Julie's POV

"Hey Julie, Julie, you should probably wake up, it's five in the evening, come on sleepy head" said Luke as he pulled off the one blanket I was allowed. I stretched out my limbs like a cat and slowly tried sitting up. I still felt groggy but a little bit better.

"Here drink this" said Alex passing me what looked to be a lemon and honey drink.

"Don't worry, Luke here isn't a morning person either, we just wanted to make sure you were awake if your dad did come home tonight. We were thinking your brother is also due to come home soon, do you have to make dinner every night? We can make it for you before your brother arrives" asked Alex.
I just nodded, still slowly waking up and taking long sips of the tea.

"Is there anything in particular you normally make or just whatever is available? I don't want to make something you would never try to make yourself" asked Alex, clearly the one in charge of cooking in the group. I thought about it then decided it was time to leave this garage. I can't answer my front door to my house if I'm out here in the garage so after a few minutes I stood up.
"Let's go have a look and see," I said. Once in the kitchen Alex pulled out some stuff from the freezer, there were frozen vegetables and pork chops. I nodded my approval and sat at the kitchen bar while I watched him work, Reggie began peeling potatoes that he had found while Alex began thawing the pork chops in some lukewarm water then started rummaging around the pantry for gravy, herbs and seasonings then found some grated cheese in the fridge. Once the potatoes were peeled, Reggie started cutting them into quarters and placing them on a tray that Alex had already prepared. Once done they were drizzled in oil then tossed around with a spoon in herbs, salt and pepper.

Five minutes later they were covered and in the oven roasting away. Alex felt the temperature of the water and flipped the meat in the bag over and changed the water out from cold to lukewarm again.

Why aren't you helping?" I asked Luke who was sitting next to me watching quietly. "Oh if I step a toe in that kitchen I'll be told to get out, there was this one time I was entrusted to make pancakes for the band, let's just say it's not a safe idea for anyone if I'm in a kitchen apparently. I can prepare cereal with milk and that's it!" Luke replied.
"Yeah Julie it really is safer if he just sits with you like a good boy and stays. We woke up to flour and eggs stuck to the ceiling, burnt pancakes, some on the floor, a melted butter puddle that Reggie slipped in and nearly fell over, the milk tipped on its side and dripping off the counter as well as the fire alarm going off" said Alex which got me giggling hysterically at Luke's sad puppy eyes.
"Wait don't forget about the sugar Alex! Julie I found pockets of sugar for a full month after scrubbing that kitchen clean! It was like he spun around with the bag in his hands and it went everywhere! I even found some in the lounge, what were you doing with that sugar Luke? You never told us" asked Reggie.
"I don't remember," mumbled Luke.
Alex and Reggie came over and gave him a big hug "Look we love you Luke and you're definitely better at music so don't feel bad that cooking just isn't your thing" Alex said while rubbing his back.
I decided to change the subject a little "Can you sing me something?" I asked Luke which caused an immediate reaction in his posture as he sat up and smiled before poofing to get his acoustic guitar. Luke poofed back with his acoustic guitar moments later and began playing the first few chords to Kiss from A rose by Seal, which I remembered would have come out a year before he passed. Despite being a love song, it was in no way awkward, I actually had to work very hard to not burst out into giggles as Reggie and Alex began dancing together in my kitchen with spoons in their hands for mics as they joined in with Luke. They were all very talented at singing however and I noticed in my peripheral vision that Luke kept looking in my direction when he thought I couldn't see.

Eventually it was time to flip the potatoes over, and begin boiling the frozen vegetables, Alex changed the water again and this time the meat looked nearly defrosted. I went to start setting the table but Luke indicated that I sat still and he busied himself doing that. Ten minutes before everything was ready, Reggie started frying the pork chops that Alex just finished rubbing with seasonings, then as Reggie finished them off Alex began draining the vegetables, serving portions onto three different plates and sprinkling cheese on top. He then maneuvered around Reggie, pulled out the potatoes, and began serving those. Reggie came around adding the cooked pork chops and Luke was allowed to add gravy on top.

Just as Alex began to do the dishes, the doorbell rang indicating my brother was home, just in time for dinner. The boys all looked at each other and quickly scrambled to make it look like I was alone by turning off all the elements and leaving everything soaking. They then went very quiet in the kitchen as I headed to open the door.

"Hey there Carlos, I just finished cooking dinner, nice timing! Thank you Nancy for having him for the weekend, hope he behaved himself"
"Hey there Julie, it was a pleasure, is your father home yet?"
"Oh no he hasn't been home all day but I'm sure he will show up soon" I said with a bright smile.
We said goodnight and I made my way to sit next to my brother to dig into the amazing meal that Alex and Reggie cooked. It was really good, the potatoes were crunchy and the pork was really tender.
Carlos and I mostly sat in silence just savoring the delicious meal and once done Carlos said his compliments and took his plate to the sink. He then said he had homework to do and made his way back to his room which allowed us to all breathe a sigh of relief. Alex and Reggie immediately began doing the dishes, drying and putting them away while Luke gave me another dose of cough medicine and antibiotics. I actually managed to finish my plate but I had noticed my plate was much smaller than the other two, Carlos never missed any meals, my father only made me miss them when he wasn't there and my brother wasn't one to linger for long sadly.

