ONNAXOFF

Chapter 21

Abel

"Your brother?!" My mind spins as we walk away from the bar. "I just punched your brother in the face?”

“Yup. He deserved it.” She replies casually. “But you probably shouldn’t do that again.” 

“Is he like a half-brother…? Play brother, brother from another mother or…?” 

“Nope. We have the same parents.” 

“Then… why was he calling himself your boyfriend?” I ask as I unlock the car. 

“He has a really fucked up sense of humour.” 

“You never told me you had a brother.”

“It never came up.” She shrugs, getting into the passenger seat.

“Hiding any other siblings?”

“Nope. Just the fucked up brother.”

“Oh good.” I say, my voice dripping with sarcasm. “What did he want?”

“I don’t know. And I don’t care. I don’t want to talk about him. Can we just forget this even happened?” She says dismissively, as she clicks in her seatbelt.

“No, Jessie. We can’t.” I snap and she simply sighs. “How long have you had a brother in Toronto?”

“A long time.” She answers vaguely.

I grip the steering wheel, trying to make sense of what just happened, with no help from her.

I’m suddenly struck by the irony of the situation. I’ve spent so much of my life zoning out of conversations, wishing girls would stop talking and get to work. But now that I actually want one to talk, all she’s giving me are these fucking clipped responses.

I would probably laugh if I wasn’t so pissed off.

“Are you going to start the car or are we just going to sit here?” She asks calmly.

I turn and stare at her nonchalant face.

In contrast with the excitement she displayed on the drive over, she stares straight ahead, her expression unreadable.

I look at her for so long, if I had X-ray vision, this would definitely be the time I discovered it.

Her green eyes cold and indifferent, she finally turns to meet my gaze. She opens her mouth like she’s going to say something. Closes it. 

“I need a cigarette.” She states, looking away again.

I take a deep breath, wrestle the pack out of my pocket and toss it over with a lighter.

"Thank you." She says as I start the car.

After she lights up, she rolls down the window to blow the smoke out.

“God, I hate Newports.” She mutters, taking another long drag.

Neither of us says another word until we arrive back at her building.

I park and cut the engine. Silence instantly fills the space, until she audibly takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly.

“Listen, Abel. I know I avoid your questions sometimes. Like, right now. 

But it’s nothing to do with you. I mean… it’s not personal. It’s just because I really don’t want to talk about it. 

And I would rather avoid the question than lie to you.”

I consider her words for a moment. It makes sense. One of the things I like about her is her honesty. Despite her tendency to leave out important information like moving house or having a crazy junkie brother, she’s never lied to me, as far as I know.