Life In Reverse(16)

Julian points to the Frosted Flakes on top of his healthy food pyramid with a snicker. “That’s not really an incentive for Vance.”

“My brother’s quite the comedian,” I offer up, eyeballing Julian while having little effect.

“Hey.” Julian snaps his fingers in front of my face. “Why don’t you both join us for dinner? Vance can vouch that I’m a pretty good cook and it’ll give us a chance to get to know each other.”

“Maybe some other time.”

“That sounds great.”

Ember and Avery reply at the same time.

Avery nudges Ember’s arm and whispers loud enough for me to hear. “Come on, Em. It’ll be good for you to get out.”

I’m kind of hoping she says yes. But I certainly won’t voice that out loud. At least it would give me a chance to maybe cheer her up and find out why she’s so upset. Not that it’s any of my business, I remind myself.

“Sure.” Ember finally speaks up with the lowest amount of enthusiasm to a dinner invitation I’ve ever heard. But my brother makes up for it tenfold.

“Great!”

Julian coerces Avery into helping him get the rest of the ingredients for dinner, and the four of us walk up and down the aisles for a good twenty minutes before we’re ready to check out. Periodically, I glance over at Ember, still stoic, looking around at everything yet nothing in particular. I feel the need to give her some sort of an out because this is obviously the last thing she wants to do tonight.

I sidle up next to her and clear my throat. “So… if you’re not up for coming over it’s totally cool.”

She turns her head in my direction, the red around her eyes beginning to fade. “No, it’s fine. I mean, all that excitement over free range chicken.” She shrugs her shoulders and I think I see a padded smile. “I kind of couldn’t pass it up.”

“What the f*ck is free range chicken anyway?” The answer to my question is a small giggle that bubbles up from her throat, and I catch myself laughing too. Laughter is as alien to me as civil conversation these days. But somehow I find myself doing both with this girl.





WHEN I ENTER the kitchen, an array of vegetables is laid out on the cutting board and Julian stands at the sink filling a large pot with water. He places it on the stove and shoots me a grin over his shoulder. “So you were getting kind of chummy with Ember, huh?”

I hop onto a stool at the center island, snagging a cookie from an open box. “Even your vegetables are organized. Do you realize you have them sectioned off by color?”

“Do you realize you’re evading my question?” Julian reaches up to the cabinet beside the fridge and takes out a package of pasta. He tears it open then sets it on the counter.

“Actually, I’m not.” I smirk before taking a bite of the cookie. “It’s just that I’m both fascinated and distracted by your mad skills.” After I finish chewing, I add, “For the record, she seemed upset and I just wanted to make sure she was okay.”

He’s facing the sink and I can’t see his expression when he counters with “Hmph.”

“What’s hmph?”

He spins around, holding a red pepper in one hand and a sharp knife in the other. “Since when do you step outside of your little anger bubble to make sure anyone other than me or Mom is okay?”

“Since….” I hear Jeopardy music playing in my head as I try to think of the answer to his question.

“Exactly. Since never.” He waves the knife at me. “So this is a good thing. You’re making a friend.”

“Next thing I know you’ll be filling my Scooby lunchbox with free range chicken.” My smug grin disappears behind another bite as the doorbell rings.

“Hey, sue me. I worry about you, little brother.” He crosses the kitchen, lobbing a dishtowel at my face that I dodge quite effectively. While I’m not the sports-minded guy that Julian is, I did spend several years in martial arts. I have a black belt to show for it and can block a punch like it’s nobody’s business. This definitely came in handy when anyone was messing with us. More often than not, it was because some asswipe was making comments about Mom. Anger grazes my chest as I jump down from the stool. I take a minute to shake it off before making my way into the living room. I’m just in time to catch the tail end of Avery’s words.

“Yeah, we did. We brought dessert again. It’s kind of our thing. Actually,” she hikes a thumb toward her sister, “Ember’s a bit better at it than I am, but who’s comparing?”

“Excellent.” Julian holds his arm out to Avery and she links her elbow through his. “This way, lovely. I could use some help in the kitchen.” I wait for them to walk away then turn back to Ember.

“Your brother is quite the charmer,” Ember remarks, and she looks so much better. Her green eyes are brighter and that frown has disappeared.

“Yes, he is.” The sound of Avery’s laughter makes me glance toward the kitchen before returning to Ember. “He’s been known to attract a girl or two. Julian is….” I twist the hoop in my ear. “You won’t find a better person.”

Ember studies my face, paying special attention to my eyes. It unsettles me and I clutch the back of my neck. “That’s really nice.”