. He was unceremoniously throwing my legs around, ripping the tangled covers off, then dumping my legs back back onto the bed.

Derek  said, "Get up squirt. We're leaving soon." Then, I heard him leave the room.

I sighed and opened my eyes to see Dask's beautiful eyes, looking down at me. He smiled and said gently, "There you are." I felt in a daze.

I spoke to him in a quiet, serious voice, "I'm first shower."

Dask laughed. His smile overtook his whole face. He dropped his hand to his side and replied, "Fine. I reckon you earned it."

I felt my face heat up in embarrassment, so I rolled away from him, to the other side of the bed, to hide it. I slowly made my way up to sitting position, before carefully up standing up.

"He's alive!" Dask exclaimed in a booming voice, raising his hands in the air.

I picked up a pillow and threw it at him. "Quit it!"

Dask dodged the pillow easily, grinning. I noticed his clothes for the day were laid out over the antique dresser. "You have first shower," I offered. "I still need to gather my clothes."

Dask laughed. "After all that?"

"Just go, before I change my mind," I said.

Dask chuckled lightly, before he picked up his clothes and left for the shower.

After my shower, I was making my way back to the bedroom, when I passed Derek in the hallway. He looked at me, then shook his head and continued on his way.

"What?" I called out.

Derek walked back towards me. He looked at the closed bedroom door down the hall, where Dask and I had slept and Dask was currently waiting for me. "You could have easily suckered him into letting you shower first, laid the guilt trip on him."

"I did." I said defensively. "He said I could have first shower."

Derek looked surprised. "So why did you let him go first hen?"  He watched me closely.

I shrugged my shoulders. "He had all his stuff ready."

Derek frowned. "So?"

I felt like I had to explain myself. "I was still recovering, okay?"

'Hmm...' was his only answer. He scratched his chin. His eyes were full of cynicism as they probed mine for answers until I became uncomfortable.

"Dasks in there." He said. His eyes did a quick scan of me in only my towel. "You're getting changed in there?"

"I forgot my clothes." I said, getting pissed off.

"Uh huh..."

"Fuck off, Derek. No wonder you and Jax get along so great these days." I strode off, down the hallway, opened the bedroom door and slammed it shut behind me.

"What'd the door ever do to you?" I heard Dask ask.

My eyes swept over to him, sitting on the now made bed, his phone in hand. I shrugged, and made my way to the bags I hadn't yet unpacked.

It was true, I was only in a towel because I'd been too lazy to get my clothes ready before my shower.

"I'm going to wait out in the living room, with everyone else." Dask said. He stood up and left the room.

I sighed. I was not looking forward to the rest of the day.

---

Hi, thank you for reading.

I had something else in mind for this chapter, but it will have to wait until next time. The morning after the dream seemed important to include, right now.

The next chapter will be a turning point in the story. Stay tuned.

Please don't forget to vote and comment, if you don't mind.

Lots of ♡

- dreamydaze

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