You are not alone

Chapter 8

" Cee ,I'll be back". Ben says heading for the door. He shuts the door behind him before I can utter a word.

" Uhh... Why did your brother leave the house dressed like a gangster?" Annie questions with a frown .

I ignore her and continue staring at the television in front of us. It's pointless really , because my attention is not on whatever the actors are doing. I had something else on my mind.

"Earth to, Celeste, " Annie snaps her fingers in my face. " Your brother just walked out of the house dressed as some creepy gangster. What on earth is going on?"

" Stop being dramatic , Annie , " I say with a shrug." He's probably just hanging out with some friends ".

" You said probably , meaning you are not sure, " she points out.  "I say we follow him and find out what he's up to."

" For what?" I snap . " Going out a  few times?"

I take a deep breath to calm myself before speaking. " Just drop it , Annie."

"Ok , I'm sorry," she mutters .

" I'm sorry too ," I say ."You came here so we can hang out right? Let's do that . Please? "

" Yeah," she forces a smile and turned back to the tv. I can tell that she wants to talk about it but I'm not in the mood for that.

I try to concentrate  on what we're watching but I can't. I grab the remote on the table in front of me and switch off the Tv.

"This is the second time he's left the house like that," I say to Annie.

She seems surprised that I'm talking about it and tries to get me to stop. " It's okay if you don't want to talk about it. I mean it."

I shake my head. " It's okay. I'm telling you so you can stop worrying."

" But..."

" It's fine ," I cut her off. " The last time, he went out and came back after some time. I don't think there's anything to worry about, ok?"

I continue, " Besides , if he's up to no good I'd know . He's my brother after all. I like to believe that I know him ."

Even as those words left my mouth, I knew within me that I didn't believe it . You can never know a person completely . No matter how close you are to the person.

" You're right . It's probably nothing ." Annie adds.

There's that word again. Probably.

Annie grabs the remote and puts on the Tv. " Come on let's stuff our faces with junk food and enjoy this episode of Stranger Things."

I roll my eyes at that. " An episode that you've already seen a million times."

"Well, you've never complained about it. Not even once," she retorts .

We laugh and with that I know that the tension from before has being resolved.

We finish the episode and study together for some time before Annie leaves.

Ben returns immediately Annie leaves . I perceive a stench I can't really place coming from him. I dismiss it as nothing and try to get him to tell me about where he was.

He laughs in my face and says it's not something I should bother myself with. I roll my eyes at that and laugh with him.

There really is nothing to worry about. He's still my big bro .

A/N:Tanx for reading .
     **Ekwaadoo.