take your time ? l. hughes

Naja, Mags, and I lay lazily across the three couches of my living room. The parents are on some weekend vacation. Joey's off doing whatever Joey does. We're watching Sex and the City. It makes us feel better about how hammered we got last night. 'Cause at least we aren't in our thirties and single.

"Isn't it crazy how my mother hasn't texted me once after being so pissed off about me wanting to stay with Mags this summer?" Naja mumbles out, glaring at her phone displaying a photo of her mom and stepdad smiling nice and wide.

"Well, at least she spared you some attention about something," Maggie says.

My other best friend laughs. "Sorry. Forgot you two have it worse in the mommy issues department."

"I have a mom?" I joke. "Complain all you want, babe. I don't care."

"I would complain too but the material's all dead. Kind of like her!" Maggie's sentence is punctuated by the front door opening and the loud, annoying sound of a group of boys echoes through the house.

Joey lets out a dramatic groan the moment they enter the room. "You're watching this shit?"

"What's it look like?" Maggie retorts.

"Like shit," he says. "We'll be downstairs."

With that, most of the group trickles out of the living room. Except for one. Luke leans on the back of the couch I'm strewn out on. Right above my head. My heart tries to escape my chest for a moment while a smile spreads on his lips.

"How can I help you?" I say.

The smile widens. "Just wanted to take a bit of your time real quick."

"I think you're missed downstairs already."

"You're probably right." He sighs and stands back up and I wish I never said it. Because now he's gone and I don't have anyone to make me feel like my heart is in a fight with my ribcage.

The show's been paused. I have two girls staring at me very accusingly. You would think I just kissed Luke right then and there. I didn't. I didn't even flirt. Flirting's not my thing. My thing is entertaining a guy's flirting until they get bored of my collected, short responses.

"You're down bad," Maggie states.

"Horrifically," Naja adds.

My eyes roll and a slight lie slips off my tongue. "No, I'm not."

"Yeah, right," Mags says. She puts on an obnoxiously deep tone. "Just wanted to take a bit of your time real quick."

"I think you're missed downstairs already." Naja sounds shockingly like me but with a dramatic flirty tone to her voice.

* * * * *

It's too late to still be up. I wish I could sleep but my half-sibling posted some photos on Instagram captioned about how family vacations with the whole family are so much fun. Next thing I knew, I was spiraling a bit and couldn't sleep. Not even close my eyes.

Water should help. That's it. I'm just dehydrated. Still hungover slightly and dehydrated. That's all it is. So I venture out of my room downstairs. Except there are two voices. One very familiar, one that's been getting familiar. I sit on one of the steps and listen because that's what siblings do.

"Why are you asking about her?" My brother says with disgust.

There's a sigh from one Luke Hughes. "Dude, she's your step-sister—"

"She's my sister," Joey corrects. "There's no step about it. She's my sister the same way Quinn and Jack are your brothers."

"You're right. My bad. She's your sister and it's not a crime to want to know your family."

"You know my family just fine, man," Joey says.

"Not her, though," Luke says. "I've never even actually talked to her since we became friends."

"Best friends!"

He laughs. "Yeah, Joe. Best friends. My point stands."

"You and her not talking has worked fine before," Joey says. I can't tell why he's so frustrated because of his friend simply asking about me. Joe's asked me about my friends plenty of times.

"Except we've talked the past week," Luke explains. "Shit's changing so—"

"Not happening," my brother snaps. Oh. Oh. "Hands off. I'm so serious. That's a rule everyone gets."

That's a rule everyone gets? How many of this idiot's friends have asked after me? Oh my god. Have some of Joey's friends flirted with me? Has Luke flirted with me? Maybe that's why I felt so uncool. He was flirting and I didn't even realize. That's so much better than me thinking he just had that effect.

"Fine. Hands off," Luke mumbles. Much to my disappointment. "Won't lay a hand on her."

"Thanks, man," Joey says.

The front door opens. "See you guys tomorrow?"

"We'll be there." And it closes.

"We'll be where?" I ask, revealing myself.

"Fuck, Bexxy," Joe whispers. "Scared the shit out of me, you bitch."

I join him in the entryway. When did he get so tall? He's not as tall as Luke but there was a time when I was taller. Then the same height. It's very nauseating to truly see how grown up your brother is. How grown up both of us are.

"We're going to the Hughes lake house tomorrow," Joey says once he recovers from his fear. "Luke said you should invite Mags and Naja too."

I nod. "Sounds good."

"Why are you still up?" He's a sucky actor. He has a different question in mind.

"Oh, y'know, another family vacation the woman who gave birth to me didn't want to include me in." My shrug is overdramatic. "She sucks."

"Fuck that bitch," he says the same way someone would say two plus two equals four.

"Mhm."

"When you post pictures with NHL players and future NHL players, it'll get back to her and she'll realize you're better than her lame-ass vacation," he says. Then sighs in the way he does when he can no longer hold back his thoughts. "How much did you hear?"

I smile. "I'm keeping my hands off of that."

"My bad you had to find out you have a protective brother that way."

"You've ever wondered why none of my friends have ever even flirted back with you?"

"Oh, fuck you." His voice sounds angry. He smiles though.