Brightside

13 | older sister

Eddie loved her sisters. If there was one thing she wanted written down about her and her family, it was that she fucking loved her sisters. If she would love someone for the rest of her life, her sisters would be at the top of her list. No partner would ever mean more. Sometimes that disclaimer turned people away.

But, boy, did her sisters piss her right the fuck off.

There were only supposed to be two cars in front of August's house when Eddie pulled up. Lockwood's and August's. Not three. Not the Mercedes.

Eddie dialled her phone. Waited a moment.

After a single ring, as always. "Hello?"

"She's home."

"Are you okay?"

"Nervous."

"Puke nervous or angry nervous?"

"You're the one who gets puke nervous."

"Throwing up has never not made me feel better."

"Rush."

"Your sister just got back from France and you're telling me that you're not the least bit excited to see her?" Always the annoying voice of reason.

"I'm excited to see her but it's not like we ended on a good note last time we saw each other."

"Isn't it a sister thing to just fight and never talk about it and you're fine with that?" Rush asked. He didn't even sound annoyed that Eddie was arguing with him. Something about that annoyed her even more.

"I wish she'd told me," Eddie said. "I need to mentally prepare."

"Why?"

"'Cause... I don't know." Eddie sighed. "Indy's off doing what she's doing and being successful and I'm just... me."

"You're fighting for the belt in a few months, Eds," Rush said. "That's not nothing."

"You already have a belt."

"Lots of people have had belts, my God," Rush said. "It's not mutually exclusive and quite frankly, it doesn't measure your success."

"Except it does." Eddie leaned her head back on the headrest. Wished the seat would suck her in so she didn't have to face the dinner she was expected at. "Nobody who came in second place ever made history."

"Rocky didn't win until the second movie."

"That's not—"

"One Direction didn't win X-Factor."

"Rush—"

"There's lots of people who didn't win who made names for themselves."

"And the only ones you can think of are Rocky and One Direction," Eddie said.

Rush sighed. "You asked for it."

"Don't—"

"Susan Boyle, Adam Lambert, Ken Rosewall, the Brooklyn Dodgers with Jackie fucking Robinson—"

"They eventually won—"

"Jerry West, Shirley Babashoff, Raymond Poulidor, Gracie Hart from Miss Congeniality, Brendon Ellis—"

"Who won literally last year—"

"Shut the fuck up when I'm trying to make you feel better you fucking skunk."