I Hate My Brother (editing!)

32.

"To fuck? To live?"

"I'm getting to it." He sighs, probably not that pleased to be gossiping with two girls. "They insisted they were just friends, but obviously everyone could see they were fucking friends. She did stayover sometimes and had a pretty good relationship with my mother. The whole thing really only stopped around... a year ago? Zac didn't say much, neither did I ask. We just heard that she started seeing someone, so they stopped their intimate friendship. She stopped coming over too and we no longer really brought her up."

I was trying to absorb all the information. So basically, she could sure as hell qualify as an ex-girlfriend of some sort. There's no way two people can fuck for almost three years and have no feelings for each other. The fact that they still have pet names for each other says that much.

Cass then turns back to me with a sympathetic smile. "Do you need any more?"

I shake my head. "It's fine. I've heard enough."

That night, I go home feeling a little upset. I don't even know. Maybe it's the fact that I always thought they were just platonic friends. I haven't ever asked Zac about it, but now that I know of their sexual background, it'd be weird if he were to tell me he sees her as a sister.

———

"I was thinking, let's watch a movie today." Zac suggests. It's Saturday and we are cuddling on my bed. He had sent me a text on Thursday evening saying he was sorry to ditch me. He was caught up with something, was all he said.

"Okay." I reach for my laptop that's on the desk.

"No, baby. I mean, a real movie. At the cinema."

"Really?" I grin. We haven't ever went out much. The last time the both of us went out was that time when we shopped for the Halloween party. "Like a date?"

"Like a date." He smiles. "If I knew you'd be this happy, I'd have asked you a long time ago."

I went on to take a shower, put on make-ups and choose a nice dress. God, I haven't been to the cinema in a long time and I wanted to look good for our real first date.

"What do you feel like watching today?" The both of us check out the screen that shows all the available movies and time-slots.

"Surprise me," I tell him. He goes to the ticket counter to buy the tickets while I head to the snack bar to get us drinks and popcorns.

"Ta-dah!" He waves the two tickets in front of me. "Gold class tickets. We'll get plush cushion seats." He winks. Man, this guy really spoils me.

"Your root beer." I pass him his drink, knowing that's his favourite.

"And you have Fanta grape?" He asks knowingly, smirking. "Knew it. You and your grape obsession." He leans down to kiss me on the lips.

We stroll towards the ticketing guy even though there's still fifteen minutes till the show starts. There's nothing much to do around anyway, and we already have our snacks. Might as well go try out the seats first.

Just as we settle down, his phone begins to ring. He quickly whips it out, wanting to silent it until he sees the caller ID. I sneak a peek, seeing the contact name. Becca, again.

"Hello?" Nobody's in the threatre yet, so he speaks as per normal. "Right now?" He glances at me and sighs. "Alright, alright. I'll come over."

My heart dropped. He's going to ditch me again?

"Baby," he hangs up the call and turns to me. "I'm so sorry. Becca needs my help with some stuff. I'm really, really sorry." He looks at me with eyes full of guilt and hesitation.

Well. What am I going to do now? I can make a fuss and demand that he stays, but that's not going to make me look mature about it. Besides, it isn't really his fault if it's a real emergency. It's not as if he mixed up his schedules or fucked up somewhere. No, it's not.

So I do the only thing I should do. I nod and smile at him. "It's fine. Run along."

"Are you sure? Look, I can drop you home first." He offers me.

But what's the point? We already bought tickets and snacks. Heck, we're already seated on the luxurious leather reclinable seats. Why waste it?

"No. I'll stay."

Zac sighs again, as if not knowing if he should go. "If I can make it back, I'll come back for you, okay? Call me if you need a ride." He plants a kiss on my forehead before exiting the cinema.

The movie ends two hours, two popcorn boxes later. He didn't come back. He didn't pick up my call.

I guess I'm going to get used to this.