Little Sister

Chapter 4

“Tell me everything!” Brooke says as I open my front door to welcome her inside. She brushes past me and stomps her way upstairs so casually that I almost believe she really is my sister.

“Shhhhhhh!” I shush her and close my bedroom door behind her once we reach my room. “My brothers are home!”

Brooke waves her hand carelessly at the thought and plops down on the indoor bench in front of my window. “They can’t hear me, so chill!” I glance outside and sigh. The sky is filled with autumn scenery, overcast with golden tint behind the rows of clouds. The wind blows softly, rustling the colorful leaves to the ground. Taking a seat on my bed and facing Brooke, my lips curl into a smile. I can’t help myself…“What are you are all giddy for?” she says in a sing-song kind of way, playfully kicking my foot. 

I twirl a piece of my golden brown hair around my index finger and focus all attention on it. Nervous habit of mine…“Well…you know Kevin?” I ask, obviously knowing the answer before-hand. 

“Kevin Greyson?”

I nod, shivers tickling my spine. “Yeah. Um…I was babysitting his little sister - well, not technically his little sister, but still - last night with Britt, as you already knew. And after I got home, he texted me to make sure I was all safe and stuff.” I pause, not for effect or anything - I’m the type of girl who gets straight to the point without any dramatic tension builders - but because my heart is pounding so quickly in my chest that I need to take a few deep breaths. “And uh…” I continue on, playing with my hair in the process. “He was at a party, and he was definitely drunk. But he was saying all this stuff…like about how it sucks that I’m Greg’s little sister and everything. Because apparently he can’t ‘overstep’ his ‘boundaries’. And he said it was unfortunate.” I shrug and keep my eyes locked on the ends of my medium-length hair. 

“He said that?!” I hear Brooke say in disbelief. I don’t know if I should be hurt by her shocked expression or flattered that Kevin even said that to me in the first place. I mean, Kevin is Kevin…and just talking to him makes me the happiest girl aliveI nod softly, avoiding eye contact with Brooke.“Omigosh! Izzy, you know what he meant by that, right?!”

I shrug, acting as though it isn’t a big deal. I really don’t want to get my hopes up… “I don’t know…He was drunk, Brooke,” I point out.

"Yes, but you know what they say - The truth comes out when you’re drunk. Just because he was drunk doesn’t mean he didn’t mean the things he said. It means that he just had more courage to say them.”

I consider this. Brooke has a very valid point. I seriously wish I could know in my mind that everything will work out for Kevin and me, but I honestly just don’t believe it. He has a girlfriend, for one thing, and I could never ever even dream about breaking them up. That’s so messed up. And, like he said, he’s my brother’s best friend; I’m his best friend’s sister. Little sister, that is. And I don’t think that there is any way that things could work out between us…which is quite unfortunate, as he said. So I really don’t think it’s a good idea to get all excited about this. As much as I’d love to…

“Izzy, just be happy that he has feelings for you in the first place! That’s all you’ve ever wanted - to be noticed by him as someone who isn’t just his best friend’s little sister.”

I smile and tilt my head to the side. “You’re right. I’m not gonna over think this - just enjoy it.” I jump up from my bed and scurry to my closet, flinging open the doors in the process. I grab a bunch of clothes out and toss them on my floor. “Now it’s time to get ready for one fun ass Halloween.” 

“Ahhhhh!” I yell, running away from my two friends, Emily and Kent, towards my other friends, Brooke, Brittany, Maria, Jenny, her boyfriend named Christian, Mandy, and her boyfriend - who I just met - named Drake. 

A group of us are out trick or treating - you’re never too old - around my neighborhood. It’s really dark and eerie outside, and Kent, who is one of my guy friends that is a year older than me, is attempting to get Emily and me to walk up to this abandoned house which is apparently haunted. Considering the fact that I am completely terrified of ghosts, I quickly flee from the sight. 

“Hey, guys…wanna go back to my house? I’m kind of tired of trick or treating,” one of my best friends, Jenny, offers since we are only minutes from her house. Everyone agrees and we make our way back, laughing and having a great time.  It’s a Sunday. I hate Sundays so very much. But at least I have my friends to take my mind off of the fact that I have a full week of school ahead of me.

Once we get into Jenny’s inside porch, I take a seat on the floor as Jenny flips on the TV. We all settle down, talk, and joke around. Just as I’m about to empty my entire suitcase full of candy onto the carpet, Kent plops down next to me. I smile at him, and Emily then joins us. 

Kent is seriously cute. I must admit it…he has such a flawless face, light brown eyes, full lips, perfect brown hair, and the most adorable, soft look to him. I used to have the biggest crush on him when I first met him, but now I kind of accepted the fact that he is a player. I don’t bother with allowing myself to have feelings for guys like him.  Plus, by the way he’s tickling Emily, I can tell that he’s definitely more into her right now.  Not that I care. My heart will always truly belong to Kevin.

“Ohmigosh, Izzy.” I hear Maria’s voice from my left and whip my head in that direction. “You’re so lucky you don’t have to play soccer anymore…I wish I had a hurt ankle.” She chuckles and crosses her legs. 

I laugh and roll my eyes. “With our coach…I consider myself lucky,” I tell her. “I don’t think I’m gonna play next year. Too much unneeded stress.” Since I have really bad anxiety, stress for me is ten times worse than it is for anybody else. I have such a horrible time dealing with things that aren’t even big deals to other people. When I talked to my parents about quitting, I started sobbing on the spot. I was so worked up with everything that I began hyperventilating just thinking about finishing the season. But I promised myself that I would at least stick with it until the season ended.  Thank God I have an excuse not to now.

Maria nods. “I’m considering quitting, too. I just don’t like it anymore.” 

“Iz,” Kent’s sweet voice calls. 

“Yeah?” As I turn to him, he looks down at my legs which are stretched out on the floor.  I have really long legs…It’s so embarrassing because I’m really tall yet I have defined muscles at the same time. Sometimes I get really self-conscious because I’m taller than most of the guys around my age - one of them being Kent. 

“Do you have any Hershey bars?” he asks me, meeting my eyes again. 

I open my suitcase and dig around in search for the chocolate. Once I find one, I take it out and place it in his hand. “I don’t  really like them anyways,” I say with a grin. 

“Thanks, girl!” he exclaims, unwrapping the bar. I giggle and then notice a few people leaving; Brittany, Emily, Mandy, Drake, and Maria all seem to be on their way out. I rummage in my suitcase for my phone to check the time. It’s ten o’clock.

“Let’s watch a scary movie!” Jenny says, cuddling with Christian on her couch. I get up from the ground and find my own spot on the couch. I then notice that the only people who are still at Jenny’s are her, her older sister, Amy, Christian, Brooke, me, Kent, and…Greg. I almost forgot he was here, talking to Amy. Well, flirting with her…He’s such a boy.

Just as Jenny is about to play a scary movie, I feel a little part of me crave Kent by my side. When I look at him, I think that I might actually have a chance to be wanted by him. Even though he might be a player, Kent always confesses that he has feelings for me. I know I’m not the only one he says that to, but it’s still nice to hear. Especially from someone who you once really liked. For some odd reason, I just want him to take my mind off of things. 

But when I look up, I realize that Kent is gone.

Who am I kidding, anyway? No one could replace Kevin in my heart.