Daphne didn't want to go into town, she wanted to stay at the summer house or on the beach. When they got there they found a for sale sign in the yard, Conrad ripped it out, Daphne now keeps it with her on the beach. She lays down on the sand, it's next to her when she hears Conrad clear his throat. She opens her eyes and he's holding her phone out, "Kept going off." she groans as she takes it. She flips it open, it's Belly and Jeremiah. And of course James, Malia and Ash. They all want to know where she is.
She decides to call James, "Thanks for letting me know you're not dead." he answers. "I told mom I'm safe, she didn't even ask that many questions."
"That's because she doesn't know how stupid you are."
"Wow thanks, aren't you the best little brother?"
"By three months."
"Whatever, just know I'm safe." she looked up at Conrad as he sat down beside her, "Where are you though? We know you're with Connie but that twat is off the grid as well."
"We're just going for a drive. We'll be home soon." Daphne didn't know if that was true, they still hadn't done what they came to do.
"A two day drive?"
"God, since when do you care this much?" Daphne's words were bitter, she was annoyed by him, he could tell. Anyone with half a brain could tell.
"I'm sorry for giving a fuck." the line goes dead. Daphne shuts her phone, tosses it beside her on the sand.
"Pussy." she mumbles mostly to herself, she hated herself for treating him like shit just because she was angry at someone else.
"Little brothers, the worst." Conrad teases, Daphne doesn't say anything in return, letting the sun soak into her skin.
"Yours maybe, I might actually like mine." she turned to him, fixing her cap as she stuffed all her hair inside it. Conrad looked over at her, his head resting on his right arm. "You don't act like it."
"I'm just really bad at being there for people." Daphne pulled her lips into a straight line, felt a lump form in her throat. The more she breathed, the harder it seemed to get.
"You've always known what I needed." Conrad was right, he was the one person she knew how to be there for, how to take care of. She had a relationship with him that she didn't even have with her own brother or sisters, or even her parents or Jeremiah and Belly. They understood each other, they were two halves of the same fucked up story.
"Because we're exactly the same."