“Fuck those spoiled brats and their stupid pack mentality,” Ethan says in a harsh tone, eyes burning with anger.
It makes me smile. “Since when do you swear so much?”
He narrows his eyes at me but doesn’t answer.
“I see him every day, you know... He looks so sad, Ethan. Like... really sad. You can tell. He tries to act normal, but sometimes it’s like he’s lost.”
Ethan exhales through his nose.
“Did you know he started listening to all the songs I like? And he’s even watching that K-drama me and Khara are obsessed with, just because we mentioned it the day he took us out?”
Ethan looks at me, disbelief written all over his face. “He watched it? Or did he just read a summary online? Better yet, maybe he paid someone to watch it and tell him what happens.”
I frown. “You’re being mean, Ethan. You’re not usually like this.”
He drags his hand through his hair, elbows on his knees. After a while, Ethan lifts his head and holds out a hand. “Come here, Buttercup.”
“You really need to stop calling me that. I’m not a little girl anymore,” I grumble, but I drop down beside him on the grass anyway, our backs resting on the wall of the house.
“You just turned thirteen,” he says, pulling me into a hug. “That officially makes you a little girl. Maybe not as spoiled as before, but still spoiled. That’s on us… we kept you in a bubble. And if it were up to me, you’d stay there until you’re thirty.”
I poke his ribs with my fingers but keep my face buried against his chest. “I was never spoiled,” I mumble. “I was just the family princess.”
He laughs, making my body shake along with his. “That’s literally what spoiled means,” he says. “But it’s fine... it just means we love you too much and want to keep you safe.”
He kisses the top of my head. “But if I’m going to give you the birthday gift you want, you need to drop the whole bratty, moody routine you’ve been stuck in lately. Mom already has enough on her plate. She doesn’t need that too.”
I pull back, offended. “I’m not moody! Mom’s just... been annoying. Too many rules. ‘Alicia, do this.’ ‘Alicia, don’t do that.’ Sometimes I just want to do what I feel like.”
Ethan gives me that look, the serious one he gets right before proving me wrong.
“No. She’s just asking you to do the same things you’ve always done, without the drama. Even when you were the most spoiled princess, you behaved better than this, Buttercup.”
He’s not wrong. But sometimes I just... don’t feel like trying.
“Fine,” I mutter, curling back into his arms. “But you’re inviting Dad to your graduation, and you’re taking a photo with him. A family photo. All of us together.”
“Now you’re pushing it.”
“My birthday isn’t over yet. Which means I get what I want. And I want the perfect gift from my favorite brother.”
“I’m your only brother,” he says, but I can hear the smile in his voice.
I giggle. “Good. I couldn’t handle two of you.”
“Oh yeah? You think you’re easy to deal with?”
Before I can answer, he starts tickling me right under my arms, the one spot he knows makes me lose it. I burst into laughter, trying to squirm away while he laughs too, and soonwe’re both lying on the grass, breathless, staring up at the sky that barely has any stars tonight.
I turn my head toward him.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
Ethan reaches over and takes my hand, squeezing it. “I love you, Buttercup. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you, or for Mom.”
I squeeze back. “I love you too.”
We stay like that for a while, until we hear the kitchen door closing. Our heads turn in sync.
