When I Met Him In The Summer

Ten

Literally kill me now.

Is this what people mean when they say living life with no days off? Because that's exactly what it feels like for me.

I spoke too soon when I said this summer had started off well, and was going to go great. Let's recap.

Day one, I fantasized about fucking my own brother, who now hates me because I ran my mouth about his personal shit while trying to one up him. Day two I was swallowing said brother's piss. Day three and four were pretty uneventful, and then, on day five, I had a fight with my dad. And now this.

In case you did not already figure it out for yourself, I don't like Austin. I don't hate him either...he's just one of those people that you do not want to be around.

I have no good memories with him. All I remember about him is how he constantly picked on me when were younger, because I was always "small for my age".

Austin is an "alpha male", which literally translates to he's loud, rude and a bully. He also only watches sports, works out six days a week and lives only on protein shakes, energy drinks and beer. In a nutshell, he's hypermasculine, but in my opinion, he's overcompensating.

I really mean it when I say I miss school right now, and it crosses my mind to just slam the door in his face and go back inside. But he's family, and mi casa su casa, or whatever.

"Hello Austin, how was wherever you were?" I ask sarcastically as I help him get the rest of his bags inside to close the door. I could really not give a shit if he was in hell. I'm just being polite.

"College is great, the fuck is this girly shit you are watching? And drinking?" He asks as he walks past me, goes to the kitchen and takes a beer out of the fridge. I quickly pick up the remote, turn off the TV and put down my iced coffee.

See?

"Mum must have left something on. Infact you just missed them." I want so badly to ask if they know he is here.

"Oh, yeah. I saw them leave. I didn't want them to see me...I just need a place to crash for a few days as I get my shit together before I go back home," he says, dropping on the couch.

So they don't know that he's here. Interesting.

"There's a good shelter for strays a few miles from here," I mutter under my breath, and busy myself fluffing the pillows around him on the couch.

I am trying to act natural...I don't want him to see how, even as an almost fully grown adult, unsettling his presence is to me.

He looks at me, and my heart slows. Did he hear me?

"Danny, my dude. God, I've missed you so much," he says, pulling me to sit by him.

I am not his dude. Before I can react, he squeezes my head under his armpit and ruffles my hair.

"What do you want, Austin?" I ask when he finally lets me go, as I reorganize my hair. What the hell was that?

He winces and smiles, and then points at his bags. I was joking, but of course he actually wants me to do something for him.

"There's atleast a month's? two months' laundry in there. Can you help me do it? Pretty please? And also...where's Jake? JAKE!" he hollers, and I massage my temples.

Oh, so I can't drink iced coffee or watch the Kardashians, but I can do his laundry? Isn't that a girly thing too? And, that aside...two months of dirty laundry? You're basically walking around either stinky as fuck, or completely naked, right?

"Jake's in his room," I tell him, to get him away from me.

Jake and Austin get along perfectly, because they have so much in common, they're literally the same side of the same coin—they're both bitter, and so very repressed.

One time when we were younger, Jake had said to my face that he wished Austin was his brother instead of me, because I would not let him talk me into getting my face hit with a ball playing catch with him.

It had hurt back then, when we still cared for each other, and I had cried and cried, but now, I do not care. I like that they're so close, and that they act like I'm invisible when they're together.

You're the best. Thank you," he says, clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth and winking at me, before he turns around and runs up the stairs, screaming Jake's name all the way.

"Yeah, sure. No problem. I'll gladly work as an unpaid maid in my own house. You let me know if you want breakfast too," I reply angrily, under my breath, as I struggle to move the bags to the basement.

I dump the clothes in the wash—and I was right, they stink—lock the door, and try to listen for activity upstairs. When I don't hear anything, I put my hands on my hips and bite down on my lip...my classic thinking pose.

I'm going to be a long while down here—

No, no. It is too dangerous when there's two people in the house. Besides...I am a terrible liar.

So instead I sit down on the couch, get comfortable and open the novel app on my phone.