The Luna's Nerd

~Chapter 22~

"Alright! I'm out!" Titus wheezes as I keep him in a choke hold. I let go of him and he straightens himself out. "I win!" I poke at him and laugh.

He frowns, "So what? I win most of the time!" He sticks out his tongue and sticks up his middle finger at me and I laugh. He does beat my ass a majority of the time, but I feel confident now that I beat him for maybe the 3rd time in my life. Titus rests his hands on his knees and pants. I chug the water bottle I saw lying on the desk. "Hey! That's mine!" Titus complains, and I throw the empty bottle at him. He squeals like a girl just as the doorbell chimes.

"I'll get it!" I run around the corner and quickly reach the hallway. I swing open the door and grin, "grandma!" I hug her tightly. She smells of lavender and old people.

"Awwww, my Ty-tee whitey." Grandma squeezes my cheeks affectionately, and I hear Titus snort behind us. there's no way I'm getting away with that nickname.

"Grandma, don't call me that!" Awkwardly, I pull away from her and roll my eyes at Titus. He pinches his own cheeks mimicking grandma, but I try to ignore him.

"Grown up, I see." She places her hands on her hips and spots Titus. "Titus, get your behind over here and hug me!" She beckons. He looks uncomfortable as he forces a smile and hugs her. I notice she doesn't pinch his cheeks. I guess, even though we're twins, she still sees me as a baby since I was born last. Not fair in my opinion.

"Grandmother." Titus almost yawns as if it's a casual greeting and she's a stranger off the street.

"Mom!" Dad runs down the stairs like a little kid and embraces grandma. Titus puts his hands in his pockets and walks over to me.

"Hey, Tyler," Titus grabs my arm and pulls me into the living room from the hallway. I hear dad and grandma start talking. "Mom wants to talk to you." He whispers and looks satisfied with how stealthy he's being. The way he's acting makes it seem like bad news and my stomach drops. He pinches my cheeks, mimicking grandma again. I know Titus will laugh at me if I tell him I'm scared, so I nod and slowly trudge to the stairs. I can't think of anything bad I've done recently, and I'm doing well in school. My head is running with thoughts on what mom wants to tell me about. Rose told me that her parents recently gave her "the talk" since she's turned 13, but I'm pretty sure dad will be the one to gives us that talk if it ever comes down to it. The thought of mom explaining sex to me freaks me out, even though I tell her everything. Like the fact that I thought the girl with the dark hair and light eyes is cute. Nicole is her name, and I only see her when I'm around Rose because they're best friends.

I'm actually kind of jealous of Nicole. She gets so much attention around school and from Rose, but mom told me girls tend to be more close to their female friends than their guy friends, and I have to respect it, so I don't mind sharing Rose. I reach my bedroom door, and it's shut. I know mom is here because it's one of the 2 places we are whenever we have any serious "talks." The last important talk we had was about girls. Mom gave me lessons on how to treat a girl since I'm a teenager now, and she feels like I'll get into dating soon. I don't really care for girls right now. School occupies most of my time because I like to keep adequate grades.

I slowly creak open the door, and she's sitting on my bed. She pats the space next to her, and I stride into the room. I force a smile to hide my nerves, but mom can read me like a book. She grins back as if to assure me everything is fine, so I feel less afraid. I sit beside her, and there's a prolonged silence between us.

"Where do I start?" She asks, but it seems more like a thought to herself.

"Maybe from the beginning."