They Fell Into Bed [Editing]

II. A

Harper hummed to herself, her quiet muses punctuated by the sizzling and popping of bacon on the stove in front of her. The smell wafted through the house, and Harper inhaled deeply and smiled. The small chic dining table behind her already had two bowls full of scrambled eggs, an almost whole loaf of bread with butter and jam next to it, and two mismatched glasses for drinks. Once she decided the bacon was fried to perfection, she turned the stove off and dumped it all onto a plate and placed it on the table with the rest of the breakfast she had put out. She placed the pan she had made the bacon in with the rest of the dirty dishes in the sink and walked over to the doorway to the front room.

"Adam," she called, "food's ready."

He stood from his place at the couch and slid his phone into his pocket, following her to the table and sitting down in the chair opposite hers. They ate in peace, stopping occasionally to talk about small nonsensical things that two people usually talk about when they haven't seen each other in a while. After they had both finished their breakfast, Harper gathered their plates and carried them to the sink, placing them in alongside the other dirty dishes. Adam leaned back in his chair and knotted his fingers together before stretching and settling his hands behind his head in a relaxed fashion. He looked at Harper expectantly.

"So Harp, why are we painting your hallway red? We just painted it blue last week," he didn't sound accusing, only curious, and Harper sighed internally for the excuse that was going to fly from her lips, a different excuse every time she asked him to help her paint her hallway a different color.

"Blue didn't suit me well, it made me think of those hospitals that have pale blue walls to calm you down but end up stressing you out more. I didn't want my walls reminding me of a stressed out hospital." She shrugged and turned away from her older brother, walking to the fridge to grab a pitcher of water that she used to refill her empty glass. When she turned back to Adam, his eyebrows were raised slightly. "What? I'm serious," she snapped. His eyebrows shot even higher in response.

"I didn't say anything," he said, and his lips twitched into a smile. "I have the red paint just like you asked waiting in the bed of my truck."

"Good, and I assume you'll stay to help me actually get it out of these cans and on the walls?" Harper asked with her arms crossed over her chest.

"I always do, sis," Adam replied, and he stood, nodding his head for her to follow him to his truck.

* * *

They worked lazily, seeing the blue color disappear from the walls as the red was painted over it. Harper had music playing from a stereo in her front room, and they sang along to some of the songs they recognized. Once they were done, they stepped back and admired their work.

"I like it," Adam offered, his nose wrinkling up from the smell of fresh paint, which was acrid at best. He looked down at his younger sister, waiting for her take on it.

Harper just hummed in response, her arms crossed as her eyes skimmed over every inch of the fresh paint and reflected on it. She couldn't help but wonder who would walk into her house next; who she would forever associate this color with. She made a noise of regret in her throat and looked down, pausing to think about what would happen next. Adam just looked at her, wondering why his sister seemed down. He cleared his throat and she looked up at him.

"I'm going to throw these out, I'll be back," he lifted the empty paint cans in his hands and started off for the kitchen, where the trash bin was. Harper watched him go for a few moments before realizing that he was going to the trash bin where the sheets still lay. She hurried off towards the kitchen, but when she got there she slumped. The paint cans sat by his feet on the floor, and he held the sheets in his hands. His eyebrows were furrowed in distaste and he stared hard at what he held, his nose flaring on instinct.