Chapter 3
1022 Words
Charlie
Someone was sitting in front of my door. I groaned; I didn’t have time for this s**t. It was the last thing I needed right now. I'd b***h kick whoever that was. I was way too tired to deal with some weirdo right now. The man raised his puffy, too familiar brown-green eyes. I gasped. “Saint?”
My younger brother rose to his full six feet two height. His blond hair looked shaggy, and he looked generally miserable. There was a duffel bag at his feet.
My brother and I looked nothing alike. Except for our eye coloring, we were completely different. While I was pale and freckled, Saint was tanned. I had red hair and his was blond. He was also extremely tall while I had peaked at about five feet five. Regardless, he and I had been like two peas in a pod while growing up.
That had been a long time ago though.
I hadn't seen my brother in years. How was he suddenly here now? And most importantly, why?
"Saint? What the hell are you doing here?”
He sighed, raking a hand through his hair. "Hey Char. You look like shit."
I snorted, stepping forward to hug him. “You look worse. What's going on?"
“Sean and I had a fight. I just needed some space." He swallowed. "I didn’t know you moved."
I winced. Because it was my fault my brother and I weren’t close. “I couldn’t pay rent for a three-bedroom apartment after Diane and El moved. I should have told you."
“it's cool. El gave me the address. I hope that's okay with you?"
"Of course."
"Can I crash here? I just need a place to stay for a couple of days."
“Sure, you're always welcome. The company is appreciated even if it stinks and looks beat." I teased.
Saint gave a long-suffering sigh.
After a quick shower, I heated up the rest of the food and we both ate cross legged on the living room floor. It reminded me of old times, the both of us eating left over pizza after school. That was before I’d become obsessed with leaving home and our judgmental parents, unaware that I was abandoning my little brother with them.
Saint had come out to my parents, and it was safe to say they hadn't taken it well. They had even gone as far as to call me to accuse me of making him wild. I’d hung up and never thought to call my brother and ask if he was okay.
I just hadn't wanted to be roped back into the past, a place I had fought tooth and nail to escape from and put in my rearview mirror permanently.
He’d lost his friends and quit football because the guys pretty much avoided him. And I hadn’t checked up on him. He had come to college in New York and I had gone to his room once, patted him on the shoulder and left.
I had found out he was dating our family friend Sean from f*******: pictures of them kissing. We had lunch a few times. Lunches where I had literally been counting down the seconds till it was over. He had graduated, interned and now he was here with a broken heart and I didn’t know what to say to him.
We had drifted so far apart that we weren't even on the same side of the planet anymore.
After dinner which consisted of us making small, awkward talk, I took care of the dishes, and then we settled on the couch to watch tv together. A shitty show I had pretended to like for years for his sake.
“This show sucks." Saint finally said.
I snapped my head to the side to look at him, wide eyed. Had he read my mind?
He grinned and shrugged. “Christ, Charlie, I can’t believe you’ve shut up and watched this s**t for years."
"It's not that bad." I said.
He threw his head back and laughed. "It's far worse."
“Then why do you watch it?” I countered, glaring at him.
“It’s Sean’s favorite show and also to torture you." He grinned.
I shot him the bird. "You're the worst."
He blew me a kiss. I rolled my eyes at his ridiculousness. He was so immature.
"Are you gonna be okay?” I asked in concern.
“Yeah. Maybe. I just need some space from him. To work through some of the things we said. I hate fighting with Sean." He muttered. "I know he won’t look for me here.”
I winced again. “For what it's worth, I'm glad you are here."
Saint gave me a look “I’m not. I’d rather be underneath Sean right now but-“another shrug then he grinned .
I rolled my eyes, scrunching my face up at him. "Never ever put that image in my head again. You're my little brother, I don't want to think about that. Ewww." I shuddered “I’m so glad someone else is not getting any too. Here I thought I was the only one. And no w*****g on my couch Saint." I wagged my finger at him threateningly.
Saint smiled at me. “Can I watch p**n though?”
I hurled a pillow at him, the two of us laughing. In that moment, we were young again, bonding over something or the other, like real siblings.
"Goodnight." I said to him an hour later, pulling the blanket over his shoulders and tucking it in around him.
He stared at me in amusement then snorted. "I'm twenty-three, Char. You do know that, right?"
I shrugged. "I don't care how old you get; you're still my baby brother and I'll tuck you in if I like."
"Okay." He smiled. "Goodnight, Charlie."
I turned off the living room lights as I made my way to my bedroom. After sorting through my wardrobe for clothes to wear the next day to work, I slipped into bed. I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
- Writer
