The Bad Boy's Sister 2

Chapter 4 - Thanks For Killing the Moment

I spend the rest of my Friday doing things that don't include going into my room. I don't want to face Jace right now because I'm afraid I'll chew him out about being so stupid. I must take my elderly neighbor's advice; caring is the best thing you can do.

When I call Jake after lunch, he is busy with some family activities, so we conclude that we should let him spend time with his family and we can spend another day together. It makes me sad, but at the same time it may be good. I'm in a ranting mood and I'm sure something would slip about Jace and his stupid drinking problem, which would lead to more stress for Jake. That's the last thing I want for him...

Around dinner time, Jace finally comes out of my room looking as pale as a ghost. He is applying pressure to his temples and his eyes are scrunched closed from the light. This is, as far as I know, one of the first hangovers he's had in a while, so it probably isn't very pretty.

Instead of saying anything, I continue to mind my own business. I have the T.V. remote in my grip and I'm flipping through channels, looking for something at least half decent to watch. He trips his way down the stairs and I watch him stare at me for a quick second in my peripheral vision before continuing to the kitchen. It takes literally every cell in my body not to yell at him as the anger burns in my stomach.

"How bad?" he finally asks, sitting next to me with a bottle of ginger ale in his hands. I bite my lip and ignore him, watching some random tennis game that I could care less about.

"Go Redford!" I yell, trying to act like I'm really into the game "Redford" has just scored one point over his opponent. Big whoop. "You show that loser how it's done!"

"That bad?" he mutters, pushing out the foot rest and kicking back in his seat. I turn to look at him, glaring viciously before I turn back to the game.

"You're interrupting," I snap, raising my eyebrows in a sassy manner

"Sam, you and I both know you hate tennis. You can stop this bull crap."

"Well, people change and develop new interests. Clearly I have changed and I've developed a new interest for tennis," I say, folding my arms across my chest. He smirks weakly and pulls out his phone.

"Brighton loves a woman who loves-"

"NO! Don't bring that stupid, brainless, irresponsible drughead into this!" I yell, slapping his phone out of his hands. He watches it fall in surprise, but he doesn't pick it back up.

"But you said you-"

"I DON'T, okay?"

"Then you lied?"

"And you broke your stupid promise!" I say, stomping my foot angrily on the ground. His eyes get big and his jaw drops a little.

"Did you just seriously throw a fit?"

"No!"

"Yes you did!"

"Stop trying to change the subject, Jace!" I growl. "You would be upset if I broke a promise, so give me one good reason I shouldn't be upset with you."

"What promise?" he asks, scratching the back of his neck.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe the one about stopping drinking," I say rudely. He shifts uncomfortably as if he's just done something embarrassing in front of his crush and he looks at me with guilty eyes.

"Sam, I didn't mean to break a promise. I was just trying to relieve some of the hurt. Brighton said that's the only thing that helps him when he's that upset and he offered to drink with me just in case Mom or Dad caught us so that I could blame it on him."

"Jace, what could be bad enough to drink over? I don't think you realize how much it hurts me that you would break my promise."

"I didn't mean to hurt you, Sam," he says quietly, looking at the floor. "I've been in a lot of pain lately. Hadley...she broke up with me for...for another guy."

"No," I gasp, immediately feeling horrible for yelling at him. "Jace, I didn't realize."

"She cheated, Sam," he chokes. "I thought we had something, but I guess I was wrong."

"Why didn't you tell me?" I ask, scooting closer so I can hug him.

"I didn't know how," he shrugs. "Guys don't like to whine about their relationship problems. I result to relief and that was the quickest amount of relief I could get."

"Jace," I frown. "I'm sorry. I can't believe I just yelled at you without even realizing it. I am so sorry."

"Don't worry about it, Sam. It was my fault. And I'm sorry for making you upset. Thanks for leaving some stuff for my hangover, by the way. You're really the best."

"It wasn't an issue," I tell him, patting his arm gently for comfort. "By the sides, it's not like Mom needs another reason for wanting to kick you out."

"Thanks, Sam," he sighs. "Thanks for killing the moment."

"Oh, no problem. Someone has to kill it, right?"

"Ugh," he sighs, rolling his eyes. "I guess so."

I chuckle and turn the T. V. off, throwing the remote off to the side while Jace finally picks his phone back up. It makes me feel better that we communicated and I think that my wise, elderly neighbor was right; caring is the best thing you can do. Now I just have to keep it up. It's going to be tricky, especially if Brighton comes into the picture again. I might blow a fuse...

"Hey, so uh, question," Jace says as I get up from the couch.

"Yes?"

"Do Mom and Dad know?" he asks, raising his eyebrows at me.

"That's for you to find out," I smirk, turning to keep walking toward my bedroom.

"Sam! Wait!" he calls. I hear the couch lift up from behind me as he scurries to catch up. His hand grabs my shoulder and he whirls me around to face him.

"Ew, you need to brush your teeth," I say, waving my hand in front of my nose in disgust. It's amazing how bad alcohol makes people's breath smell.

"Sam, do Mom and Dad know?"

"Brush your teeth and I'll tell you."

"Tell me and I'll brush my teeth."

"Jace..." I warn.

"Sam..." he mimics. I glare at him with daggers before finally giving in.

"Starts with an N, now go brush your teeth!"

"Thank heavens," he breathes a sigh of relief and follows me up the stairs. I go to my bedroom to listen to music while he goes and does what he promised.

Seriously, what am I going to do with him?

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    Picture of Hadley on right!

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