The Parasite | Eminem

35

Fast forward a couple weeks at I'm in Baltimore.
Well, technically all of us are, but I'm not at the concert hall.
My sister Lily, you know the one I've only ever mentioned once?
Yeah, she lives in Baltimore.
So I decided, since I'd watched the show dozens of times already, that it would be nice to pay her a visit.

"Mhm... cinnamon... cardamom" she hums, inhaling the aroma of Chai tea from the cup gripped in both her hands.

"Didn't know you were a big connoisseur of tea.." I mumble, leaning back in the chair across from her.

"Mm, well... we haven't been in touch really..." she looks up at me through her eyelashes, "dad called me... a year ago..." beginning to tell a story, she sets her black matte mug back down on her sage green tile coffee table.

"A year ago?" I question, watching her slide her fingers through her long black hair.
She slips her hair behind her ears.
They're covered all over in piercings, gold hoops, flower designs, and little pearl studs.

"Yeah. Told me that he wanted to spend more time with me... it was so out of the blue" she fills me in, grabbing at the string of her tea bag and bobbing it in the water.
Something to do with her hands I suppose.

Oh.
I think I know why he did that...

"Mhm, around that time I told him that he needed to focus more on you... instead of constantly trying to 'fix' me." I told her, realizing that I probably shouldn't have.

She stares down at the tea in her cup, seemingly in thought before she looks back up at me. "Are you still... doing crazy illegal stuff?" She asks softly.
No matter how much she's disapproved of her delinquent older sister's behaviour, she's always kept everything to herself.
I respect that from her.
She stays in her lane and knows how to keep secrets to herself.

"Yeah... well- since I last saw you, I got way, way worse... but- I mean, I stopped now."

"Cold turkey?" She raises a threaded eyebrow, plump rosy lips pressed into a semi-pout.

"Yeah. There's someone- I really care about him... and I don't want anything to jeopardize that..." I murmur, staring down at my cup of earl grey tea.
It's a soft creamy color, having been mixed with a small amount of oat milk.

"Eminem." She states knowingly, corners of her mouth turning up subtly.
How did she?

"How-" I begin, being cut off by her pointer finger raising in the air.

"Dad told me you were dating him. He thinks you guys are perfect for each other." She smirks, grabbing her cup delicately before bringing it to her lips.

The fact that my dad would say something so optimistic is beyond me.
"He thinks that?"

"Yeah, you know, in his own cynical way. Like, you guys are both menaces to society kinda way..." She giggles softly, taking another inhale of her coffee, "clove... spicy, woodsy and a little sweet..."
Ok, back to her tea obsession I guess.

"What have you been up to...? Still translating literature for that vintage publisher?"
In all honesty, I think my sisters job is the fucking coolest.
If I had the energy to learn Russian, which is fucking insanely hard by the way, then I would absolutely love to do what she does.

"Mhm, oversaw the publication of 'The Death of Ivan Ilyich' by-"

"Tolstoy? Nice man, I really loved the other translations from you guys... best ones I've read.. and reading him is a goddamn bitch."

"Try reading him in Russian, Marlow, translating their cursive is like being fucked up the ass with a chainsaw."

"Does it ever get easier?" I ask curiously before taking a sip from my tea, tasting the hints of bergamot.