Almost a stranger

Collapsing

While we were standing there, I saw Travis jumping over the fence with his friends. A few of his friends fell, along with him.

Kelsey: Aby, no. Let him go.
Abigail: I'm not doing anything.
Kelsey: I see the way you're looking at him.
Abigail: I'm not looking.

Then we heard Travis,
"Hey! Aby! Is that you!?"

Kelsey grabbed my wrists,
"Aby. Don't."

But I turned toward him. It was too late.

Abigail: I'll catch you for a minute girls.
Joy: Yeah, right.

They left. And Travis's friends disappeared in the park nearby.

Abigail: Hi.
Travis: Hi.

He could barely stand on his feet.

Abigail: Are you okay?
Travis: Yeah, yeah. This was awesome! 
Abigail: How much did you drink?
Travis: Not so much. 
Abigail: I'll take you home. 
Travis: No, no, no. We can have some fun tonight. Nobody will know. 
Abigail: No. We're going home. 

The taxi pulled over and I managed to get Travis into the car. When we were close to our house, I said, 
"Now, we'll have to be quiet."
Travis: Okay. 

We stumbled in the house and we got to Travis's room. He sat down on the bed, while I went to that white box from the bathroom. 

Abigail: Give me your hands. 
Travis: I'm fine. 
Abigail: You're not fine. 

His hands were full of dirt and dust from the fall. There was a cut along with his right hand. It didn't seem deep, but it was long and probably painful. I put some alcohol on it and a tissue. He was completely silent while I was doing that, which was strange. I could feel his look on me.

Abigail: Done. 
Travis: Thanks. 
Abigail: It's what sisters do. 
Travis: Yeah. 
Abigail: Now try to sleep. 
Travis: Aby?
Abigail: Yeah?
Travis: You look great. 

I was silent for a moment, not sure what should I say. 

Abigail: Thanks. 

I put the white box in its place and went to my room. I'm not sure if this was good or bad and what will Travis say tomorrow. Thank God our parents are not up. Early in the morning, I heard Travis in my room. Not able to see him right yet, I was rubbing my eyes, 

"What are you doing here?"
Travis: I came to tell thanks for yesterday. 
Abigail: You remember everything?
Travis: Most parts. 
Abigail: No problem. 
Travis: Look, I also came to say I'm sorry I kissed you a few days ago. We agreed not to do that and I was wrong. 

Abigail: It's okay. But I think we should stay away from each other from now on. 
Travis: Okay. 
Abigail: What time is it?
Travis: 8 a.m. 
Abigail: I'm late for school!
Travis: It's Saturday. 
Abigail: Oh, thank God. 

He smiled and left. That's it. What we did, we did. From now on, we're just brother and sister- avoiding each other. I don't know if I'll be able to pull this off. 

In the next few months, I felt extremely uncomfortable in my own house. Looking at Travis every day without talking to him was pure torture. We didn't speak at all- not a word. I only knew that he found a job as a mechanic- I don't know where, or when.

It was like I didn't have a brother. He was leaving to work earlier than me, so we didn't see each other in the morning. But we were both coming home at the same time, so I usually stayed with Kelsey and Joy in some coffee shop. 

Joy: How long are you two planning to avoid each other?
Abigail: I don't know. Forever, I guess. 
Joy: Forever is a long time. 
Abigail: I know, but what other choice do I have?
Kelsey: The situation is pretty crapy. 
Abigail: Oh, really? I didn't notice. 
Kelsey: You don't have to be mean. 
Abigail: I'm sorry. I'm just gonna go home now. He's probably at home already. 
Kelsey: Good luck. 
Abigail: Thanks. 
Joy: Try not to do anything stupid. 
Abigail: You know I can't promise that. 

Most of the afternoon, I spent in my room. I wasn't doing anything in particular- just reading, a little bit of studying and that was about it. Whatever I was doing, my thoughts were the same- why did this happen to me? I just wanted to have a normal boyfriend, like everyone else. And I fell in love with my brother. What would my mom say if she sees us? Would she be mad? I was constantly thinking about things like that. 

Finally, the first semester was over. Winter-break was around the corner, which meant more exams. My grades were lower and lower. I have never had such low grades. When I came home from the last day at school, I went straight to my room.

After an hour, my mom entered. She wasn't mad- more concern. I was dressed in long, black sweatpants and too big, black hoodie. If that wasn't enough, I was in my bed, looking at my phone. She sat down next to me. 

Molly: Aby, are you okay?
Abigail: Yeah, why?
Molly: I was looking at your report from school. What happened this year?
Abigail: Nothing. I guess I was just lazy. 

She took a lock of my hair and put it behind my ear. The memory of Travis doing that on Florida flashed in front of my eyes. The movement was so simple and she did it exactly the same as him. But when he did it was better. It felt more special.

Molly: You know you can tell me anything. 
Abigail: I know, but there's nothing to tell. I was just too lazy for studying. 
Molly: If you say so. But if there's anything that's bothering you, just tell me. 
Abigail: You know I will. 

Molly: Now put that phone away. We're about to eat. 
Abigail: I'm not hungry. 
Molly: Are you sure you're okay? You've been avoiding lunches and dinners for a few weeks now. 
Abigail: We had pizza in school. 
Molly: Okay then. 

She left and I started crying. This was too much for me. I was sad and angry, not sure for why exactly- not be able to talk with Travis, not be able to be with Travis, making my mom sad, making myself sad, or having so low grades.

Everything was slowly collapsing and there was nothing I could do about it. It was about midnight when the house fell into silence. That was the time when I went to eat something. The house was full of people, but I felt like I'm alone.