Page 6 of The Other Brother

Ah. That’s the Frank I was expecting.

“Yeah, they know.” I can’t help twisting the knife a little. “They trust me to be responsible.”

Frank’s face sours. He and Heather were way stricter about stuff like parties for Mel and Kate than my mum and dad. It was a major source of arguments when they were teenagers.

But given I’ve just delivered his baby boy home almost comatose while I’m sitting here relatively sober, I’m guessing there’s not much wind propping up his sails right now.

He pulls up in front of our house.

“Thanks for the ride.” I unclip my seat belt.

“Say hi to your parents.”

It’s hilarious how they do this. Act like things are normal and civilized between them all. Like we’ve never witnessed the hissed conversations that happen when they’re together, the yelling on the phone, Mel and Kate’s tears when they’ve been caught in the middle of whatever the current battleground is.

“Sure thing.” I get out of the car.

He winds down the window to call after me. “Ryan?”

I thrust my hands into my jacket as I turn back to face him.

“Thanks for looking after Cody tonight,” he says. His expression is so like Kate’s when she’s forced to do something she doesn’t want to do that it almost makes me laugh.

“It was no problem,” I reply.

* * *

The next morning,I’m lying on my bed ignoring the English assignment sitting on my desk that’s due Monday when my phone beeps.

hey, Mel gave me your number. thanks for getting me home last night. Cody.

I stare at the message for a second. Then pick up my phone to type my reply.

no problem how much shit you in today

My phone beeps immediately with his reply.

shit is rating high on the shit-o-meter.

I bite down a grin. Suppressing my smile is overkill given no one is watching me, but I never want to give Cody the satisfaction of laughing at his jokes. He’s got this dry sense of humor that comes out when you least expect it. But being the funny one is one of the few things I’ve ever had over him, and I refuse to relinquish ground on that front.

tried to smuggle you in but your mum caught me

no worries appreciate you tried

I stretch back on my pillow and think about Cody. About all the random stuff I know about him. He was obsessed with dinosaurs, LEGO, and Star Wars when he was a kid. He loves cornflakes with sugar sprinkled on top. He’s great at Battleship but hates Monopoly. He always picks raisins out of anything. I’ve seen him remove every single raisin out of a slice of fruitcake. For the record, there’s not much left behind from fruitcake once you’ve taken those nuggets of grapey goodness out.

He’s not my friend, has never been my friend, yet thanks to my sisters and the time I’ve spent with him over the years, I know more random stuff about him than I know about all my friends combined.

I grab my phone and stare at his unfamiliar number. Then I save it under my contacts. Just in case.

* * *

Two weeks later,I see Cody again at Mel’s flute showcase.

This is when we normally see each other. Birthdays. Graduations. Concerts. Our sisters are overachievers like him, so our parents dragged us to lots of celebrations over the years.

He sits with Frank and Heather two rows in front of me, so all I can see of him are his dark curly hair and tan neck. He seems intent on listening to the music, while I’m having to pinch my thigh to stay awake. Flutes must be the most boring instruments on the planet. There’s a reason all those Indian snake charmers use a flute-like instrument to put serpents to sleep.