The door clicked as it was unlocked from the outside. The sound made his senses wake up, suddenly alert. Her parting words rang in his ears as he waited in anticipation for the door to open.
"Don't wait up." She'd grinned, as she'd strolled out the door that evening. As always, her shiny curls were bouncy and her smile was bright and charming.
He had deliberately disobeyed that order. Not that it was really an order. Just a suggestion, something she'd felt she should say, just to prove how she was going to be out late and she was grown up and independent. He scoffed at her desire to act so mature, at 17, when he knew how immature and naive she truly was.
The door slowly creaked open. He kept his eyes on the TV, knowing that she was probably expecting him to be there even if she pretended to be surprised. The couch shifted as she sat down on the other side, propping her boot-clad feet up on the coffee table.
"Have fun?" He asked, without looking at her. He didn't need to, the way she'd looked when she'd left was already ingrained in his brain.
"I doubt it could compare to the fun you had, watching late night TV by yourself." She scoffed.
He looked over at her now. Her hair looked perfect and shiny as ever, even though it was messy now in a partier way; the eyeliner around her liquorice coloured eyes was smudged and her trendy clothes were wrinkled and a bit torn.
"It's 3 a.m., Alex." He pointed out the fact that they both knew the conversation was leading to.
Her eyes resorted to their sarcastic roll. "Very good Justin, you read the clock! Do you know how to tie your shoes too?" She asked condescendingly.
He captured her dark eyes in a glare with his blue ones. He was much too tired to deal with her sarcasm.
"If I hadn't told Mom and Dad that I would wait up for you, then one of them would be down here waiting and I think you know exactly how much trouble you would be in. You are three hours past your curfew, Alex! Where the hell where you?"
She flinched at his consistently rising tone and unusually harsh words, and he caught a little peek through the cool mask she had been wearing since she had walked through the door. He could tell she was upset. Alex was a troublemaker and rule bender, but it was unlike her to stay out that late without even calling.
She turned back to the bright TV screen quickly but he was sure her eyes looked a bit shiny.
"Look, I'm sorry I was out so late Justin. Thank you for covering for me. But I don't want to talk about where I was, okay?" She used a tone that was a weak imitation of her usual strength and sarcasm.
He sighed. She was still staring at the TV resolutely, her knees pulled up tightly to her chest.
"What happened?" He asked more softly, but still authoritatively. He knew he wouldn't get anything out of her if he didn't use his "big brother" voice.
The shiny tears migrated from her eyes to her cheeks, but she refused to sob or look away from the late night infomercial on the screen.
"What happened, Alex?" He asked more firmly. He slid closer to her on the couch and brushed the back of his hand across her damp, porcelain cheek.
She buried her face into her knees. "Justin, please." She mumbled her voice now thick with tears.
"Alex, you know I can't make it better if you don't tell me what's wrong." He whispered as he stroked her dark hair. She lifted her head, with a wistful grin matching his on her face, as they both remembered when Justin used to tell her that same thing when they were little and she got hurt.
"You can't kiss this one better, Justin. And you can't put a band-aid on it." She looked him right in the eyes, now, even though she was ashamed of her tears.
"Are you sure?" He asked as he put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to him. He kissed her forehead and then got up and disappeared in to the bathroom for a second, before reappearing with a pink band-aid in his hand. He slid off the packaging and then gently placed the band-aid on the left side of her chest, just above her tank top and her heart. Then he leaned down and kissed her there too.
"All better?" He asked, looking back up at her beautiful yet anguished face.
She laughed a teary laugh as she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him. When she pulled back, her eyes were gentle and fragile.
"Thanks for waiting up." She whispered softly before pressing her lips to his, because it was true that his kisses could make anything better.