Bedroom Bully by Harper West

18

Rebecca

I walkedthrough a haze for the rest of the family reunion, and when the sun finally began to set, I helped my parents pack up. My sister, of course, kept swimming around like the princess she had become. As if she weren’t capable of lifting a finger to do hard work or get sweaty. Still, I packed up the excess food with Mom and helped Dad roll the grill back to his truck so he could take it home. We closed down the community center by cleaning things to their standard, then we all went home and enjoyed a nice, big, cold bowl of ice cream.

And it was then that I found myself alone with Maggie in the kitchen.

“Did you have fun?” she asked.

I looked up from my ice cream and studied her for a bit. “I did, yeah. Did you?”

She nodded and took a petite bite of her chocolate ice cream. “It was nice to get out for a bit, yeah.”

I smiled softly. “Maggie, I didn’t mean to intrude or anything earlier. I’ve just never seen that scar, that’s all.”

She shrugged. “It’s fine.”

I reached my hand out, offering it to her in case she wanted some reassurance. “I’m just worried about you, that’s all. I want to know that you’re okay. I want to know that someone didn’t--.”

She dropped her spoon into her bowl. “When are you going to give up and date JoJo?”

My heart dropped into the bowels of Hell. “What?”

She rolled her eyes. “I saw him, Becks. I know he was at the family reunion. I watched you go out there and stay for at least, what? Twenty minutes? Thirty minutes?”

“You saw him?”

“I think everyone saw him.”

I furrowed my brow. “You saw him, and you’re okay?”

She rolled her eyes. “Contrary to popular belief, I’m not some fragile china doll that needs to be kept locked up. Him and I dated, things didn’t go well, and we broke up. End of story.”

I shook my head. “It’s certainly not the end of the story for him, and I know you know that.”

“Becks, JoJo has always had a crush on you. Even when him and I were dating, he always stole glances in your direction. He always asked how you were doing. Hell, sometimes whenever we went out he’d ask to hear stories about you. He was a fucking freak back then, and he’s a freak now. Tread carefully if you don’t want to date him, but if you do, then stop with the fucking act and just put the man out of his misery. Once he fucks you, he’ll move on.”

There was so much to unpack about her statement, and I didn’t know where to start.

“He had a crush on me?” I asked.

She leaned back in her chair. “Do you really find that so hard to believe?”

I blinked. “Considering the fact that I was overweight, had glasses, and still had braces in tenth grade, yeah. I find it very hard.”

Sorrow dripped across her face. “You’ve always been so damn hard on yourself, you know that? Mom and Dad are always talking about it. How you rushed off to the first big city that would take you in because you wanted to find that perfect life. You wanted to find the perfect job and the perfect little apartment and live your perfect little--.”

My jaw dropped open. “You’re jealous.”

“Of course, I’m jealous!” she exclaimed as she stood.

I watched her face turn red with anger as she balled her fists up at her sides.

“You’re the one who’s put together. You’re the little sister that everyone looks up to. When people want to be pretty, they look at me. But, when people want to be literally anything else, they look at you. Mom and Dad don’t have goals for me. They don’t have aspirations for me to reach. They’re completely content with cooping me up here and stuffing me full of my meds until the day I die because then, they feel like good parents. Screw pushing me the way they pushed you. Screw sitting me down and talking with me about my future the way they do you. As long as I sit pretty with a straight back and smile, they don’t give a shit. But, you?”

Her words were filled with venom, and it was an outburst I hadn’t predicted. Yet, she had a point with everything she said.

And I don’t know how I missed it.

“You’re their light, Becks. You’re proof that they did something right. You’re proof that they can really do this parenting thing, so they gave up on me. They show you off to the world and then they talk me out of ever moving away because God forbid I ever come into contact with something that may or may not trigger my depressive episodes. God-for-fucking-bid.”

I stood and walked around the table. I wrapped her up in the biggest hug I could muster, and she collapsed against me. She sobbed into my shoulder, pouring years of pent-up frustration and hurt into my skin. I kissed the side of her face. I stroked my fingers through her hair. I coached her on how to get it all out; how I was here for the entire weekend, and I wasn’t going anywhere until I absolutely had to.

And when she finally dried her tears, I gripped her shoulders and pushed her out so I could look straight into her eyes.

“You know that if you ever want to get away, I’ll get a place with you. We’ll tackle the big city together. Fuck what Mom and Dad want for your life. All that matters is what you want,” I said.

She sniffled. “You mean that?”

I nodded. “Of course, I mean that. You’re my big sister, Maggie. And had I known that things had gotten that bad with Mom and Dad, I would’ve intervened a long time ago.”

She snickered. “I honestly didn’t think you would. We’ve always been so different--.”

I brushed her tears off her cheeks. “I don’t give a shit if we’re different or if we’re twins. You’re my sister, and I’ll always help however I can.”

She swallowed hard. “Maybe once I figure out what I want to do, I might take you up on that offer.”

“I hope you do. Seriously.”

She sighed. “Sorry for all the--.”

