𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 (1)

𝟻𝟽. 𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎

☆ • ☆ • ☆

she walked into the restaurant, audrey's eyes searching for a mop of bright blue hair. adam dyed his hair regularly, and the last time she saw him, it was pink.

adam found her first, getting up and waving his hand towards audrey.

she smiled, walking towards her older brother, butterflies fluttering in her stomach at the thought of making conversation with someone she hadn't seen in two years.

"hey, sis," adam said, pulling his younger sister into a hug, rubbing the top of her head. "how are you?"

"good," she replied, her voice slightly mumbled since her face was squished into adam's shirt. "what about you?" she asked as they sat down at their table.

"good, i'm going to california tomorrow."

audrey smiled, "i literally just got back last night."

adam laughed, "yeah, julian told me, he said he saw you there."

audrey tensed, arms folded on the table as she asked, "since when did you talk to julian?"

"forever, sis, we were distant friends before he dated you, and now we started talking again about two months ago."

audrey took a sip of her ice water, "what else did he say to you?"

"that you had a boyfriend? and you went to hawaii? you've been living quite the life this past month and a half," he said, head motioning to audrey's cast. "and you have a broken arm."

"it's almost healed," audrey replied, her fingers running over the material. "i'm going to the hospital after this to see if it's healed and they can take it off."

"how long have you had it?"

"like five-ish weeks."

"what's happened?"

"car crash," audrey replied curtly.

"how? what happened?"

"hm, the chicken alfredo sounds great right now," audrey said, opening her menu and skimming through the items listed on the page.

adam frowned, but let audrey change the subject. "i was thinking lasagna, or a burger."

"get a burger so i can steal your fries," audrey said, smiling. "and also the burger."

adam rolled his eyes, a grin on his face as he called a waiter over to order.

the two siblings sat together for the next two hours, talking, laughing, and eating, when the conversation took a turn for the worst.

"so you do have a boyfriend?" adam asked, putting his glass of wine down on the table.

audrey hesitated, before shaking her head, "no, i did, but we aren't together anymore."

"what was his name?"

"daniel, but we broke up after we came back from hawaii."

"what did he do?" adam asked curiously.

"nothing, we just weren't right for each other."

"what's his full name?"

"adam, i don't think-"

"no, audrey, i want to know, i'm your big brother."

"yeah, you're a great big brother, adam, leaving for two years, without a damn phone call? leaving me and mom alone? escaping our house as soon as you turned 18? fuck you," she snapped.

adam pursed his lips. "you know traveling is my job, right?"

"yeah, but you also have a job as a brother and a son to call your fucking family once in a while, adam," audrey hissed.

"i've been talking to dad," adam said suddenly, eyes looking downwards. "he wants to see you."

"yeah, well i don't want to see the person that left my family as soon as things didn't go the way they planned. my father doesn't deserve to see me."

adam slammed his fist on the table, making the few guests and staff around him give him a look of disapproval. "he is your father, audrey lee, and he deserves to see you, he knows he made a mistake. he's happy now, audrey, and we're all doing okay, right?"

audrey shook her head. "oh yeah, mom was doing just amazing years ago when she was working non stop just to make sure we had food to eat. i was doing just amazing when my big brother suddenly disappeared a week after he turned 18, leaving me and my mother completely alone."

audrey stood up, tossing a small piece of paper on the table. "there's my number and mom's if you ever want to apologize to mom or try to fix the shit you've done. thank you for the lunch."

and with that, audrey exited the restaurant.

she waited outside, walking a few blocks away from the restaurant for her uber to take her to the hospital.

she fumbled with her phone, immediately calling daniel, who picked up after one ring.

"what's up, love?"

audrey couldn't respond, but let out a sob, making daniel tense up.

"audrey, love, what's wrong?"

audrey took a gulp of air, closing her eyes and waiting for another second.

"was it your brother? did he do anything to you? i swear to god-"

audrey cut him off, voice cracked as she said, "he's been talking to julian and my dad, it's like i don't even know him anymore."

"julian? what the fuck?"

"i don't know, dani, he said they've been talking for a long time, and then he said that my father wants to see me. the guy who ran out on my mom when we didn't have any money."

"well, are you going to see him?"

"i don't wanna, but adam thinks i should."

"i'll come with you?"

audrey sniffed. "i don't know, bub, i honestly don't want to see him."

"you feeling better now?"

"yeah, i'm sorry, i'm just being over dramatic," audrey replied, calming down and wiping her wet cheeks.

"love, it's my job as your boyfriend to be there no matter what, okay? are you in the car?"

"i'm waiting for my uber right now."

"stay safe, love, and call christina if you want her to pick you up, okay? i'm here for you."

"thank you, daniel."

"i got to go, rey, manager's getting suspicious, i'll text you, okay?"

"bye, dani."