Authors: Karli Perrin
Chapter
Seven
The next
morning, I was watching crappy morning TV when Lucy sat down next to me. "Hey,
did you have a good night?"
"Don't
ask" she replied.
"So
that's a no then, are you okay?"
"I
haven't decided."
"What
has he done now?"
She blushed,
"Who?"
"Dan,
was he being a douche last night?"
"When is
he
not
being a douche?"
"True.
So what did he do to upset you?"
"I don't
even want to waste my breath on him."
"Do you
need me to kick him in the balls for you?"
"I
already did."
I laughed, "Good.
What did you end up doing in the end? You were out pretty late."
"Um, we
just had a few drinks and then I stayed to watch some band play." She
stood up, "Do you want a coffee?"
"No
thanks, I'm leaving for class in a minute."
"More
for me then."
***
I was on my
way to class, making a mental note to kick Dan in the balls when Isaac called.
The
wanderer returns.
"Hello"
I answered.
"Hi,
gorgeous."
"So, you're
alive then."
He laughed,
"Wait, let me check...yep, I have a pulse."
"Excellent"
I replied, sarcastically.
"What's
wrong?"
"Nothing."
"Okay, you're
doing the dartboard thing again."
"What
dartboard thing?"
"When
you pretend that you're okay but you're not. You really want to put my face on
a dartboard and aim for my eyes."
"Maybe
you're the one who's pretending to be okay."
"And now
you're using reverse psychology."
"Why
would I use that?"
"Why
wouldn't
you use it?"
"Okay
smartass, why didn't you call me last night?"
"I was
really busy then I fell asleep, I'm sorry."
"Busy
doing what?"
"I've
got a lot of things to take care of these next few weeks. Anyway, enough about
that. What did you get up to last night?"
I paused,
debating the best way to tell him about my trip to see Lukas.
"Are you
just going to ignore me?" he asked.
"No. Can
I see you tonight? I'll tell you then." I wanted to speak to him about it
face to face rather than over the phone. Then I could also ask him why he was
acting so weird yesterday.
"Of
course."
"Are you
sure you're not too busy?" I asked with a little too much sass.
"Nope,
I'm all yours."
***
I arrived at
my lecture ten minutes early so decided to catch up on some reading from last
week. I only managed to read two pages before Hollie came rushing over to me. She
had a huge grin on her face and I could feel the excitement dripping off her. "April,
you need to get your ass outside now."
"Good
morning to you too" I replied.
She sighed,
"Good morning April, you need to get your ass outside now."
"Why?"
"There's
an insanely hot guy that you need to see."
I raised one
eyebrow, "Last time you said that, it was Dan."
She laughed,
"Dan's a solid eight out of ten but this guy's off the scale."
"Well
thanks for the update but the lecture's going to start soon."
"Get
your priorities straight, woman."
"Ohhhh,
you're right. Who comes to University to actually study?"
"I'm
always right, remember?" She winked at me but I had a feeling that there
was some kind of hidden meaning behind it. "Fine, don't go. He asked for
you but if you don't care then it's not a big deal."
"What do
you mean he asked for me?"
Hollie
laughed, "Woops, did I forget to mention that?"
"What
did he say?"
"He
asked if I knew you. I told him to wait outside while I checked if you were in
here. I didn't want to blow your cover in case he's an ex or something."
"Or a
stalker?"
"He's
gorgeous, who cares if he's a stalker? He can stalk me any day."
"Who the
hell is he?"
She giggled,
"I didn't ask for his name, just his number."
I sighed, "What
does he look like?"
"Hot."
I waved, indicating for her to carry on. "Around six foot three, black
hair, green eyes. Wanna know the best part? He's covered in tats, full
sleeves."
"How old
is he?"
She shrugged,
"A few years older than us, maybe."
I stood up,
having a sneaky suspicion of who it might be.
"Woop
woop" Hollie yelled, "I knew you were a sucker for tats."
I shook my
head at her before walking outside. I looked around but didn't see anybody
matching her description. However, I did see a group of girls standing in a
circle. It looked like they were gathered around something...or someone. As I
got closer, I heard the sound of a motorbike mixed with lots of giggling. They
looked like the Barbie Dolls who had been fawning over Isaac the night of the
mixer. It wouldn't surprise me if it was the same group. I heard the engine cut
off so took a step closer. The group of girls separated so I had a clear view.
