The last time he had seen his sister, she'd been taller than him. Now, on thanksgiving, he had the strange feeling that they were both finally grown up. First she had gone off to school. Then by the time she'd gotten out, he'd gone off to a different one. He had two years left to get a degree, and it had been two years since she got hers. It had been... wow, it must have been six years since they had seen each other.
"Hey nerd." He recognized the voice as soon as he heard it. She was a platinum blond, hair down to the middle of her back. Her eyes were a dull green. She had all the good genes. He remembered her being an athlete, being just strong enough to overpower him before she left. She was still fit, but now she looked shorter and prettier. He suddenly realized how much he had grown.
"This Terry?" He heard a deep voice, and saw a head appear above his sisters. The small amount of pride he had felt at finally being taller than his sister vanished when he saw the man. He was built like a brick wall, each muscle carved from stone and set in stiff mortar. "Hey, how's it going? I'm Bill, Trisha's boyfriend." He held out a strong arm that extended from a square frame. Trisha blew some hair out of her face in annoyance. She still acted like a teenager. Terry shook the stone mans hand and tried not to shout at the strength. "Sorry dude!" Bill chuckled. "Oh, anyway, the game is on..." Bill left quickly. Trisha and Terry stood there for a moment.
"He seems nice." Terry tried to make conversation.
Trisha huffed, "I knew you wouldn't like him."
"No, I do..." She rolled her eyes and moved out of the way so he could walk in. It wasn't the reunion he'd hoped for.
"Where's your girl?" She asked.
"Broke up."
"Oh yea, mom told me."
"Why'd you ask then?"
"Cause I want to know more!" She closed the door and shoved him playfully. She was still able to push him around, but he didn't slam into the walls anymore. Instead he just stumbled.
"I don't want to talk about it okay." Terry looked away. "You never met her anyway. I don't ask about all of your boyfriends do I?"
"Cause they're not very interesting!"
"What about Bill?"
"Well, except him of course." She looked around in paranoia, making sure he didn't hear. "Hey, look, you're my baby brother okay? I want to know everything!"
"Well, you could have come home to visit more. it's been six years." Terry tried not to sound too judgmental.
Trisha seemed much more demure after that, "I was... busy."
"I get it." Terry shook his head. He realized she felt guilty about it. She'd never apologize or explain herself, but those puppy dog eyes were as close as he would get. "We'll just put it behind us okay?"
"Alright... but I want to know!" She harassed him as they entered the kitchen. He ignored her and greeted his parents. As they were talking Trisha made herself scarce. Terry sighed.
"What's wrong?" His mother asked. She was a blond as well, but cut her hair short. Terry hadn't inherited that. He had apparently been blond when younger, but it degraded into his fathers brown, just like his eyes.
"It's just been a while since I've seen Trisha. I was hoping for... well, I don't know."
"Trisha was always like that when she had something on her mind." His mother shrugged. "She's only just arrived. I'm sure she's busy reminiscing."
"How's dad?"
"Showing Bill the gun collection."
"We don't have one. And I think you'd need something more like a cannon."
His mother laughed, "You know what I mean. They're watching the game. He is interrogating him during the commercial breaks."
"Sounds fun."
"Want to join in?"
"Not really."
His mother nodded in understanding. "I'll call you down when dinner is ready."
There was some normalcy in walking through the house again, but it was not a good feeling. It made him more apathetic than anything else. It was the people he was nostalgic for. After Trisha left he didn't have many good memories of this house.
He opened the door to his room and saw Trisha waiting on his bed. "Hey nerd."
"Will you quit it?" Terry shook his head. "What are you doing here?"
"I want to know!" She rolled to her ample chest. She was wearing a casual Tank top and short shorts. No modesty. No changes there. "Did some terrible woman hurt my little boy?"
"No. Just quit it." Terry rolled his eyes.
"Is it... personal?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Sure. Whatever." He sat at his desk.
"Was she... ugly?" She asked. "Into a weird fetish..." she put on a wry smile. "Was she NOT into some weird fetish..."
"Not really comfortable with this topic Trish." He booted up his computer.
"So I'm getting closer... Was it anal? I bet it was anal."
"Trish, please..." He stopped. His computer didn't ask him for his password like usual... "...Trish..."
"You know, it was really touching that you used my birthday as your password." She continued.
"You broke into my computer..." His heart sank.
"And found your porn." She continued. "Disproportionate amount of anal. Was it anal? Did she not like it in the butt? I'm going to assume silence as an admission..."
"Get out!" Terry covered his face.
"Hey, I'm just..." She stopped and Terry glared at her. "...I'm just worried about you." She said shrugging. "I mean, I wont tell anyone or anything. It's fine, we used to share everything..."
"You ran out of my life years ago and now you just..." He looked away. "Just get out."
"...but..."
"If you really cared you would have responded to me. I sent you... How many? How many calls? Texts? I think I even wrote a few letters!" She stayed silent. "Not once did you answer. And you know what? I accepted it. It's fine. You moved on. I was just some lonely kid who had to grow up. Just... Don't pretend now that you care okay? We aren't that close. You were a bully, and you were always just a bully. Congratulations, you toughened me up. Now get out."
Trisha opened her mouth to respond, but closed it before anything could come out. She stood and left, looking down and away. Terry almost felt guilty, but he was more relieved than anything. He had been holding that in for years.
He deleted the porn and he changed his password to his ex's birthday. She wouldn't betray him at least, and no one would guess it. He checked for any other meddling. It didn't look like she'd done anything else.
"Hey, Terry?" He heard his mother behind him. He jumped, hiding the window he was viewing on sheer instinct before realizing he was safe.
"Oh, hey mom." He took a deep breath. "Dinner ready?"
"Actually, I was going to ask if you knew where your sister was."
"Her room?"
"Her car is gone." She replied. "I didn't ask her to get anything. Bill doesn't know where she'd go either."
"I don't know, maybe she needed something from the store?"
"I can't get her on her phone though." His mother looks distressed. "Did she say anything to you? I think I'm just a bit paranoid because... well, you know..." Had she cut ties again? Terry wasn't surprised. This was how she dealt with pain. Run away and ignore it, as usual. Let other people deal with it.
Terry was about to dismiss it, but his mother seemed too smart for that. It had hurt her too last time. Terry knew how happy she was when she heard Trisha was coming back after all this time...
"I'll go look around." Terry tried to sound like he wasn't groaning. His mother was ecstatic. "Thank you. I know how hard it must be, but you were always so close..." She stopped. Terry nodded and got his keys.
He went to the park. They had played here sometimes. It was usually empty with the occasional jogger in the morning. It was getting dark already, but they were in a good part of town so he wasn't worried. Besides, he knew it like the back of his hand. He had regularly walked here by himself after she left. It would sometimes make him feel less alone.
In the parking area he found her car. He sighed. He'd have to talk with her now. He searched for some time before finding her. There was a small clearing you had to know to find. She was there on a wooden bench. The night was just bright enough to recognize her face at thirty paces. She'd been crying.