Campus King | 18+

Chapter Twelve

Mom rose from her chair with a sympathetic expression, announcing, "I'll fetch you a glass of water. You clearly need it."

As soon as she left the dining room, I immediately punched him in the shoulder — hard because I was his older sister, but also in retaliation for earlier. He let out a pained groan and rubbed his shoulder.

Jason bore a striking resemblance to me and our dad, sporting the same dark blonde hair, light blue eyes, and a straight nose. The only noticeable difference was his remarkable height. Every time we saw each other, which was usually once a week, it seemed like he had managed to sneak in an extra inch. He was rapidly closing in on six feet, and being his older sister, I couldn't help but entertain the thought of using a pan to knock him back down to his former height.

"Idiot! What if Mom heard that?" I hissed.

He gave a nonchalant shrug, "But she didn't."

"Yeah, lucky for us." I looked down at his nearly empty plate. "How did you manage to finish all of that so quickly? It's so gross."

"Gross food survival strategy 101: ingest at maximum speed to minimize taste bud torture. You're lucky you missed her infamous meatloaf. That stuff was next-level nasty." He mimicked gagging for emphasis, sticking a finger in his mouth.

"Ew, don't even describe it," I cringed. "I promise, one night out, I'll steal you away for a feast of the most ridiculously unhealthy food we can find. No Mom commentary allowed, just you and me and a lot of food. We'll pig out until everyone thinks we're gross."

He laughed and nodded, "My football coach is gonna kill me, but I'm down. I just need you to work your magic on Mom to convince her to let me leave the house without her. Did you know she comes to watch all of my practices? That shit is embarrassing. Last week, she actually chewed out one of my teammates for tackling me a bit too rough for her taste."

I frowned, "Have you mentioned this to Dad?"

"Yeah. He promised to have a chat with her, but I can tell he's trying to avoid that minefield for now." He looked down, picking at loose threads on the lace tablecloth.

I reached out and gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "Don't worry, I'll handle it."

"You don't have to."

"I do, actually. You're my little brother, remember? Looking out for you is part of the gig."

He looked up at me and smiled. "Thanks, Han."

Our sibling bonding moment was quickly interrupted as our mom reentered the room, holding an obscenely large glass that was meant to have water in it... though it now suspiciously resembled the concoctions those muscle guys chugged down each morning.

"I put some lemon, garlic, ginger, and cucumber slices into the water. Your skin is looking a little dry and dull — this is a natural remedy that should help. Make sure to drink all of it."

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