An eerie silence came over us. It was hard to imagine that just a moment ago, although I'd never admit this aloud, my sister and I were having fun messing with each other. We both hung our heads in the presence of this deafening silence.
I took a look at my sister. She had gone completely still, like the life had been drained out of her body. I felt a hint of empathy for her, seeing how completely pathetic she looked. Still grasping the blanket with one of my hands, I lightly threw it at her.
She stumbled back slightly due to the impact and clutched the blanket tightly with both hands. She didn't need to say anything. That alone told me everything I needed to know about how she was feeling.
I swallowed down my own feelings, and put a soft smile on my face.
"If you keep living with a face like that, you'll become a wrinkly old lady before you know it. You're not gonna get a boyfriend like that, so stop."
She slowly looked up at me, still holding onto the blanket for dear life. But it looked like her skin had regained a little bit of its flush. She tried to put on a little smile of her own.
"Y- you don't have to tell me that! I know already…"
She said meekly, but it was better to put in some effort than none at all. Seeing my obnoxiously loud little sister get put into this state… It's something I always hate seeing.
I slowly lifted up my hand and flicked her on the forehead.
"Ow! What was that for?"
"Just felt like it."
I turned around and slowly left the room. Every step I took felt like wisps of ice tearing through my body. The heavy air remained, but I tried my best to alleviate it at least a little bit. If not for me, at the very least for her.
I made my way into my room and got changed with a heavy feeling still weighing on my heart. I made an attempt to distract myself by thinking about what clothes I should wear. I'm quite into fashion, if I do say so myself. Not to the extent that I wear exotic clothes with peacock feathers on them thinking I'm the most beautiful man alive, but enough where I'm not satisfied wearing one of those discount graphic t-shirts. I opened my closet and took out a large grey-white hoodie, baggy fit jeans, a light blue jacket, silver dangly cross earrings, and put it all on.
I exited my room and made my way downstairs. Each step I took, I felt the atmosphere growing heavier and heavier. But at the same time, I also grew more and more indifferent. I made my way to the bottom of the stairs and put on a relaxed smile.
There, I could see my Dad was doing his daily morning stretches. For someone so small, he took up an annoying amount of space when doing these stretches. I looked towards the kitchen and saw that my Mom was making him breakfast. She usually only makes breakfast for him because both my sister and I don't eat breakfast.
Once my Dad noticed me, he stopped what he was doing and stared at me with a beaming smile on his face. I don't like being stared at.
"What are you looking at, old man?"
"Hihihihihi, I am only 47 years old. I am not old yet."
He said with quite a heavy accent. My parents are immigrants, so they are not too fluent in English. And when they do speak it, they struggle to say the words cohesively. It's honestly kind of funny and… cute? At least, that's the wording my sister uses.
"There are some cakes in the fridge if you want some."
I have a little bit of a sweet tooth. So the moment I heard that, I made my way to the fridge, grabbed a piece of the cake and a fork, and made my way to the table. I sat where I usually do, which is the very bottom corner of the table. My Dad took his usual seat next to me.
"So, was everything all right up there? You didn't bother your sister too much, did you?"
"You don't have to keep doting on her, she's 15 years old now. She can handle herself."
"Of course I will spoil my daughter. She's my daughter!"
"You don't have to rub it in that you love her more than me. I already know that."
My Dad made a face that looked like he was quite hurt by what I said, but quickly started his obnoxiously loud cackling like he usually does. If I didn't know any better, I'd think a coyote was nearby. It's infuriating how contagious that laughter is. Any poker face alive wouldn't be able to stand strong in the presence of that laugh.
"I never say that. I love you both the same!"
"Yeah yeah, whatever."
By the time we finished talking, my Mom had just finished preparing Dad's breakfast. She briskly made her way to the table and set it down for him. After giving her a quick thank you and a kiss on the cheek, he started eating. I ate my cake in the following silence that ensued.