Human Nature

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Bee-.

”Ugh,” I grunted, slamming my hand down on the alarm clock so hard it emitted one last strangled beep before dying.

“Rave, is that really necessary? I’m not getting you another one you know,” I heard my older brother say from the doorway to my bedroom.

“Fuck you,” I muttered into the pillow.

“What was that?” He asked, chuckling. I rolled over to face him with a groan and gave him the finger. He made a tssssking noise and I felt the blankets being pulled from my body, leaving it exposed to the cold air.

“Hmmm. I think it’s time to redefine p.j’s little sister,” He grinned snidely. I groaned and pulled the blankets back around me. Thank god for Fridays, I thought.

“C’mon Raven, don’t give me the pleasure of doing this the hard way,” He ripped the pillow out from under my head and picked me up like I weighed ten pounds instead of a hundred and ten.

“Jesus, do you starve yourself?” He teased me as he carried me away.

“Don’t you have anything better to do Jasper?” I asked him, trying to wriggle my way out of his arms, unsuccessfully.

“Are you kidding? Getting my baby sister to school is my main priority,” My eyes flashed open at this. I pulled my head up and wriggled some more, wincing as I hit the concrete. Concrete?

“Jasper! Get me out of the garage!” I snapped, glaring up at him with all the force my sapphire blue eyes could muster. To be honest, I’d rather not go to school in a t-shirt and toy story boxers. I flipped my unruly jet black hair out of my face and stood up, shivering.
Jasper sighed for effect and picked me back up. He whistled as he took me back inside, something he knew I hated. I buried my face in his chest and willed myself to stop shivering.

“Awwwww. Is this some sort of sisterly affection? How disturbing,” He dropped me onto another hard surface which I learned was the bathtub as soon as he turned the water on. On cold.

I screamed as the water hit me head on, at full force, drenching me instantly.
“Asshole!” I cried.

“I’ll give you 15 minutes, and then I’m turning the hot water off and taking your ass to school, wet or dry,” He cackled manically as he shut the door behind him. I pulled off my now soaking p.j’s and tossed them onto the bathroom floor, closing the shower curtain and adjusting the temperature. Thankfully, the hot water wasn’t long in coming.

I turned the water off when it seemed to be getting cold and dried off. Pulling on a pair of old faded skinny jeans and a low cut green sweater over my new bra and panties I had gotten with my best friend last weekend. I combed out my tangled black hair, not bothering to dry it. The layers were growing out, and I needed a haircut. But brothers in “hardcore” rock bands really didn’t care about their sisters well being.

I seethed over this as I smudged on some eyeliner and mascara. I ran into my walk in closet and grabbed a pair of long socks and my knee high black fuzzy boots. Running down the stairs with one boot on and a 70 pound backpack hanging from your shoulder is not something I would advise. I pulled on the other boot and shoved my plain white pullover over my sweater. I slipped on my backpack and was just about to walk out into the garage when I heard my brother rev up the engine to his charcoal gray mustang. The one possession I really envied him for.

“Get in Raven,” He called. I grudgingly opened the door to the passenger side and sat down heavily. You would sit down heavily too if you were 70 pounds heavier. We backed out of the garage and tore down the little path to the main road. I shoved my headphones in my ears, a futile attempt to get him to stay quiet.

“Raven, the boys and I are going to Minneapolis today. We’ll be home sometime tomorrow; I’ll call you to let you know when, OK?” I nodded, listening to him, but not really paying attention. Snow was still cloaking the ground in a soft white blanket, even though March wasn’t a few weeks away and the sky was gray, a sign that more might be on its way. But if it did snow their flight might get cancelled and my evening would be ruined. Hmmmm, snow or brother at home, hmmmm….

“…So no wild parties, sex, drinking, sex, or drugs and sex, am I understood?” He asked, and I pulled the headphones out of my ears angrily.

“Yes Jasper. Fine,” I scowled at the fact that he was trying to parent me. Ahem. Who was the one that had to go out and buy who condoms? Who came home drunk late at night and needed his puke cleaned up? And who had to be reminded to eat before he passed out? Yeah, point made.

He was unnaturally quiet, something that almost never happened, unless he was thinking. Jasper thinking? I looked up to try to read his expression. He looked serious. Okay? What was going on here? He turned to look at me and I resisted the urge to grab the wheel. His own sapphire blue eyes met mine and my heart skipped a beat as I figured out what was coming.

“Do you think about them Rave?” He turned his head back to the road and I saw him blink a bunch of times, the same way I did when I was willing myself not to cry. I didn’t know what to do. Jasper hadn’t lost his cool since I was 3 and he was 7 and I ripped the ear off of his teddy bear. The memory of that moment made me laugh.

“Thanks Raven, glad you take me so seriously,” He growled.

“That’s not why I was laughing,” I said defensively.

“Do you remember the time when we were really little and you tried to strangle me because I ripped the ear off your favorite teddy bear?” I asked him, smiling.

“Yeah,” He looked at me again, tears now visible in his eyes.”Yeah, I remember,” He grinned through his tears.

“I still have that bear. Mom”-

“-Sewed the ear back on,” I said, feeling the heat build up in my throat.

“I remember us watching her do it, wonder how she could just smooth things over like that. You know,” He wound his fingers around mine, “I can’t find the stitches anymore,” Tears rolled down his face. I felt them on mine too. Without fully realizing it, we were hugging and crying and laughing at the same time.

“I love you Rave,” He whispered and I noticed that we were pulling into the school parking lot. I wiped the tears from my face and grimaced as I saw they were black from my eyeliner. He broke into a grin at the black smudges all over my face and stuck my tongue out at him.

“Love you too Jasper,” I murmured as I got out of the car, wiping the last of the black from my face.

“Be safe,” I yelled as I slammed the door shut and then decided to lighten the mood a bit by running up alongside the car as he started to drive away. He rolled down the window.

“Bring me something back, OK?” I smiled again. “Or don’t come back at all!”

I could have sworn he chuckled as he drove away.