I cleared my throat, "Well, well, well, look who it is."
"Excuse
me, Ladies." He got off his bike before walking over to me. He picked me
up, hugging me tightly, "Hey, Sis."
I laughed,
"What are you doing here?"
"I had
to come and check that my little sister's okay." He took a step back,
"You look different, have you been eating properly?"
"Shut
up, it's only been six weeks."
"Well it
seems like an eternity, I miss your face. I wanted to visit sooner but..."
He stopped talking mid sentence.
"But
what?"
He shrugged,
"But I've been busy with work and the band and I knew you'd be busy too."
I watched the
Barbie Dolls walk away and nodded in their direction, "I see you've made
some friends already."
He grinned,
"I like it here."
"Hmmm, I
bet you do. How did you even know where to look for me?"
"The hot
receptionist from the Student Union told me."
"Um, isn't
that like a security breach or something?"
"I made
up a story, she loved it."
"Enlighten
me..."
"I told
her that I flew all the way from Australia to surprise my little sister on her birthday.
I said that we haven't seen each other for years, I put on an accent and
everything. I found out what building you were in within minutes."
"That's
actually pretty scary, I should probably report her."
"Don't
worry, she only told me because of my good looks...and charm...and kick ass Australian
accent. Oh, and I slipped her my number too."
"You've
been here for what, less than an hour? And you're already on the lookout."
"It's a
full time job."
I laughed, "How
long are you staying for?"
He shrugged,
"A couple of days, maybe a week. I'll see how it goes, I've not brought
much with me."
I eyed his
motorbike and the single backpack next to it. "Where are you planning on
staying?"
"I'll
find a hotel later. What time do you finish today?"
"Around
four, I have classes all day. I'm staying with a friend, why don't you wait for
me there? I'm sure she won't mind, I'll call her and check."
"Is she
hot?"
I rolled my
eyes as I pulled my phone out of my pocket. Lucy didn't pick up so I sent her a
quick text -
"Hey. My Brother's here, he surprised
me! I've said that he can hang out at the flat today until I finish my classes.
Hope that's ok? He's harmless. See you later x"
I went back
and deleted the part about him being harmless before sending it. I took out
Lucy's spare key, "Go and ask your little receptionist friend to give you
directions to number 17 Yew Tree Road, Flat 1A. It won't take long on that
death trap of yours."
"Are you
ever going to stop calling it that?"
"Are you
ever going to stop riding it?"
"No
chance."
"There's
your answer. I'd better go, I'll see you around fourish." I gave him
another hug before walking back to class. I looked over my shoulder,
"Brody?"
"Yeah?"
"Be
good."
He winked as
he climbed onto his bike, "I'm always good."
Chapter
Eight
I had a smile
on my face for the rest of the day and was looking forward to spending some
quality time with Brody. I called him twice in the day - once to check that he got
to Lucy's okay and the other to check that he hadn't trashed the place.
As soon as my
last class finished, I rushed back to the flat, texting Isaac on the way -
"Sorry, change of plan! My
brother has come to visit so I'm going to spend some time with him tonight. See
you tomorrow? xxx"
As soon as I
walked through the door, Lucy ushered me back outside. "Is everything
okay?" I asked.
"Is your
brother adopted?"
I laughed,
"Not to my knowledge, why?"
"He's
the complete opposite of you."
"Well
yeah, he's a man and I'm a woman."
"You
know what I mean. He's so cocky."
"Has he
been giving you a hard time?"
She blushed, "Nothing
that I can't handle."
"I'm
sorry, I shouldn't have sent him here without speaking to you first. I tried
calling you but I didn't know what else to do, I had classes all day."
"No, it's
fine. I would have done the same."
"If it
makes you feel any better, he's like this with everybody."
"Yeah,
he's been on the phone with two different girls already. I've been trying to
guess which one is his girlfriend."
I laughed, "Brody
doesn't do girlfriends."
"Well it
sounded like he knew them pretty well, if you know what I mean."
I knew exactly
what she meant. "No, how do you mean?"
"Well he
was being rather...explicit."
"That's Brody
for you."
"How
long is he visiting for?" she asked.
"I don't
know, I've not had the chance to speak to him properly yet."
"Just make
it clear that he's to stay on the sofa."
