Playing the Playboys

Chapter 38: The Wish

Tell the mirror
What you know she's heard before
I don't wanna be you...
anymore

When the door creaked open, I groaned.

I did not want to get up from under my covers because I felt like if I stayed there, I'd be safe from my thoughts and feelings.

I was wrong.

My thoughts plagued me like pests, my feelings made me hard for me to breathe, but nevertheless, I stayed under the covers. I didn't want anyone to see me spiraling out of control, so I really didn't want to move out of my position.

"Kath," my little brother called out. "Are you trying to suffocate yourself down there?"

"No." I replied shortly, my voice coming out as muffled.

When I didn't here a retort, I smiled to myself, thinking that I was finally left alone.

Again, I was wrong.

Karl pulled my blanket away from me, making me screech at my eyes' contact to the light.

"My eyes!" I hissed, covering my eyes.

"Stop being a drama queen," Karl tutted, and I glared at him. "So, what's wrong with you?"

I sat up groggily. "How do you know there's something wrong with me?"

"There's always something wrong with you," he scoffed. "I mean, have you seen your face?"

"Ha ha," I laughed dryly as he smirked. "Are you just going to bully me? Because I'm really not in the mood and I just want to be left alone right now."

The teasing light in his eyes disappeared, replaced with a hazy look. "Well, you walked straight to your room yesterday when usually, you'd go annoy me. You haven't set a foot outside since last night and you didn't go to school today. Zoe and Jade bombarded me with questions about you earlier, telling me that you weren't replying to any of them."

He frowned and ran a hand through his brown hair with red streaks. "You didn't even notice my new cool hair."

I gasped and went near him, grabbing his head to observe his red freaking streaks further. "What the fuck did you do to your hair?"

He pushed me away. "I made it look better!"

Wincing, I shook my head. "No offense, but you look like shit."

His forehead creased at my comment. "But Selena said it looked awesome."

My mouth shaped into an o. I leered at him pointedly, a knowing smirk spreading on my lips. It took him a few seconds to realize my implications.

He groaned and fell on my bed, covering his face in despair. "I'm so stupid! Of course she'd say it looks awesome, she hates me!"

I chuckled and pulled him to me, patting his head. "Dumbass."

He looked up at me, glaring. "You're not helping."

"Oh, but you are," I acknowledged cheekily, giving him an annoying, sisterly hug. He tried to escape but I just hugged him tighter. In the end, he let me hug him. "You made me feel so much better."

Despite his peskiness earlier, he softened and shot me a close-lipped smile. I buried my head on his broad (when did it get so sturdy?) chest and he nuzzled his head on top of mine, hugging me back as lightly as possible. It was funny how just a few years ago, Karl would come into my room and beg me to hug him whenever he was having nightmares, and now he was so reluctant to hug me back.