Chapter 70 (Family Day [Part 2]) – Fort Construction

I don't know what I was expecting. Maybe a general sense of awkwardness? Maybe I thought they'd look at me with expressions of disgust, like I'm some kind of pervert who can't control himself around his own family. Or maybe I thought they'd just ignore me, pretend I don't exist, treat me like I was just a misplaced houseplant.

But I was dead wrong.

My sisters seem to be acting completely normally, like nothing even happened, despite their new and suspiciously modest at-home clothing choices.

Bianca still looks dreadfully tired, trudging over to the dining table like she's auditioning for a zombie movie. Her eyes are half-closed, and her movements are slow and deliberate, like every step requires a complex mathematical calculation her brain isn't quite ready to perform yet.

And Selene is, as always, far too energetic for any reasonable human being at this hour. "Ooo, waffles!" She practically bounces to the dining table, her pink hair swaying with each energetic step, and plops down in her regular seat with enough cheerfulness to power a small city. "Mom, these look amazing!"

I try my best to push this morning's mishaps to the back of my mind, locking them away in a mental vault labeled "Things We're Never Going to Talk About Ever." Instead, I focus on what's happening right now, which is my sister's frankly alarming level of morning enthusiasm.

"I still don't get it," I say, taking my usual seat next to her. "Every time I see you like this in the morning, I just feel exhausted,"

She turns to me with those bright pink eyes, looking genuinely confused. "What? You're literally up earlier than me now!"

She's not wrong. Thanks to my Advanced Sleeper perk, I've been getting up earlier and earlier, but that's beside the point.

"Yeah, but I'm not doing cartwheels about it," I say, picking up my fork. "You've got, like, golden retriever energy. I'd crash and burn if I tried matching that."

"Aww, that's so sweet! You think I'm like a puppy!" Selene beams, completely missing my point. "But seriously, mornings are great! The sun is up, there's breakfast, we get to hang out, what's not to love?"

I chuckle. Yeah, my sister is definitely insane. No sane person could possibly be this hyper in the mornings.

Bianca, who's made it to the table and is now slumped in her seat like a marionette whose strings have been cut, looks even more drained after hearing this exchange. She shoots us both a look that clearly says, "I hate you both and everything you stand for."

Then, without ceremony or warning, she lays her head onto my shoulder to take a nap.

The weight of her head settles against me, and I can feel the softness of her hair tickling my neck. To be honest, if we didn't drag her out of bed every morning, I think she'd be able to sleep twelve hours a day. Her ideal daily schedule would be going to sleep at six in the morning and waking up at six in the evening.

I chuckle, watching her as she tries to take a nap on my shoulder, her teal eyes already closed. "You planning to actually eat, or...?"

"Shhh," she murmurs, her voice muffled against my shoulder. "Sleeping."

I gently raise my shoulder, making her head bounce. "Come on, your waffles are getting cold."

"Stop," she murmurs, her voice barely above a whisper. Her hand comes up in a weak, half-hearted slap against my arm. "Moving. Asshole.”

The slap has about as much force as a falling leaf. I'm pretty sure a particularly aggressive butterfly could have done more damage.

"Bianca, language." Mom says, a slight warning in her tone.

"Sorry," Bianca mumbles, though she doesn't sound particularly sorry.

We all begin eating our respective meals while having easy conversation. The normalcy of it is actually helping. Maybe things aren't as weird as I thought. Maybe I was overthinking it.

"So I've been thinking," Mom says after a few minutes, "what if we made a blanket fort today? Like we used to when you were little?"

"Oh my god, yes!" Selene practically shouts, her whole face lighting up. "Mom, that's perfect! We haven't done that in forever! It's going to be so cozy and fun!"

Bianca is... suspiciously unresponsive. I look over and, yup, she's asleep. Her eyes are closed and she's breathing softly, her face peaceful in that way that makes her look younger. How does she do this? How does she just fall asleep sitting upright in the middle of breakfast? It's like a superpower.

"I'm down," I say. "We could watch movies in it or something."

"Wonderful!" Mom's smile grows warmer. "It'll be nice to spend the day together."

Bianca finally wakes up halfway through breakfast, jerking slightly as her consciousness returns. She blinks a few times, looking around like she's not entirely sure where she is, then focuses on her plate of waffles with sudden intensity.

"Blanket fort," I tell her. "Today. Family bonding."

"Mm. Cool," she says, already cutting into her waffles. She drowns them in syrup, creating what can only be described as a small lake of sugar on her plate.

Bianca has always had a sweet tooth. I watch as she takes her first bite and her expression shifts to something almost content.

After breakfast, we get to work on the fort.

We're planning on making the fort in the space between our sofa and the TV. Mom takes charge of the operation with the organizational skills of a general planning a military campaign.

"Alright, we need blankets, bedsheets, and clips," she announces. "Adam, you and Bianca grab the chairs and set up the frame. Selene and I will gather everything else."

"Got it," I say, and Bianca nods, already moving toward the dining room with slightly more energy than she had earlier.

