HOW TO RUIN YOUR LIFE (LGBTQ+)

8

But first, I had to visit my siblings.

It was finally the weekend. The sun was setting as I hopped onto my motorcycle, riding down my long gravel driveway toward the highway. Cleo had been asleep when I brought her dinner down, which I was grateful for. She was quite intriguing, but I didn't want to risk getting attached when there was a possibility that I would have to kill her.

This was the first time I would be seeing Joe and Persia together in almost 8 years. Joe had avoided me like I was the plague for a long time, and kept me away from his children. I knew from what Persia told me that he had gone through a recent divorce, and shared custody of their two children, who I had never met.

I wondered why he was open to seeing me now. Probably because Persia asked him. He'd always had a soft spot for his second-oldest sister, who he'd felt the need to protect from me when she was young. Even though he was younger than her by two years. Even though I'd never done anything to either of them. Besides the fight I'd had with Joe long ago, when we were all still living together after the two murders.

Joe and Persia were the only two people in the world who knew my secret, besides Locke and Sterling, and they'd vowed to keep it and take it with them to the grave.

Less than an hour later, I was in front of Joe's house, or was it an apartment...? I couldn't tell. Whatever. I kicked the peg out, letting the motorcycle rest on it, and stared up at the building. Persia's car was already parked, so she'd arrived before me. Probably on purpose.

I shook my head in slight annoyance, then ascended the steps to the front door. I was finally about to see my little brother again.

The door swung open before I could knock, revealing a tall man with tanned skin, short curly hair, dark green eyes, in business attire, fixing his tie. I blinked at him and he looked me up and down, turning away and leaving the door open as he walked back inside.

Oh, that was Joe.

I walked inside, swinging the door shut behind me, looking around as I followed his footsteps through his living area into what seemed to be the kitchen and dining room. There were nails hanging from the bare walls, as if picture frames had been taken down or were about to be put up. I assumed it was the former.

I walked into the kitchen, glancing at Persia who was sitting at the kitchen table, anxiously squeezing her hands together in a tight ball. I turned toward Joe, who was looking in his fridge, and scoffed. "Why'd you take your family photos down? You scared I'm gonna hunt your son down and kill him or something?"

Joe stiffened, looking up at me slowly. His eyes burned with rage as he slammed the fridge door shut and stalked toward me. "What did you say?"

"Wait, wait," Persia said, her voice tight. "You two just met for the first time in years, are you not going to greet each other?"

"You heard what the psycho just said, didn't you?" Joe seethed, stopping in front of me.

We were eye to eye, standing at the same height. I was tall for a female, and he was tall for a male. But I was the strongest.

"You wanna fight me?" I asked calmly, stepping toward him so we were only inches apart. I searched his eyes as the rage dissipated, replaced with disgust.

"I'm not controlled by my impulses like you are," he spat, then turned away and walked back toward the fridge, yanking it open with fervor.

I sighed, then pulled a chair out, collapsing into it next to Persia. She watched me. I could feel her eyes digging into my skin, trying to penetrate into my mind. But it would never happen.