We're Not Perfect

It was still early when I got up. I’d never needed much sleep, and the later I went to bed, the earlier I was up in the morning. Unless I was sick; then I’d stay in bed all day and be back to normal the next morning. Nobody else was up, so I decided to surprise them by making breakfast. I managed to find eggs, stuff for biscuits, and an unopened package of bacon.

Since it wasn’t even 9 yet, I decided to wait before starting everything. If the rest of they guys were anything like Craig, they wouldn’t be up until at least 10:30. To kill the time, I jumped in the shower and got ready for the day. Remembering yesterday’s heat, I pulled out a tank top and a pair of fingerless gloves that covered my arms, along with a pair of ripped up skinny jeans. After doing my make-up, I decided to get started on breakfast.

It didn’t take long for the kitchen to start smelling good. I saw Max come in and sit at the table. He still looked half asleep, and I pretended not to know he was there. One by one the other guys appeared; all but my brother.

“I didn’t know you could cook,” Robert said after a while.

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me,” I replied. As I continued cooking, I could feel someone watching me. When I started taking the food to the table, Monte got up and left.

“Craig’s gonna be pissed,” I heard Robert say, laughing. I knew Craig; he hated being woken up. We heard a loud thump from upstairs, which caused Robert and Max to burst out laughing.

Monte came back in and took his seat quickly. “He’s in a bad mood now,” he said, warning us.

I rolled my eyes. “It won’t last long,” I said. The best cure for Craig’s morning moodiness was breakfast. As I took my seat Robert and Max, Craig walked in, glaring. The guys started laughing again as he fell into the empty chair across from me.

“I knew I loved my sister,” he said, helping himself. I smiled as I waited for my turn to get some food.

“You’re hot and you can cook!” Monte shouted, grinning as Craig punched his shoulder, mumbling something about “my sister”. “Are you sure you’re related to Craig?”

“We may not be twins, but she’s got my music skills, plus some,” Craig said.

“You taught me to sing, but I learned the instruments on my own,” I replied. I was one of those people who could pick up any instrument and play it perfectly within ten minutes.

“You’re playing for us after breakfast,” Robert declared.

“Don’t say you weren’t warned about how good she is,” Craig said. “Last time I heard her play, she was about as good as any of you.” Everyone stared at me in shock.

I broke the awkward silence by asking what everyone played. Monte was on guitar, Robert was on drums, Craig was the lead singer, which didn’t surprise me, and Max was on bass. I seemed to be the only one to notice that this was the first time Max had spoken all morning. He’d just been sitting there, watching me like some creeper.

I was the first to finish eating, and took the opportunity to run back to my room. I locked the door behind me before getting out my bottle of pills that I’d managed to sneak into my suitcase at Mom’s. I took a few pills and waited until I could sit without my legs shaking uncontrollably. That only happened when I went too long without my fix, and it stopped fairly quickly. I made sure to hide the bottle before returning to the kitchen.

The food was gone, and Craig and Max were looking at each other strangely. I didn’t know what was going on, but they noticed when I came in. “I wanna see your legendary mad skills in action,” Monte said, getting up. We left the dishes where they were and went to what was referred to as the Music Room. The band’s instruments and equipment were scattered all over everywhere, and there was a couch against one wall.

“So, what do you want me to play?” I asked, facing the group.

“If you can play bass, I’ll believe in your skills,” Max said, dropping onto the couch. “Just don’t hurt it.”

I picked up the bass, quickly tuning it. Max watched me like a hawk. “Calm down, she knows what she’s doing,” I heard Craig tell him. Once I was satisfied, I looked up, asking for song suggestions. “One of our songs, so I can sing for you,” Craig decided. “What about Issues?” Everybody nodded in agreement.

We started, and it wasn’t long before Robert and Monte joined us. Max was still sitting on the couch when we finished. “Let’s do another song, so Max can join us,” I suggested. He got up slowly, and inspected his bass.

“Rylii’s singing now,” Robert announced. “How about The Flood?” We started the song, with Craig on the couch. I could tell he was impressed.

“We better not let anything happen to ourselves,” Monte said. “Before we know it, we’ll be replaced by Rylii.” That got everyone laughing.

We spent the next few hours like that, Craig and I singing together or taking turns. Whenever I looked back, Max was there watching me. More than once, I caught Craig giving him that weird look from this morning. I had to find out what that was about.