Brothers

I woke up because somebody was shaking my shoulder roughly. I squeezed my eyes tight closed and groaned, trying to pull the covers over my head, but somebody ripped them away from me completely, leaving me shivering in a tight ball on the bed.

‘What do you want?’ I groaned without opening my eyes or rolling over to face them.

‘To kill you,’ Alana’s voice hissed, and I finally opened my eyes in alarm.

‘Why?’

‘Because of what you did last night! I had to sit on Rain’s lap, Aiden! His lap!’

‘I would’ve thought you would have enjoyed that,’ I muttered, then stretched and sat up on the bed, leaning my back against the wall behind me.

‘It was so embarrassing,’ Alana was going on like I hadn’t even spoken. ‘I was too scared to move obviously, and everybody was laughing at me! You are so dead.’

‘What if I tell you a story?’ I suggested weakly.

Alana’s eyebrows shot upwards. ‘Is there something to tell?’ she asked slowly, suspiciously. I nodded meekly, and her eyes widened in excitement as she started bouncing on the bed. Which begged the question – where had my brother gone?

‘What time is it?’ I asked, frowning.

‘About twelve. Why?’

‘We missed school?’

Alana looked at me weirdly. ‘It’s Saturday.’

‘Oh. Where’s Caleb?’ I tried to ask lightly but of course she knew from the fact that I had a story for her that I really wanted to know.

‘He went to work. Like three hours ago. What is up with you today? I’ve never known you to be so dopey.’

‘Sorry,’ I muttered, rubbing my eyes with the heels of my hands. ‘I feel all fogged up.’

‘Are you gonna tell me this story or what?’

I levelled her with a gaze and paused for dramatic effect. Then I took a deep breath and said carefully, ‘I kissed Caleb.’

Alana was silent for a second as she stared at me, then she literally screamed at the top of her lungs, bouncing around the place in excitement. I lunged forward and clamped a hand over her mouth to shut her up.

‘Be quiet!’ I hissed. ‘Do you want the others to come rushing in here?’

Alana stopped struggling behind my hands and held up her fingers in a Scout’s Honour salute for a second until I cautiously let her go.

‘You kissed him?’ she whispered, her eyes wide and her expression shocked. ‘What happened?’

‘He, um. He kissed me back.’

Alana squealed quietly. ‘I knew it! Did you do anything else?’

‘Alana!’

‘Sorry! Jeez. Is that a yes?’

‘No!’

‘So it’s a no?’

‘It’s a no,’ I sighed, getting impatient.

‘I’m gonna need details here, Aiden. Like, a lot of them. You guys may need to demonstrate for me later as well, just so I get the complete picture.’

I do not condone hitting girls, but just this once I made an exception and slapped Alana on the arm. ‘You have no shame,’ I muttered darkly.

‘I have plenty of shame. I’m horribly ashamed of every single thing I’ve ever said or done to Rain, for example.’

‘Alana if I can make out with my own brother than you need you get over whatever mental block you have about Rain and just go for it.’

‘It’s a girl thing,’ she said lightly in a, “I don’t expect you to understand” tone. I scowled. ‘so what now, anyway? Are you guys, like... Together?’

I shrugged. ‘I dunno. It ended kinda weirdly. I figured we’d sort everything out this morning but...’ I trailed off. ‘I guess we’ll talk when he gets home.’

‘Or you could boink each other.’

‘One more word and I am making your life here a living hell for as long as you’re staying. Rain will be involved.’

Alana mimed locking her lips and throwing away the key, but then smirked smugly at me.

‘I wish you had an off button,’ I groaned.

Caleb

I arrived at work just on time and clocked in, putting my card back on the rack and shrugging out of my coat. I’d been able to drive today seeing as it was a Saturday and the others didn’t have school, so I’d avoided the worst of the rain, but even the quick jog from the car to the door had left me drenched. I shook the water out of my hair as I felt two small arms wrap around my waist.

‘Hey sexy,’ Vienna murmured, and I tensed up slightly. Vienna is a repeat customer, but after what happened last night...

‘Hey,’ I said quietly, conflicted. Just because Aiden had kissed me didn’t suddenly mean we didn’t need the money anymore. And even though we hadn’t talked about what any of it meant, I felt like I was the lowest kind of scum for allowing her to leave her arms around me. ‘What’s up?’