We start by grabbing chairs from the dining room and kitchen, arranging them to set the framework for our structure. Bianca and I work together in comfortable silence, positioning chairs at strategic points around the sofa.

"Little to the left," I say.

Bianca nudges the chair over without comment.

"Perfect."

Mom and Selene return with an armful of blankets and bedsheets, looking like they just robbed a linen closet.

"I got the fuzzy blankets from my room!" Selene announces proudly. "And the really soft ones from the hallway closet. Oh, and this really pretty one with—"

"Selene brought every pink blanket in the house," Bianca observes dryly.

"Because they're the best ones!"

We start draping bedsheets over our sofa and the chairs, layering them to create the ceilings and walls of the fort. It's actually more complicated than I remember from childhood. We have to work together to get the sheets positioned right, and we use clips to keep them in place.

We lay down blankets on the ground inside the fort, and Selene smooths out every wrinkle with careful precision. Then we head upstairs to grab pillows.

I grab both my pillows and head back down. While Selene emerges from her room with what appears to be all the pillows ever created by humanity, her pink hair barely visible over the mountain of cushioned softness she's carrying.

We place the pillows strategically around the fort's interior, creating both walls and seating. By the time we're done, it looks like a pillow store exploded, and it's perfect.

After about an hour of work, we finish building the fort. We all settle in, sitting in a tight circle facing each other. The space is cozy and intimate, with the filtered light creating a warm, enclosed atmosphere.

Mom's sitting opposite me, looking relaxed and happy. Bianca's to my left, sitting close enough that our knees are touching. To my right is Selene, though I notice she's sitting just a bit further away than Bianca is. Not much, maybe a few inches, but enough that I notice. Enough that it makes my stomach twist.

She's still thinking about what happened this morning.

We just chat for a while, the conversation flowing naturally from topic to topic.

Mom starts talking about her progress in yoga, describing some pose that sounds like it requires bones made of rubber to pull off. Which leads to Selene talking about some flexibility routine she found online.

Eventually, the conversation shifts to me.

"So Adam," Selene says, her eyes brightening with curiosity. "You've been working out a lot lately, right? What's your routine actually like? You're always locked in your room when you do it!"

I feel my face heat up slightly. "It's really not that interesting," I say, trying to deflect. "Just basic stuff. Push-ups, sit-ups, you know."

"That tells me literally nothing." Selene pouts. "Come on, give us details!"

"You should work out in front of us sometime," Bianca says casually. "Let us see what you've got."

"Yeah!" Selene perks up immediately. "We could rate you!"

"That sounds like my personal nightmare, so no thanks."

"Girls," Mom interjects, and I feel a wave of relief. "Don't pressure your brother—" Thank you, Mom. "—but I am curious too."

…Et tu, Mom?

I sigh, recognizing defeat. "Fine. One of these days. Maybe."

"Yes!" Selene actually does a little victory gesture, and I can't help but smile despite myself.

We continue talking like this for almost another hour, our topics shifting naturally. Mom tells us about some drama at work. Selene complains about her English teacher who's obsessed with finding symbolism in everything. Bianca mentions that the 100-meter dash world record was just broken. It’s apparently down to 9.3 seconds now.

Eventually, we decide it's time to actually watch something.

"So what should we watch?" Mom asks.

"Horror movie," Bianca says without hesitation.

"No!" Selene's voice jumps an octave. "Are you kidding me? Just a month ago, you literally said you'd never watch another horror movie again!'"

Bianca looks away, suddenly very interested in the wall of the fort. "I don't remember saying that."

"We literally all slept together because we were so scared!"

Mom and I are both struggling not to laugh.

"What about a comedy?" I suggest. "Start light?"

"That sounds good!" Selene agrees immediately.

"Fine," Bianca mutters. "But we're watching a horror movie after."

"Ughhh." Selene slumps dramatically. "Fineeeee. If you really wanna…”

We all shift positions to actually see the TV better. I end up sitting in front of Mom, and she wraps her arms around me, pulling me back against her. My head rests between her breasts, cushioned by warmth and softness.

Bianca leans against my right side, grabbing onto my arm like I'm her personal security blanket. Her head rests on my shoulder, and I can feel her warmth through our clothes.

Selene though... Selene is sitting a bit further away. Not far, maybe a foot, but it's noticeable. She's not leaning in, not cuddling up like she normally would. She looks awkward, uncertain. She ultimately decides to lean backward, staying separate from our cuddle pile.

And seeing that breaks something in my chest. It physically hurts. This is wrong. This isn't us. We're touchy and comfortable with each other, and seeing Selene pull away because of my stupid mistake this morning makes me feel like absolute garbage.

"Actually," Mom says suddenly, gently releasing me, "I need to use the washroom first. Don't start without me!"

She crawls out of the fort with surprising grace.

A moment later, Selene gets up too. "I'm gonna... I forgot something in my room."

She starts to move toward the exit of the fort, and something in my chest tightens. I can't just let this continue. I can't let her keep feeling uncomfortable. We need to talk about this. We need to clear the air.

"Wait," I say, reaching out and grabbing her arm gently before she can leave. "Can we talk for a second?"