My Big Brother

Tuli

I was jolted awake by the sound of laughter echoing through the apartment. It was Daniel and Megan, I could tell.

Their laughter soon morphed into moans.

~Not again.~

I jumped out of bed and swung my door open. They were in the middle of a passionate kiss when Megan’s eyes met mine. Daniel was too busy kissing her neck to notice until she nudged him.

“Daniel,” she began.

“Oh, baby, I want to hear you scream my name,” he murmured.

“Could you maybe do that when your sister isn’t in the next room?” I asked, scrunching up my face.

Daniel froze. Megan was trying to hold back her laughter, biting her lip. They broke apart and my brother turned to face me.

“Oh, hey, sis. Why are you home ~early~?”

“Well, I ended up going to the doctor. I had lunch with a friend, got sick, and passed out. Woke up in the hospital. They said it’s the flu,” I explained.

“Are you okay?” Megan asked, coming over to me. She pressed the back of her hand to my forehead. “You do feel a bit warm.”

“I think I’m okay now. Jayce said I was—”

“What?” Daniel cut in.

~Damn it~. Why can’t I think before I speak?

“Nothing,” I mumbled.

“Nothing my ass. You just mentioned your teacher.”

I rolled my eyes. “You’re making a big deal out of nothing, Daniel. Nothing bad happened.”

“Then tell me what happened,” he demanded, crossing his arms. “Now.”

I rolled my eyes again. “Like I said, I was having lunch with my friend Armand. Jay—uh, Mr. Mitchell was there too. But I was talking to Armand, and suddenly I felt like I was going to throw up.

“I tried to make it to the bathroom, but I didn’t get there in time and ended up throwing up in the restaurant. I passed out, and when I woke up, I was in the hospital.

“Mr. Mitchell told me he sent Armand back to school and took me to the hospital himself. They gave me some medicine, and then he drove me home.”

“He drove you home?” Daniel snapped.

“He’s driven me home before,” I snapped back, “why is it a problem now?”

He ignored my question. “Did he just drop you off, or did he come inside the apartment?”

My brother was starting to get on my nerves. “I could barely walk. He had to help me get to bed.”

“Did he leave right after?”

“Not exactly,” I stammered.

“What do you mean, not exactly?” Daniel’s voice was filled with anger.

“Uh…” I looked down at the floor and mumbled. “I asked him to stay until I fell asleep.”

“What was that? Speak up.”

“I asked him to stay until I fell asleep!”

Daniel’s face was a picture of fury. But Megan slapped him on the shoulder.

“Daniel, stop it. I agree with your sister. You’re overreacting. Her professor didn’t do anything.”

“Are you fucking kidding me, Megan? She’s trusting a man she barely knows. Who knows how old he is. He was in your apartment, while you were asleep. How do you know he didn’t violate you? Or rob the place? Just because he’s a teacher doesn’t mean he’s trustworthy! He’s taking advantage of one of his students!”

“He’s not!” I shouted. “And Daniel, I turn twenty-one in three weeks. I’m an adult. I can make my own decisions. Besides, do you really think he robbed the place? Everything looks fine to me. He hasn’t taken advantage of me. Even if we fucked.”

Daniel’s face turned beet red. “I’m too fucking mad to be here right now. I’m leaving.”

He stormed over to the door and yanked it open. Before leaving, he turned back to me. “I won’t tell dad about this. It stays between you and me. But this argument isn’t over.”

And with that, he slammed the door behind him.

I collapsed onto the couch. Megan followed and patted her lap. “Lie down, sweetie.”

I rested my head in her lap.

“Did I really do something wrong, Meg?”

“To be honest, it probably wasn’t the smartest move. Daniel has a point. You two may have slept together, but it doesn’t seem like you know much about each other.”

“Megan, if he wanted to hurt me, don’t you think he would’ve done it already?” I argued. “He went out of his way to take me to the hospital. Why would someone who wants to harm me do that?”

“Well, there are a lot of twisted people out there. Just saying.” She played with my hair. “I don’t think he hurt you. But remember, you’re Daniel’s only sister. He may not have to take care of you, but that won’t stop him from worrying.”

I frowned but didn’t say anything. Megan patted my head.

“Why don’t you go back to bed? I’ll make you some toast. It’s good for an upset stomach.”

I was about to ask what to do about my car, which I’d left at school, but Megan shushed me and pushed me back into my room. I sighed and crawled into bed, wondering what I was going to do about my car.

I turned on Netflix and decided to watch some anime. I scrolled through the anime section until I found something that caught my eye.

“Ooh, ~Fairy Tail~.”

“Juvia and Gray would make a great couple. That’s what the kids say, right?”

I nearly jumped out of my skin. I was about to scream, but Jayce quickly covered my mouth with his hand.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you,” he whispered, “please, no screaming.”

I nodded, and he took his hand away. “Jayce, why are you still here? I thought you’d left!”

“Well,” he began, “I thought you might be worried about your car, so I took your keys, hailed a cab back to school, and drove your car home. It’s a cute little thing. Suits you.”

I was half inclined to hit him, but I was also relieved that my car was safe. “Thanks. So, you were here for the—disagreement?”

“Well,” he stuttered, scratching his head, “I was about to leave when they came in, so I hid in your room. And, honestly, you were so loud it was hard not to hear.”

If it wasn’t so dark in my room, he might have seen how red my face had turned.

“I sometimes don’t know when to keep quiet. Daniel is very protective.”

Jayce shrugged. “I get it. I have a sister too, and sometimes I want to punch her jerk of a husband.”

“I didn’t know you had a sister.”

“Well, now you do,” he said. “I should probably get going, though, before it gets too late.”

“How are you planning on doing that?” I asked. “If you go out the front door, Megan will see you. The kitchen has a clear view of the door.”

“You make it sound like a big problem,” he said, winking at me. “I’ll just use the fire escape.”

“Now I’m sure you didn’t rob the apartment. If you had, you would’ve noticed that the fire escape is right outside the kitchen,” I pointed out, smirking.

Jayce smirked back. “You seem pretty happy, knowing I’m stuck here.”

I blushed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I just, well, I told you so.”

“For a girl who’s supposed to be sick, you’re pretty feisty,” he said, his voice low and husky.

~Oh, shit. I see where this is heading~. “Jayce, ~I’m~ sick. You don’t want to catch it.”

He moved onto my bed. “Frankly, my dear,” he murmured, echoing Rhett Butler, “I don’t give a damn.”