Fun With Family

I watch as his chest goes up and down rhythmically as he breathes. I wrap a blanket around my body and shuffle out of my bedroom and into the living room. Italics hops up into my lap and starts to purr as I pet him. I didn’t sleep really well last night and I can feel my body yelling at me for it.

Normally when I can’t sleep, I pay Reid a call. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel it would be a good idea under the circumstances to leave Justin in my bed and go out to find Reid.

The phone rings and I smile, picking it up, “Hey stranger.”

“It’s been twelve hours since I last saw you so I thought I’d call.”

“Just checking up on me huh?” I ask, putting Italics down on the floor.

“What can I say?”

“Nothing. Missed you last night.”

I can tell he’s smiling through the phone, “Really?”

“I miss you Reid. Who am I supposed to talk to when you’re not here?”

“Well I’m here now, what did you want to talk about?”

I sigh and lean back on the couch, tucking one arm behind my head to prop it up, “About work, about my job and possibly my life.”

He chuckles, “Why don’t we start with the first one? What’s up with work?”

“Marie didn’t like the article I wrote.”

“Why not?” “It wasn’t exactly the type of article they wanted. It was a little less scandals I guess than they wanted.”

I roll over on my side and play with the fringe on the blanket I’m laying on, “Paige, no one knows how to do scandal the way you do.”

“But maybe I don’t want to do something scathing, maybe I wanted to tell it like it is.”

“You mean you told the truth,” he says bluntly.

“Basically.”

“What exactly did Marie say to you?”

“She pretty much insinuated that if I didn’t redo it that I don’t have a job.”

“But you have an interview with the Post so if you land that you don’t need UCS.”

I bite my lip, “Yeah, except I would be doing the same thing they are asking me to do here.”

“Is my best friend developing a case of conscience? Paige it’s like a friggin miracle.”

“Funny.”

“Do what you think is best Paige, that’s all you can do.”

I tousle my hair, “I was thinking of maybe going back to school for a teaching degree.”

“You haven’t mentioned that in a long time.”

“I haven’t thought about it in a long time.”

“Maybe that’s what you need.”

________________________________________________________________________

I wake up to find Paige gone, which isn’t too surprising since that girl can’t sleep more than seven hours, contrary to my twelve if possible. Why anyone would want to get out of bed before noon if they don’t have to is beyond me. However, I don’t like to seem like an ass sleeping in until noon in her bed so I decide to drag my ass out. I put on a tee shirt and go down stairs into the kitchen, pulling a bowl out of the cabinet and pouring some cereal into it.

“Hello!”

I turn around to see a blonde standing in the kitchen. A blonde other than Paige. I move behind the island in the middle of the kitchen to hide me from the waist down, “Uh hi?”

I try to come up with words as the girl just stares at me comically. Paige comes in the room and gasps, putting her hands over her mouth, “Wendy!”

“Nice to see you too sis.”

She moves over to the girl, blocking her view of me, “What are you doing here?”

“What kind of greeting is that for your favorite sister?”

“You’re not my favorite, just my oldest.”

Wendy smirks, “Don’t remind me. So Justin Timberlake I presume,” she says, leaning past Paige to glance at me.

I nod at her, not moving over to her. Paige blushes uncontrollably, “Justin, this is my sister Wendy.”

“Nice to meet you.”

Wendy gets a very familiar look I’ve seen on Paige several times. The one of sheer enjoyment as she watches me squirm, “Believe me, the pleasure is all mine.”

Paige quickly moves to the closet and extracts a towel from the hidden washer and dryer, throwing it my way. I quickly wrap it around my waist, “I’m just going to go get dressed.”

Paige nods as Wendy waves. I scurry off to the bedroom and close the door behind me, taking a deep breathe. This is so not good.

________________________________________________________________________

“Chloe said you were interviewing him, not sleeping with him,” Wendy muses.

I wince, “It’s not funny Wendy.”

“It’s a little funny.”

I put my hands on my hips, “What are you doing here anyway?”

She smirks, “I came to make sure you were alright and apologize for not getting to the hospital sooner.”

“I was only in the hospital for a few days, you know how I feel about being in one.”

“Yeah I remember Paige. I also came to see your new house, I didn’t think you were screwing some guy who isn’t Scott. Speaking of which, when did you dump him? Mom had said you guys were going strong two weeks ago.”

“I haven’t really been with Scott since he cheated on me with Trish.”

Wendy gasps, “No way!”

“Way.”

“So why did you lie to mom? She would have understood.”

“I didn’t exactly lie.”

Wendy frowns, “I’m not following you.”

“I’m kind of still with Scott.”

Her eyes get larger as she stares at me, “You what?”

“I know, I should have dumped him but you know how it is.”

