Love is Hard

The Bet

"Mr. Flimber, I'm sorry, but I have to take a personal day off."
"Miss. Johnson, may I ask why?"
"I'd rather not say..."
Here I am, standing in my living room, still wondering what possessed my brother. He was just waking up, moving from his very uncomfortable position. His eyes open to me, as I give him a death glare. He groans before he decides to sit up. As usual he can't sit still, so he jumps right into his feet. Not really a great movement, during a hangover. I watch my brother run to the bathroom. For the next fifteen minutes I'm waiting for him to come out and spray all this spell away!
"What happened last night?" He asked me, confusion knitting his eyebrows.
"You had a party." I pause, for effect, "At my place. You had booze, girls, music." I roll my eyes.
"I'm in trouble, arn't I?" Justin mumbles sitting down to take some pills that would help. I start freshening up the place.
"Well, the hangover is your punishment, but it would've been jail." I say, making him shudder.
"What do you mean?" He says getting up, slowly this time.
"Cops came after I kicked everyone out, and was asking for who started the party. You had underage kids drinking, Justin." I say, making him hear the disappointment in my voice.
"Wait, then why am I here?" He says, finally looking at thr mess that was around him.
"Caleb," I pause, "Took the blame." Justin's face went pale and he sat back down. To me, he looked like he was going to get sick again!
"Why?" I hear Justin mumble.
"He says I owe him now, and I can't bail him out." I sigh, sitting next to him on the disgusting couch, "I've called about 5 times. I was about ready to head down there, but Caleb is one stubborn boy."
"Like you?" My eyes glare at him.
"I am not a boy." He laughs.
"You might as well be." He remarks, making me punch his arm. He holds it, "You're just proving my point!" He stops, and puts down his arm. "So, he's in jail?"
"He's in a holding cell. His mother or father is going to get him." I answer.
"What did he mean by 'you'll owe me'?" His face shows confusion.
"I don't know! He does deserve something from you though." We both sigh at the same time, making us laugh together. I get up to go make breakfast, before saying,
"Oh, yeah. You're cleaning all this up." I point to mess. He moans, before I leave the room.

°°°°°°|°°°°°°

<<
Are you back home?
<<

>>
Yeah, The officer knew my dad, so he didn't put it on my record.
>>

<<
Thank you, again.
<<

>>
You owe me(;
>>

"What does it mean when a guy sends a winky face?" I yell. I'm in the kitchen while Justin is somewhere in the apartment
"He's hitting on you." I hear as he walks into the kitchen, carrying seven different bags of chips. He encloses them all, before looking at my rosey cheeks. I turn from his view, hoping he didn't see that. "Izzy has a crush!" I turn and punch his arm, making him stop.
"I do not."
"Denial!" He screams. My face shows my fear. My brother notices, putting his teasing aside. "Iz, its been a long time. Its time to get back out there!" He encourages. I start feeling my hands shaking, and Justin grabs my hand.
"Justin, I'm scared."
"Iz, its okay. I won't ever let anything happen to you again!" I feel the promise take my nerves away. He let's go and steps back, and I shake my nerves off. "Plus, Caleb's a real good guy! I don't think he has ever double crossed on a girl."
"He told the officer last night that he liked me..." I say, sliding my hands into the sink to wash dishes.
"Of course he does." Justin says, casually. I freeze and slowly turn to him.
"What do you mean by that?" He looks over and finds me giving him a death stare.
"Well," he clears his throat, "The way he acts around you shows it all. The ride home, the grocery boy, even going to the slammer."
"He didn't take the blame for me, he did it for you." I clarify. He looks at me like I'm a four year old wanting to drive a car.
"You obviously have no clue." He mumbles. "You think he did that for me? No, sis, he did it because he knew how you felt about me going to jail. I bet you $10 that the thing you owe him, will be a date." I'm challenged by that.
"Okay. I bet you $10 its not." We reach out and shake hands, smiles on both of our faces.
"You're going down." We say in unison.

°°°°°°|°°°°°°

"Hold my poodle!" I yell, before laughing. We were watching White Chicks. I love this movie; I know every word to it! I dragged Justin into watching it; he hates it.
"Can I go to bed now?" He asks, exhausted. Him and I cleaned all day long, taking only short breaks.
"No! This is part of your punishment!" I laugh evily, rubbing my hands together like a villain. Justin groans and slumps on the very clean couch. I chomp on my popcorn,
"So ladylike..." Justin murmurs. I punch his arm, making him yell in pain.
"Shhhhh." I hiss. He sticks his tongue at me, and I put my bowl in the table. I tackle him, tickling him. Yes, my brother is ticklish.
"Stop! Stop! It hurts!" He confesses through his laughter. I stop, sitting back in my place, but Justin returns with revenge. He starts ticking me, making me die laughing. I suddenly feel drops on my cheeks. Am I laughing that hard that I'm sweating? Suddenly Justin backs off, surprising me. He's still laughing, pointing at my face. "Y-your crying!" He struggles. I punch him in the arm, "Can you hit me in other spots? Its always my arm!" I punch his leg and he stops protesting. "Never mind..."
"That's what I thought." I say, getting up. I go to the bathroom, but he strange thing is...I hear nothing; nothing but the movie. What's he up to? When I get out, I find him laying on the couch, little snores coming out of his mouth. I pull a blanket over him, covering him up. I turn off the t.v., leaving a lamp on in the living room. I go to the kitchen and get a water bottle, getting ready to go to bed. As I walk into the living room, I walk past the couch. Justin grabs out for my arm and I stopped in fear. My gaze softens when I find him struggling to keep his eyes open.
"Give him a chance." He mumbles. I kiss his cheek; sisterly love.
"Goodnight Justin."
"Thanks for ending the torture..." His voice decreased with every word that came out of his mouth.
"I thought you'd had enough." I whisper, although I know he didn't hear me. When I turned out the lamp, I jumped at a ringtone song on my phone.

>>
Goodnight, Isabelle(;
>>

<<
Goodnight, Caleb(:
<<

I get ready for bed; I brush my teeth and my hair. I was already in my pajamas, so I slide into bed. I turn off my bedside lamp.
"Goodnight, Caleb." I Murmur.

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Thank you, for reading!

Please comment, so I know what you think about it(:

I will try to write soon!

- Emuna_Jasmine