I'm a little lost sister

Chapter 7

He walks over and around the bed, before sitting down on it at the side of her. He looks down at her peacefully sleeping and feels slightly bad for having to wake her up when she was so obviously tired and in need of a good sleep, but he was also worried about how much, or rather how little she had eaten in the past day.

Grant had informed him that she hadn't eaten much on the plane due to being so scared anytime they had experienced turbulence, and he knew if she didn't eat now she'd wake up hungry in the middle of the night.

He gives her a minute or two more, watching with a smile on his face as she sleeps so calmly. He still couldn't believe she was actually here. It had all felt like a dream beforehand, but now that she was actually here he felt as though everything was finally in place. He hadn't realised how much he had longed for a family until he had found out he had one, and now that he was reunited with her he couldn't help but feel such immense joy that it crept onto his usually motionless face, forcing his lips into a stupid grin.

Ryder wasn't an emotional person, anyone who had met him would tell you that he was one of the scariest people you would ever meet, his overly tall height, obsessing with the gym leaving him with an intimidating build and his icy glare enough to make someone wish they'd never left the house that morning. Though, loosing your parents at a young age and entering the corporate world at a young age would do that to most people.

He was used to being alone, even when surrounded by people, especially as many of those around him were the type of people who would manipulate you with anything they could if it meant benefiting themselves. And for this very reason, he had become someone who was not only hard to be around on a superficial level, but hard to be close to as well, his walls running so deep that no one could break through. 

And yet here he was, smiling at his sister as she slept without a care in the world, knowing that he would do anything he needed to do to keep that smile on her face. He would dress up as a flamingo if he needed to to make her smile, or buy her the ocean if so much as mentioned liking the beach. For some reason, he wanted to please her, he wanted her to like him, because he knew that as long as Mia thought he was a good big brother, and loved him as much as he already loved and cared for her, it didn't matter how many people viewed him as the symbol for terror itself.

He reached over and gently places his hand on her shoulder, shaking her ever so slightly to try and gently wake her up. She doesn't move. Deciding that he clearly didn't use enough force, Ryder shakes her a little harder, hoping to successfully wake her up this time.

Mia blinks a couple times, before lifting an arm to try and rub the sleep out of her eyes as she slips back into consciousness. She realises that theres weight on her shoulder as she tries to sit up, eyes following the hand on her shoulder up to where Ryder is seated in front of her.

She jumps back a bit, startled at how close he was seated to her. Ryder feels his heart tighten a bit as she jumps back, mistaking her startled reaction as one of fright. Shoulders slumping down slightly, he forces a smile onto his face in attempt of masking his disappointment.

"Sorry to wake you up, I know you must be tired. You should come eat something for dinner before going to bed though, otherwise you'll wake up hungry in the middle of the night." Ryder explains to her, apologetic for waking her up when she very clearly needed sleep.

She nods in response, a yawn leaving her mouth as she pulls the blanket off of herself to stand and join them for dinner. They were right, she had barely eaten during the flight and could feel her stomach rumbling at the mention of food.

"Thank you for waking me up, I would've been starving if you hadn't! I didn't mean to fall asleep, the bed was just so comfortable, and well, I guess I was just a bit tired." Mia responded, reaching behind herself to grab a pillow to hug as she looks back towards her brother. He really didn't look like her at all she thought, noticing how his warm brown eyes and curly coffee hair paralleled to her green eyes and pale brown hair.

She found him to be like a giant teddy bear, though she knew if he wasn't her brother she'd most likely be intimidated by him. It's bad to listen to stereotypes mia she reprimands herself, feeling silly for having conceived a view on him despite barely knowing him.

They sit in silence for a while longer, before Mia clears her throat, Ryder's eyes snapping back to her in response to the noise. Her throat dries a bit at this, worried that she's been too loud and has startled him out of his thoughts.

She took a breath, trying to calm her nerves as she verbalizes the concerns that had been plaguing her mind since she found out about him.

"So... How long have you uh, well, known about me? It's just, I only very recently found out about you, a week ago to be specific, and I mean, obviously I was nervous because I mean what if you didn't want to meet me or if you did, what if you ended up hating me you know? I mean, we were in different continents if you ended up disliking me you could just kick me out and I really want you to like me because you're my brother, granted who I've only just met, but I didn't want you thinking poorly of me. Don't get me wrong, I was also very excited to find out all about you, though I really don't know much about you, but it meant that I had a family of my own, and I'm really hoping that you aren't disappointed by how I've turned out because I quite like you, you seem very nice so far and oh my god I just told you everything." Mia cuts herself off as she can feel her cheeks reddening, having realised that instead of being composed and calm, she had instead gone and blabbered about everything.

The look of surprise is easily recognised on Ryder's face, shocked at her having of spoken so much to him. Maybe she isnt terrified of me he thinks to himself, mulling over everything she had asked him.

"I've known about you for a little over two months, so I'm also quite new to this whole being a brother thing." Mia nods in response, glad to find that they're just as inexperienced as each other in such an odd situation.

"I found out about you in a letter left to me by my, our, parents. It told me just about everything I would need to know to be able to find you if I wanted too so that we could meet and so on." Ryder's low voice murmurs to her, voice catching when realising that they're no longer just his parents, but the both of them.

He has a sister now, though he always had when you think about it technically, but now he knew his little sister, and was a part of her life. A light feeling of joy spreads within him as he processes that he is no longer completely without a family, and has a sister to call his own.

"Uh... were you sad to find out about me? I'm sorry if it brought up any bad memories for you. It must've taken you some time after to want to meet me, seeing how sudden it must've been." A dejected tone laced her voice as she spoke, misinterpreting his pause as regret for having her flown to him.

Miscommunication was clearly a shared trait for the two, along with a tendency to overthink.

"What? No no no! I was so happy to find out about you! I wanted to fly you here as soon as I found out, but Marcus and Kelly believed it would be better to let you turn 14 first and then have you find out about me and your biological family. I was nervous about looking after you, but only because I really dont want to fuck this up."

Mia smiles at this, a comforting feeling placing around her once realising that they had felt the same way about meeting each other.

Ryder rubs the back of his neck as he grows uncomfortable after having confessed his panic to his sister, worried about how she viewed him now that he had just gone and revealed how unsure he was on how to look after her.

She reaches for his hand, holding his much bigger one in her petite one as she gives him a small smile.

"We're quite similar you know? I'm really happy you also wanted to have me in your life Ryder. I know we'll get along well and that you'll be a great brother so don't worry!"

Mia finally stands up from the bed, and Ryder does too, before the two of them walk towards the kitchen to go have dinner.

Downstairs in the kitchen, Marcus half lies on the dining table as he watches the spaghetti grow colder.

"Do you think they forgot about us and dinner?"