"Oh, you
don't have to offer him a place to stay. He can check into a hotel later."
"He's
your brother, of course he can stay here."
"Are you
sure?"
"Yeah,
now let's go back inside before I change my mind."
I hugged her,
"Thank you, it should only be for a few days."
Brody stood
up when we walked back inside. "Ladies, can you make it less obvious when
you talk about me next time?"
I picked up a
cushion and threw it at his head, "The world doesn't revolve around
you."
He caught
Lucy's arm as she walked by, "Look me in the eye and tell me that you
weren't talking about me."
She looked
down at his hand, "I might only be five foot three but I can still kick
your ass."
He grinned as
he let go of her arm, "Is that a promise? I like it rough."
Lucy scowled
at him before disappearing into her bedroom.
"So,
where am I taking you for dinner?" he asked me.
"I know
an awesome Italian place."
***
Brody seemed
impressed by the restaurant and pretty much ordered one of everything. While
Brody was impressed by the food, I was impressed by the fact that he didn't
flirt with the waitress. Trust me, it was a rare occurrence.
After placing
our orders, we sipped our chocolate milkshakes and it brought back memories of
when we were kids, "I'm glad you're here."
His grin
matched mine, "Me too, I miss your nagging."
I gasped,
"I do not nag."
"Let's
agree to disagree."
"I
disagree with your agreement to disagree."
"Well I
disagree with your disagreement to agree to disagree."
I cocked my
head to one side, "Well I disagree with your disagreement of my...oh hell."
He whooped, "I
always win."
I scowled as
I took another sip of my milkshake, "Catch me up on what's been happening
back home. How have you been?"
"This isn't
a counselling session, I don't care if you're studying it."
"I know
it's not" I replied, defensively. "This is a sister asking her brother
how he's been."
He narrowed
his eyes, "Is that what they teach you to say?"
I rolled
mine, "Shut up."
"Respect
your elders."
"Respect...women."
"I
always do."
I raised my
eyebrow, "Is that right?"
"Yep, I
respect their
needs
."
I burst out
laughing, "Too much information. So come on, what's been happening back home?"
"I
almost forgot how much of a mind ninja you were."
I snorted,
"Mind ninja?"
He tapped his
temple, "Yeah, you're like a ninja trying to get inside my head. I'm fine,
life's fine, everything's fine."
"Oh
yeah? Is Mum fine?"
He sighed,
"Let's not do this now. Can't you just be happy that I'm here?"
I knew that
he was trying to avoid talking about her. "Of course I'm happy that you're
here but I need to know how she is. Is she sober?"
My mother made
a promise to me the night before I left for University. She looked me in the
eye and promised me that she would be completely sober by the time I came home
for Christmas break. My heartbeat sped up as I waited for Brody to answer but
he didn't need to. His face said it all.
"She's
in rehab."
I laughed
because I knew that if I didn't, I would cry. "What happened this time?"
He shrugged, "Same
old. She drank too much, I called an ambulance, she went to rehab. End of
story."
The whole
situation was messed up. A son and daughter shouldn't have to talk this way
about their own mother. Especially talking about it like it was the most normal
thing in the world. I shook my head, "When did she check in?"
"Yesterday."
He placed his head in his hands, "Is it wrong that I'm actually a little
bit relieved? Relieved that I don't have to look after her? Don't have to worry
about her choking on her own sick? Is it wrong that I'm glad to finally have some
time to visit my little sister?"
I shook my
head as I fought back the tears. "No, it's not wrong."
The waitress
chose that exact moment to bring over our food. We ate in comfortable silence
for a few minutes before Brody spoke, "So..."
"So?"
I asked.
I knew what
was about to happen. I bit my lip to stop myself from laughing. Every now and
again, Brody liked to play the overprotective big brother.
"Are you
dating?"
Yes, I'm
in a serious relationship with my personal tutor.
"Nope"
I lied.
"Why
not?"
I rolled my
eyes at his stupid question, "Because I'm a strong independent
woman." He looked at me with his eyebrow raised, waiting for me to carry
on. I sighed dramatically, "Maybe I'm not pretty enough."
"Bullshit,
there's not a single guy in here who hasn't checked you out. Which, by the way,
is starting to piss me off." I blushed as I looked around the restaurant, suddenly
feeling self conscious. "Are you telling me the truth? You're really not
dating?"
