FLYBY (b. bradshaw)

𝙉𝙄𝙉𝙀

⚠︎⚠︎ !SMUT WARNING!⚠︎⚠︎

⚠︎⚠︎MENTION OF SUICIDE⚠︎⚠︎

"Is Bradley still taking me to breakfast tomorrow?" Jamie asked, glancing up at Lilah.

They were sitting on the couch, both sporting pints of ice cream. It must've been passed midnight when Jamie found Lilah sobbing on the kitchen floor. She'd been in the middle of prepping the coffee machine when the tears had started to flow. He hadn't asked questions, just sat down next to her and wrapped his arms around her shaking form. 

He'd never seen her really, truly cry. Lilah had never let fully let her emotion's out in front of her little brother, always needing to show him that she was strong. It was the front she put up whenever she was terrified. She made jokes, she pretended to laugh. That's what she had done when she tucked him in and gave him a kiss on the forehead. She kept smiling until she turned off his lights and shut the door.

Then, and only then, did she break down. 

"Of course, buddy." she said, smoothing his hair. "Just because we had a fight doesn't mean Br - he doesn't still love you." 

His name was like phlegm caught in her throat. 

"It sounded more like you two broke up." Jamie observed, digging a big spoon full of ice cream out of his container. "I heard all of the yelling, and then you telling him that you never wanted to see him again and, before that, he said that you two hated each other." 

"Adults argue, bud, it's normal. Don't worry about it." Lilah assured him, pressing a kiss to his head. 

He yawned, and then proceeded to shove more ice cream into his mouth. It stained the corner's of his lips. She paused the show they were watching. Jamie glared at her in complaint.

"I'm not tired, I promise." Jamie begged. "Don't make me go to sleep." 

"Jamie, it's almost two in the morning. You have school tomorrow." Lilah said, standing up and stretching. Her vision became blurry and she hurried grabbed the edge of the couch. 

"I could just skip it." Jamie said, pouting. 

Lilah giggled at his scrunched up eyebrows and big lip poking out. She picked him up and started tickling under his armpits. He kicked and wiggled, trying to escape from her grasp. She was too strong, able to keep him contained until she dropping him like a stack of potatoes onto his bed. 

"School is necessary. Even I had to go to school to be where I am today." Lilah told him, sitting on the end of his bed. She pulled her legs into crisscross applesauce. 

"It's a good thing I don't want to do what you do, then." Jamie said, snuggling under the covers. The football duvet was pulled up to his chin. 

"I'm glad, too, buddy." Lilah said, rolling off of his bed. "I'd love for you to have a nice desk job, a very safe, nice, desk job." 

"I think I'll just live with you for the rest of my life. Then you can't go away anymore." Jamie whispered, barley able to keep his eyes from fluttering shut. 

"I'd like that too." Lilah responded softly, kissing him on the forehead lightly. "Do you want me to wake you up tomorrow morning?"

For a while, her baby brother had been on this strike of not allowing people to wake him up in the morning, claiming it made him more grown up. It hadn't lasted long, a week, maybe, before he had five tardies and a lot of detention hours.