“Yeah, I know Paige. I think it’s a pretty crappy reason to stay with someone.”

I frown, “Would you leave your job just because your boyfriend slept with someone else?”

“My job might save lives Paige, yours on the other hand provides gossip for the bored who have no life outside of the magazine. Face it, you don’t like to be alone.”

“For someone who bounces between guys as often as you change your shoes I expected a little more support.”

Wendy looks at me sympathetically, “I’m always behind you Paige. I just think that it’s kind of a sleazy thing to do, but after what he did I’m not surprised you’ve decided what you have.”

“I’m going to tell him as soon as he gets back from the Bahamas.”

“Weren’t you supposed to go with him?”

“I got out of it,” I respond flatly.

“What about Trish?” she asks, pulling up a chair.

I snort, “She can burn in hell for all I care.”

“Good to know.”

Justin comes back out, a little bashfully. I try and smile, “Hey.”

Wendy winks at me, “Don’t worry, I’m not a rabid fan or anything.”

“Apparently that runs in your family.”

He sits down next to me slowly, “So you’re Paige’s other sister huh?”

She smiles, “That would be me. You must have already met Chloe.”

“I met her at the hospital.”

Wendy nods, “I would have been there had I not been in Africa.”

“You travel?”

“No, I work with AIDS victims. I visit Africa often to do what I can.”

“Very noble,” he remarks.

“I try.”

I put my hand over Wendy’s, “She’s a real angel. Most of the time,” I add.

Wendy turns to me, “So how are Brooke and Reid?”

“Good. Brooke’s dating some guy now and Reid… well Reid is Reid.”

“Reid has always been Reid. I wish I had a guy that cared as much about me as Reid cared about you.”

“He’s a good friend,” I muse.

Wendy licks her lips, “I did forget to mention something.”

“What?” I ask, defensively.

“Mom and Chloe are on their way here.”

“Excuse me?” I shriek, jumping up from my chair, “Why didn’t you say something sooner?”

“I forgot when I saw the half naked pop star over here.”

Justin blushes and I immediately start tearing through the house to put things the way they should be. Wendy just watches as I breeze through each room and waits until I’ve shut every door I don’t want them going through.

“Done yet?”

Justin goes for his jacket he’s been storing on the banister to the stairs for the last few days, “I’m going to get going.”

As the words leave his lips Chloe and mom step through the door. Everyone stops short as mom scans our faces with a look of surprise and then amusement, probably thinking that we are all crazy for trying to keep whatever secret were hiding from her. She always knew.

There was never a time in our lives she didn’t have some kind of crystal ball to figure out what we were up to. Not the time Wendy snuck out with us to get her belly button pierced and she showed up at the shop only to drag us all home. Not the time Chloe failed her final exam in college and didn’t tell mom only to have a envelope in the mail on makeup courses in the summer and definitely not the time I was going to lose my virginity to my boyfriend of six months only to have her walk through the door of my bedroom at two thirty in the afternoon.

We never did figure out how she knew, we just assumed that she just had a sense about when her girls had done or were going to do something incredibly stupid. Although I would have never admitted it back then, she was one of the best mothers I ever knew.

Justin seems surprised and moves towards the door, “I’m just going to get out of your way.”

Mom grabs Justin’s arm, “No stay please. I’m not interrupting anything am I?”

“No!” we all say as emphatically as we can.

She doesn’t look convinced, “Then everyone just sit down and go back to what you were talking about.”

“I really don’t want to stand in the way of your family time,” Justin feebly throws out, looking for some sort of escape route.

“It’s fine doll. Any friend of Paige’s I don’t know yet I try and get to know.”

Chloe sends me her best “its fine” face but I have a feeling after mom’s done, I’m going to be the one running for the exit. Wendy settles in and Justin, realizing his entrapment, relents and slowly sits down. God help me.

“So I remember you from the hospital,” mom says, placing her coat on the back of the chair.

“Yes,” he says slowly.

“I didn’t realize you two were friends.”

Wendy coughs on her drink, snickering into her glass as I elbow her, “Occupational hazard.”

“Yeah, we just keep it social.”

She smiles up at me, “So where is Scott?”

“Vacation.”

“Weren’t you supposed to go with him?”

“Yeah Paige, weren’t you supposed to go with him?” Wendy pipes up.

“You’re dead,” I hiss, “Scott decided to go by himself because I got swamped with work.”

Mom rolls her eyes, “Aren’t boyfriends supposed to wait for their girlfriends and not go on vacation without them?”

I shrug, “He said he didn’t mind and I wanted him to go.”

“Maybe it’s time for a new boyfriend Paige.”

Justin seems all to pleased as he sits smugly in the chair and I try to remember when I stuck my liquor after moving it in here. One thing is for sure, this can only end in flames.

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