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“Ouch…” he whimpers.
I can sense his pout through telepathy. Too bad for him. I’ve been giving him the cold shoulder for days now and he can’t stand it. But I can’t stand some of the decisions he’s made lately either. So I guess we’re even.
“I passed by the ice cream shop on the way back.” He slides a transparent plastic cup into my line of vision. “Daphne said you’ve been into butterscotch these days?”
My mouth waters at the sight of the sundae. “That was thoughtful of you. But I’m watching my sugar intake at the moment.” My voice remains detached and professional.
Felix snarls in frustration. “So you’re just going to stay mad at me?”
“I’m not mad. I’m working.”
“Come on, Karls,” Felix tries again. “You’re a really great receptionist and I appreciate your work very much. But can you please be my sister again? I miss you.”
I fold my arms over my chest. “That’s a you-problem,” I retort, stubbornly.
I’m his receptionist. I have zero desire to be his sister at the moment.
“Karli, I’m just trying to make you feel better,” he huffs. “I hate to see my little sister in a pissy mood.”
Finally, my eyes snap up to his. “Wanna know what would make me feel better, Felix? What would keep me out of a pissy mood?” I demand. “Not having my brothers treat me like an infant, interfere in my business and try to control every aspect of my life.”
“Karli—”
Whatever his excuse is, I’m not hearing it. Beneath the desk I stomp my foot, struggling to keep my voice level. “No, Felix. What you did is bullshit and you know it.”
They all know it. Each of my brothers has tried to corner me into a conversation about Mason over the past few days. Each of them has tried to ‘reason’ with me. But they’re the ones being unreasonable, and I won’t hear any of it.
“I was trying to look out for you,” he says defensively. “I couldn’t just stand by and let some asshole take advantage of you.”
“Newsflash—youare the asshole,” I shoot back. “Mason wasn’t taking advantage of me.” He opens his mouth to argue but I just barrel right along. “Did it ever occur to you that he might actuallylikeme? That he mightcareabout me? Or was that just completely outside the realm of possibility for you? That a good man could actually want me for me? That he actually makes me feel good about myself? Because he’s a good man. You know that, right?” Ignoring the curious eyes and ears tuning in from the waiting area, I lay into my boneheaded brother.
“I know he’s a good man,” Felix eventually concedes. “But…but…he just went through a breakup. He’s probably all messed up in the head. And how do you know he’s not just looking for a rebound?”
A sound of disgust pops out of my mouth. “I love how you’re a relationship expert all of a sudden,” I bite out. “When’s the last time you even had an emotional connection with a woman? When’s the last time you even had a girlfriend? Mashed potatoes and meatballs girl? Or was it the woman who brought you the lasagna? Or maybe another one of your dating app friends?”
I watch his ears grow red. Seems like he’s finally starting to realize his own hypocrisy.
“Maybe if you knew what love looks like you’d recognize what Mason and I mean to each other.”
“Love…?” My brother jolts, looking absolutely dumbfounded.
“Yes, love. Mason and I love each other, Felix.”Or at least we did before Mason started questioning everything.“But you wouldn’t know that because you didn’t take a second to have a conversation with us. You just stormed into the middle of our relationship with a blowtorch and burned the whole thing to the ground.”
Mason and I were happy together. We were falling in love. In our own little fairytale inside that house, closed off from the world. But naive as we were, we were only building a sandcastle. And then reality came thundering in like a bulldozer and bowled over our fragile kingdom. It all happened so fast I didn’t see it coming. And now it’s over. Everything’s over.
What a fucking fairytale.
My tear ducts are prickling and my throat is closing up but I won’t cry. Right now, I’m on a mission to give my brother a piece of my mind. Meanwhile, he just stands there with a clueless look on his face.
“Mason was the first person who ever made it safe for me to be vulnerable,” I go on. “He was someone who would actually listen to mebeforeswooping in to solve my problems or politely telling me to suck it up or to look on the bright side. He was the first person who didn’t make me feel pitiful when I fell flat on my face. With him, I didn’t constantly feel like I was running after a train that I could never catch up to. With Mason, I could just stand still and…be.And that was enough for him.” I bite down on my wobbly bottom lip. “But you couldn’t let me have that. Because of your big fat ego.”
“It was never about my ego, Karli. This is my way of looking out for you.” I can tell that my brother doesn’t quite believe the crap he’s saying even as it’s coming out of his mouth.
“Well find better ways, Felix. Do better. If you want to have an honest relationship with me, where I don’t feel like I have to hide who I am from you, then. do. better.”
My brother and I continue to bark at each other, not caring all that much that we’ve got an audience. In fact, I do most of the barking. I doallof the barking, actually. Felix just listens. From the pained expression on his face, it looks like he’s actuallyhearingme for once.
Too bad it’s too late. Too bad Mason’s gone.
