He caught Lucy's arm as she walked by, "Look me in the eye and tell me that you weren't talking about me."
She looked down at his hand, "I might only be five foot three but I can still kick your ass."
He grinned as he let go of her arm, "Is that a promise? I like it rough."
Lucy scowled at him before disappearing into her bedroom.
"So, where am I taking you for dinner?" he asked me.
"I know an awesome Italian place."
***
Brody seemed impressed by the restaurant and pretty much ordered one of everything. While Brody was impressed by the food, I was impressed by the fact that he didn't flirt with the waitress. Trust me, it was a rare occurrence.
After placing our orders, we sipped our chocolate milkshakes and it brought back memories of when we were kids, "I'm glad you're here."
His grin matched mine, "Me too, I miss your nagging."
I gasped, "I do not nag."
"Let's agree to disagree."
"I disagree with your agreement to disagree."
"Well I disagree with your disagreement to agree to disagree."
I cocked my head to one side, "Well I disagree with your disagreement of my...oh hell."
He whooped, "I always win."
I scowled as I took another sip of my milkshake, "Catch me up on what's been happening back home. How have you been?"
"This isn't a counselling session, I don't care if you're studying it."
"I know it's not" I replied, defensively. "This is a sister asking her brother how he's been."
He narrowed his eyes, "Is that what they teach you to say?"
I rolled mine, "Shut up."
"Respect your elders."
"Respect...women."
"I always do."
I raised my eyebrow, "Is that right?"
"Yep, I respect their needs."
I burst out laughing, "Too much information. So come on, what's been happening back home?"
"I almost forgot how much of a mind ninja you were."
I snorted, "Mind ninja?"
He tapped his temple, "Yeah, you're like a ninja trying to get inside my head. I'm fine, life's fine, everything's fine."
"Oh yeah? Is Mum fine?"
He sighed, "Let's not do this now. Can't you just be happy that I'm here?"
I knew that he was trying to avoid talking about her. "Of course I'm happy that you're here but I need to know how she is. Is she sober?"
My mother made a promise to me the night before I left for University. She looked me in the eye and promised me that she would be completely sober by the time I came home for Christmas break. My heartbeat sped up as I waited for Brody to answer but he didn't need to. His face said it all.
"She's in rehab."
I laughed because I knew that if I didn't, I would cry. "What happened this time?"
He shrugged, "Same old. She drank too much, I called an ambulance, she went to rehab. End of story."
The whole situation was messed up. A son and daughter shouldn't have to talk this way about their own mother. Especially talking about it like it was the most normal thing in the world. I shook my head, "When did she check in?"
"Yesterday." He placed his head in his hands, "Is it wrong that I'm actually a little bit relieved? Relieved that I don't have to look after her? Don't have to worry about her choking on her own sick? Is it wrong that I'm glad to finally have some time to visit my little sister?"
I shook my head as I fought back the tears. "No, it's not wrong."
The waitress chose that exact moment to bring over our food. We ate in comfortable silence for a few minutes before Brody spoke, "So..."
"So?" I asked.
I knew what was about to happen. I bit my lip to stop myself from laughing. Every now and again, Brody liked to play the overprotective big brother.
"Are you dating?"
Yes, I'm in a serious relationship with my personal tutor.
"Nope" I lied.
"Why not?"
I rolled my eyes at his stupid question, "Because I'm a strong independent woman." He looked at me with his eyebrow raised, waiting for me to carry on. I sighed dramatically, "Maybe I'm not pretty enough."
"Bullshit, there's not a single guy in here who hasn't checked you out. Which, by the way, is starting to piss me off." I blushed as I looked around the restaurant, suddenly feeling self conscious. "Are you telling me the truth? You're really not dating?"
"I'm really not dating."
Technically, it was the truth. I wasn't dating. If he were to ask me if I was in a secret relationship with my tutor, then that would be a completely different story.
He took a long drink of his milkshake, keeping his eyes on mine the whole time. "Good. If you do decide to date, you should wait until you're married before you do anything."