Trust

✍ Beginning

When I got home, Adam was on the couch, playing Halo. He didn't say anything when I walked in. I looked at the TV where dying or dead aliens continued to be splattered across the screen. I cringed. They might have just been pixels, but they were realistic-looking pixels.

"The other one's in the cabinet," Adam said. He wasn't looking at me. His thumbs flew across his controller as he kept focused on the game. "You can grab it and join if you want."

I went and took the spare controller from the cabinet. I wasn't a fan of violent, bloody video games that always inevitably ended with the death of my onscreen characters, but I was in need of a distraction so I linked my controller in and began to play.

After the fifth time that I had to wait while my character struggled to respawn, I groaned.

"Bloody freaking aliens," I shouted as Adam shot at them with uncanny accuracy. "DIE YOU DISGUSTING CREATURES. DIE DIE DIE!" When they finally fell into bloody, indiscriminate heaps, I whooped and yelled, "That's what you get for killing me, you bastards," and clapped loudly in Adam's ear.

Adam paused the game. "Poppy, you suck at this game." He stood up and flung his controller at me. I shrugged. I was unapologetic. "I need a drink break."

"Could you grab me one as well?" All that shouting at non-existential monsters had made my throat dry.

He grunted. When he left the room, I picked up my phone.

4 unread messages.

I opened one. It was from dad.

Test results coming out tomorrow. Fingers crossed. I'll be at the hospital tonight if you or Adam need me. Love you, kid.

I closed his message. I couldn't bear to think about cancer or sickness or the hospital right now. I opened two other texts. They were from March.

OHMYGOODNESS WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?

I'M COMING OVER FIRST THING TOMORROW. ILY DARLING. STAY STRONG. I'M PROUD OF YOU, BABES.

I frowned. I had no idea what March was going on about.

Finally, I opened the last one. It was from Chase. There wasn't a wordy message, just a picture.

I tried not to smile when I saw it, but it was hard since my lips kept pulling upwards on their own accord.

The photo was a selfie of me sleeping on his shoulder (on the day I'd ditched school with him and caught a bus to his old neighbourhood) with him grinning goofily into the camera. The caption said I'm no photographer but I can picture us together.

I quickly sent back a text.

Oh my goodness. You are so cliché

I turned my phone screen off, but it lit up again with another message.

But I made you smile, didn't I?

I grinned widely, and decided not to reply. Flirting was kind of new to me and, honestly, I kind of sucked at it.

 *****

Adam and I went to bed at around midnight after playing Halo until our eyes began to protest against being forced to stare at a screen for hours. My fingers were also beginning to blister anyway.

When we were outside our rooms, I yawned and said, "Goodnight Adam. Sleep tight." I thought of my warm bed. "Don't let the bedbugs bite." Opening my room door, I stepped forward.

"Wait."

I stopped and turned.

Adam's blue eyes were wide. He looked like he was about to cry. I hadn't seen my brother cry since he broke his ribs falling out of a tree back in the second grade.