‘I need to talk to you about something,’ she said, her voice becoming more serious but still with a flirting tone to it. ‘What time do you get off today?’

‘I’ve only got a four hour shift,’ I told her. I hated these ridiculous short shifts Larry signed me up for, it felt like there was hardly any point in coming in at all when I was only getting €35 for the privilege.

‘I’ll take my break at twelve then. Meet me in Costa,’ she ordered, naming the coffee shop next door to Virgin Megastores.

I sighed inwardly but didn’t argue, and moved away from her to walk out of the staff room and set myself up at my till. Larry doesn’t trust me with anything related to money but I’ve been here over a year now so he doesn’t really have any choice. In fact, I don’t think Larry trusts me with anything at all. I think he thinks that if I’m on the floor, I try to convince people to shop elsewhere. I have no proof of this, but I can’t come up with any other reason why he hovers over me constantly.

Saturday is typically the busiest day for CD and DVD sales, given that the main demographic – teenagers – are free to blow their parents’ hard earned cash for a full fourteen hours (we’re open from eight am to ten pm). Given the weather and the fact that the economy was in shit though, the day was pretty slow and I had more than enough time to let my mind wander off into daydreams about Aiden. I kept reliving the kiss and how amazing it was and how – basically – I wanted my younger brother. Who knew sexual harassment could end so well?

As twelve rolled around and Larry breathed an audible sigh of relief that I would be off the premises and business could pick up, I clocked out and trudged, hands buried deep in my pockets, across the sidewalk towards Costa. Vienna was already there, sitting outside with a coffee and her sunglasses on even though it was still pouring down from the heavens.

‘So what’s up?’ I asked, dropping into a seat across from her. I just wanted to get this over with and go home.

Vienna tilted her head so her sunglasses slid down her nose slightly and I could see her eyes. She was regarding me interestedly, and she took a sip of her drink before speaking.

‘Aren’t you going to order?’

I shrugged. ‘Wasn’t planning on staying long,’ I answered. The raindrops were beating off the canvas umbrella over our heads and I could hear the buzzing of the bright red space heater attached to the awning. It was burning my face, and the sensation, combined with the raindrops trickling out of my hair and down my neck, was becoming really uncomfortable.

‘In that case I’d better get straight to business,’ Vienna said, pulling a carton of Marlboro Lights from her bag and lighting one. She inhaled deeply and blew smoke into the air, making me shift uncomfortably in my seat as I tried to avoid it. Not something I like to admit, but I’m mildly asthmatic. The THC in weed helps it so I don’t mind the smoke from that, but cigarette smoke leaves me wheezing.

‘Go on then,’ I prompted.

Vienna uncrossed her legs and then re-crossed them the other way. ‘We both know what you are Caleb.’ A whore. I didn’t flinch. ‘And we both know I enjoy your services.’ She took another drag. ‘I want to hire you.’

I frowned, confused. What was with the whole cloak and dagger act if she just wanted another fuck? She’d never been this secretive about it before.

‘No,’ she said, smiling slightly when she saw my frown. ‘Not for half an hour. I’m going to need you in a more long-term capacity than that.’

‘What?’

‘I want to hire you to be my boyfriend. For an unspecified amount of time – and I’m not going to get into the “why” with you,’ she added, when she saw I was about to speak. Vienna is a really good-looking girl, she wouldn’t ordinarily need to hire a boyfriend. I thought she was with me for the sole purpose of having no strings attached; now she wanted to pay for strings she could have with any other guy for free? ‘And you should bear in mind, that I will report you to our superiors for having sex on the premises if you refuse.’

‘You had sex on the premises too,’ I pointed out bluntly. ‘With me.’ I wasn’t going to do this. No way. Not since Aiden... The odd fuck for a couple hundred in the back of somebody’s car I could do. I could manage the guilt of that. Not a fucking secret relationship though.

‘I’ll also report you to the police for solicitation. Prostitution is a very serious crime.’

This time I did flinch. She didn’t have to bloody say it out loud.

