My Overprotective Brothers

Chapter 11

The moment I winced, I knew I was screwed.

Alex was still holding onto my arms, eyes scanning my face like he was trying to read my mind. Elijah, Easton, Henry, and Miles had all come into the room, and the air felt thick with unspoken worry.

"What was that?" Easton was the first to ask, his voice calm but firm.

"Nothing," I said quickly, forcing a smile and shrugging off Alex's grip. "Just—just surprised me, that's all."

Alex frowned. "Yeah, okay, except you squealed and—" He mimicked my wince. "—did that like you just got punched in the ribs."

I swallowed hard. "I didn't—"

"You are acting weird," Henry cut in, crossing his arms. "And you were walking funny when you came in."

Oh god. Of course, they noticed.

Elijah stepped closer, his eyes narrowing. "Adrian," he said, his tone softer but still carrying that unmistakable big brother edge. "What happened?"

I gripped my bag tighter, shifting on my feet. My ribs still ached from earlier, and my body felt sore all over from that stupid tackle during PE. But I could not tell them. Not about Tom. Not about the fact that I'd spent all of PE getting thrown around like a ragdoll while Lucas had to pretend nothing was happening.

"It's nothing," I insisted again. "I just—got hit during PE."

"Hit?" Easton's eyebrows shot up. "By what? A car?"

"No! Just, you know—football." I forced a chuckle, hoping they'd just let it go. "You guys know I suck at sports. Someone tackled me, that's all. It's not a big deal."

Elijah sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Did the teacher do anything? If someone hurt you—"

"No!" I cut in quickly. "It was just a normal game, I swear. Just bad luck."

They didn't look convinced, but before they could push me further, Easton sighed and gestured toward the kitchen. "Go wash up. Dinner's almost ready."

I nodded, relieved they were letting me go, and hurried up the stairs to the bathroom.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Dinner had been awkward enough with all my brothers eyeing me like I was some fragile little thing. I barely touched my food, pushing it around my plate while they talked about school. The last thing I needed was more attention on me, so I just nodded along, pretending to listen.

After dinner, I thought I could escape to my room, but of course, the twins had other ideas.

I had just made it to the hallway when suddenly—WHAM!

Something sticky and wet smashed onto my head.

For a second, I just stood there, frozen. Then, as the smell hit me, I realized exactly what had happened.

Egg.

The twins egged me.

I could hear their stupid laughter before I even turned around. Alex and Miles were dying, clutching their stomachs like they just pulled off the best prank in the world.

"You—" I sputtered, egg yolk dripping down my forehead. "You jerks!"

Alex was doubled over, gasping for breath. "Oh my god, that was perfect—"

"You should've seen your face!" Miles cackled.

I clenched my fists. I could not believe them. It was bad enough that I was already sore, but now they were just adding to my misery.