Cyber Love

Big Brother's Little Sister

CHAPTER - 15

For a week, all I’ve been doing is crying. If you squeeze my pillow, I bet you would get two full buckets of fresh tears. For a few days, I would find Justin online and he would comfort me with his soothing cyber words. After, my mom was suspicious as to why I wasn’t coming out of the room and she found me on the computer as she opened the door. That’s when she cut off the internet connection. So all I’ve been doing now is playing Solitaire and Minesweeper on the computer. My life is too boring for words.

A knock on the door brought me brought me back from my trance. I thought it would be my mom checking up on me like usual, but my eyes widened in shock as I became aware of who was actually standing in front of me. He was leaning casually on the doorway with a smirk plastered on his face.

“My little sister went on a date?”

His smirk grew wider. I smiled and got up from the bed and ran to him in a split second. Launching myself on him, I said, “You’re back! Do you have any idea how long I’ve been waiting for you to come back? I’ve missed you so much!”

Brian, my older brother was finally back. He hasn’t been home in four months. When we used to be little kids, we used to be best friends.

Like, forever.

But then when he moved away for college, we grew apart. But that bond was still there. He used to call my mom and me a lot but seeing him in person was a whole other thing.

“How did you know I went on date – I mean, hung out with a friend?” I quickly corrected myself. Even though I wanted it to be a date (secretly), I couldn’t just tell anyone that.

“Dear sister, did you know I read magazines and tabloids?” he asked sarcastically.

I rolled my eyes at his comment. I had totally forgotten about his dripping sarcasm. Older brothers have this really annoying habit of teasing us little sisters. They just don’t know when to stop.

“I don’t wanna talk about it.”

“Why not? Unlike mom, I don’t have a problem with you dating. Actually, I’ve been waiting for this day since forever.”

“Huh?” I didn’t quite understand what he was saying.

“Ray, do you know how many girls I’ve dated?”

“No. Wait, you’ve dated girls?! You never told me!”

“You never asked,” he simply said and shrugged.

This was a new piece of information. If he has dated girls then I can use that against him and blackmail him. A smug smile was growing on my face as I imagined all that I could get from him.

“If you’re thinking of blackmailing me, it’s not gonna work ‘cause I can tell mom that you actually went on a date.”

Now it was his turn to smirk. I gave a defeated sigh and sat on the bed.

“But she already knows that I went on a ‘date’,” conjuring up air quotation marks to emphasize on ‘date’, I looked at Brian waiting for him to say something.

“Yeah but she said something about you telling her that you didn’t go on a date. So if I tell her you actually did go on a date, she’s might send you away to Uncle Arnold’s.”

“The one who lives in Greenland with ten cows and fifteen goats?”

“Exactly,” he said.

“I wonder how those animals survive over there. But you’re kidding me right?”

“Nope,” he said, popping the ‘p’.

For the next hour and a half, we were catching up on both our lives and how it’d changed so much since the last time we met. I asked him how many girlfriends he’d had in his lifetime but he refused to tell me. For about thirty minutes, it was me nagging and whining and crying and begging (and even went as far to go and do the puppy-doggy face) to make him tell me how many girlfriends he’d had. In the end, he actually told me and you could practically see me jaw hitting the floor. He’s had twelve of ‘em in college and four in high school. That’s like sixteen girls! My brother is a freakin’ player!

Then, he told me that right now he was dating a girl named Ashley. Or was it Angela? I seemed to forget. Later, mom called us both for supper and I reluctantly went downstairs with Brian. It was awkward at the dinner table with my mom and I but Brian tried desperately to make conversation.

After dinner, Brian and I went up to his room to just hang out.

“You love Justin,” he said suddenly.

“What? No, I don’t!” I said suddenly and looked at him with wide eyes.

“Yes you do. You should look at your face when you talk about him. Your face goes all weirdly happy and you wanna keep talking about him all day.”

“You’re lying! I don’t do that.”

“No Ray. You’re the one lying. To yourself. I know you sis, and trust me when I say you love him,” he said softly and hugged me.

I cried into his checkered shirt while I thought of what he said. Maybe he was right. I’ve known Jay since our diaper days and I’ve always liked him as more than a friend. But love? Now that’s a big, strong word.

“I think I love him,” I said, sobbing into his shirt.

“I don’t think, I know. And I won’t tell anybody Ray. Don’t worry, I bet he loves you too.”

“A cyber love.”

“A cyber love?” he asked me, confused.

“A cyber love,” I confirmed.