He changed me

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Good morning!" I greeted when I entered the kitchen, making my way to the fridge.

My brother grunted as he rubbed his temples while he waited for the effervescent tablet to dissolve in the glass of water in front of him. "If it was a good morning, I would be on a yacht in St. Tropez being massaged by Jeniffer Lopez without seeing your ugly ass face and having this fucking hangover."

I glared at him. "Wow you have a new record, Sunshine!" I looked at the clock above the door, mockingly. "It's been like thirty seconds since I walked in here and you've managed to insult me and remind me why I wished to be an only child in less than a minute."

Joey groaned in response, ignoring my glare. I took a bottle of milk from the fridge and cereal from the cupboard. "I heard you coming in at 2 AM. If you'd stop drinking so much you wouldn't be having this awful headache now."

"Your voice makes my headache grow bigger and bigger."

"You sure it's because of my voice and not because of your ego taking up all the place in that big head of yours?" I queried rhetorically. I took a bowl and prepared my breakfast; cereal with milk.

He gave me the death glare I grew so used too. "The more you speak, the more I have the urge to kick your ass out of the kitchen."

"Oh, like mom has the urge to kick your 24-year-old-workless-ass out of the house." I smiled as I noticed his facial expression. Joey's dark brown eyes were shooting daggers at me as I passed him, making my way out of there. He looked flushed and angry all at the same time while the tension around us grew thicker. This little vein on his forehead was pounding and ready to pop at any moment. I had definitely hit a nerve.

Joey was a pain in the ass. He had been a golden boy with great grades, with all the girls drooling all over him and - as cliché as it sounds- the quarterback of his high school. Yes, I was related to someone like that. He used to be sweet but everything changed when my dad left us when I was 12 years old. I don't know why he left us, but I know it all went downhill since then. Joey started acting out and got kicked out of the football-team, breaking his dream of getting a scholarship and becoming a lawyer. His grades were dropping too and with that he turned from a golden boy to a disappointment. He still managed to graduate though, but didn't bother to go to college.

My father used to be my brother's favorite person in the world, but now he loathed him. I don't know what happened nor does my mother. My dad tried to reach us a few times but my brother always stopped him or made him go away whenever he stood at our door. Whenever my mom would ask him about it, he simply answered: "Don't be naive. He left us once, why do you think he wouldn't do it twice?". My brother had some bigger daddy-issues than I had. I think the whole transition from golden-boy to a dissapointment had something to do with my dad. I think he's the reason that Joey acted so cold towards me or someone else. He never opened up to someone and I really think he needs a shrink for that, but that's never going to happen. Joey build a wall around him so firm that not even a bulldozer can break it. To be honest; I was really worried about him. I remember the day when my dad left us as if it was yesterday. He came back from work a little while after my brother came back from his friend's and started packing up his stuff. My mom begged him to stay while asking him what's wrong. I was crying in my room as Joey held me tight, comforting me and telling me it was better this way. I never knew why he said that nor did I ask him about it.

I took a seat on the couch- indian style - and watched the final episode of The Vampire Diaries while enjoying my breakfast. That was until my phone started ringing. I let out a sigh and put my bowl of cereal on the table in front of me and paused the episode. Finally I picked up my phone.