Walking slowly, I headed home, looking down at the ground to protect my eyes from the sun. Would Mum and Dad still be there? They were attending a charity dinner and had to travel just over a hundred miles, so they were leaving sometime in the afternoon. I prayed that they would have already left.
Sighing in relief as I noticed Dad’s car wasn’t in the driveway, I walked to the front door feeling a little lighter. At least I wouldn’t have their freak out to deal with.
When I pushed the door open, I saw my lazy brother sitting on the sofa playing the PlayStation. His university had finished for summer earlier than my high school, so his summer holiday had started two weeks ago. One day he would have to grow up and get a house and job, but it was hard to imagine it seeing him slobbing around here all the time.
“Hi,” he grunted, with a little nod of his head, not even looking up from the screen. I flopped down on the sofa beside him. School was over for six weeks, but I couldn’t even feel that happy about it. All I could think of was the fight with Cole and that look on his face.
Jasper took a double take of my face and paused his game.
“What happened?”
I smiled and shook my head.
“Where’s Cole?” Jasper’s face hardened, his jaw clenched and eyes narrowed. “What did he do?” he demanded. Again, I shook my head and tried to make out he was reacting over nothing.
“So, if Cole’s not the reason you’re upset, who is?” Jasper asked, frowning doubtfully. Cole was the reason, but it wasn’t his fault. “That idiot at school? The one I beat up last year?” he growled, referring to Julian. Jasper was usually as soft as a pussycat but not when it came to me. He was overprotective and quick to lash out at anyone that he thought was giving me a hard time.
I remembered the incident Jasper was referring to; how could I not? Jasper was still in sixth form. He had caught Julian saying some stuff about me. I still didn’t know what, but it made Jasper punch him a few times. He was suspended from school for a week, and then given a week of lunchtime detentions for refusing to apologise to Julian.
It would seem Cole had fully taken over his role… As a brother? Did Cole see me as a little sister? I ached with disappointment.
I shook my head in answer to Jasper’s question, and he got up and walked into the kitchen. There was no way he had dropped it just like that. I followed him, waiting at the door as he got his phone and started dialling. Oh, no! I knew what he was doing. As he raised the phone to his ear, I leapt forward and grabbed it out of his hand. He had started ringing Cole, but the call hadn’t started going through thankfully.
He narrowed his eyes. “Okay, I’m gonna ask you one more time. Was. It. Cole?”
I sighed in frustration and shook my head for what seemed like the fifteenth time.
“Good. You’re not gonna tell me what it’s about are you?”
I raised an eyebrow and let out an exasperated noise.
“Yeah didn’t think so, you’re too damn stubborn for your own good! You’re okay though, right?”
I nodded and smiled. Settling on changing the subject and getting my annoying and crazy brother back, I opened the fridge and grabbed two cans of coke and threw one at him.
“Thanks,” he mumbled, aware that I was trying to end the conversation, and opened the can very carefully in case it exploded all over him. It did not, unfortunately.
“Mum and Dad left for that thing already. You’ll need to cook tonight.” He looked away, downing probably half the can at once. I knew exactly what that meant. Mum told him to cook, and he was trying to get out of it.
“What’re you making?” Jasper asked casually, glancing at the oven. I rolled my eyes, picked out two Hawaiian pizzas from the freezer, and threw them to him as I walked up the stairs.
“Oakley?” he shouted after me, but I kept on walking, smiling to myself. He was so lazy; all he had to do was stick it in the oven for fifteen minutes.
As soon as I closed my bedroom door, I practically ripped off my school uniform and chucked it in my washing basket angrily. I hated school and Julian, but most of all, I hated myself.
From our fight earlier, it was clear Cole and I were not going to go out for ice cream, so I got into my most comfortable pyjamas and prepared for a night of boring TV. I should have practiced gymnastics, but I couldn’t be bothered to do anything. I was just going to embrace the mood I was in and sulk.
Marcus, my gym coach, would not be happy if I hadn’t perfected the triple back flip by next practice. I didn’t care though. I hated the thought of moving and going out to the garden. I had been going to gymnastics since I was seven, and I loved it. Whenever I was there it took me away from reality; I didn’t think about anything or anyone. It was as if all of my problems disappeared. My gymnastics team were amazing too; they accepted me for who I was.
Lying back on my bed, I absentmindedly flicked through the TV channels and settled on watching yesterday’s Hollyoaks. Twenty minutes later, I heard Jasper stomping up the stairs. He pushed my door open.