When I finally found what I presumed to be the bathroom, I tried to turn the knob, but it wouldn’t open. I looked at it with my eyes narrowed, confused. I turned the knob again, only to get the same result. It was the last door I could find, so either it was the bathroom, or the only bathroom existed in Moon’s room, and I wasn’t about to disturb his sleep. Putting my ear to the door, I knocked lightly.
“I’m in here,” Moon called from the other side.
“Shit, sorry. I thought you were still sleeping.”
“I got up while you were outside. Just give me another couple of minutes, and I’ll be done.”
I went and sat on the chair beside the couch to wait, checking my phone for any messages. It was nearly four-thirty in themorning now. Thank god I didn’t work today, or I’d be in some deep shit. Truly, I didn’t mind watching over Star while she sobered up—I’d done it hundreds of times for my brother, so I understood Moon’s concern. He’d looked so worn out, though.
Something in his eyes repeatedly called to me. From the first night I’d met him, I’d known there would be a mountain of torture he’d have to sift through on the inside. There were unspoken words whispering in his soul, and they reached out to mine desperately. It was intrigue and an undeniable longing at first sight with him.
The bathroom door swung open after a few minutes, and Moon came out, having changed since I’d last seen him. He wore sweatpants and a long-sleeved turtleneck, this one a beautiful maroon color. His short, platinum hair stuck out in a few spots on the top of his head, making me smile with endearment.
What had me a bit more concerned were the red rings around his eyes, accentuating the puffy purple bags beneath them. He’d been crying. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, all good. Just need some more sleep, I guess. How has she been?” He nodded toward Star.
“She’s been just fine. Hasn’t woken up once yet. Don’t worry, though, I’ll be here watching over her.”
He huffed a short, sad-sounding laugh. “I know. You’re like some sort of guardian angel or something.”
Standing from the chair, I shook my head. “Not an angel, that’s for sure.”
“Is it raining?”
I looked out at the balcony’s sliding glass door, watching as the rain fell in heavy streams. “Yeah, it started while I was out there. It was pretty out of the blue.”
“Hm. Maybe that’s why I was having trouble sleeping.” He didn’t say anything else or leave room to let me say anything, instead walking back to his bedroom.
I took the chance to go to the bathroom, closing the door behind me. While I did my business, I looked to the side and noticed something in the trash can. There was toilet paper covering the top, but a square of it was showing through, blotted with red. Had Moon been bleeding? And if so, why did he hide it with so much toilet paper on top?
It didn’t look like he’d just disposed of some extra, unused toilet paper for no reason. It was placed neatly on top, except for the small patch that was showing. A heavy weight settled in my gut as unease trickled up from the base of my spine. I tried to shake it off as I washed my hands and headed back to the living room, but it still followed me.
Just as I sat back down, Star began to stir. She sucked in a deep breath, stretching her body out on the couch, and murmured a few words I couldn’t fully understand. I watched as she started to open her eyes, looking around the room with her brows knit together in confusion. Until she shot up on the couch, panic widening her eyes.
I knew that look. I raced to the trash can, holding it up beside her. “In here. Puke in here.”
She leaned over, vomiting everything she’d drunk in the last few hours. I gathered her hair at the back of her neck, moving it out of her way as she continued to empty her stomach. She groaned and moaned as she went through the motions, complaining on and off about how much her head and stomach hurt.
I whispered little reassurances to her like I’d expect her brother to do, trying to keep her calm. I had some water up to her lips the moment she stopped throwing up, letting her swish it around her mouth and spit it back into the trash can. “Drink slowly, okay?”
Of course, she didn’t listen to me, chugging half the glass in one go. Truly, what else was I going to do? She groaned somemore before flopping her head back onto the couch cushion, closing her eyes and drifting back off into a drunken sleep.
It was going to be a very long rest of the night, but I wouldn’t have traded it for anything else. Moon asked for my help, and I was going to do whatever I possibly could.
Star had wokenup over a dozen times to vomit in the trash can. She looked pretty horrible when she woke up the final time, mostly sober. Any light was too much for her, so Moon and I had closed all the blinds and turned off every light in the apartment to help. I worked on getting a good hangover breakfast made while Moon gave her a stern talking-to in the living room.
“What if someone had done something to you, huh? You have to be so careful, Star.”
I heard Star grumbling from all the way in the kitchen. “But nobody did! I don’t get it. I am a whole twenty-one years old, not seven. You can’t keep treating me like I am.”
“Oh, my god. I’m not. I’m your big brother, with a lot more wisdom, and I’m trying to protect you! I will always answer your calls and pick you up, no matter what, but I need you to start thinking about yourself. You aren’t in high school anymore. You’re trying to be a lawyer, for fuck’s sake.”
“Yeah, well, I’m still in college. Isn’t college about going wild before real life starts? My head hurts too much for your shit.”
“No, Star, real life started the moment you turned eighteen. I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but there’s a thin line between figuring yourself and your life out and putting yourself in grave danger. I just love you. Is that so hard to understand?”
I understood that worry all too well. The intense love that made you want to wrap them up in bubble wrap and follow them through every moment of their life, just to make sure they didn’t do anything too stupid.
