Laura, Archie's 11 year old sister, sits on the couch in the living room. She watches 'mean girls' while her brother is upstairs in his room. She banned him because he made too much fun of her movie. She's wrapped in a blanket when there's suddenly a knock on the door. She gets up and walks to the front.
"Ronnie!" she exclaims when she sees her brother's girlfriend in front of her. She wraps her arms around her middle and leans her head against her chest. Laura feels a long kiss to the top of her head and a pair of hands holding her tight. When she looks up to her she can see how red and puffy Veronica's eyes are.
"Are you okay? You look sad"
"I'm fine honey, don't worry. Is Archie home?"
She nods and steps a way from the raven haired girl.
"He's upstairs playing a video game. Do you want to come in?"
"No. This won't take long"
"Okay" Laura whispers before she runs to her brother.
She storms into Archie's room. He sits on his bed with his eyes on the Tv. He didn't even notice his sister. She climbs onto the bed and rips his headphones off. He pauses the game before he turns to her.
"What?" he chuckles.
"Ronnie is here. She wants to talk to you. She seems upset".
"What? why?"
Laura shrugs before she gets back up and pulls him downstairs to his girlfriend. She sits down on the couch and tries to focus on her movie but her brother's conversation with his girlfriend is way more interesting. She can see how Veronica wraps her arms around him tightly, crying into his chest. Archie holds her close and kisses her head before he shoots his sister a glare as if he wanted to say 'stop it' and closes the door behind him.
A few minutes after staring at the closed front door it opens again. Archie walks in, alone. His hands hang down on the sides. His face is blank, no emotions.
"Archie?" his sister asks carefully "Are you okay?"
He doesn't answer. He walks upstairs without looking at Laura. Just a few minutes later she can hear him cry.
•••
She stands in front of his closed bedroom door for a while. She doesn't know whether she should go in or leave him alone. His sobs get louder and her heart breaks. She has never seen her brother so upset.
She slowly opens the door and sees him buried in a pile of pillows and blankets. In his hands he holds a picture of Veronica.
"Archie, what happened?"
"She- she left" he sobs.
She walks over to him and sits down on the bed. Before she even has the chance the lie down he grabs her body and holds her close. He squeezes her to him like she's a stuffed animal. His head rest on hers and his tears drip onto her face. She seems so tiny next to him. Laura reaches up to his face and wipes the tears away.
For a moment there are only Archie's heart wrenching sobs until he tries to speak.
"Her dad- a new job- Paris- she's gone"
"Oh Archie, it's going to be okay"
"No it's not! I'll never love again"
Laura frees herself from Archie's grip to sit up and leans against the headboard. He lies his head onto her lap. Laura's eyes get teary too. Veronica was like a big sister to her and she really needed a woman in her life. She spent most of her life with Archie and her dad. She has her mom now since their dad died but there are so many things she rather talk to Veronica about than her mom. She didn't even get a chance to say goodbye.
