Shadows of Yesterday

Chapter 21: Error 503- Brother.exe Has Stopped Functioning

Lately, it felt like me opening my front door had become the trigger for some awful videogame cutscene. Every time I came home, something either seemed to be in the process of going wrong or immediately went wrong as soon as I stepped over the threshold. The only thing I needed in order to complete the image of me as the world's lamest playable character was Declan's ridiculous lawn-mowing outfit and maybe some equally lame idle animations.

Today, unfortunately, seemed to be even less of an exception than usual. 

The second I shucked off my shoes and started towards the basement, none other than Declan himself came stumbling up the stairs, clutching the railing for balance with one hand and an empty bottle in the other. Oh, come on, I thought in dismay. Can't I have just one peaceful day?

Declan headed for the kitchen while muttering incoherently under his breath. He set the bottle on the counter and started rummaging through the cabinets, not even seeming to notice that he was being watched. "Dec?" I asked, my voice wary. "What are you doing?"

He didn't even pause in his searching. "None of your business. Go away."

I watched him open the fridge with growing unease, our conversation in the attic coming back to me in full force. "You've been drinking a lot lately. Do Mom and Dad know you stopped going to therapy?"

"Shut up," he slammed the fridge, "no one asked you."

I followed him into the hallway leading to the main floor bathroom and our parents' bedroom, my unease giving way to impatience and annoyance. "Stop being a jerk and tell me what you're looking for." I crossed my arms over my chest.

He roughly shoved open the bathroom door and began rifling through the medicine cabinet above the sink without turning on the light. Bottle after bottle was snatched off the shelf, carefully inspected--or, inspected as carefully as he could in his state--and then blindly replaced. I repeated my demand.

"'S'not working," he muttered.

"Huh?"

"It's not working. Why isn't it working?"

"Declan," I ventured. "What are you doing?"

He shoved past me on his way back to the kitchen without sparing me a glance. "How many times do I have to tell you to go away before you listen? I'm fine, just shut up already."

Okay, that was it.

I caught up with my brother, grabbed him roughly by the shirt, and pulled him towards the kitchen table. No way was I going to sit here and let him talk to me like this just because he wasn't entirely himself. No way was I going to watch him drink the day away without at least trying to be a decent sister.

"Let go of me! You're not my mom, I can take care of myself!"

With how drunk he was, it wasn't hard to ignore him and shove him into a chair. He plopped down with an, "oomph!"

"Obviously not, or you would be in class right now, Jack Sparrow. Seriously, are you trying to piss Mom and Dad off more?" I walked over to the counter and busied myself with grabbing him a tall glass of water. It didn't matter if he wanted it or not; I would force-feed him if I had to. "I mean, really," I continued. "How can you say you're trying to be a responsible adult and then do stuff like this?"

Declan snatched the water out of my hands while childishly mocking everything I just said. He slammed the glass onto the table and glared daggers at me. I glared right back.

I crossed my arms again and gestured to the water with my head, which he pointedly ignored. He tried to stand. I pushed him right back down. "No. You're staying right here and drinking all of that," I insisted.