I went to get up to pass my plate to Alex but Reggie poofed in and took it before I could even move my chair more than a centimetre. I smiled and said "Thanks guys, that was really good!"
"No worries Julie, we've both missed cooking. I'll finish up here then I was wondering if you wanted to try to do some of your homework with me" asked Reggie. I beamed and said sure!

Reggie finished wiping down all the benches and the table then poofed in my math and science homework which caused me to groan. "I hate math, can't we start with English?"
"Sorry Julie, your English work isn't terrible but your math and science is where you are struggling" said Reggie with a sympathetic look.
Alex took away my fathers plate and placed it in the microwave and sat down on the other side of me scooting Luke off to the seat opposite me. Something told me Luke didn't like school much either and when I looked up to smile gently at him he returned it.

We spent a good hour re teaching me how to break down the problems and go through the work, double check it and come up with the correct answer. Somehow cute boys made better teachers than my grumpy ones who just wanted me to sit in a back corner of the class and be quiet.

Just as we were packing up the front door slammed open giving us all one hell of a fright. I took one look at my father and saw the state he was in. I quickly moved my books to the island out of his way at the table, turned the microwave on to heat up his dinner and pulled out a beer for him from the fridge. I then also pulled down a shot glass and his favorite bourbon and set that up on the table too. The microwave beeped so I pulled out his plate and gave it to him then began gathering my books to head upstairs. I noticed the boys glaring at him as I walked past them to my escape but no amount of glaring was going to make that man say thank you for anything I did.

Once safely in my room I could breathe easily again. It was nearly nine at night so time to shower and try to sleep except I couldn't get my bandages wet from memory. The boys knocked gently and came in while I was gathering stuff for a shower, the pain in my infected lashes still slowing me down a little. As I gathered the last item I had made a plan that I would fill the bath with some soapy water and just wipe down the necessary areas. Tomorrow I could wash my hair as we change the bandages. "Hey do you guys mind if I have some privacy for the evening? I don't think anything bad is going to happen and I kinda just wanna clean up and go to sleep anyways. Thank you for dinner, for everything!" I asked.
They all smiled and poofed out after wishing good nights, Luke leaving last after coming up and trying to cup my face before vanishing. I could tell that it was bothering him more than the others, something told me touch was his love language. Or he just cared a lot about me like a sister I internally scolded. They were ghosts and I couldn't be crushing on them, my life was already a disaster as it was.

I made my way to the bathroom and washed up then scrubbed my teeth extra well as I hadn't done that today then turned off the lights to sleep after removing one blanket. I still felt cold but I didn't want to upset Alex by getting sicker when I was trying to get better. My back still hurt a lot so I fell asleep sprawled out on my stomach.

A few hours later though I woke up to the sound of my door opening very quietly. I should have screamed but I thought it was Luke so I pretended to sleep expecting him to climb into bed with me. Instead I was hit roughly on the head to daze me then gagged before I could scream. I looked up and tried to punch whoever it was and realized it was my father. He then tied up my hands and my feet so there was nothing I could do except cry. "You killed them bitch, I know you did, I don't know how you did it but you did. It's all your fault so I'm going to make sure you die" slurred my father, his breath stinking of alcohol making my eyes water.
I silently begged that one of the boys would wake up but as I was thrown over my fathers shoulder I read the time as two in the morning, there was no way they would still be awake. All I could do as I was carried down the stairs was cry. Once outside I tried screaming despite the gag hoping that Luke might hear or someone might hear, even a dog at this point would be my rescue as that would wake up the neighborhood. I was dropped into a hole however that must have been pre dugged in the garden and my father started burying me alive. I tried struggling to get out but was just rewarded with another bang to the head from a nearby rock which made the whole world go dark.

I came to a few minutes later with the gag being moved aside for a moment for a straw to be put into my mouth for me to breathe in.
"I want you to die slowly, don't move because if that comes out of your mouth you will suffocate fast and I want it to last" said my sick father as he began carefully packing the dirt over my face. There was nothing I could do. I couldn't even move any more as the dirt was packed tightly around my body. What was Luke going to do in the morning, he would never forgive himself for leaving, none of the boys would and it was all my fault for asking them to.

I heard my father leave and I concentrated on keeping my breathing even and not freaking out. I could feel an anxiety attack coming on however and it was a mission to stop that. If I wanted to live I had to stay calm, I wasn't getting enough air but if I remained calm I might live till morning where maybe one of the boys will notice. I tried to go back to sleep to even out my breathing but I couldn't. It had least been an hour and my body was beginning to go numb from the cold. It was October and at night time the temperatures were dropping down to below zero Celsius.
Eventually I passed out from exhaustion of trying to keep my breathing even, my mental state calm and lack of air