When I Was Whole (And When I Fell Apart)

8 - Huit

        There was a gnawing feeling in his gut that wouldn't go away, and in the days after his sister's return to Stanford, he couldn't do anything to quell the simmering anger, the thoughts of you don't understand, and I wish you were here, swimming around in his treacherous mind.

Arthur frowned from his place on the couch, legs tucked under his knees. "You miss Lizzie, don't you?"

He didn't know how to respond. Did he miss his sister, even after that pitiful look in her eyes? Elisabeth's words were etched into his mind, the coals of barely-contained anger rekindled as his mouth opened to speak. Even he couldn't put words to the feelings whirling within his chest, some vague mixture of love and hate leaving him breathless.

"Yeah," he croaked out. "I guess I do miss her."

Arthur tilted his head to the side, and Laurence again had to remind himself of his brother's uncanny ability to read a room.

"It's more than that, isn't it?" His gray eyes carried the world, and it took everything in Laurence to not get lost in that empty gaze. "She found out you were skipping class."

Laurence's face went red; he could see Arthur with his eyebrow raised, arms crossed in front of his chest. He was being cornered, and as much as he wanted to run to his room and throw himself onto his bed, Arthur wouldn't budge without an answer.

"It's not like she knows," he sputtered out, making a half-hearted wave with his hand. "She just found out about my grades. The report card I hid inside my pillowcase. You know?"

"No, no I don't know," Arthur said, shaking his head. "Mind telling me?"

Laurence glared, despite knowing full well that Arthur couldn't make out his face from across the room. He didn't remember being this snarky as a ten-year-old. "Stop messing with me, Arthur."

Arthur let out a wry grin, and it was then that Laurence could see Elisabeth, in that pretentious curl of his lip and the dark brown of his hair. The thought made him seethe, and before he could do something he'd regret, Laurence scoffed and made his way to his room. His hands were shaking as he slowly creaked open the door, the sound reverberating across the hall.

"And don't follow me." It was the last thing he said before he slammed the door shut.