If life were perfect, broken things wouldn't be difficult to piece back together.
But life was nowhere near perfect.
Broken things never did get pieced back together as they once were.
Luke may have apologized, he may have meant it to some degree, but that didn't mean things would be mended between the two of them. Regardless of what he might believe, a simple apology-if it was truly sincere-did not undo the years worth of torment he'd inflicted on Ravi. The harsh words that pierced him, made him feel inadequate, unworthy.
A flicker of something surged through him. He's your brother, that voice came back, reproachful like a mother wagging her finger at her naughty children.
And he knew. He knew that; knew that he ought to be grateful for the very fact Luke was there alive for him to even be at odds with. Down within his soul he was. But then elsewhere, there was a deep throb of fury he couldn't shake off. It threatened to overwhelm him, bury him in the abyss of emotions that seemed to constantly trail behind him like a lost dog.
/
"Hey, bro," Came Luke's over the top greeting the next morning. It made their sisters halt in what they were doing, eyes flickering from Luke over to Ravi at where he stood in the doorway that led into the kitchen. "Did you want a waffle? There's plenty left."
Ravi didn't feel hungry at all. It wasn't due to nerves. He simply had no appetite. But he also didn't want Luke making a fuss. Would he make a fuss? Ravi didn't know and he didn't want to find out. Wordlessly, he dropped a single waffle on a plate, grabbing hold of some juice as well. He felt Zuri's eyes on him, just waiting until she made some kind of remark.
"Uuuh, what's going on?" Zuri said.
"Yeah," Emma added, her gaze on Luke, "you're acting weird. More so than usual."
Zuri nodded.
"Nothing," Luke denied.
"Mhm," Zuri was obviously unconvinced.
"Seriously," Luke insisted. "Nothing's up. You're the one being all suspicious."
Ravi wanted to bang his head on the table.
/
Luke trailed behind Ravi like a lost puppy on their way to school. Zuri had given them another look, like she was trying to figure out what was going on. Quite frankly, Ravi didn't even understand it himself. It didn't even matter at this point. His only concern was getting to school so they could begin the day and get it over with as soon as possible. He tried to ignore the way it felt like Luke's eyes were boring into his back. Was he staring at Ravi the whole time?
Eventually, Zuri went her separate ways to her own school, leaving the two of them to hike up the stairs to the front entrance. And naturally, due to her impeccable awful timing, Shelby appeared out of nowhere, loudly greeting Ravi. Her hair was swaying from the wind, legs working overtime to catch up to them. Worst of all, Luke didn't go anywhere. Ravi expected him to go off to find his friends but that never happened. No, he was standing there awkwardly as if he was waiting on being introduced.
Right.
Like he was going to do that.
"Hi!" Shelby beamed.
No, no, no
Why?
Whyyyy?
"Hey," Luke said.
Ravi watched this in horror. This is what nightmares were made of.
What is he doing?
Obviously he's talking to Shelby?
But why? He has no reason to
He obviously feels bad
I doubt it
Of course you do
He's tormented me for years, made countless remarks at my expense and I'm expected to believe he suddenly cares about me now that he found out what Mitch did? Right
You could give him a chance
Or I could not
"I'm Shelby," She said, sticking out her hand. Luke only had his hand out halfway when she shook it quite roughly. "You're Ravi's brother, right? I think I remember seeing you! You're older, I think. Are you a senior? Oh, I can't wait to be a senior! Do you know what you're going to do after you graduate? I haven't decided yet. I have no so many ideas. Everything sounds so fun. I dunno how I'm going to pick just one thing. That's so hard, right?"
Luke blinked, his eyes going sideways to look at Ravi, who stood there unfazed. He'd gotten used to her ramblings and could mostly block out all the unnecessary words. "Uhhh...right."
She giggled. "You're funny."
"...Thanks?"
Ravi didn't want this to go on for any longer. "We should get inside," He said, keeping a firm look on Shelby. "We don't want to be late."
"We still have twenty minutes," She chirped, unaware she was making this situation worse.
"Yes," He ground out, "but you wanted help on your math assignment, remember?"
Her nose scrunched up. He hoped she would see the subtle plea in his eyes and play along. This one time, he needed her to.
But of course, it didn't happen.
Of course.
"No, I don't," She said, shaking her head. "I finished it already."
He gave a dirty look, feeling betrayed.
"Do you wanna come sit with us before class starts?" Shelby asked Luke. "It'd be so fun! You could tell me funny stories about Ravi!"
Luke laughed...in a nervous way. He rubbed the back of his neck. Ravi hadn't seen him like this before and immediately, a feeling of suspicion arose within him. He couldn't help it. Not after years of dealing with him. "Actually, I should go."
Ravi felt relieved.
Shelby didn't share that feeling. "Aw, really? Are you sure? I bet Ravi wants you to stay!"
No Ravi does not
"I'm sure," Luke's smile was tight. He coughed, clearing his throat and slid past Ravi. "Uh, see ya br-Ravi."
Bro.
He'd almost called Ravi bro.
Such a nickname invoked a flare of irritation. The muscles around his mouth tightened as he fought not to say something he'd likely regret.
"Biiiig mistake, little bro."
"Bye!" Shelby called out to Luke as he left. "See you later!" She turned to Ravi and gushed, "He's so nice!"
Ravi's brain short circuited. "What?" He said, blinking stupidly.
She said Luke was nice?
