Notes: My name is Jonah, I am fairly slim, white, with dark hair and eyes, and I turn 27 in the course of this story. My sister's name is Elle, she's 29, petite, and looks a lot like the actress Shailene Woodley. Any and all feedback is welcome and encouraged.
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My sister broke up with her husband a couple of weeks before my birthday. It wasn't planned. She had caught him cheating and, after a few years of less than perfect matrimony, it was the final straw. She showed up one cold December night at my apartment, drenched to the bone, tears and make-up dripping down her face, and a hastily packed bag at her feet.
We've always had a good relationship, and luckily I'm in a position where I can support her while she gets back on her feet. I'm single, but I have a good job, a fairly large apartment in a good building in Brooklyn, and no real money problems. My sister had a lot too, until it was pulled out from under her.
It was actually really nice having her around. She was understandably upset, slept most of the day, and would retreat back to her room every now and then to be alone and cry, but we got to hang out more than we had since we were kids. Curling up on the couch under a blanket, with a fire burning in the fireplace, watching movies and drinking brandy alexanders (her favourite). It was really cosy. I haven't ever bothered hanging Christmas decorations since I got my own place, but she convinced me to get some and we spent an evening getting my place feeling properly festive. A Christmas tree, lights, candles, tinsel, holly, all that stuff. She took it upon herself to cook for me as her way of paying me back, so I got to enjoy a home-cooked meal every night, with good company and drinks. It was great! We settled into a really nice little domestic routine.
It was my 27th birthday on the 20th, and my friends had organized a night out for me, returning back to my apartment for drinks afterwards. My sister insisted I go, that she'd be fine, that she'd stay in the guest room until it was over. It took some convincing, but I eventually agreed to it. I hadn't been out with my friends in weeks.
We took some cars into Manhattan and then trucked through the snow and the blisteringly cold wind to my favourite bar, got loaded, sung at the piano and toasted to my health. It was a lot of fun, and throughout the night my friends kept hinting at some really great surprise still to come. "Just you wait!" they'd say with a smirk. When we eventually got back to my place, we were all in really high spirits and pretty drunk. My friends got the party going in my living room while I went to check on Elle. She was watching a movie on her laptop in bed and nursing a bottle of Ketel One. She smiled at me and wished me a happy birthday, somewhat slurring her words.
"I can tell the guys to call it a night if you want some company," I offered, but she shook her head and beamed at me, seeming genuinely happy for the first time since she got here.