The next few days pass by slowly and painfully as I try to avoid Shay and pretend to love Jason. I know I should break up with him, but I don't want to lose his friendship. Soon my parents are back home and school starts back.
I lazily run a brush trough my hair and pull it back in a sloppy ponytail. I select a simple tee shirt and jean shorts for school. The mid-April weather allows for short sleeves and shorts. I snatch up my backpack and swing it over my shoulder. I take my phone from its charger and slip it in my back pocket. I open my bedroom door and walk downstairs for breakfast, but I'm stopped by loud voices.
My parents and Dan seem to be in a debate. I peer around the corner at them standing at opposite corners of the hall that leads to the kitchen. "It's my life and I have the right to do whatever I want to do with it!" Dan shouts angrily, his face bright red.
"You're never going to get anywhere if you follow this dream of yours. You need to go to college," my mom responds, nearly as angry as my brother.
"If you go to college, we'll pay your way through. But if you decide to follow this 'dream' of yours, you'll be funding that yourself. We won't be supporting that at all," my dad screams. I've only heard him raise his voice twice: once when Dan came home three hours too late at night and once when I dropped his phone and broke it. I've never seen him this angry.
"It's my life and my decision. It's not your damn business! I'll do whatever the hell I want," Dan shouts.
"You will not speak to us that way!" Mom exclaims.
Dan laughs sarcastically and shakes his head. "I can't believe you right now. Parents are supposed to be supportive no matter what. Not only under certain conditions. I'm not the son you dreamed of that would go off to a good college and get a law degree. That's not me. And if that's not good enough for you, that's your problem, not mine." It's silent for several moments. My parents must be stunned. Dan raises his voice and calls, "EMILY! COME ON! WE'RE LEAVING NOW."
I realize it's really obvious that I've been listening as I appear from around the corner and run down the stairs. I slip out the door Dan is holding open and throw open the passenger seat door of his Mustang. I sit down and wait on Dan.
He joins me. It's silent as he backs out of the driveway. He drives for several minutes and parks behind a tree at Cedar Hill Park. He slams his hands on the steering wheel and tears fall from his eyes.
"Dan, are you okay?" I ask, genuinely concerned about my brother.
"I just want to get the hell out of that house. I can't wait to move out. I'll miss you so much but Mom and Dad have never loved me like they love you. They're always so proud of you but I can never do anything right or please them or make them proud or even follow my own damn dreams. I'm so freaking sick of it!" he exclaims.
"I'm so sorry. They shouldn't control your life though. Do whatever it is you want to do. You don't have to listen to them," I say, knowing there's no way I can calm Dan down or make him happy, but I can try. I've never seen him this upset.
"Thanks, Em. I'm so sorry for losing it in front of you. I'm your big brother. I need to be strong for you."
"Dan, you've seen me cry so many times. Don't apologize and don't be afraid to be unhappy or sad in front of me. Please. You don't have to pretend to be strong. It's okay not to be okay."
"Thank you. Do you want to skip our first few classes and go grab breakfast somewhere? We got out of the house so fast we didn't eat," Dan proposes.
"That sounds great."
Over breakfast, I realize how much I'm going to miss my brother when he leaves for college. He graduates next month and only three months after that, he'll be gone and will have moved away. He's like my built in best friend and it's going to be so hard to get used to life without him always here. However, not once during the time we share together eating breakfast do I think to mention his debate with my parents. I don't think to ask him what exactly the dream is that he plans to follow despite my parents' wishes. I think about it all day, what my brother could possibly be planning that could be so horrifying to my parents.
YOU ARE READING
My Brother's Best Friend (Shay Mooney)
Fanfiction"In that moment, I see him differently. For some reason this statement changes my opinion of him. He may not be the bad boy I've always assumed he is. I see a different side to him, a side that's more sensitive and more reserved. I see the side of h...
