tw: manipulation, toxic siblings relationships, suggestive (mdi)
2,6k words
your jealousy got the best of you.Ā
it was during lunch break.
you were in class, sitting at your table with two friends, when you overheard girls from another class sitting a few tables away with some of your classmates, talking about your big brother caleb out of all peopleā¦.Ā
fawning over how responsible, handsome and trustworthy he seemedā¦ you discreetly rolled your eyes.
was he the last man on earth for them to gush about him like that, in the same room as his little sister? couldnāt they talk about some celebrity instead? it made your blood boil.
one of them noticed youāa girl who had never bothered acknowledging your presence beforeāasked gleefully if he was always this reliable even at home.
confusion and irritation made you almost choke on your meal, carefully made by said brother, but you tried to feign indifference as you stubbornly swallowed your food and emotions, faking a smile as you quickly recovered:
āhahaha, trust meā¦ heās not that great. heās kinda annoying evenā¦āĀ
the lie almost made you bite your tongue, but it didnāt stop them.
āwell, heās your brother, of course you wouldnāt understandā¦āĀ
āhaha, right. youāre just too immature to see it yet!āĀ
āannoying? caleb? i donāt believe it!ā
it made you clench your teeth. what made it worse was that your own friends doubled down..Ā
they nodded along, one of them even blushing at the thought of him, making you blink several times as if to make sure exasperation werenāt making you see things.
the other one mumbled, poking at her food, that she wished her idiot of a big brother was even a third of what yours was.Ā
you donāt even know how you got through the day with this amount of anger inside you; your handwriting was so messy and the bottom of your notebook was filled with ācaleb is a big dummy!ā
when the bell rang, you hastily shove your stuff into your bag and headed directly outside.Ā
as you almost reached the gate, you heard hasty footsteps followed by your name in that familiar voice youād recognize anywhere:
āwell, youāre going home without me now?ā
he was slightly breathless, though he quickly recovered from the jog he just had to catch up to you. his smirk always ridiculously made your heart flutter, yet it got on your nerves just as much, because it was always followed by him teasing you and, oh God, it didnāt wait:
āarenāt you scared to get lost? do you even know your way back?āĀ
his light tone and the way he couldnāt hide his amusement would have been so endearingā¦ if you didnāt feel like punching a wall right now.
you puffed your cheeks and crossed your arms over your chest; he let out a soft laugh, at least he was amusedā¦
and as if it wasnāt enough for today, just when he tilted his head to the side with a grin, waiting for your comeback, a girl waved him goodbye with a sheepish smile: āsee you tomorrow, caleb!ā you automatically squinted your eyes, your upper lip curving a littleā¦
āwhat? whoāagain? hasnāt it been, like, the fourth time this week?ā
Ā
he, in response, just nodded before looking back at you.Ā
you hated the way this whole situation made you feelāstupid, greedy, reacting way too much for what it was.Ā
it also made you act like someone else entirely, someone you barely recognized, someone who resented how her brother kept growing more popular as the years went on. shame started settling as you couldnāt understand why it affected you this muchā¦ heās your brother, for fuckās sake!ā¦ but why did it feel impossible to stop?
you couldnāt suppress the voice screaming inside you that he was your brother, yours only, and you werenāt ready to share him with anyone.
caleb was about to reach out to you, ready to take your bag like he always did, wanting to make things easier for you when you walked home together, but you jerked away.Ā
āyou gotta have them all, huh?āĀ
confusion took over his face as he asked you what you were going on about.Ā
āneighbor girls, my friends, my classmates and now some random girls too?āĀ
he was taken aback. what on earth were you going on about? still, a faint smile returned to his lips.
āpip-squeak, youāre not making any sense right nowā¦āĀ
you clenched your teethāwas he playing dumb on purpose? gosh, you couldnāt believe he didn't see how everyone was at his feet.
it ultimately got the best of you: you started throwing a tantrum.
