Real Life Sucks!

1

Rory Pemberton could hear the sounds of his sister, Rebecca, as she stomped around the house, getting ready for work. If he stayed quiet, he could, maybe, get away with not talking to her. For now. Later, when she returned home, was something he'd have to deal with when the time came. Right now, he hunkered down, under the covers, reading the latest forum posts on his phone.

It wasn't as though he didn't like her. She was his sister and he loved her. But, she tended to talk. She liked talking. A lot. Rory, however, did not. Well, that wasn't strictly true. He talked. He thought he was quite good at the whole 'talking' thing, if it was about something that interested him. Like the game. He could talk about the game for hours. Literally.

Rebecca liked to talk about things like 'feelings' and asking how he was doing, whether he had gone out that day (invariably answered with a snorting laugh, followed by an emphatic 'No!'), or whether a certain pair of shoes suited a certain pair of jeans. Of that last type of question, he had found a good, enthusiastic 'yeah' sufficed most of the time. Unless it was a trick question and she hated those shoes, and wanted him to confirm how hideous they truly were. He never quite got the hang of telling which was which.

News on the forums were alight with the new content that the developers were about to release. Apparently, along with the vast new area to explore, they were going to introduce a new character class. The Witch. All sorts of animal-based magical shenanigans were about to become unleashed upon the unsuspecting game world and Rory wanted a part of that. About to answer a comment with acidic sarcasm, he found himself interrupted.

"Baby Bruh! Could you do me a favour?" Rebecca's voice sounded girlish. Childish. She talked like that when she wanted something. "I have a Click and Collect arriving today. Be a darling and pick it up for me? Details on the fridge."

"What? No! That's ... no!" He flipped the covers from his head, ignoring the hair sticking out in impossible directions. He scowled at the door, hoping she could feel the animosity through the wood. "That's not how this works, Rebecca! Not any of it!"

"I know! I'm sorry! Just this once?" She paused and he knew, just knew, she was going to play the 'poor me' routine. "It's just, work is really busy and I'm meeting Serena at lunch and then I have to get home and ready for our night out. Please? I'll make it up to you."

He thought about throwing his phone to the other side of the room, in a rage, but he glanced at the forum posts still open on the screen. He could turn this to his advantage. For the moment, he intended making his sister sweat a little. He had to do it. Rebecca and Serena were having their third anniversary night out, tonight, he knew that because she had told him about it. Often.

Serena had proved a calming influence for his sister. Rebecca had spent a great deal of her life partying and, like a light bulb coming to life, all that had stopped when she met Serena. It certainly made Rory's life a little easier. Serena had put a stop to most of Rebecca's impositions. Not all of them, however. Case in point.

"Buy the new content pack for me!" Blackmail! He didn't even feel guilty about it. "The new dlc is coming out. Buy the pre-order pack, right now, and I'll do it. You know it's difficult for me if I'm not prepared."

Now it was Rebecca's turn to remain silent. She could afford it, but she no doubt calculated whether this would set a precedent in their relationship. Ever since their mum had passed away, they had lost the one person that could arbitrate between them successfully. They had had to learn how to come to compromises together and, at times, that had proven difficult.

"Fine! Send me the details." Another pause and Rory knew she hadn't moved away from the door. Here it came. The 'feelings' thing. "How'd therapy go? Did it help?"