Christopher couldnāt help but feel uncomfortable as his siblings talked over his bedside. He felt funny, but couldnāt describe it. They were paying more attention to him than they had ever done, and he knew it was just because of the situation he had gotten himself into. But their efforts for conversation were mostly fruitless, as Christopher was barely listening, his eyes glued to the ceiling, letting their voices go in one ear and out another and wondering why he had been too scared to go through with it. Shying away from Jenās touch, Chris avoided making eye contact with either of his siblings, not wanting to engage either of them in conversation.
Blood getting hot, Jen turned on her older brother and her hand moved so quickly to slap him in the face that one might have only recognized it as a slap by the sound.Ā āDonāt you dare tell me to shut up, Benjamin. Where the hell have you been this entire time? Fucking some guyās brains out, getting so high that you donāt even know where you are, diving from some cliff into a lake just so that your sad and directionless life will feel thrilling for just a moment? Fine, youāre immortal, who cares if you spend a few years in the middle of nowhere? Youāre not wasting your life, but youāre wasting ours. Itās obvious that our parents arenāt going to take care of this mental child here,ā she waved at Chrisās bed without looking at him,Ā ābut who says you canāt? None of us are going to live forever, Ben, so who says once we bite the dust you canāt go back to your disgustingly lax way of life?! Do you realize as much as I hate school iām still in it? Do you realize that I dropped important things to come here to see how he was doing? You, Ben, are the number one most selfish person I have ever met, and I canāt believe you actually have the audacity to tell me to shut up, when all iām doing is worrying about Chris?!ā
Ben looks down at Chris and nearly melts, he canāt stand seeing him like this itās just not natural.Ā āIām sorry buddyāhe tells him. He winces as he feels Jenās slap across his face,Ā āOh because youāre really helping in this situation Jenāhe retorts,Ā āCalling it stupid? Thatās a great way to boost confidence, Iām sure that itās exactly what Chris wants to hearāhe says with a sigh as he takes a step towards his sister, the anger boiling up inside. Thereās a reason he doesāt get along with his family he forgot about it until now.Ā āMental childāhe says quietly,Ā āListen to yourself, you donāt care about himāhe says to her,Ā āYou act like you doāhe continues,Ā āBut you donātā.Ā āAnd donāt start, you have never been in my position, the worst thing I could be doing is living my normal life-because that consists of drinking, heartbreak, anger, depression- and weāve all seen how well that turns outāhe hisses,Ā āAnd last time I checked, Iām here. Iāve always been here for Chris, and you know it.ā
