The Golden Hour

Chapter 6

"Dude, your sister is acting weird." Logan exclaimed to Ben.

They were sitting on Ben's balcony, each with a beer in hand. It was their Friday night tradition. They'd drink a few cold ones, catch up on what happened that week and look at the city lights below.

Ben's brows furrowed. "Why? What's going on?"

Logan took a sip of beer. "She's being... nice. Normal. No drama, no lying, no gossiping." He shook his head. "Today, I went to see a client at the nursing home, and she was there. Chatting it up with the old folks, playing games with them."

Ben's eyes widened. "Maggie was? Willingly?" he asked skeptically. She'd only do something like that if she under duress. Like being blackmailed. Or controlled by aliens.

Logan nodded. "Apparently." He took a swig of beer thinking back on what happened between them.

Ben noticed the guilty look in his friend's eyes. He had known him long enough and had gotten in trouble with him enough, to recognize it immediately. He sighed. "What happened?"

Logan inspected an imaginary thread on his sweater, not daring to meet Ben's eyes. "Nothing... really."

"Logan." Ben said, his tone suddenly commanding.

Logan sighed. "Fine. We had words. She may have cried." He threw his hands in the air. "I don't know, ok?" he said, his eyes darting away from his friend.

Ben clenched his jaw. "You made my sister cry?" They may have had their fair share of problems, but she was still his little sister.

Logan held up his hands. "I said she may have cried. It's not a definite and it's not like I meant to."

"Logan Michaels!" a voice suddenly shrieked behind them.

They turned around slowly, knowing that voice and tone all too well.

Logan had a nervous smile on his face. "Hey... Lisa."

Lisa had her hands on her hips. "Don't 'Hey, Lisa' me. What's this about making Maggie cry?"

Logan looked towards Ben for help, but his friend opted to sink back into his chair and looked over at one of the opposite buildings instead. He knew better than to interfere with Lisa when she started.

Logan visibly gulped. "Now, Lisa. She MAY have cried. It's not definite. And it wasn't on purpose. I swear."

Lisa tapped her foot on the ground impatiently. "You guys are impossible!"

Ben turned around, his eyes wide. "What do you mean 'You guys'? I had nothing to do with it."

"Maybe." she crossed her arms. "But what about the awkward dinner the other evening? You couldn't try to make her feel more welcome? Have you even called her or checked in on her since then?"

"Oh, come on honey." Ben said. "That's not fair. We just don't have that kind of relationship. We never have. It's not suddenly going to change overnight. You don't know her like we do. My sister is..."

"Yes, yes." Lisa interrupted him. "Your sister wasn't always the nicest person. She was the favorite who got away with everything while you had to be the responsible one. She was selfish and spoiled. She only cared about her friends and partying. I've heard it all." She was quiet for a moment. "Didn't you two ever think that maybe she's changed, that maybe she's a different person now?"

She sighed and turned around. "I'm going to bed. I don't have the energy to deal with this right now."

Logan watched her walk away, then turned to Ben. "You told her everything?"

Ben nodded. "Of course. We're getting married. She wanted to know why Maggie and I don't really have a relationship. So, I told her. How I always had to clean up her messes. How I always had to look after her after she came home drunk. How I always had to do her chores and school assignments. How I always had to work so hard to just get an inch of recognition from our parents." He looked at the beer bottle in his hand. "It was always just her in my parents' eyes. Their perfect angel."

Logan took a swig of beer. He knew all this. He was there, after all. Helping Ben to look after her and keep her out of trouble. He had hated how Ben had been treated. As an only child, Ben was the closest thing he had to a brother. He couldn't understand how Maggie could treat her own flesh and blood like that. That's why he always made sure to go out of his way to inconvenience Maggie in any way that he could. Like cutting off her hair. Throwing itching powder in her clothes. 'Accidentally' spilling paint on her brand-new purse. If he could just make her life a little less perfect, he was happy.

Suddenly her tearful expression of that afternoon popped into his head. He had seen her cry many times, but those were all acts she put on to get her own way. This time was different. It was raw emotion behind her blue orbs.

He pushed the thought away, taking another sip of beer, trying to bury the feeling of guilt that was building in his chest.