The Cassidy Boys

Chapter Fifteen: Mission Impossible

"Hey, munchkin!" my mom calls from the living room, but it flitters past me the same way the heavy sounds of the T.V. show my dad and her are watching flitter past my ears.

My socks have me sliding into the kitchen, and propel the upper half of my body forward into our small wooden table, but I quickly steady myself. My eyes land on the rainbow socks I had a hunch about earlier before they travel up the length of a pair of grey sweatpants and a tie-dye t-shirt before stopping on medium length wavy hair.

"Wren!"

My sister whips around in the fridge doorway, but I don't give her a chance to reply. I run straight towards her, dodge the carton of orange juice in her hand, wrap my arms around her torso, and send her stumbling back into the bag of lettuce resting behind her.

"Hello to you too," she mumbles, but I can hear the smile in her voice as she hugs me back.

****

A pot roast and two hours of homework later, I'm sprawled out on my bed scrolling through my phone. Wren happens to be mirroring my position only with her laptop poised on her legs. We covered the basics about life during dinner, and the silence that has now fallen between us is as comfortable as my bed. I never realized what a gap my sister left until we found ourselves in our current positions. Sure, we talk on the phone, but it's not the same. I don't think she realizes that just her presence alone seems to have sucked most of the stress right out of me.

"Oh! There's something I've been meaning to show you," I chirp as I sit up and reach for my school bag.

I reach inside ready to pull out the latest locker note, ready to inform her of my mission, but a sharp intake of breath has my hand freezing. It's the kind of breath you take when your nose is completely clogged up. It's also the quick kind of breath, the one where your lungs stutter on the intake, and leave you without any sign of an exhale. The type of breath you take when you're crying.

I slowly drag my eyes over to Wren only to see that they're glistening back at me with the reflection of her pushed away laptop screen shining brightly in the corners.

"Don't get me wrong," she starts, holding her hand up and cradling the top of her nose. "I love college. I really do." There it is again. That short breath and this time I pay witness to the strain it puts on her chest. "It's just . . ." She moves her hand away as one lone tear slides down the contour of her cheek, and leaves a wet trail in its wake.

No matter how many times I say that she's perfect No matter how many times I believe that she's perfect. Deep down, I know she's not. No one is.

Wren rarely proves that to me, though. I'm normally the one who's constantly breaking down, and she's always been there to pick up the pieces. She's always been my backbone—my spine. Holding me up when I can no longer stand the weight, and now that I think about it, she rarely gives me a chance to reciprocate.

She's giving it to me now, though, declaring me on a new mission.

Operation Encourage-Wren-t.

"It's hard to believe! That I couldn't see! That you were always right beside me!" I point my finger at my older sister as I begin a terrible rendition of one of my favorite songs from High School Musical. Let's just say that seven-year-old me was determined to marry Troy Bolton. "Thought I was alone—with no one to hold!" I sit up on my knees and point at Wren again. "But you were always right beside me!"

Her eyebrows furrow, but what satisfies me the most is that water is no longer filling up in the corners of her eyes.

I tilt my head up towards the ceiling, pulling my fist down in theatrical exaggeration. "This feelings like no other!" I point my finger at her again, looking her dead in the eyes. "I want you to know!" I drag out the word as I jump off the bed, and my socks land with a thud on the floor. "That I've never had someone, that knows me like you do—the way you do! And I've never had someone, as good for me as you"—I make a fake microphone with one hand while continuing to point to her with the other—"No one like you!" I throw myself on top of her bed, sprawling myself out between her and her laptop. "So lonely before, I finally found!" I sit up and lightly poke her nose. "What I've been lookin' for!" I jump back up from her bed and waltz back over to mine, continuing to hum along to the melody until I flop my butt back down.

I turn my head back over to Wren and throw her a big smile. Her lips twitch in response, but she holds her smile back, and wipes at her tear stained cheeks instead.

"Gosh, you're so weird," she mumbles, picking her laptop back up, and that line alone lets me know that I've successfully completed my mission.

"Girls!" our mom's voice faintly rings through the walls. "If you want some ice cream, get it now before Dad eats it all!"

Wren and I lock eyes for a quick second before we both scrabble off our beds and plow our way towards the door. Both of us race down the steps, toppling over each other's feet as we go.

It seems Operation Secret Note will have to remain on standby. Undercover Max McKinney must first destroy a bowl of ice cream.