Silent treatment

1. Coming home

PLEASE comment if you want me to continue this because I know Cal is dead but I wanted to write this anyway, please also comment what you think should happen next because I have a rough idea but want to hear from you guys! ALSO DONT WORRY ABOUT HOW LONG AGO I WROTE THIS CHAPTER! I would continue it anyway! X

A high pitched ringing sound filled the bedroom. Izzy slammed her hand down on the bedside table repeatedly until she finally disabled the alarm clock. Great she thought, another day being totally ignored by one brother and a continent away from the other. Every day since the argument with Ethan she prayed that Cal would come home sooner. Not only was this because Ethan was on shift lots so she was always alone (not that they were speaking anyway) but also that she missed her brother. She never really considered Ethan as a brother. He was far more like a parent - sensible, boring, busy. She climbed out of bed, grabbed her giraffe onesie and stepped into it. Her hair was still in the messy French plait from the day before but she couldn't be bothered to redo it, what was the point? She was alone in the house all day. She wished school would start again sooner, at least then she'd have a distraction from what had happened. She picked up her phone and texted Cal.

I miss you so much, please come home soon xxx

She longed for a reply though she knew she wouldn't get one. Just like she hadn't got one with the dozens of other texts she'd sent him. He was staying in a rainforest somewhere in Malaysia and had no wifi or signal at all. He said he would probably be back this week but it was still only Tuesday. She felt so alone. She hadn't talked to anyone in three weeks. She thought that it would be better with Ethan by now but even though she'd apologised continuously, he never gave a response, just looked at her blankly then walked away. She picked up her earphones and walked to the living room. As she slumped down on the sofa she put her favourite song on repeat and turned the volume all the way up. Usually this song made her happy and she couldn't stop herself lip syncing but now it just made her tear up. The lyrics weren't helping at all, especially when it came to the chorus. As it played 'oh sister I will help you out, oh if the sky comes falling down, for you, there's nothing in this world I wouldn't do' Izzy burst into uncontrollable tears.

Cal was glad to be going home. As he pulled into the driveway his phone connected to the wifi and started pinging furiously. He scrolled through and smiled as he read a couple that Izzy had sent. He then gathered up his luggage and headed to the front door. As he unlocked it he felt disheartened that he wasn't greeted with a massive hug but as he walked into the living room he realised why. Izzy hadn't heard him come in because her music was so loud, he could even hear the lyrics and she had earphones in. He started thinking of how he should make her jump but then realised something wasn't right. She loved this song. She always danced to it or sang to it or at least nodded her head to the beat. But no. She was curled up in a ball with her head between her knees. He then heard a loud sob. It broke his heart to see his little sister so upset. He knelt down in front of her and removed the earphones from her ears. "Hey".

Izzy slowly uncurled herself and looked up to see her brother smiling at her. She immediately leapt from the sofa straight into his arms and continued to sob - but this time they were tears of joy. "Shhhh, it's ok" he said softly as he ran his hands up and down her back. When the tears had somewhat subsided she managed say something. "I missed you so, so much." She whispered as she clung tighter to him. "It can't have been that bad with Nibbles?" He said jokingly but got a firm nod in response. He pulled out of the hug and wiped a tear from her cheek. "Why?" He asked as he gently tucked the wispy bits of hair behind her ear. "He hasn't spoke to me in three weeks... We had an argument, since then he's just ignored me." She told him as more tears streamed down her face. Cal didn't know what to say so just embraced back into the hug. "It will be ok. I'm here now, we'll sort it."