What planet is she on?
What universe is she in?
"Nice," He repeated slowly, like he thought she'd lost her mind. "You think he's nice?"
"Yeah!"
I assure you that you wouldn't be saying that if you lived with him
But it's funny, isn't it? Even Shelby isn't' immune to Luke's charms
He doesn't have an charms
Oh, but he does. In fact, it wouldn't be too outrageous to think she might end up with a crush on him
A crush.
On Luke.
Could she? Zuri has had friends that giggled and blushed whenever Luke entered the room. Ravi knew that because he'd witnessed it. Naturally, it was never the same for him. But that wasn't the point right now. He really, really didn't want to think of Shelby giggling and blushing at the sight of Luke. It just seemed...wrong.
And he didn't know why it bothered him so much.
/
"You're quiet," Shelby observed, popping a chip in her mouth. "How come?"
"It's nothing," Ravi was mulling over the talk he and Luke had, in addition to what happened this morning. He stared down at his food with little interest. He shrugged.
"You're lying," She said and kicked his foot with hers. "You looked like you wanted to punch your brother earlier."
I wouldn't be opposed to it
"It's nothing."
"You can't keep saying it's nothing," She told him, her crunching sounding as though it were right next to his ear.
Watch me
"It's definitely something."
"It's nothing important," Ravi let out a sigh.
"It is if it's bothering you," She insisted. "You're upset. I can tell. You should talk about it. It'll make you feel better."
I doubt it
"It's just Luke," he grumbled, remembering their conversation. "He...he tried to apologize."
A wide smile came over her face. "That's great!"
No it isn't!
"No it isn't because he wasn't being sincere," Ravi said, scowling.
"How do you know?" Shelby said.
"Because..." he struggled for a moment. "Because it's Luke. He never cares about anyone else."
"I think he cares about you," Shelby disagreed. "You can tell. He probably wants to fix things now. You should let him."
He stared at her incredulously. "After everything he's done? Absolutely not."
"Why?"
'Why'
She's asking why
How can she even ask that?
"Because he doesn't deserve it!" He exclaimed, though the lunchroom was loud enough that he wasn't heard by anyone else. "I've dealt with him tasing and making fun of me for years. I'm not about to act like it's all okay now."
"Of course not," She tried to be soothing. Which she wasn't. It only irritated him more. "But you should forgive him."
What part of he doesn't deserve it is she not comprehending?
"No," He said shortly.
"Why?" She repeated.
"What do you mean why? I've already told you!"
"Then don't do it for him," She said simply. "Do it for you."
"For me?" He raised his eyebrows.
"Yeah," She nodded. "You're pretty upset by it. You can't be mad at him forever. You shouldn't be. You should learn to let it go and move on."
It's so easy for her to say
She's not the one going through it
She shifted. "My dad told me that. He said you should forgive them so they don't have that power over you."
That sounds logical
I suppose
Of course it is. But you'll be stubborn and let them have power over you because you can't let anything go
"Even when they don't deserve it?" He challenged.
"Yeah," She said without any hesitation.
He scoffed. "I don't think so."
"I know you don't, but you should."
Ravi rubbed his hands along this face. They were getting nowhere on this topic. Andhe really didn't want to talk about it anymore. It was just aggravating him, thinking of Luke and how he felt he deserved to be forgiven like he'd done nothing wrong at all!
The audacity of him...
"What are you doing for Thanksgiving?" Shelby seemed to have realized that. Or her brain had settled on something else anyway. "Do you have family coming over? We aren't. It's just gonna be the four of us. Oooh, what's your favorite food? I have lots; I love the mashed potatoes and rolls and gravy and the dessert! Can you believe it's November already? Soon it'll be Christmas and then New Years and then Valentines Day and then Easter and then summer will come and I'm super excited for summer. Are you?"
It was quite unfortunate that Thanksgiving and subsequently Christmas soon after would be upon them. Purely because it meant he would be stuck in the penthouse with no way to escape. School wasn't a preferred place to be but at least it got him out of the house. Jessie would insist on them staying indoors or if they did go out, she'd want them all to be together so they could celebrate as a family. She'd tried doing that last year; Ravi recalled with annoyance how she forced him to come out of his bedroom. He sat as far away from the rest of them as she would allow, opening up his gifts with not a single smile in sight.
This year would likely be a repeat performance.
He shrugged.
"You're not excited?"
No
I have no reason to be
"No," he said.
"Why?" She asked with childlike innocence. Then, she added, "Do you wanna come over to my house for Thanksgiving and Christmas? I'm sure my parents will let you."
What?
She's not serious
She can't be
"Wouldn't you rather be with your family?" He shifted uncomfortably.
"I don't mind!" She said brightly.
See, she doesn't mind
I heard her
"I don't want you to be sad."
Well, it doesn't matter
I won't be allowed out anyway
How interesting
What?
You sound like you want to go
I don't! I'm merely saying I know I wouldn't be able to anyway
Sure
"I'll be fine," Ravi said. "I won't be allowed to anyway."
"Awww."
"But, erm, thank you for the offer," Ravi's smile came out strained.
"Of course!" She reached across the table, salt stuck to her fingertips, giving him a firm squeeze on his arm. "We're besties."
"Yes, yes," Ravi said, now that he thought about it. "I suppose we are."
She beamed.
Sorry it's so short. We'll have 1 or 2 more chapters before we have a Thanksgiving themed on
