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"Stop exaggerating." He groaned and wiped his free hand over his face. "It's not like she was moving furniture or something."
"She shouldn't have to move anything." I unlocked my seat storage and pulled out my cables.
"Well, she does, and you know why?" TJ didn't even wait to let me answer. He also didn't wait for me to ready the cable, shoving the bag of clothes into my arms. "Because she's an adult who can make decisions for herself."
I bit back my automatic retort, the one I used to repeat to him, Ash, and myself as kids: our parents were adults in age only.
TJ raised his brow, because he knew I was thinking it. He wanted me to say it, daring me with a slight nod and that cocky grin I swear he learned from me. I knew him enough to understand he had his own response ready.
"It's just…" I blew out a heavy breath and dropped the bag on the bike. " I–"
"You're a control freak who dipped the second we didn't do what you wanted. Now that you’re back, you're mad we're not jumping for joy," he finished.
My frown deepened. "Excuse me?"
TJ laughed, his tone devoid of humor. "You think you're the only one who can be blunt around here?"
TJ had always been the kind of younger sibling who’d talk back, but never this much.
"No, that's not what I meant." I wrapped the cable far tighter than I should have around the bag, and the plastic started to rip in certain areas.
"Why are you here, Sage?" he asked.
I stilled. "To visit. You've…All of you have been asking me to visit. So here I am, and now I'm being attacked for some reason."
He took a deep breath, but it didn't seem to do much toward calming him down.
"What's wrong with you?" I asked. "You're acting like I'm some stranger off the street."
"That's what you've wanted to be this past year, isn't it?" he said, point blank.
We were both silent, no oxygen left for either of us. All this space, all this world, and we'd sucked the life out of it for each other in a heartbeat.
I shouldn't have come. This visit was making everything worse. Ironically, my presence reminded everyone of how long I’d been gone.
“It would have been nice if you called first.” TJ’s voice wasn’t exactly gentle, but definitely not as cold as before.
"Sorry." I shrugged with my arms crossed over my chest. "I figured my family's door was open."
"Like yours is for us."
"Oh, come on, T. You know that's not fair."
TJ's jaw clenched, but at least he took a moment to look at me. He'd been taller than me for years now; I still wasn't used to looking up to meet his gaze. His eyes were like looking into my own, even though we didn't resemble each other anywhere else. His skin was a few shades lighter than mine, nose slimmer, lips wider, but his eyes were mine and so was his attitude.
"Things have been good," he said.
"Really?" I leaned against my bike, looking away for a second to silence a huff. "Ash stealing money is your version of good?"
TJ rolled his eyes. "Again, he can't steal what's all of ours."
"Yes, he can. If he doesn't tell us what he's doing with our half, then it's basically theft." I moved my hands while I spoke, getting more heated with every word.
"So you came here to make a fuss and disrupt our peace?"
"I think I deserve a little peace disrupting after all I've done," I said before I knew what was happening.
TJ chuckled. "There she is. Martyr Sage came home for her crown."
