"It's nice to have you back in the house, Lauren, even if it's just for Christmas," Rachel said whilst skimming through her Instagram stories.
"It's nice to be back. I haven't stayed the night here since I was, what? 17? So almost two years now," Lauren replied.
"I still can't believe you got out before me. I'm supposed to be the older sister and yet I'm still the one cooped up in the council flat with Mum," Rachel said.
Lauren closed the short distance between them and sat down next to her. She rested her head on Rachel's shoulder and sighed.
"You've had university to think about Rach'. I'm the one who shacked up with the wrong boy. God, I can't wait to get out of that house. I just, you know, I can't put the pressure on Mum to move back here and there's so little space."
Rachel put down her phone and began feeding her fingers through the strands of Lauren's long straight brown hair. She rested her chin on the back of her head, closed her eyes and took a slow sniff of her sister's hair. There was something soothing in that smell. Something comforting.
"I've missed this," Rachel said.
"Hmmm, me too," Lauren replied, her eyes closing as she drifted off into momentary bliss.
Suddenly, their mother's voice rang out, like the matron of a boarding school.
"This table's not gonna lay itself. Will you two get a bloody move on?" Kathy yelled.
"Off you go Lauren, I'm busy working," Rachel said, switching back to the cold sister she could often be and picking her phone back up from beside her.
"You're looking at peoples nails on Instagram," Lauren bemoaned, in the same voice she may have used ten years prior in that very house.
"Yeah and beauty
is
my work, innit?" Rachel replied, without looking up.
****************
The dinner passed by uneventfully. Lauren filled her mum in on the state of her relationship with her boyfriend, Tommy, whilst Rachel prodded and teased and generally made any story more uncomfortable to tell. Kathy, as always, tuned in and out; reverting to talk of the cricket whenever she got bored. When Rachel started talking about a new foundation she had tried recently, Kathy decided she'd had enough.
"Okay, I'm off to bed, I'm up to walk the dogs nice and early. Now Lauren, you know your old bedroom is being used for storage, so you're in with Rachel for the next few days. Try not to argue all night please. I know you didn't speak for a few months, and it's been so nice to have you back together. Good night girls."
She swept round the room kissing them both on the forehead and topping up her wine glass, before zooming off up the stairs.
Rachel grabbed a new bottle of Red Wine, whipped of the lid and started filling up Lauren's glass.
"Oh, come on Lauren, I was only teasing about Tommy. You always get so up-tight when you're talking about men."
Lauren stared back in indignation; but Rachel was never going to change. She always had to score points and be the more prominent sister.
"Thanks," Lauren replied, before downing the glass in one large gulp, "and the rest?"
Rachel's eyebrows raised, but she filled up her sister's glass on request. The two of them took down the whole bottle in relative silence, trying to out-do the others ability to see off a whole glass.
As Lauren finished the last of drop direct from the bottle, she stood to make her way upstairs, before losing her footing and stumbling toward the counter. Rachel predicted the movement and with perfect timing stood and grasped her sister on the hip with one hand, and on the neck with the other, just avoiding any large clang against the surface.
"You never could drink as much as me," she teased.
"I could never do
anything
as well as you, could I, Rachel?" Lauren said back, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Oh, come on. I may have always been better with my hands, but you've always been the pretty sister. The one with 'the face'. Let's not endlessly complain about the cards we were dealt. I'm sorry I was such a bitch. There, are you happy now?" Rachel asked.
Lauren smiled, sniffed and giggled, almost simultaneously.
"Yeah, I suppose," she replied, as the liquid from her tears combined with her eyeliner and saliva, creating a sludgy mess of her face.
"Oh god, you're such a mess; look at you," Rachel laughed. She reached over the sink and grabbed a tissue, before wiping Laurens face with it.
"There you go, all pretty again," she said.
Lauren looked at her for a second, as if confused and then moved to make her way upstairs.
Rachel felt a pang in the bottom of her stomach, replaying how long she had her hand on her sister's hip.
It's okay,
she thought,
we've drunk for that to be explainable
.
She followed her sister up the stairs. Even with the inebriated exaggeration in her steps, Lauren still walked elegantly. Rachel admired her for a second. Her slim figure that curved out to slightly fuller hips and a gentle ledge where her bottom started to curve. Rachel's eyes then looked at Lauren's feet and scanned back up, following the skin of her lightly tanned legs until they vanished underneath the protection of a short skirt.
I've had too much to drink. I'm about to be in a bed with my little sister. I can't, I CANNOT, act on this
, she thought.
As Lauren kicked open the door of the bedroom, Rachel followed her in.
"Welcome to home for the next few days," Rachel said, in her most extravagant manner.
"Aw, it's almost the same as when I left. You've still got Freddy!" Lauren yelled in excitement as she picked up their old Teddy bear. "Have you got any clothes I can wear? she said, whilst squeezing Freddy tight into her chest.
"Yeah sure, there's some shorts and a vest just on the pile over there. Sorry it's a bit pink, not sure if you're into that anymore?"
"No, it's cute. I don't mind," Lauren replied.
As she turned away, she started to fall over the bed again and burst out laughing.
"Here, let me help you," Rachel said.
She walked over and helped Lauren up, then span her around, so she was facing the wall, with her back rested against Rachel's chest.
"Arms ups!" She said this in such an authoritative tone Lauren had almost no choice but to obey. Rachel put her fingers underneath Lauren's top, until her fingernails were ever so lightly digging into her hips. She raised the top over her head and threw it on to the bed.
"You know what Lauren?" she said, whilst starting to remove her sister's bra, "I've been thinking about the whole Tommy thing, and I reckon you should give him another chance."
She felt her sister's body stiffen. At first, she couldn't work out whether it was due to what she had said, or whether it was the cool air brushing against her now naked breasts.
"And why's that?" Lauren said, clearly shocked.