Miles to Go

“Help her adjust, Seth. It’s hard on her, and you’re her older brother. Remember that.”
My mother’s words rang in my ears yet again, making me sigh. Older or not, this could only be described as a punishment. For what, I still didn’t know.
But as luck would have it, there wasn’t much I could do about it. And I was her older brother. Maybe, if our parents hadn’t made me start school a year late so we’d be in all the same classes, I could get some space from her and—
No, not even then.
When life gives you lemons… I grimaced, pulling myself out of my thoughts as she blew smoke in my face. Not helping.
Coughing, I waved a hand in front of my face, clearing the air between us. “Do you always have to do that?”
Rylie shrugged. “My bad.”
Sighing, I took the cigarette out of her hand, dropping it on the floor. “You’re going to kill yourself.”
Her head tilted to the side, and a small smile spread across her face. No, not a smile. It was too bitter, too sarcastic, to be a smile. “Might as well have fun doing it.” Her eyes travelled to the crushed cigarette on the floor. “Those cost money.”
“Yeah. Which brings me to my next point. Where are you getting the money from?”
Her eyebrow shot up, and I’d obviously caught her by surprise, something I was sure was impossible. But then again, I’d never really tried before.
“Rylie?” I asked, when she didn’t respond.
She pushed herself off the trunk of my car, her favorite place to sit apparently, trying to walk past me.
I quickly blocked her way. “It’s almost been seven school days. Why don’t you have any friends?”
“Don’t want any.”
“Why not?”
She smirked. “I already have you to deal with. It’s bad enough.”
My eyes narrowed into a glare. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“That people annoy me,” she said simply, sidestepping me.
I sighed, letting her go and watching her as she dodged all contact while going through the crowd, heading inside.
My phone began ringing then, distracting me. Once I picked up and looked back up, she was gone.
“Hello?”
“Seth? How is she?”
I sighed again. Hello to you, too, lady. “Same as always.”
“Still nothing?”
“Mom, not to be rude… but Rylie and I have never gotten along. We’ve never tried. I doubt extending a hand to her now is going to make any difference.”
“It will if you honestly try—”
“Mom. This is our family. We don’t know how to do things for others selflessly,” I muttered with irritation. I wasn’t trying to be rude; I was just being honest. It was a family trait, a bad family trait. It wasn’t like there was anything we could’ve done about it.
“Go to class,” she snapped, hanging up.
I considered not going just to infuriate her, but not going to class meant possibly not going to college, and not going to college meant staying home, and staying home meant…
The thought alone was enough to make me cringe. Shifting my bag on my shoulder, I made my way into the building, halfheartedly greeting the people I knew.
When I entered the classroom, I was surprised to find Rylie missing.
But the surprise wore off when she still hadn’t arrived after the late bell rang.
Typical.

“Where were you all day?” I snapped as soon as Rylie got in the car.
She shrugged, rolling down the window and pulling out a cigarette. “I had better things to do.”
I scoffed, plucking the cigarette out of her hand. “Not in my car you don’t.”
“Well, since I’m not trusted with a car—”
“I don’t care, Rylie. You’re not smoking in here.”
I saw her roll her eyes from the corner of my eye before she turned to look out the window. I wanted her to be annoyed, angry, anything. But she was just… monotone.
Predictable.
The rest of the ride passed in silence, Rylie a statue beside me. I would’ve turned on the radio, but for all I knew, she didn’t like music either. I wouldn’t be surprised, since she didn’t like anything at all, but I had to admit a part of me already thought she was totally weird. I didn’t want to find out anything that would make her weirder.
We couldn’t get home soon enough, Rylie immediately going up to her room. I stayed downstairs with Mom as she cleaned, something she did frantically when upset.
“How was school?”
“Okay. Rylie cut.”
“Which class?” she asked, glancing up at me.
“All of them.”
Mom shook her head, neatly tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Even when cleaning she looked all made up.
But appearances were everything in this family, I knew that.
“I’ll talk to her,” she said finally.
“Good luck with that.”
She glared at me, and I shrugged. I wasn’t saying it to be obnoxious, I was being honest. I highly doubted there was anyone in the world that could hold a conversation with Rylie for more than two minutes.
Suddenly, I turned to Mom, and asked, “Do you think she’s on drugs?”
She seemed taken aback before coolly telling me no.
I frowned. Even if she was, Mom would be the last one to know or acknowledge it. Sighing, I made my way up the stairs, and hesitantly stepped into Rylie’s room, something I hadn’t done… well, ever.
I froze, looking around curiously.
I’d expected black, lots of it, and something creepily gothic. But all I saw were white walls, and wooden furniture. She hadn’t hung up pictures, or made any effort to decorate, really.
Boxes filled with clothes were scattered all across the floor, indicating that she clearly hadn’t bothered unpacking.
Taking a deep breath, I closed the door behind me, leaning against the wood. “Rylie—”
“Get out.”
My eyes narrowed with irritation. It wasn’t her words that bothered me, it was her attitude. I was clearly intruding, and all she had to say was, “Get out,” in what was possibly the most monotone voice ever.
“No,” I snapped. “I will not get out. What is wrong with you?”
Her eyebrow lifted, but I knew I hadn’t surprised her this time. “You’ve known me how long?”
I shook my head. “You’re impossible, you know that?”
“And yet you’re here.”
Scoffing, I turned, opening the door. “Are you on drugs?”
“Seriously, get out.”
I glanced at her. “You might want to unpack.”
“I might not.”
“And you might want to stop being such an uptight, snobby, pompous, stuck-up bitch.” Feeling much better, I stepped into the hallway and loudly slammed the door shut behind me.