‘How...’ I swallowed. ‘How much are we talking here?’ I could still turn her down on the basis of price. I knew her parents were rich and that this job was more of an amusing hobby, but I also knew she always paid me out of her wages. She wouldn’t risk spending Daddy’s cash on something like this.

‘Name your price,’ Vienna shrugged, tipping ash into the glass ashtray on the table.

I hesitated, then landed on an idea. ‘A thousand a day,’ I said flatly, ‘and the reason you want me to do this.’

Vienna scowled. ‘I already told you I’m not going to let you in on that.’

I started to stand up. ‘Well, if you know someone else you can hire, you might want to call them...’

‘Sit down,’ Vienna snapped, finally removing her sunglasses.

I slowly lowered myself back into my seat. A thousand euro a day? She was willing to pay that?

‘As you know, my father is a somewhat important man.’

I shrugged. I knew nothing about him other than the fact that he was wealthy.

Vienna rolled her eyes. ‘What’s my second name, Caleb?’ she asked monotonously.

I struggled. I’ll admit it. But I finally blurted out, ‘Friendly.’

‘Right. And would you associate that name with anything, say, big and important?’

I raised my eyebrows. ‘Your dad owns Friendly Records?’

‘Correct.’

Friendly Records was the second biggest CD, DVD, and merchandise distributor in the country. Right after... ‘Why do you work for Virgin Megastores then?’

I saw a flash of satisfaction cross her face. ‘To piss him off,’ she murmured happily, then composed herself. ‘Anyway, he’s planning on opening ten new stores around the country, which will give him five more than Virgin, or some shit,’ she continued. ‘He’s having me followed to make sure I don’t create any bad press for him.’

‘Yeah...’ I said, really not seeing where this was going.

‘So I figured I could start by being seen dating an emancipated, tattooed, pierced, dyed, weed-smoking, poor, council house boy and work from there.’

‘So this is all about messing with Daddy’s plans,’ I observed sceptically.

‘In a word: yes.’

‘Why would you want to do that?’

Vienna sat back and put her sunglasses back on. ‘None of your business. But for your end of the bargain, you have to treat me like a real girlfriend. Staying over and your place, you staying over at mine, dinner, movies, gifts, everything reimbursed by myself, of course. Starting today.’

I swallowed. ‘Today?’

‘Yes. There’s a guy sitting in a black sedan behind you right now. He’s been there all day. He was outside my house this morning. And when I leave, he’ll follow me. My father is a very powerful man, Caleb. I wasn’t exaggerating hen I said he was having me followed. So right now, I’m going home with you. To meet all your lovely friends.’ She stood up and, numbly, so did I. ‘Oh, and Caleb. You can’t tell anyone about this. Not a single person, or I pay you nothing. Understood?’ she shot me a winning smile.

‘Sure, sweetheart,’ I muttered, as she slid an arm around me.

‘He’s watching,’ she hissed through her smile, and I put an arm around her too, leading her towards the car.

Aiden

‘It’s nearly half past,’ I muttered nonsensically. Alana had started wittering on about Rain and Caleb ten minutes ago as soon as I’d said I wished she had an off button, and had barely paused for breath since. ‘Let’s go down and get some breakfast.’

Alana smirked. ‘Yeah right. You just want to be downstairs when Caleb gets home.’

My tummy rumbled, thankfully, and I grinned. ‘I rest my case,’ I said, getting out of bed and traipsing out of Caleb’s room and down the stairs. I got Alana and I each a bowl of Cheerios, and we sat down in the sitting room to watch the latest instalment of Shitheads Playing PS3. I tensed up involuntarily when I heard Caleb’s key scrape in the door, and Alana nudged me excitedly. I think she was looking forward to seeing him as much as I was.

Caleb walked through the sitting room door tiredly and smiled at me, but there was something wrong with him. I could tell. His eyes were all wrong.

‘Hey guys,’ he said, addressing everyone but not sitting down like he usually does. ‘There’s someone I want you all to meet.’

I noticed a really pretty girl slide into the room behind Caleb, and Rain paused the game as everyone looked up.

‘This is Vienna. My girlfriend.’

I felt my jaw drop. I felt my heart sink. I felt Alana’s hand gripping my arm tightly as her other arm slid surreptitiously around my waist, holding me together.

‘Vienna, this is... Everyone.’