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And then I repeat his words.
“For us.”
chapter seven
Abby
“I have something special for you tomorrow.”
I look up from the book I’m reading in bed and find Rusty standing at the door to my room.
“Oh yeah?”
He grins and nods. “Yeah. So don’t sleep in too late, all right?”
“But what if I’m too tired to get up early?” I ask, stretching my arms above my head and giving him a super-wide smile.
I’m one of those weird people who doesn’t like to get up early on Christmas, and this isn’t just an adult trait. I was like this as a kid too. It used to drive Rusty insane because our parents would make him wait until I woke up naturally before we could open gifts.
Who am I kidding? It still drives him insane, because I still like to sleep in. Although, once our parents were gone, he took it upon himself to break the wake up naturally rule and began dragging me out of bed by eight.
“Set your alarm,” he says, pinning me with a look. “Please.”
I sigh. “Okay,” I tell him, dragging out the word as if he’s asking me to do something insane. “I guess I can do that.”
He crosses the room and plants a kiss on my forehead, then turns to head out.
“Rusty?”
My brother turns back to look at me.
“I know sex stuff is probably the last thing you want to talk to me about, but I just want you to know…you don’t always have to act like a dad, okay?”
He doesn’t say anything, just watches me from where he stands in the doorway.
“You know I love you more than anything,” I say, “but there are going to be things in my life that I do that you’ll disagree with, and that has to be okay. I can’t make every choice based on whether you approve or not.”
Rusty’s hands rest on his hips, his eyes studying me.
“I’m just protective of you,” he finally says. “And the way Jackson slept around back in college…I wouldn’t have let him anywhere near you back then.”
“But that’s not your decision to make,” I say, trying to keep my voice soft. Nonconfrontational. “And even if mom and dad were here, it wouldn’t be up to them, either.” I pause, wanting to get this right. “I love you. You are the most important person to me on this earth. But I’m an adult, and it’s important that I’m given the chance to make my own choices in life. Even if you think they’re wrong. Because something that might be wrong for you might be right for me.”
He stands there for another long moment before he bobs his head just once, seeming to take my opinions and words to heart. Then he turns toward the door.
“Night, Abs. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
He gives me a small smile and shuts my bedroom door, and then I hear him walk down the hall to his own room.
It’s been a long time since I’ve had a conversation like that with my brother. Most of the time, I just go along with what he says. I might be a fairly opinionated person, but I’m also pretty easygoing, and it just makes life easier sometimes to not be a stick in the mud.
But this simply wasn’t one of those things. With me moving out in just a week, it’s going to be more and more important that I defend my right to make my own choices. Even if it makes things harder for my brother.
I flip off the light and climb into bed, hoping the glass of wine I had earlier will be enough to send me off to sleep quickly. The three of us spent Christmas Eve at Briar’s parents’ house, just like Rusty and I have done for every major holiday since my parents died, enjoying dinner and a little gift exchange.
There’s always something magical about being in the Mitchell house for Christmas. Patty is the world’s greatest host, and her home is always perfectly decorated and welcoming in the best of ways. It’s what I aspire to have my future home be like when I have a family someday.
