Capture - l.t.

Chapter 3.

My mouth dropped to the ground as I stared at my brother. He continued to smile at me, but I let myself speak what I was thinking voluntarily.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" I demanded.

"Emerson!" My mother scolded, but I didn't apologize. Here my brother was, sitting at our kitchen table like he actually cares about us or something. No, Aaron did not deserve any welcome of sorts from me. He was gone for a year-and-a-half, without any warning or communication with us. A year-and-a-half. It was awful, and what was once great sorrow had turned to anger.

"No, Mom," Aaron said. "She's right to be angry with me-"

"Damn right!" I yelled.

"-it was very wrong of me to leave like that. I'm sorry, I can't imagine how hard it must have been for you guys. I truly hope you can forgive me now. I've gotten help."

I glared at him. I wasn't sure what 'help' was, but it's not like I cared anyway. "No. You can't just hop back into our lives like this. You were gone for what seemed like eternity, Aaron, and I can't just easily forgive you like you want me to. You may get your teddy bear hugs back from Mom and Dad, but I lost all my respect for you when you packed up and left."

Aaron stared at me, speechless. I didn't want to speak to him any further, so I turned on my heel and ran downstairs to my room. I could hear my mother's calls for me to come back, but I ignored her too. I was so pissed at my parents. How could they forgive Aaron so quickly after what he did? Am I the only sane one in this house??

I grabbed my phone and found myself calling the number I was given today by Louis. I needed somebody to talk to, and at that moment, he was my only option.

"Hello?" He spoke.

I breathed. "Louis?"

"Emerson? Wow you're calling me pretty fast, not that I'm regretting it or whatever, I was just under the impression that you were going to call like, in two days or something. That's usually how it goes right? But you know, things change."

Louis had this odd ability to make me laugh. He wasn't even joking, but the way he rambled on was so cute I couldn't help but giggle.

"I just... really needed someone to talk to," I explained. I hoped he would not be freaked out by my sudden neediness.

"Okay, so... what's up?"

"My brother is home,"

"What's the problem with that?" He asked. I could sense the confusion in his sweet voice, the pitch of it went higher.

"The problem is, I haven't seen him in over a year! He left without any warning and it was awful and super selfish of him. I'm in my room, hiding from him and my parents." I chewed my nail nervously, waiting for his response. He probably thought I was crazy.

"Well... Okay, but what do you want me to do?" Louis asked. His smooth voice was already toning down my built-up anger, believe it or not.

"Distract me. I don't want to think about my brother or my parents right now. Talk to me about literally anything."

"Uh..." he said. A few moments passed as he thought. "What's your favorite color?"

I thought for a moment. "That one color that's like grey and blue mixed together, I think." I replied finally.

"Why's that one your favorite?"

"Um, I think I like it because... because it reminds me of my favorite kind of day, where it's like cloudy, but you can see hints of blue sky streaming through the clouds. I find it so relaxing."