Stolen

2

I dropped my shopping bags down on the floor of my room and flung my jacket onto my purple sheet covered bed. I walked out of my room and into the kitchen downstairs. Harry sat at the counter, leaning back into the bar stool. "What's on the menu, Chef Delaney?" Harry said, using my full name. I glared at him and leaned on the counter beside him. "You won't get anything for dinner if you keep calling me that." I smiled sweetly at him and walked to the refrigerator.

My brother, Harry, was in his senior year of college. He was getting his bachelor's degree in business management, and often did online schooling. Most weekends he was out at company locations, doing mock business to prepare him for real world application. Harry and I shared many features, most obviously our icy, light blue eyes. Harry although had dark, chocolate brown hair, while my hair was a simple dirty blonde.

Harry scoffed at me and looked back down at his papers. "What are you looking at?" I asked, pulling ingredients out of the fridge. "Letter from Mom and Dad, they are shifting to a new town today." He answered. My mother was religious, a factor she never forced upon the rest of our family. Her church had a yearly mission group that traveled to disaster stricken places. This year, she decided to go, with my father alongside her.

They usually didn't have any service to call, so letters were our only means of communication. I started to prepare dinner, talking with Harry about each other's day. I decided to make pasta, I dished up a small portion for myself and a bigger portion for Harry. I set the plate down in front of him and set mine down in the spot next to him. I pulled myself into the bar stool beside him and pulled the mail from his fingers. "You can stalk Mom and Dad's tax papers after dinner." I folded the papers and set them under my plate.

"You think I'm a human garbage disposal?" Harry asked, looking at his heaped mound of food. I nodded and pushed some pasta into my mouth. Harry shook his head but eagerly dug into his meal. I finished my meal first and placed the dirty dish into the sink. "You're on dishwashing duty." I stated, looking at the dishes in the sink in front of me. Harry groaned and pouted.

"Don't be such a baby." I ordered. Harry let out a loud wail and wiped at his eyes. "Waaaa." He yelled. I grinned at him and then my happy feelings sunk away. I still hadn't told Harry about Alexa's birthday plans. Harry was still wailing and banging his fists playfully against the counter, soon he noticed my sudden silence. "What, I didn't know babies upset you so much." Harry said, raising an eyebrow at me.

I shook my head at him, I knew I needed to tell him. But I could so easily just change the subject and leave the room. "What's wrong?" Harry asked, walking around to the sink and turning on the hot water tap. "Sit and Spill." Harry gestured towards the seat he was just in, bumping my shoulder with his own, nudging me towards the stool. I sighed and sat down, looking at him. Harry looked pointedly at me and waited for me to speak.

"Alexa's eighteenth birthday is coming up and um, she's got some interesting birthday plans." I started, looking at my fingers. "And?" Harry asked, prompting me to continue. I paused for a minute then finally spilled. "She wants to have her eighteenth at a bar."

Harry stopped washing dishes and looked at me, wiping his wet hands on his jeans. "Did you say you would go?" Harry asked, bracing himself against the sink. I couldn't meet his gaze, knowing I would see disappointment looming there. "Yeah, She wouldn't have let me say no." I explained, trying to get him to see it from my perspective. Harry let out a long, drawn-out sigh.

A small part of me wanted him to say no, that would be a valid excuse to not go to Alexa's bar fiasco. Alexa couldn't blame me for my hesitation. "I'm not Mom or Dad so I can't tell you yes or no, but I want you to do what you think is right." Harry said, picking up the dish cloth and wiping down the plates. I groaned at him, "Why can't you just tell me what to do like a normal person?" I asked, "Ya know, help me calibrate my moral compass." Harry laughed at me and shook his head, "Del, you're almost eighteen yourself, you have to start making your own decisions."

I rolled my eyes at him and crossed my arms. "Listen I'm not saying that you're right, but I hate when you're right." Harry laughed at me and splashed his water drenched hands on me. I squealed and bolted from my chair. "Curse you, Harry Mitchell!" I yelled dramatically, running up the stairs. His loud chuckle echoed upstairs.