Oh How Times Have Changed

II

Light from the open balcony door stirred me from my sleep. I rolled over in bed, taking out my earphones that were still playing classical music. Silence. I stretched and swung my feet out from the warm bed, being attacked by the cold breeze coming from the balcony door. Shouldn't have left that open. I slid it closed and grabbed the folded clothes from my desk, heading towards the shower.

The water was hot. A bit too hot, but not enough for me to fuss with the settings. I stood letting the water slide over my face for a while, head bowed to keep the water out of my eyes. The soap suds from my hair were long gone but I hadn't noticed. A knock on the door whipped me out of my thoughts and I shut off the water. I slid on my outfit, towel dried my hair and brushed my teeth.

I breezed past the person waiting for the bathroom, heading back to my room to gather up my stuff. I packed it into my backpack and headed downstairs. I could smell pancakes being cooked, smothered in syrup, and it made me sick to my stomach, the smell too overwhelming for me this early. Who wants a plate of sugar first thing in the morning? Sliding into my usual chair, I rested my head against the cold of the dining table. My migraine was still there.

"Morning, James Bond." Connor beamed at me, coming into the kitchen.

Of course, he was still in his dressing gown and pink bunny slippers. The slippers themselves were from several birthdays ago and should have been binned to end their suffering. Now, they were mostly indistinguishable rags on his feet. How sentimental.

"What do you mean by that?" Daxx asked curiously, pulling Connor in for a quick kiss.

Even after ten years of being together, they were still all over each other. Daxx was my older, adult brother. He and Connor had been together since I was really young, so they had pretty much acted like my second set of parents while I was growing up. My mum works a lot, so we spend a lot of time here. It had always been this way.

"He was out balancing on the balcony last night. It gave me a fright, Mr. Bond." Connor shook his head, stealing a pancake, much to Daxx's protest.

"Honestly, Andy, what were you thinking?" Daxx sighed while carefully stacking his pancake pile higher, "How are the in-house patients today?"

"They're fine, Mama Daxx. They just need to sleep off their hangover." Connor shrugged, hopping up to sit on the counter next to Daxx.

"Should I tell Mum? I don't think Angel should be out drinking that much. I feel bad that it's happening under my supervision."

"You need to relax, honey. We were out doing stupider stuff at their age."

"Exactly! I was hospitalised."

Connor winced at that memory and Daxx gave him a cheek kiss, taking the tray down the corridor. I didn't really remember it happening, but I was young so it's understandable. See, Daxx has a rare condition that makes him hyper-sensitive to sunlight. When he was younger, it was really bad and one time it landed him in hospital. Now, it's not so bad. Don't get me wrong, he still has to take loads of precautions, but modern medicine has helped a lot.

Ever since Daxx moved in with Connor after college, it had always been the routine for us to spend most weekdays at mums and weekends at Daxx's. This way we got to spend time with both. Connor often joked it was good practice for when they have children of their own. I thought it oddly resembled shared custody.

"Love you! Have a good day!" Connor yelled after me as I left the house.

I drove Daxx's old jeep; it was nice of him to give it to me when he got his new car. It had seen better days, and was incredibly banged up, but it worked. I put it into first gear and edged out of the crammed driveway. As I drove past the house from last night, my mouth dropped in a mixture of disgust and shock. This was worse than usual. The house looked as if it had been involved in some kind of war between confetti, paint and foam. His parents were not going to be happy.