āi donāt wanna go home with you. i canāt be seen with my brother whoās slowly turning into some playboy,ā you made air quotes with your fingers. āwhat would people think? ālook at themā¦ guess being easy runs in the familyā¦ā you want me to get bullied or what?ā
you could see his eyes slowly widen as you went on, and you cowardly looked away so you wouldnāt lose your resolve. his mouth opened, but you cut him off before he could say anything:
āā¦ cause, honestly? iām starting to think youāre nothing but an attention whore.ā
you turned around and started walking.Ā
your heart was pounding so hard, your ears were ringing, your face was flushed.Ā
itās not your first fight with himāand far from being your lastābut youāve never been this cruel to him! attention whoreā¦ seriously? the word echoed in your mind.Ā
as you kept walking, the cool air of the late afternoon calmed you down a bit and thatās when you picked up on the footsteps behind you.Ā
his, of course. you could recognize them so easilyāthey were careful, purposeful, light, keeping their distance, giving you spaceā¦
you could feel a lump slowly forming in your throat as regret started creeping in, but your pride made you swallow it faster than a pill.
when you got home, you kicked off your shoes by shaking your feet, sending them flying carelessly against the old wooden shoe cabinet and stormed straight to your room without even acknowledging josephineās presence, startling her in the process.
still at the entrance, caleb naturally picked up your shoes and set them aside before removing his own.
āwhat happened?ā josephine frowned, worry creeping into her voice.
but of course your brother was always quick to smooth things over and found an excuse for you about how school has been exhausting these past few days.
āsheās just tired.ā he added, putting your grandmotherās mind at ease.
caleb, though, seemed awfully out of it, his eyes lacking their usual light.
but he fell back into his routine anyway: changing his clothes, putting on a load of laundry, doing his homework, starting dinner, going for a jog while it cooked, showering, setting the tableā¦
when dinner was served, josephine called for you from downstairs but no answer came.Ā
caleb set a carafe of water on the table before turning his gaze at the top of the stairs silently.
ādonāt worry, iāll make her a plate for later.ā
she thanked him, as she returned to the table.
and you? you were in your own world.Ā
stretched out on your bed, your legs up against the wall, wrinkling posters of celebrities as you scrolled through your phone with your earphones in, your school bag long forgotten after you threw it across your bedroom.
your foul mood slowly began to fade. you even found yourself thinking about sending caleb some videos that would make him laugh for sureā¦ only to snap back to reality when you noticed how dark it has gotten outside.
youāre such an airhead.Ā
you hadnāt done anything since you got home, and you were still in your uniform.Ā
you quickly grabbed some clothes and stormed to the bathroom to shower. when you finished, you headed downstairs.Ā
all the lights were off, but you could still navigate pretty easily through the dark, thanks to the streetlamp outside and the soft glow of the oven clock.
you found a plate covered in film.Ā
you heated it as you paced a bit in front of the microwave and ate it quickly; it was delicious as usual, just the way you liked it.Ā
you put your plate in the dishwasher and headed upstairs to brush your teeth, phone in hand, not even bothering to close the doorāgranny was surely reading in bed at this hour.
he had just entered the bathroom to retrieve the now dry clothes, just as a meme made you laugh so hard you almost choked on your toothpaste.
you rinsed your mouth, dried it with a towel and turned your phone toward him.
āhaha! hey caleb, look! isnāt itāā
but you found yourself facing a somewhat different caleb, one that stopped you in your tracks.Ā
his expression was calm, yet heavy, his eyes fixed on you with a weight youād never seen before. it took you aback, firstly because he had never looked at you that way before, but mostly because you had completely forgotten about that afternoon, like totally!
you could only stare at him as you lowered your phone, your smile long gone, guilt slowly creeping back in.
he let out an unamused huff at your reaction, shaking his head as he looked to the side. without a word, he tossed the piece of clothing he was holding into the basket of clean laundry, then finally looked back at you.
āsoā¦ after how you spoke to me before and ignored me, i suddenly exist nowā¦?ā
his tone was devoid of anger; only sarcasmā¦ disappointmentā¦ and hurt. his long lashes cast shadows his trystine eyes. you found it hard to look at him right now, it filled you with remorseā¦Ā
so you tried to apologize for your stupid tantrum.
ācalebā¦ gegeā¦ listen, earlierāā
you couldnāt even finish your sentence when you noticed something falling quickly.Ā
you looked upāand saw something you didnāt think youād ever see in him.
ā¦clinging to your big brotherās lashes. falling from his eyes. actual tears.
panic rose in your chest as you settled your phone near the sink and stepped closer.
you reached for him and grabbed his sleeve, tugging gently so heād focus on you.
he met your gazeāhis eyes glossy and unfocused, the skin beneath them reddening, his nose flushed.
it tugged at your heart instantly, and like an invisible bond linking you two, your own eyes began to sting. tears welled up, and soon enough, you were a crying mess.
he pulled you closer, cupping your cheek as he tried to wipe your tears away while you sobbed, a small breath escaping his lipsāhalf surprise, half amusement.Ā
the irony: him consoling you when it should be the other way around. he really spoiled you rottenā¦
your words came out tangled, broken by hiccups and sniffles.