"I'm
really not dating."
Technically,
it was the truth. I wasn't dating. If he were to ask me if I was in a secret relationship
with my tutor, then that would be a completely different story.
He took a
long drink of his milkshake, keeping his eyes on mine the whole time. "Good.
If you do decide to date, you should wait until you're married before you do
anything."
I burst out
laughing, "I will if you will."
"Well
that wouldn't be fair."
"And why
is that?"
"Because
I'm never getting married."
"That's
what they all say until they meet the game changer."
"I don't
want somebody changing my game, I'm too busy."
I sighed, "So
many girls, so little time."
"Speaking
of which, when are you going to introduce me to your hot friends?"
"How
about never?" I replied.
"How
about tomorrow?" I folded my arms across my chest. "Aww don't be like
that, Sis."
"Well
you've already met Hollie."
"Is she
single?"
"Um, I
don't actually know. She's kind of seeing someone."
"Well it
doesn't matter anyway." He winked at me, earning him a slap on the wrist.
"What
about Lucy? What's her deal?"
"She's
single and way too nice for most of the jerks around here."
"Good
job I'm not from around here then."
"What
about the jerk part?"
He laughed,
"I'm not
most
jerks."
"You
know the rules, stay away from my friends. There's plenty of girls on campus,
go and break their hearts instead."
He feigned
innocence, "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Sure
you don't. Lucy said you can crash on the sofa while you're here."
"And by the
sofa she means..."
"The
sofa. What else could that mean?"
He raised his
eyebrow, "You'd be surprised."
"She's
doing us both a big favour by letting us stay with her so you need to be on your
best behaviour." He grinned before saluting me. "So how's work?"
I asked, before taking another bite of pizza.
"It pays
the bills."
"Have you
seen much of Katie and Ian?"
"Yeah, I
saw her walking Jamie when I was out running last week. She said that she
misses you. I'll go round and check on her soon, make sure Ian's treating her
right."
I grinned, "You're
the best."
"Oh,
before I forget, I've brought you a CD with some new tracks on. I want your
opinion."
I grinned,
"Speaking of which, how is the band?"
His eyes lit
up, "Awesome, we've been recording a lot of new stuff recently. We've sent
it off to a few big shots."
I loved
listening to him talk about his band.
'We Say Summer'
formed when he was
fifteen, just after my mum started drinking heavily. It started out as an escape
for him but now it was his entire life. He lived for his music, even his body
was covered in song lyrics and musical notes.
"Well
let's hope that these big shots can recognise good music when they hear
it."
He held his
milkshake up, "Cheers to that."
***
Lucy was
already in bed by the time we got back. I noticed a pile of blankets on the
sofa as I made my way to the kitchen. "Do you want a glass of water?"
"No
thanks, I'll be back in a minute." I watched as he walked over to Lucy's bedroom
door.
"Woah,
where are you going?"
"I want
to say thanks to Lucy."
I frowned,
"It's late and she's probably asleep, can't you thank her tomorrow?"
"It's
nine thirty."
"And?"
I asked.
"Nobody
goes to bed at nine thirty, not even good girls."
"How
would you know? You don't exactly surround yourself with good girls."
He gave me
his best cocky grin, "They all start off good."
"Hang on...are
you saying that
you
turn them bad?"
"Your
words, not mine."
I snorted,
"Oh wow, I almost forgot how big headed you were."
Lucy's door
swung open, "Everything okay?"
"Perfect"
Brody replied after a short pause.
Lucy took a
step back and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Sorry
if we woke you" I told her.
"You
didn't, I was reading."
"What
were you reading?" Brody asked.
"A book,
you should try it some time."
"Ouch! I
read."
"Girls
phone numbers don't count" she added. I couldn't help but laugh.
Brody smirked,
"How stereotypical of you."
"Okay
then, what's the last thing that you read?"
He pulled a
piece of paper out of his back pocket and began to read, "Call me.
07750..." Lucy tried to close the door but he held his arm out.
"What do
you want?" she asked.
I didn't hear
his response but whatever he said made her blush and then slam the door in his
face. He walked over to me, laughing.
"I
thought you just wanted to say thanks?"
"I did,
you mustn't have heard."
"No, but
I heard the door slam. I meant what I said before."