You're Always You

Chapter Fifteen

David Minett

Oh, he was gonna kill Dickie.

That guy was dead.

After bringing Monica home, David opted to stay the night with his mother and sister as well, primarily to prevent the latter from going off and doing something stupid.

Since he was apparently unemployed, which bothered the fuck out of him, David had nowhere to go in the morning. He was unsurprisingly the first one awake, and sat scowling in the living room with a cup of coffee, black, and as bitter as he was.

Those who knew him well knew that if he needed to drink coffee, something was wrong, and the blacker and more bitter it was, the worse the problem.

If his Lydia were here, she would be very concerned.

It was while doing this that he noted his sister woke up not long after him, seeing as her phone rang, loudly, and she picked it up.

....

David shamelessly got up and moved to stand by her bedroom door, listening.

"...know. I appreciate that. But...I don't think my brother would like me in the same place as Richard very much."

....

Who the fuck was she talking to and why was she talking about being in the same place as Richard.

David wished his coffee was darker.

"I'm sorry! I know he won't be happy about that. But...I dunno. I kinda agree with Davie. No offense at all, I just...personally...never really liked...being looked at that way..."

He resisted a sigh at that, purely because he didn't want Moni to hear him. Of course she was uncomfortable there.

David was uncomfortable there, and that place was aimed at men. But, more to the point, he knew his sister. He knew that she wouldn't have gone to work there if she'd had a choice, or at least felt like she had a choice. Monica would've worked anywhere else, if she'd only been given the chance, but Dave had a feeling she hadn't.

He would fix that.

"I'm really sorry. Y'know...my couch is open too. Just...if you ever need it. I know Richard's not the nicest all the time. He was pretty mean in high school, according to Dave."

The older brother resisted grumbling. That was putting it mildly. The guy was an assbandit.

There was nothing interesting on Monica's end of the conversation after that, and even though she'd hung up and he could hear her moving towards the door, David didn't go anywhere. He merely just took a casual sip of his coffee as Monica opened the door and gasped with surprise.

"David," she exclaimed, whacking his shoulder. "You scared me."

"Who was that on the phone?"

She scoffed. "Were you listening?"

"Uh-huh."

"Asshole," Monica retorted, pushing past him. "It's none of your business."

"Excuse me, my little sister dancing for grandpas is definitely my business," David remarked, going after her. "What the fuck, Monica."

"Look, it's over okay? I quit," she said, heading into the kitchen and pouring her own coffee from the pot Dave had made. Though, she definitely put a load of milk in it, unlike her brother. "Since when do you care, anyway?"

Why did they both ask him that?

"Just because I served my country doesn't mean I don't care, Moni," Dave responded, hurt by her words. "I'm sorry I was gone, okay? But I'm here now. Please, just...."

They both sighed.

"I know," Monica mumbled after a few moments and a sip of her own coffee. "I'm sorry. It's just been...kinda hard. I mean, I'm twenty-three. Davie, all of my friends are either already graduated or doing it next year. And I still can't even pick a fucking major."

"Fashion."

"What?"

David exhaled and shook his head. "...Fashion design," he told her. "I think...you'd be really good at that."

She looked down at the floor with furrowed brows, then...tilted her head in admittance. "I could do that." However, she snorted and shook her own head. "...Like I can afford it anymore...."

"I'll pay," Dave said immediately.

His sister looked up at him and frowned. "Davie, you can't afford it either."

"Then we'll both be in debt," he replied, setting his coffee mug down. "But it's not like I'm using it for anything."

"Rent."

"I'll stay here with Mom."

Monica huffed at his persistence, before averting her gaze again. "No," she mumbled. "You shouldn't...go broke for me. That's not fair."

David stepped towards his sister and took her mug from her hands setting it down as well, before hugging her. "Moni. You're my little sister. I love you. I would die for you. Going broke is nothing."

"You're gonna make me cry...." she chortled sadly, hugging him back.

He chuckled. "Good. That means you've got your sense back."

She pushed him. "Asshole." The two of them separated and picked up their coffees again, before Monica murmured, "It was Lydia, by the way."

David furrowed his brows.

"On the phone?"

Oh.

He wasn't sure what to make of that, to be honest. He wasn't exactly surprised that Lydia was on a friendship basis with Moni, if they'd worked together. That was just...Lydia. It was no different as if Monica was her costar on stage, which....

In a sense was true here too.

Shudder.

What was more troubling were the things that Monica had said, things that implied Lydia was...with Dick.

Like....With with.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, was why Dickie was a dead man.

"Didn't you have like...a crush on her forever ago?" Monica questioned, squinting as she tried to remember. "I can't remember. I was like, eleven."

....

David let out a deep sigh. Technically he had had a bit of a teeny crush on Lydia before they dated, before he rescued her from Dick, so Monica wasn't wrong about that. It was just....Well now it wasn't a crush, it was twelve years of love and trust and it was just...nonexistent here. Down the drain. Dave was the only one that remembered all those years of laughs and tears and everything in between, and....

"Yeah...." he mumbled. "You could say that...."

Monica snorted. "Bet you were in your glory then, huh?" she teased.

Her brother shook his head. "Actually, I don't think I've ever been more limp-noodle in my life."

Monica had to set her mug down before she dropped it in her attempts to wrestle between laughter and disgust.

* * * * *

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XOXO Alice