Brothers

Chapter 3 - Where To Go?

I rubbed my face and got into Kate's car. I sat in the back and Ryan got into the passenger spot and Kate drove off silently. The entire ride was completely silent.

"Stop here." Ryan said. She did so and I saw it was our house we had stopped at.

"Are you going to get something?" She asked.

"Ya. Nick, come on." I got out of the car and went inside with him. He went up to his room and came back down with a backpack. "You're staying here, right?"

I didn't want to sleep alone in the house, but I also didn't want to bug Ryan and his girlfriend.

"Are you going to answer?" He waved his hand in my face.

"I don't- I- I guess."

"OK cool." Without care he bounced out of the house and got right into the car.

I let more tears fall. I felt very alone. There was no one there so I sobbed as loud as I could and curled up in a blanket on the couch. My ribs and lungs ached from the screeches I made. Eventually I couldn't scream any longer so I went silent. I climbed out of the blanket and looked outside. The sun still had plenty of time to set so I got busy looking up where Kate Anderson lived. I pulled out the yellow pages book and found her name, along with her family. I got the address and quickly got out of the house. I knew the street wasn't far so I figured I would walk there.

I began to get hot in the baggy jeans and black hoodie I had on, which probably wasn't the best choice of outfits for Kansas in September. It took a little more than 15 minutes to get there. I stood at the end of the drive way and debated whether or not I should go back home. I didn't want to be alone but I would take that over getting Ryan angry.

After a few minutes of pondering I'd realised I definitely didn't want to go home. I rang the doorbell and waited for it to open. A woman answered, probably Kate's mother.

"Hello." She said. "Who are you?"

I figured my face was still red from crying. "I'm Nick." My voice was weak.

"Nick?"

"Yes. Ryan's little brother."

"Oooh." She still didn't seem to know who I was but she went with it. "I'll go get him." She closed the door and waddled back inside. I heard her yell "Ryan" up the stairs. I could see Ryan and Kate walk down the stairs through the glass door. Her mom pointed to the door. Ryan looked very surprised and hurried over to me.

He came out and Kate staying inside.

"How did you get here?" That was apparently the only thing he was concerned about.

"I walked." My eyes felt puffy. He stared at me.

"What's wrong? Why did you walk here?"

I felt more tears coming but held back. "I don't know."

"Well..." He didn't think of a response. "Were you crying?"

I nodded and avoided looking at him. He obviously didn't know what to do or say.

"Well what do you want then?"

"I don't want to be alone." I felt as if I was being very childish.

"I don't know if you can stay here." I could still feel him looking at me.

Kate then opened the door and came out. "Hey- Whoa." She looked at me too. "Oh, are you OK?" She bent a bit so she could see my face better.

The more I thought about not crying, the more I couldn't stop myself. I felt tears sliding down my face and rubbed them with my sleeve. My lip quivered.

"Hey lets get you inside." She spoke to me as if I were 5. I let her though because I wanted to be cared for. I wanted to be young again. She held out her hand and I took it. She led me inside and Ryan came in behind us, shutting the door. Her mom was sitting on the couch so she led us up to her room. She seated me on the bed and her and Ryan sat in front of me. "Are you alright?" She seemed to care more than Ryan.

I shook my head up and down, though I wasn't sure if I was.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked. I shook my head left and right this time.

"He can't stay, can he?" Ryan asked her, again in a way like I wasn't even there.

"Ya, of course! He can sleep in the guest room." Ryan nodded.

"Hey are you two hungry?" She stood from the bed.

"Sure." Ryan stood too and I followed.

"I'll make you both dinner." Dinner? I noticed a clock in her room that flashed 5 o'clock. It had gotten late. I was very hungry though. She took us downstairs and we all stood in the kitchen.

"Hm," She looked through her pantry for something to eat. "How about Ramen?" She pulled out three cups of the stuff.

"Sounds great to me." Ryan said as he took two cup from her. I stood in the corner of the room against the counter while they made the noodles together. The water cooked in the microwave for a few minutes until it boiled and then they added it the water to the noodles, and set a timer for 6 minutes.

The three of us sat down at the kitchen table. I could sense how awkward it felt with me around. Ryan and Kate were very silent but they looked at each other as if they communicated with their eyes. After an eternity of silence the timer went off. Kate gave me a steaming cup and Ryan another, along with spoons. I liked the spoon, it was heavy and the end of it fluttered off in a pattern instead of just closing.

I was beginning to feel very stupid for coming up here and forcing them to take care of me. I was 15, I shouldn't have been scared of my own house. The more I thought about it the more I could feel the annoyance from Ryan. Kate didn't seem to mind too much.

"So you're sleeping in the guest room and you and I are sleeping in your room, right?" Ryan smiled at Kate. She nodded and returned the smile.

"Maybe we can stay up late and watch Netflix." She raised her eyebrows as if that was a sexy idea.

"Oh yeah, and we can eat tons of popcorn." They were staring at each other and seemed to be playing a game with their words.

"I'm done." I said before they could say anything else. I hadn't eaten more than half of the small cup.

"Oh, OK, put it in the trashcan over there." Kate pointed me to it and I did as I was told.

"Where's the guest bedroom?" I asked quietly.

"I'll show you." She got up and Ryan stood too though neither of them were done eating. Kate led me back up the stairs and down a hallway opposite of her room. At the end of the hallway were two rooms. Her parent's room and the guest room.

"Thanks." I said shyly and entered the room. Her and Ryan went back downstairs while I sat in the big bed alone.