Sapphire

"Rise and shine, chugs." A voice calls out to me from the doorway and I whine, turning onto my other side. "Come on, sleeping isn't gonna help that hangover."

"Yes, it is," I argue. "Now, go away."

"Okay, it is gonna help, but it's not gonna make it go away completely." He corrects himself, his voice getting closer to me. Suddenly, the sunlight shines brighter into the room and I lift the sheets over my head.

"Can you not?" I groan.

"How about this," he begins. "You eat the breakfast I made you, then you shower. After that, you can sleep in the rest of the day. How does that sound?"

"Sounds like I have to get out of bed."

He laughs, "Well, obviously."

"Just a few more minutes."

"You're into cold pancakes?" He questions, his voice now returning to the doorway. "I prefer them nice and warm — the steam still coming off them — but that's on you."

Groaning, I rub the sleep out of my eyes and shield them from the sun invading my room. I sit up and yawn, stretching my arms over my head.

"Alright, hand them over." I reach a hand out, sitting up against the headboard. "Thank you, by the way."

"No prob," he grins as he nears my side of the bed, setting the bed tray down in front of me. "How are you feeling?"

"Honestly?" I begin, taking a bite of the pancakes. "Not too bad."

He hums in thought, "Looks like you can hold your liquor, huh?"

"At first I would get really sick, but since I just kept chugging every time I drank, I guess I became kind of immune to the after effects." I pause to take another bite. "Don't get me wrong, my head still hurts and I feel nauseous. But compared to how I used to feel, it's bearable. I'm sure it has a lot to do with the fact that I got up in the middle of the night to drink three more cups of water, though. Hangovers basically happen because your body is dehydrated."

He nods in acknowledgment, lowering himself onto the bed beside me. "So, do you always drink like that?"

I shut my eyes tightly, trying to get rid of my grainy vision. Resorting to rubbing them instead, I stand up to shut the blinds. "When I do drink, yes. I like the confidence it gives me and I like it to hit me fast." Retaking my seat, I peel the banana and take a bite.

"It's shocking how much you're able to drink." He comments. "Personally, I like to casually drink. I hardly ever let myself get wasted."

I fall flatly on my back and he joins me. Together, we stare up at the ceiling as we continue to make casual conversation, all the while I'm just in a bra. The fact that he doesn't pay much mind to it makes me smile, though. At least I'm not renting a room from a pervert.

"Would it be wrong if I slept with someone else as I'm trying to heal?"

The question catches me off guard, and I turn my head in his direction. He turns on his side to face me, so that we're face-to-face. I take a moment to think about my response. "I don't know. It's not recommended because you can end up hurting yourself even more. But it's really your choice to make."

"It's just a question." He sighs, rolling onto his back again. "I'm not like that."

"How are you doing, though?" I ask softly. "Does it hurt you when you see her?"

He takes in a deep breath before blowing it back out. "I feel a mix of emotions. And while pain is one of them, anger beats them all."

"That's normal. You'll feel a lot of emotions, but slowly you overcome each one until you're completely over them. Trust me, they eventually turn into strangers again. The memories remain, but it will no longer hurt to remember."

A soft smile appears on his lips. "I'm glad everyone else rejected you when you were looking for a room to rent."

"Hey, that's kind of rude. I was really upset. I even thought you were gonna do the same thing!"

He laughs, turning back towards me and pushing my hair away from my face. "I would never do that to you. You're living here now, aren't you?"

"I mean, yeah, but still." I protest.

"I only said that because you're a big help. I don't know what I would've done with myself if I still lived on my own." He admits meekly. "In a way, you're my angel."

"Bit much, no?"

I sit up again to continue eating my breakfast. When I feel a chill travel up my spine, I walk over to my closet to pull on an oversized t-shirt that reaches mid-thigh. As I'm doing so, Ian steals some of my pancakes and I narrow my eyes at him.

"Did you cook them for me, or did you cook them with the idea that you're gonna eat some, too?"

He winks, "The latter. Sharing is caring, angel."

"Don't call me that."

"Why not?" He chuckles, cutting up more pancakes for himself.

Just as he goes to put them into his mouth, though, I bend down and grab his wrist, guiding the fork into my own mouth. Smirking, I watch his cheeks redden. He watches me with his lips slightly agape and I laugh softly, placing my hand under his chin to close his mouth.

