"Jessica!" I heard from the kitchen as I was flipping through the channels on my tiny television. They were the same 10 channels over and over, but I was hoping something would change to something even mildly interesting.
"What?" I yelled back, keeping my eyes on the rapidly changing pictures. News, news, dolphins, mop commercial, news…
For one city they certainly had more than enough news channels, all covering the same old chaos.
"Do you want Mexican or pizza?" I heard Ellie shout, I dumped the remote and got up, no use getting a noise complaint from the neighbours for yelling, well not another one at least. I'm not looking to start a collection. When I reached the kitchen, Ellie was leafing through my compilation of various takeaways, taking out the ones she wanted.
"I wanted Italian. Are Mexican and pizza my only two options?" I asked as I walked over to the fridge, grabbing a cold beer. She gave me a disapproving look as I popped the cap and took a long satisfying sip. Even more satisfying by the eye roll she gave me.
"Well, those are the only two I want." She replied still flipping through my impressive collection of menus. Most have probably closed and been reopened by someone else. New management just meant a new menu, it would change again in a month. Nothing lasts too long here. Nothing that is good anyway.
"And we all must follow princess Ellie's wants." I dropped into a deep bow as Ellie shot me a glare.
"You should curtsey and you shouldn't drink beer." She replied turning up her little nose.
I just laughed as I kept sipping. "What have you got against my beer?" I asked, tempted to pull out another one just to rile her up. It's what big sisters are for after all. A role I took very seriously.
"Because they make you fat. Full of empty calories." She said, still flipping through the take out menus, totally oblivious to the irony of it. I just hummed in response, still sipping away.
"And they're not ladylike." She flipped her hair over her shoulder and I rolled my eyes so damn hard I thought they were going to fall out of my head.
"Ah yes because everyone knows I care so deeply about keeping up a feminine image." I snorted and I made my way back into the sitting room as I began thinking, I thought siblings were supposed to be alike. We couldn't be more different.
We could be the poster kids of chalk and cheese.
I slumped down on the couch and soon Ellie joined me, my phone and a menu in her hand. She quickly dialled the number and then mouthed 'Pizza' to me as she listened to the ringer. She rambled off her order and then passed the phone to me, slumping down and putting her head in my lap as I ordered a cheese pizza for myself and hung up.
Sighing as I chucked the phone down on the coffee table. I began raking my hands through Ellie's hair, mostly out of habit, it was still as silky as ever.
"I thought you had a date with Bruce?" I asked after a little silence, remembering her mentioning something about it the other day over coffee.
"He had to work." She said sadly, a sigh escaping her. "Something about the Joker or the Scarecrow or whoever, I wasn't really listening." I could practically hear her pouting.
Ellie had been dating Bruce for a few months now, and as soon as she found out that he was Batman, I knew the next day. She couldn't keep her mouth shut about it, but Bruce didn't have to worry about me, I didn't have anyone apart from Ellie to tell.
I wouldn't have put Ellie with either the playboy millionaire or the vigilante of Gotham. She was a fashion journalist and had been doing a piece on Bruce Wayne. I guess one thing led to another and they started dating. Soon she was over at his mansion every other night and her snooping led her to the 'Bat Cave'. After he told her and swore her to secrecy, she told me and then managed to keep it to herself. They were still going strong months later and I have no idea how.
But that's none of my business, she and he can date whomever they want to. But I will cut off a piece of Mr Wayne I'm sure he is very attached to (and will need if he wants to make little bat babies) if he hurts her. Another big sister role I take seriously.
"Well, I'm sure he'll make it up to you somehow." I said unable to hide my smile and sipping my beer to cover it.
"Damn right he will." She said giggling as he straightened herself on the couch. "For starters, he bought me these." She lifted up her feet showing me her new shoes, black with a tell-tale red bottom.
"What an expensive apology." I commented staring at the shoes wondering how something you put on your feet could be so expensive. Bet they could pay my rent for half a year or more.
"This isn't even the start." She said letting her feet back down and dangling over the arm of my sofa. "Look at how cute these pyjamas are." She said pointing to her, barely there, silk camisole and matching shorts.
I laughed as I brushed back her fringe.
"What pyjamas?" I asked which made her smile.
"Exactly!" She exclaimed as we collapsed into laughter.
She leaned over to the coffee table and poured herself some more wine. "Well, I'd rather be here with my sister anyway." She said clinking her glass with my beer bottle.
"Liar." I said which she only smiled at.
"I still get points for saying it." She said trying to sip her wine as she still laid in my lap.
I looked at my own nightwear as we sipped our respective drinks in silence, the only noise the television. I was wearing an old sports hoody and a pair of flannel sweat pants. Soft from years of wear and sporting more than a few stains and rips. Hardly as glamorous as Ellie but I'd wager much more comfortable. I was about to comment on that when I thought better of it. Let her have her fun. She'll probably only wear it to take some selfies in later and then 'borrow' something of mine.
For the longest time it had just been us two, just me and Ellie. Our parents weren't around much in our childhood. They were career people, they didn't want kids or plan on them. We just arrived by surprise, or as they liked to call us 'their life-changing accidents'. After Ellie, mum got her tubes tied tight, and dad had a vasectomy. They didn't want the kids they had, never mind any more. And they weren't taking chances on any more little accidents inconveniencing them.
I raised myself and then I raised Ellie. And they left us to it, doing the bare minimum, but caring enough to keep us alive. When they died in a car accident, it wasn't a big loss. We were lucky to see them once a week, losing our part-time parents didn't shake our world.
They at least had the good mind to leave us in comfort. We didn't want for much, with a bank account big enough to live on for the rest of our lives. But we didn't squander it, one thing Ellie and I agreed on, we weren't going to be like the big fat cats in Gotham or our parents.
We only bought what we needed, never spending too much on frivolous things. Of course, Ellie had no problem spending Bruce's money. She was like a kid in a candy store, except her taste turned to Gucci instead of gobstoppers. And in her words, they are gifts and don't count. And Bruce wasn't going to notice a couple of shopping trips on his black card.
We both had our own jobs, which we didn't need but we kept. I think we would both go crazy staying in the apartment all day.
I was a secretary at Wayne enterprise. Nothing too fancy but I enjoy it, I meet a lot of different people every day and I can keep an eye on Ellie when she comes for her 'important meetings' with Bruce.
No one is safe when Ellie sets her eyes on something. It's best to just get out of her way. And sometimes she manages to snag Bruce's business credit card and treat me to sushi. I wouldn't complain. I might save my money, but Bruce can buy us some uncooked fish every now and then. I was pulled from my thoughts when I heard a knock on the door.
"That was quick for a pizza." Ellie said hopping up off the sofa. I quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her back down as I got up.
"You stay there, you're barely bloody dressed." I scorned, my inner mother hen coming out in full force.
"I'm dating Bruce, that doesn't mean I'm a nun! Maybe we'll get it for free!" She yelled but stayed put, giggling as she flung a pillow in my direction. I dodged it with a laugh and grabbed my purse off the counter with a shake of my head and opened the door, still smiling.
"You guys are really serious about that fifteen minutes or less huh?" I asked opening my purse up to pay but when I looked up it wasn't the pizza boy I had been expecting. The smile faded from my face as I stood in frozen terror.
"Good evening." He said, blue eyes lifting upwards. "Is Ellie home?"