Reality

Baby Sis

Liam

Tuesday morning, Mick and I step into our usual coffee shop together. She grabs the table in the back of the shop that we consider ours as I purchase our drinks and something to eat. As I wait at the counter to pick up our coffee and two warm slices of banana nut bread, I take a glance towards our table. Mick sits in one seat, nervously picking at her perfectly manicured hands and staring out the window. It's not like her to be so fidgety and uneasy, which makes me feel concerned that something might have happened while I was away in Missouri. 

Mick was so quiet for the entire ride over here, which is not like her at all. Normally, she would talk my ear off about anything and everything, but for some reason she had nothing to say to me. Even when I would ask her questions about her weekend, I only received one-word answers and hesitant smiles. I'm beginning to worry about her. After all the shit that happened with Louis and seeing how badly he broke her heart, I'm scared that she's really not doing okay. 

The thing I have come to realize about Mick is that there is so much more to her than she lets people see. I may be the closest one to her in the house, the only person here that she would consider to be family, and I still don't know everything about her. There are things she doesn't want people to know, at least not that many people, and I'm kind of offended that she isn't comfortable enough to want to share that stuff with me. It makes me wonder if she has a wall up that is just as big, if not bigger, than the one Aubrey stands behind. 

When I finally receive all that I paid for, I grab everything and head over to the table. Mick offers a light smile as she mumbles a 'thank you'. I'm about to ask her if she's doing okay but she's quick to take control of the conversation.

"So tell me about Missouri," she takes a sip of her latte and smiles. "How was it introducing Aubrey to your parents?"

I spend my time answering all her questions about my weekend. I tell her about the day I gave Aubrey a tour of my school campus and the party that we went to. She asks a million questions about the interaction with my friends, wondering if it was awkward for me to show off a girlfriend. When I tell her I was proud and more than happy to introduce them to Aubrey, her face softens in awe as she goes on about how she thinks it's adorable. 

As I tell Mick about the incident with my dad, concern takes over her facial features as she rapid-fires questions my way. I assumed she would react as such, asking me if I broke my dad's nose and if he hit me back and what did Aubrey do and how did my mom react. I'm almost annoyed with all her questions, but that's only because she's taking up more time talking about me rather than letting me ask her any questions about her weekend. 

When there's finally a pause in our conversation, seeing as she takes a bite of one slice of banana bread, I jump on my chance to talk about her.

"How was your weekend?"

Her cheeks grow pink as she looks down at the table. "Oh I didn't do much of anything. It was fine."

"You didn't do anything? The entire weekend you just sat around?" 

"I went clubbing with Scarlett and her friends on Saturday."

"That sounds like fun."

"The next morning wasn't too fun. I had a really bad hangover and I don't quite remember everything that happened."

I draw my brows together in confusion. "That doesn't sound much like you. I didn't know you could drink that much to forget shit."

"I was in a mood."

"You're still in a mood, as far as I can tell. What's up with you? Did something happen while I was gone?" I study her face in the hopes that something will give away what's really going on but I come up empty.