Elijah (MxM)

Chapter Three

I told Cathy I fell down the stairs. Needless to say, she didn't believe me. In the past week, her suspicions had peaked and it's been never-ending questions of, where are you? What are you doing? Who are you with? I swear, you get your shit kicked once and all trust is broken. I tried not to get mad at her, that wouldn't help. I had enough resolve to refrain. But when she asked me to come by for a talk, I was expecting the worst. I couldn't take her accusatory glares and disappointed frowns. I had had enough of those to last me a lifetime. Most of the time I could handle whatever talk she threw my way. But damn, she could really push my buttons and she knew it.

Still, I did whatever she told me to do. I climbed the stairs up to her apartment, the loud chatter, and clatter of The Barb below me. I knocked three times before she came, and I was greeted by her disheveled blond hair and wild eyes. She looked stressed, outfitted in her work garb. I guessed it was busy that day. My sister is very pretty, kind of perfect. Her lips and cheeks are always a nice shade of pink, complimenting her smooth complexion and light hair. We looked quite different, her and I. But we had the same smile, wide and toothy. Charming. She just wore it a lot more than I did.

"Come on in." She ushered me inside.

Her apartment was surprisingly more messy than mine. I was relatively neat and Catherine was more of a packrat. It always smelled good in there though, like linen or flowers. Just clean. She always kept the balcony doors open, allowing in fresh air and plenty of natural light. It was a nice place. Perfect for her.

"Sorry, it's been real busy today. Saturday's." She shrugged. What can ya do?

I merely widened my eyes a bit in response, looking around.

"Um look, I don't have a lot of time. Do you want to sit?" She asked.

"Just tell me," I said, looking slightly bored.

"Elijah's coming up, maybe he can explain it better than I can but—I received your application and—look, you can't work here. I'm sorry."

I didn't know what I was expecting but it wasn't that.

"Oh, why?" Feigned confusion clouded my eyes. I couldn't wait to hear this.

"Well—you're unreliable," Catherine stated plainly like it was an undeniable fact. She pulled on her blond ponytail. "And I really pride myself in the work we do here. I just don't think it's a good idea."

I didn't even hear the door open behind me.

"Wow." Is all I could say.

That was just straight-up rude.

I could feel Elijah's presence before he spoke. "Come on, Cat. That's harsh."

"I don't know why you'd tell him we'd offer him a job without talking to me first." Her voice rose in pitch; the same way it always did when she got defensive. "You shouldn't have gotten his hopes up."

"Oh, trust me, they weren't up." I finally turned, looking between the both of them. "I'm just such a fuck up to you, I don't know what I expected."

Catherine crossed her arms over her chest. "That's not fair."

I scoffed and Elijah spoke up. "It's a dishwashing position, Cat. What harm could he possibly do?"

She put her hands on her hips and I knew the boss lady was coming out. "Listen, I wouldn't accept any employee with your track record. It's not personal. It's business."

"You can't just help him out?" Elijah aired, gaining a surprised look from Cathy. "He's your brother."

"You don't know him, Elijah. You don't know the things he's done—"