Fakely HIS

Chapter 31

"Isn't this cute?" I picked out the cookie monster pyjama set out of the rack and waved it in front of Hunter.

Hunter whose back was to me previously turned to look at what I was trying to show him and his face turned into one of distaste as he took in the pyjama set in my hand. Scowling, he shook his head, "Hayley, that's a pyjama set for a girl."

"Yes," I nodded, a strange need to protect my cookie monster from this idiot that I call as my brother, "I chose it for myself, not for you."

He rolled his eyes at me, "But sister dearest, we came here to shop for me, but from what I can remember you've been choosing things only for yourself."

Offended, I glared at him, "That's not true."

"Oh? Then why oh why are you carrying those fuzzy slippers, that pyjama set and that Captain America t-shirt?"

"Hey! The Captain America t-shirt was on sale."

"Then what about the fuzzy slippers and that pyjama set?"

"They're just cute," I hugged the cookie monster pyjama set and the fuzzy slippers close to my chest, not liking the fact that my brother was being mean and picking on them.

"Whatever," he rolled his eyes and motioned for me to move forward inside the shop, "Now could you please stop looking cute things for yourself. That way we can get the few essentials for school for me and leave this place as soon as possible."

The thought of him going to school so far away from here felt crazy and I didn't like the idea one bit, but this was what my brother wanted. It felt like I was losing him all over again, just months after getting him back. I knew I was being dramatic and that Hunter was only going to be a few hour flight journey away from me, but it was still difficult to digest the fact that my little brother and I were going to be at the opposite ends of the country.

I still remember the day one month ago when my brother had so tactlessly broken the news of going to Los Angeles to continue his discontinued schooling in a boarding school there. I remembered the first words out of my mouth after a ten minute long stretch of silence.

"Absolutely not."

Hunter had sighed like he had expected me to protest and God knows I wanted to do more than just protesting. I wanted to chain him in a room if that's what would've taken for my brother to stay.

"Hayley," he said, his voice softer, looking at me as if he knew that it wasn't going to be easy to get me to agree to this, "I need to do this. I want some space from home. This place is suffocating me."

I looked at him desperately, my eyes starting to water, "But-" I didn't know what to say.

"I know, Hails," he said gently, walking to me and lowering himself on the floor next to me, "This is too much of a change, but please, you need understand, I need this for myself."

And I did. I understood what he was doing. I understood why he was running away. I wanted to reach out to him, pull him in a hug and tell him that he didn't need to run away from anything. He had to stand up straight and face all the hurdles that life threw at him with a smile on his face. That was what mom would've done. That was what she'd have wanted us to do.

But I didn't say that. Instead, I looked at him, tears flowing down my face as I nodded. It was not my place to tell my brother what he needed to do; it was now his turn to live life and figure out what exactly he wanted out of his life. And if he felt that the distance between home and him was going to help him, who was I to stop him.

Swallowing, he had pulled me into a bone crushing hug, "I'll miss you, Hay. But don't worry, if at any time I wanted to be home or if you wanted to see me – we'll get on that six hour long flight to each other, okay?"