āg-gegeā¦ iām so sorryā¦ i-i was justā¦ madā¦ i donāt even know why! andā¦ and i hate that i said that, iām so mean!ā¦ and i wanna walk home with you by my side, like beforeā¦ andā¦ i-i wonāt be mean to you ever againā¦ p-pleaseā¦ā
he wrapped his hands around your smaller frame, letting you cry against him, his hand gently stroking the back of your neck as your shoulders quivered with every sob.
he softened, reassured, a small smile forming as he ruffled your hair, silently showing you he wasnāt holding it against you anymore.
āitās okay, iām not sad anymore, hm? do you really think i could stay upset with my precious baby sister?ā
you looked up at him and was met by his usual warm gaze, his confident, reassuring and youthful smileāmaking the fat under his eyes a bit more prominentāyou felt like you had found your big brother againā¦ finally.Ā
but you couldnāt shake the guilt still weighing on you, soā¦Ā
you jumped into his arms, and he instinctively caught youālegs around his body, arms around his neck, forehead resting on his shoulder as you inhaled his warm, sweet, familiar scent.
something youād done countless times before, whenever you selfishly needed comfort.
āhow am i supposed to fold clothes with my little gober clinging to me like this?ā
his usual teasing tone eased your mind. you tightened your embrace, your voice muffled against his neck.
āām sure youāll manage, like you always do.ā you felt him chuckle softly.
āsooo, what was this thing you wanted to show me earlier?ā he asked, resuming his previous task.
his voice was low and rumbled through his chest, soothing you as you answered that youāll show him later. he hummed softly, a hint of satisfaction in his tone.
you couldnāt see his face right nowā¦ yet, if you couldā¦
it would have surely sent shivers down your spine, as you would have certainly caught on to his not-so-innocent designs.
there was this disturbing smile that didnāt match his earlier distress, nor the tears that had previously reddened his features.
and the way he had to contain a small moan when you gave him that puppy-like expressionā¦Ā
the way his eyes rolled back in his skull as you cried against him? absolutely disgusting.
he also felt a small sense of relief that you were perched a little higher in his arms right nowā¦ any lower, and you might have noticed the effect you had on him.
soā¦ was that all it took for you to come back to him? a pitiful expression and a few tears?
he had spent the whole evening thinking about how to get you back to him.Ā
your silence, the way you turned away from him, it tortured him.
and being ignored by you? it unsettled him in a way he couldn't name, frustration tightening in his chest during all the way back home.
but he knew why you reacted this way, you couldnāt fool your big brother, even if you tried.
your jealousy was something he found absolutely adorable, how could you even think heād care about anyone else but you? your naivety only makes him cherish you even more.
ā¦ and your previous tantrum? it made you so irresistible. your possessiveness over him actually had his stomach flutteringā¦ a slow warmth curling even lower.
but he needed to do something to make sure youāhis dear sister, whoās bound to him far deeper than you understood, whoās meant to remain at his side alone, with every inch of you rightfully hisāwould never ignore him like that ever again.
if he hadnāt caught up to you after school, you would have headed home alone, and he couldnāt risk thatā¦Ā
no. not after he noticed the way some boys dared to look at you, just waiting for an opportunity to get close when he wasnāt aroundā¦ it truly made his blood boil.
he didnāt want to have to take matters into his own hands. again.
he would make sure they understoodāquietly, efficientlyāthat you're more than off-limits.
heck, if it were up to him, he would show it to everyone, make it crystal clear, leaving no room for doubtā¦ but he couldnāt risk rushing you or scaring you.Ā
you were still trying to figure it out after all, not even realizing yet what you had for your brother was more than simple fraternal love.
so he put on this little act, pretending to be hurt, secretly savoring the thought that every time you will remember how hurt he was when you ignored him, it would prove how fully he consumed your mindāa small punishment for thinking you could escape his grasp.
the guilt heās stirred in you devouring you, making you crawl back into his arms. back to him, where you belong, just like now.
your reliable and devoted big brother had just imprinted himself on your mind, and you would never be able to forget it.
so heād be the only one left to occupy that space ever. he would make sure of it.
