Chapter Four

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Alex had been silent for the following weeks after the party. I rarely saw him at home; maybe for a few minutes before he left for work, and only few words were said. He worked later hours, and on weekends he just slept through most of the day. I was confused; I wanted to ask what was wrong but he was always so tired.

One night, though, he came home early. I heard the door open and I rushed out of my tiny room, finding Alex putting his jacket on the table. He turned to me and smiled tiredly, holding out his arms. I embraced him, but didn’t say a word.

A loud thud startled me, and I found a guy, all clad in leather, tattoos all over his skin, piercing shining and hair all gelled up, collapsing on the sofa. I squinted my eyes.

It was Jason, my brother.

“Jason!” I exclaimed, running towards my brother. He didn’t budge. “Wake up, Jason. Damnit. You just got here!”

He grumbled, rolling over. I rolled my eyes. I looked over and found a travelling bag lying next to the door that was still ajar; his shoes on top of each other next to the bag.  

“He’s staying here?” I asked Alex, who was already fixing up dinner.

“Yeah. In your room. You’ll move out and stay with me. Unless you want Jason and me to sleep on the same bed,” he said with a playful smile on his lips. I grunted at him and he chuckled.

“Jason, wake up,” I whined. My brother, as strange as he may be, would always be the best friend I’d ever have. Other people found him scary and intimidating, but whenever I see him, he’ll always be the same kid with the shiny brown hair and the blue light saber in his hands who always wore robot shirts.

He grunted, rolled over again, and his eyes fluttered open. He looked at me, than shut his eyes. “Go away Jen, let me get some sleep. Why don’t you and Alex just fuck yourselves up and I’ll stay here.”

I punched him. “Ow! What was that for?”

“I don’t do sex,” I said through gritted teeth, punching him again and again, several times until he rolled off onto the floor and raised his hands in surrender. I grinned triumphantly over him.

“Okay, okay, enough,” he said, struggling to get up. I got up from the floor and Jason followed. He grinned at me and ruffled my hair. “Still the same old tough little bitch, are we?”

I stuck my tongue out at him and we laughed. We walked over to the kitchen where Alex was waiting, and before us stood a big plate of pesto and grilled pork tenders. My eyes watered at the sight of this, and I immediately took a seat. Alex took a seat next to me, and Jason sat in front of me. I smiled at Alex as he held my hand from under the table.

We all dug in to Alex’s wonderful cooking, and everything was swiped out in thirty minutes. Jason burped and said good night, throwing his travelling bag into the guest room and bolting the door.

Alex smiled at me. “How about we leave those dishes for tomorrow? I’m tired.”

I nodded, looking at the stacks of dirty, oily dishes. “Yeah, that’s fine.”

I followed Alex into his room. It was a little bigger than mine, with the same stark white walls; though they were lined with bookshelves filled with books varying in size and thickness. A wooden desk hung off the wall next to the window. In the middle of the room was Alex’s bed; big enough for two people to sleep in, with comfortable white sheets and fluffy white pillows. Alex climbed into the bed with me and wrapped his arms around me, and in minutes he was fast asleep.

I sighed, curling up next to him, remembering those days when Alex and I would sleep in our backyard, my head on his chest as we tried to count the stars; trying to remember how it felt like, being so close to someone who you thought you wanted to be with for the rest of your life.

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⏰ Last updated: May 14, 2012 ⏰

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