Whispering With You

18. World's Okayest Brother

Sutton

"SUTTON!" VIVI SHOUTS FROM THE OTHER SIDE of the house.

"What?" I holler back from my bedroom.

"Get your butt out here! The door's for you!"

"Oh for God's sake," a third voice grumbles. It grows louder as if the person is moving toward me. Suddenly, my door is pushed open, and my brother's tall body fills the frame, followed quickly by a yipping dog.

Jensen doesn't breach the doorway, but Scout brushes by him and jumps up onto my legs, his front paws on my knees. I pat his furry head a few times before pushing him off.

"What are you doing here?" I ask my brother, eyeing him warily. He rarely stops by unannounced, especially this early on a Saturday morning. He isn't looking at me, though. His eyes scan the piles that are scattered over my floor, the box labeled "EVE" pushed to the side.

"So...this is her stuff?" He finally looks up, meeting my eyes. His expression is guarded, as if bracing for information he isn't sure he wants to hear.

"Yeah." I sigh, scanning the miscellaneous items littering my floor. "I'm not sure what to do with the stuff, so it's just...there." I motion to the debris.

The contents of the box sit where I put them after removing them one by one. I've been stepping around the piles all week, doing my level best to ignore them. I've had dreams where Vivi, yielding a huge shovel, takes care of the mess for me. Or Kelly comes to the rescue, donning a superhero cape and bright tights under the requisite underwear all superheroes wear, and sweeps it all away in one grand gesture.

But the dreams never once included my brother as the savior. Now, with him standing in my doorway, I wonder why that is.

"Well, it seems you're doing a stellar job at procrastinating, so what's one more day? Want to come on a walk with us?" Scout goes crazy at the word "walk", and he scrambles around the room, upsetting the piles.

"Scout! Come on, you stupid dog! Out!" Jensen corrals his dog out of my bedroom, blocking his reentry with his foot. "Meet me outside in ten minutes, yeah?"

Without waiting for me to confirm or deny his invitation, he leaves me alone, our mother's mementos a scattered mess.

Twenty minutes later, I crawl into his truck, spotting two travel mugs in the cupholders. "That for me?" Not bothering to wait for confirmation, I take the one closest to me and gulp down a much-needed shot of caffeine. "Has anyone told you that you're the World's Okayest Brother lately?"

He shoots a glare at me before pulling his truck onto the road. "Kelly's right about you. You are a brat."

"Ha! You both say it like it's an insult."

The mention of Kelly has me checking my phone. He's been clingier than a leech this week, constantly checking in on me. But there's been nothing from him yet today. I snap a picture of my brother and send it to Kelly.

ME: I'm guessing you're the reason this big grump showed up unannounced at my house this morning and kidnapped me.

KELLY: I plead the 5th.

ME: You don't need to worry. He's already called me a brat. It's like you're here with me.

KELLY: You seem extra chipper today.

ME: Probably my dream. You were wearing bright yellow tights under the teeniest red underoos.