I shook my head. “You have no need to apologize. But, if you’re up for it, I’d like to ask you a question about JoJo.”

Her back stiffened a bit. “Sure, I guess.”

My hands slid down to hers and I took them within my own. “If JoJo had this crush you think he did--.”

“I know he did. I know he still does.”

“Okay, then. If he’s got this crush, then why is he being so cruel to me. You know how he is. You know how he gets. Why treat me like utter garbage both on the clock and off the clock if all he wants to do is try to date me?”

She pulled away. “It’s just how he is?”

“You know as well as I do that that’s not the case.”

She took a step back from me. “He’s just cruel to everyone. It’s how he’s programmed. You know, you like a girl on the playground, so you tug at her pigtails. That kind of thing.”

I tilted my head. “There’s more to it than that. Are you telling me that he wasn’t cruel to you, then?”

She shook her head. “I need to go get some rest. I’m going to be sunburnt in the morning.”

“Maggie, please. I just need to know.”

She rushed away from me. “Night, Becks. I’m glad we got to talk.”

I didn’t want her to walk away just yet. “I don’t even want JoJo, Mags.”

She paused halfway to the stairs. “I don’t believe you.”

I groaned. “I just want a boring relationship with a nice, kind, good-natured man. I want the white-picket fence. I want the two and a half kids. I want a normal life. Not some fucked-up version of it that JoJo lives in.”

She peered over her shoulder. “You’ve always been a terrible liar, Becks.”

She raced up the stairs, leaving me stewing in a mixture of shock, hope, and frustration. I walked back to my seat at the kitchen table and finished my ice cream that had sort of melted into this cold-ass soup. I tilted the bowl up and slurped it down, not caring about the few drops that fell to my cleavage. And after I cleaned myself—and the table—up, I brewed myself a cup of coffee.

Before I made my way out to the back patio.

“Hey there, sweetheart,” Dad said.

I jumped a bit at his presence. “Jesus, you scared me.”

He chuckled. “Come sit. There’s a storm brewing in the distance.”

I pulled a chair up beside Dad and we sat in silence while I nursed my coffee, and he nursed his beer. Lightning flashed across the sky, bringing back memories of all the times Dad and I used to sit on the porch or stare out the window and watch the storms roll through. I turned everything Mags and I had just talked about over in my head. Her coming to California. Mom and Dad, and how they’re trying to keep her drugged and living with them. JoJo, and this supposed crush he’s had on me for years.

I mean, why date my sister when it would’ve taken little to no effort to date me?

“You and your sister have a good talk?” he asked.

I giggled. “How much did you hear?”

He shrugged. “Enough.”

I peeked over at him. “I take it that it won’t do me any good to ask you what happened between Mags and JoJo all those years ago?”

He nodded. “Yep.”

I turned my gaze back to the sky. “Figured.”

“Sweetheart, there’s something you have to understand about your sister.”

I braced myself for whatever truth he was about to drop in my lap. “Okay, I’m listening.”

He raked his hand through his hair. “Her teenage years were rough for her. She won’t ever admit this, but one of the reasons why she’s lived with us for so long is because she has a juvie record that’s been unsealed.”

My eyes bulged. “She what?”

He sighed. “It’s not my place to say what happened or why it was unsealed, but now that the record is out there for anyone to search through a basic background check, she’s had a hard time getting on her feet. People won’t hire her. Many apartment complexes won’t let her rent. It’s been hell on earth for her, not being able to go on with her life because of a fender-bender that got blown out of proportion in court.”

My jaw hit the floor. “You’re kidding. When did all of this happen?”

He took a swig of his beer. “It’s not my place and it’s not my story. But, the fender bender happened when she was around twenty years old. The assholes she ran into didn’t have insurance, so they sued us into the ground. Raked us over the coals, insurance-wise. They did anything to prove any sort of fault, and they lawyered up well. They unsealed her documents, backed us into a corner, and we’ve been dishing out hundreds of dollars in insurance ever since.”

I blinked back tears. “Jesus Christ.”

“Your sister is many things, sweetheart. She’s strong. She’s open-minded. She’s got a good heart and a soul willing to help anyone and everyone. But, one thing she doesn’t have is the gall. She doesn’t have guts. She takes what she’s given, and she makes do instead of carving out something better for herself amongst the trash that life gives her. It’s why me and your mother do all we can to make sure we give her the proper tools. Because she won’t seek them out herself.”

“She survives, but she doesn’t thrive.”

He nodded. “Exactly.”

I sighed heavily as thunder clapped above our heads. “What do I do? How do I help her?”

He reached over and patted my knee. “You keep supporting her. Keep giving her options. And eventually, she’ll choose the one that’s best for her and she’ll be on her way. Sometimes, sweetheart, kernels in popcorn don’t pop until the very last second. And sometimes, it takes a second round of heat for them to pop. Your sister just needs a second round, that’s all.”

I placed my hand over his. “Love you, Dad.”

He leaned over and kissed my temple. “Love you too, princess.”

Then, we relegated ourselves to silence while lightening streaked across the sky.

While I turned everything over in my head, trying to make sense of it all.