The Contract

III - Lentare

-

I could have screamed. I could have swore. I could have chucked various object at walls until my arms got sore.

Anthony had to be the most annoying little twit I had ever laid eyes on. It was way beyond me why he would take my bras—yes, my bras of all things—but who knew what went on in his little head?

I stomped my way to Tony's room, quite aware that perhaps the whole neighborhood could hear me. My mind was thinking only to search and destroy—and retrieve my bras. I was fuming; burning with annoyance. Why in the world would Tony take my bras? I whirled into his doorframe, snarling like a beast, only to see the seemingly innocently little brat laying on his bed, coloring in some kid's coloring book. Upon hearing my arrival, he looked up, away from the colorful pages, and smiled at me; smiled so purely I almost forgot why I was mad at him.

That was, until I noticed something rather suspicious dangling from his ceiling fan.

A bra.

I resisted the strong urge to pummel my little brother as I watched the bra dangle, almost tauntingly, from the ceiling fan. Tony hopped off his bed and ran to me, throwing his arms around me and calling my name as loudly as he could, as if he was happy to see me.

I scowled as I shoved him away and climbed on his bed. I ignored the slight creak it gave at my weight and unhooked my bra from the fan. I shot a death glare in Tony's direction but he only gave me an innocent look in response.

"Where are my other bras?" I asked him, slowly; calmly. Tony's innocent, confused expression suddenly morphed into one that a little demon would wear. His pouting lips stretched into a wicked grin and he turned, zipping out of sight, cackling all the while. I stared after him, one eyebrow raised slightly higher than the other. I hopped off his bed, fire in my eyes, and trailed after him.

"I will catch you," I hissed out in a singsong voice, "and I will kill you." I took the stairs by two, but stopped abruptly when I noticed something different about them. I looked around, my jaw tightening, when I saw that my bras were all scattered here and there in a little line down the stairs, as if they were leading me somewhere.

Ugh. What did that little brat of a brother want from me?

I plucked up all of my bras, uncomfortably holding them in a heap in my arms, and swerved into the kitchen where I found Tony standing on a kitchen chair that he had dragged by the fridge. On the fridge, a small note was held on the door by a magnet, but Tony was too short to reach it.

"It's from mom!" he exclaimed, jerking his head towards the note, causing his auburn hair to shift against his forehead. "I'm too short too reach it!"

"Is that what you wanted?" I snapped, dropping my bras in a pile at my feet. I stormed over to Tony and the note and snatched it off the fridge, unaware that my left eye was twitching slightly.

"She's out of town," I said, pressing the note to his forehead. It fluttered down to his feet. "She's picking up grandma and grandpa." I sighed and gave the note a longer look than needed. "So who's gonna take care of you while I'm at school?"

"Her!" Tony suddenly squeaked, pointing past my head. I looked over my shoulder, catching sight of a woman standing in the doorframe of the kitchen. This woman was Mrs. Dyck, a friend of my mom's. Judging by the expression on her face, I assumed she had witnessed the whole event with Tony and my bras. I gave her a quick smile, trying to at least appear somewhat polite, scooped up my bras, then headed up the stairs to go set them in my room. I'd put them in a drawer later.