"You wouldn't want any flies invading your mouth, now would you?" I tease.

He clears his throat, standing up and walking out of my room. Stopping at my doorway, he turns back to look at me plop back down on the bed.

"I'm gonna go out for a run." He lets me know. "Need anything before I go?"

"No, thank you." I quickly dismiss him with a hand.

He nods and rushes to leave. When I hear the sound of the door slamming shut, I laugh.

Now the pancakes are all mine.

* * * *

I stick my head in through Ian's door, watching him fold his clothes. Shirtless. As usual. "Are you expecting someone?" I ask softly.

His head snaps in my direction as he puts a shirt into a drawer. "My sister, why?"

"I think she's here." I inform. "Someone's knocking."

Nodding, he ditches his clothes and walks out with me.

He swings the door open and I plop down on the couch. With the sight of her brother standing in front of her, she squeals in excitement and crushes him into a hug.

He groans, awkwardly patting her back in return. "Hey, Katie." He forces out, pulling himself from her grip.

Grinning, she holds his shoulders and holds him at arm's length. "It's been so long since I've seen you. How are you, little brother?"

He turns to look at me swiftly and scowls. "I'm not little anymore."

"Of course you are, you goof. You'll always be my handsome little brother." She squishes his cheeks and I stifle a laugh as his scowl deepens. "Is your girlfriend here. What's her name? Janet? Juliet? Lucifer?"

He pushes her hands away, making the distance between them greater. "Her name is Julissa. And she's no longer my girlfriend."

Her smile falls right off her face and she stares at him in shock. "Wait. You're serious?"

"Yes." He drags a hand down his face. "She was cheating on me with my best friend."

But she doesn't hear the last thing he says because she's cheering at the top of her lungs. "About damn time! Jesus Christ, I don't know how long I've been wanting for you to dump that bitch."

My eyebrows meet my hairline as I lift them up in surprise.

Dropping herself onto a stool, she continues, "Congratu-fucking-lations. You got away from a total nutcase, little bro. I'm glad you decided to open your goddamn eyes. I was about to pay for your LASIK surgery because I was convinced you were blind."

He groans, going over to the fridge to take out a water bottle. After handing it to her, he goes back into his room. "Come join me when you decide to stop being annoying."

"Is that any way to talk to your wonderful and amazing big sister?" Following after him, she laughs when he slams the door in her face. Unfazed, she turns the knob and enters his room. "Who the hell raised you? You're lacking manners, young man."

He groans loudly before storming back out. "Is there a reason for your visit, or did you just want to annoy me?"

"I'm here because I wanted to see you." She frowns as she follows after him. "Aren't you at least a tiny bit happy to see me? Sorry that I'm thrilled about you being done with your abusive ex-girlfriend ... it makes me so happy that she's now an ex."

His eyes meet mine as he sighs. "She wasn't abusive. She was just ..."

"A psychopath?" She finishes for him.

"I guess." He shrugs, plopping himself down on the couch beside me. Swinging an arm around me, he reaches for the controller with his other hand and turns on the tv.

"Wait, who is this beauty?" Her voice is warm and welcoming as she goes to stand in front of us. Ian instantly tries to look around her to watch the tv. "Hi, I'm Katie." She reaches out a hand for me to shake. "Any girlfriend of Ian is automatically a close friend of mine ... besides Julissa. I don't befriend psychos."

I laugh nervously, shaking her hand and looking towards Ian to see if he'll deny that we're together. When he doesn't, I just go with it. "I'm Sapphire. It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise," she beams. "I already like you a lot better than Lucifer ... move." She pushes Ian off me and sits in between us. I scoot over a little to give her more space, while Ian tries to push her off the couch. That immediately turns into a play fight and I stand up to watch in amusement. Eventually, Katie manages to push him to the floor and he just lays there, defeated. "Don't mess with me, little bro."

He props himself up onto his elbows, rolling his eyes with a smile tugging his lips upward. "I'd like to let you know that I went easy on you."

"Sure you did."

"I did!"

"Okay, whatever helps you sleep at night."

Author's Note

I feel like I lost my writing skills :( it's really hard for me to like a chapter because I no longer feel confident with my writing. But I managed to put this together, so I hope you enjoyed. I love you, guys and thank you for being patient with me.

Much love,

Kim