Dangerously Devoted

8

After a long week of constantly running errands for Arden, I was eager to relax and take a load off.

That consists of being occupied by my brother

My brother and I hadn't spent enough time together; we both are continuously in and out of the house on different time schedules. We only rarely get to speak to each other, and that usually consisted of his usual morning calls to check on me.

He'd call me before I leave work, mostly because he never enjoyed interrupting my sleep. I don't usually get up till 7:15, and by that time, he's long gone to his tedious auto job.

After our world was torn into two from losing half our family, you'd think we'd become closer than ever. That wasn't the case. Ethan and I grieved differently; I cried for weeks on end, then decided I was destined to lose my virginity while Ethan, on the other hand, took his friends to help him cope.

We were in two completely different worlds, and even then, he still was the best-friend- brother- and the best person I know. An actual shoulder to lean on and a great listener, and even though talks were always great with Ethan, they were much better with Kelli since I could get personal and talk about anything without being judged by my age.

If I decided I wanted to go on a murder spree, Kelli would cover up for me without hesitation. Sadly Kelli was unavailable; she flew out to see her sister for the weekend.

My eyes shot over to Ethan as he let out an exhausted laugh, causing me to snap out of thought and focus my attention on what we were currently doing. Ethan and I had been sitting here almost all day enjoying the company of each other while binging one of our favorite shows, Supernatural, as we blabbered on about random things and things we hadn't ever mentioned to each other.

He paused from his laughter and turns towards me with an expression of sudden realization, "you know what would make this night even better?"

I look back at him confused, leaning my body more into the couch for better comfort, "what?"

He pulls his finger into view and slowly points to the kitchen while resting his face into a smile, "popcorn."

Before I can do my usual thirty-second dramatic sigh, Ethan cuts me off, "before you start overreacting fat ass, it's store-bought popcorn, so it's already made." he says, pushing me to the edge.

I playfully push him back while laughing, "whatever."

"I don't get it" Without looking at him, I can already see the pouty face he makes when he tries to guilt-trip me.

"What?" I roll my eyes at the pouty sound in his voice.

"You can constantly do a bunch of things for some random guy, but you can't grab a bag of popcorn for your brother without it being a problem?" he dramatically says as I make my way towards the bag of popcorn resting on the counter.

"He's not just some random guy; he's my boss Ethan," I  sigh while chucking the bag at him.

He quickly catches it and frowns.

"Plus, I don't see you paying me," I continue.

Ethan's eyes grew as they practically screamed at my response, "you're getting paid-"

The vibration from my phone suddenly cuts off Ethan; we both make eye connect then turn back to my phone, "your boss is calling you," he exclaims, stretching the phone out to me.

I grab the phone and look at the caller ID. Boss in all caps sat before me as Ethan looked at me with a puzzled mask from my hesitation as if I was doing something I had no business doing.

pressing answer before pulling it to my ear, the call is silent for a second before a low heavy voice breaks through, "Mia?"

My teeth clench against my lip as I turn to head in the kitchen, entirely out of Ethan's sight, "hey yeah, it's me."

"Is everything okay?" I say as concern builds up in my throat.

He lets out a soft sniffle before speaking, "Yes, everything is okay" he gives me a reassuring chuckle and the tension in my body eases.

"I was wondering if you'd like to have dinner with me tonight" after he lets go of his last words, a sudden burn crawls up my cheeks as silence pours through again. My lips re-enter my mouth, and I nod slowly, thinking he could see me.

"I assumed tonight would be the perfect night, I have a hectic schedule this weekend, and I wanted to talk to you about a few things."

I lean my head over towards the living room as Ethan has his eyes focused on the show, not paying me any mind. Despite the fact Ethan and I were spending quality time together, this was the perfect opportunity to bring up that night.

"If today is not a great day, Mia, I understand" his full of confidence tone melts as the sound of his delicate breathing becomes more distant as his face against the phone seemed to have separated.

"Oh no, of course; what time?" I shortly jump in and speak before I lose the chance again.

"What time what?" Ethan peered into the kitchen as Arden speaks through the phone. I pull the phone swiftly from my ear, as fast as I hung the phone up.

"My boss wants me to meet him," I say with hesitation, causing Ethan to narrow his eyebrows at me.

"What for?" he asks after sipping his bottle of water.

"To talk," I say, shrugging my shoulders as guilt washes over me.

"I thought tonight was for us?" He props his elbows against the counter across from me.

"I know I'm sorry, but I'm leaving now. He made it sound essential" It was a lie; he hadn't made it sound too important where I'd have to ditch our brother, sister bonding time.

He lifts his form before looking into the living room then back at me, "okay."

Surprisingly he wasn't showing it this time, but I felt the pain in his face; it hurt him. He'd altogether canceled his plans with his friends just to spend some quality time with me, and here I was, withdrawing our plans to meet up with my boss when I could have rescheduled.
I always gave him the look of pity when I did something wrong, knowing he hates it.

He stretches his back and walks towards me, and pulls me into a warm sideways hug while gliding his fingers through my hair strands.

"I love you, sis, don't feel bad. I know it's your job; it's vital. I'll just call my friends and tell them I can make it" he leaves a soft kiss on my forehead, causing a smile to form on my lips.

He gives me a soothing smile and pulls out his phone as he walks out the kitchen and back into the living room; Leaving me with levels of shame.