Because You're Different ✔

30. Court case

"Look!" She grabbed my arm, but I had no idea what I was supposed to be looking at — yeah, she was hugging him. Wasn't like she didn't do that all the time. Alright, that kiss on her cheek was certainly new, for me anyway, and suddenly, the way she looked at him was making me very uncomfortable. No idea why. It wasn't like I didn't know she preferred him over me. She practically worshipped him, after all, her big brother always protecting her, as if she needed it. Still, something about this was bugging me.

"What's going on here?" said a voice behind us, and Hayley's head crashed into mine. God, that girl was clumsy! My skull throbbed like when the dictionary had been dropped on it — wouldn't surprise me if I had a concussion again.

Charlotte. She was standing right there, in her bathrobe, hair tousled, eyes sleepy. This might've been the first time I'd seen her without make-up. Huh, who'd have guessed she had freckles? She was a lot less impressive this way.

"Err..." Hayley said, for some reason with widened eyes. "Err... Sam and me, we were... waiting for Santa Clause!"

What the hell, girl? I looked at her in disbelief. Charlotte shook her head, probably thinking she was dreaming or something. "It's Nathan and June," I said, ignoring Hayley stepping on my toe. "Last year, she gave him something, and I wasn't allowed to know what it was, and she's doing it again now, so we're trying to find out." Then, I realized. She was his girlfriend! "You probably know what it is, though? Come on, tell us!"

She stared at me like my truth was more unbelievable than Hayley's obvious lie. See, June? This is what you get when you tell the truth! "I — I had no idea," Charlotte said. A little unstable, she walked towards us. Hayley jumped aside; she was kind of afraid of my brother's girlfriend for some reason.

Hayley gestured at me frantically. I held up my hands, not getting what she meant, and she sighed. A few minutes ago, she'd stopped me from going in — now, that was exactly what she was doing. She was so weird.

Well, if she was going in, I was going in too. I pushed past Charlotte, who immediately followed, and then, the three of us were gazing down upon a clearly startled June and Nathan.

If I didn't know any better, I'd think they were dealing drugs.

June was looking at Hayley, silently begging for answers. She and Nathan were both sitting cross-legged, facing each other, and he was holding the red envelope, obviously surprised by the sudden spectators.

"What are you all doing out of bed?" June asked, almost annoyed.

"The card," I said. "We want to know what's on it — Hayley knows, so Charlotte and me have the right to know as well."

"Yes, Nathan, I must say I was very intrigued when they told me what was going on." She had her arms crossed. She was taking this a little too seriously.

"Hayley doesn't know," June said, just as confused as us. "Only two people know, and they're sitting right here on this carpet."

Hayley smirked at me. Bitch. She'd been playing me! Did you see that, Nathan? That was what I meant. But he wasn't looking at her; instead, he was chuckling quietly. "Really, Charlotte?" he said. "You too? I think I'm living with the nosiest people in the whole state of California."

"It's not fair," I said. "We have the right to know what's on that card!"

Nathan laughed. "I've never heard of a law dictating you're obligated to show your Christmas presents to your little brother."

"What about your girlfriend?" Charlotte said, finally woken up. I hadn't seen her in action before, but according to Nathan, she could be good when she was fired up.

"No," he said, like it was the densest thing he'd ever heard. "It's for my eyes only; otherwise, there'll be dire consequences. I don't want June to end up dead, you know. Lawyer-client confidentiality, if we're going to make a court case out of this at two am in the morning."

June was giggling. Charlotte and me were less happy with his bullshit, though. "Just give it here, you ass," I said, charging at him. He jumped up, holding it above his head again. This time, it didn't matter that much because I was almost as tall as him.

"Fucking hell, Sam, let it go already! You wouldn't even care if you really knew what it was." June was actually getting pissed at me. Like she had any reason to!

Frowning, she got up, a little unsteadily. "Maybe I would've told you if you'd just asked nicely, but seeing as you're acting like a four-year-old, you're going to have to wait till you're seventy-seven!" She threw me a fiery look, not unlike Nathan's laser eyes, then turned to Charlotte. "I'm sure he'll tell you what it is if you really need to know." A smile at Nathan, who was definitely getting annoyed as well. "Night, Nathan. Come on, Hayley, let's go to bed..." He watched the two girls walk away, still holding the card up in the air.

Charlotte was blushing, rubbing her arms, avoiding Nathan's eyes. "Okay, she's gone, so you can tell us now," I said. I was finally going to find out!

"No, Sam," Charlotte said. "June's right. We don't need to know. It's their secret. People are allowed to have secrets."

What the hell? Usually, she'd go into this wild fit of rage if she lost something; it was scary and entertaining at the same time. Why not now, when it was actually necessary?

Nathan was pleased. "Thank you, Charlotte. See, Sam? Some people are sensible in this house." He put his arm around her, kissing her on the cheek, and somehow, it made me uncomfortable again, thinking back to when we'd spied on him earlier. It was different, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Weird.

Breathing in deeply, I kicked the side of the couch. Life wasn't fair. They were probably going to have mind-blowing sex, and she was going to know what was on that crappy card.