Page 35 of Sunshine Boy

Rahul swallowed down his worry at the thought of Julian sleeping. The doctor had assured them that, unlike what was seen in movies and films, sleeping after a concussion was perfectly fine and in fact recommended. Because he felt he should say something, before Julian disappeared into his bedroom, Rahul called out, “Don’t forget to take your medication.”

It was only paracetamol and an antibiotic, but still.

“I won’t.” He waved it off without turning round.

He seemed fine, or as fine as could be expected. But Rahul knew that most of it was an act being put on for his benefit. Of course Julian didn’t want Rahul to worry, but the other part of it, Rahul was sure, was to dissuade him from going after Michael. Unfortunately for Julian, it wasn’t working.

Rahul had just picked up the phone in the living room when a shriek came from the bathroom. Rahul very nearly dropped the phone and bolted for Julian’s door, but the shriek was quickly followed up by a pitiful cry of “My hair!”

Rahul breathed a sigh of relief and ran a shaking hand over his face, trying to get his adrenaline back in check.

“They bloody well butchered it, didn’t they?” Julian went on, voice high-pitched and aghast. “A neo-punk shave is one thing, but I look like I’ve gone and escaped the asylum here. It’ll take me ages to grow this back. What am I supposed to do until then, eh?”

“Wear a hat!” Rahul shouted back.

“The derby has been making a comeback…” His voice drifted off as he began contemplating the fashion possibilities.

Rahul waited until he actually heard the shower running before he picked up the phone’s receiver again and dialled.

“‘Lo?” Came Mel’s breathless voice after an unconscionable number of rings.

“Oh, fucking finally,” Rahul snapped, a touch sharper than he’d meant to.

“Rahul? That you?”

“You bloody well believe it’s me.” Now that his anger had been stoked he was finding it harder to rein in. “Where the hell have you been? I’ve been trying to call you for hours.”

Somewhere in the background there was the low tenor of a male voice followed by an uncharacteristically girlish giggle from Mel. “I’ve been busy. What you want?”

Rahul had to throttle the phone receiver to keep from blowing a gasket. She’d been getting off with some bloke while her brother had nearly died, for Pete’s sake! When he felt slightly calmer, he returned the receiver to his ear. “I’ll have you know Julian’s been in hospital. If you care at all.”

“He’s been in hospital? What for?”

Rahul hesitated. Julian probably wouldn’t want her knowing the truth. And telling her that Michael was responsible for Julian’s current state would probably jeopardise what Rahul was planning. He decided that Mel didn’t need to know the cause, only the symptom. For now, at least. “He’s had a concussion. A severe one, the doctor says. He’s even had stitches in. He was unconscious for hours. We’ve only just got back. Doctor wanted to keep him overnight but Jules wouldn’t have it. Do you know how many times I tried to ring you?” That’s right. Turn it back around on her. “You’re his only family. If something had happened and he hadn’t --”

“All right, all right. I’m sorry.” She did sound fairly contrite, though it probably had more to do with Rahul chastising her than actually regretting not being there for Julian. “How’s he doing now? Should I come over?”

“Don’t bother. He’s knackered. Needs sleep now. I’ll be staying with him, so you don’t have to worry about that either.”

“Jesus Christ, I said I was sorry, didn’t I? What more you want from me?”

To care, Rahul thought. But you can’t force someone to care, no matter how much you scold them. Mel was always down on Julian for being vain, for being mercurial, for being naive. She misinterpreted those traits as stupidity and immaturity, but worst of all she made Julian feel bad about himself because of it. Rahul had never said anything because he felt it wasn’t his place to interfere. They were family, after all. And he didn’t have real siblings of his own, so he would never truly understand the sort of complexity that comes with being a brother or sister. But what he did understand was Julian. He knew when something hurt him even when he tried not to let on that it had. And he knew that how Mel treated him did hurt him. There was one thing Rahul couldn’t abide in this world, as bleak as it was, and it was people hurting Julian, no matter who they were.

“Whatever. Just come over tomorrow. He’ll want to see you when he’s feeling better. Anyway, he’s split with Michael --”

“You’re joking. Again?”

“It’s for good this time. Trust me. Thing is, I need to go round Michael’s and pick up a few things he left there. Only I don’t have Michael’s address and Jules is fast asleep. Given the, you know, massive head injury, I don’t want to bother him. Do you happen to know Michael’s address by any chance? Or know if Julian’s got it written down somewhere?”

“Nah, sorry. I don’t -- Actually… I think he said he got a card or something from him. Maybe it’s got his address. If not, you can always wait until he wakes up, right?”

“I was hoping to knock it out before he woke up. So he won’t have anything to worry about, you know.”

“Yeah. ‘Course.” The male voice came again, preceding a muffled conversation and a rustling sound.

“Julian’s been hurt?”

Rahul was so surprised he momentarily didn’t recognize the voice.