We ate a lot more than just fries.
Although the fries were very delicious.
"This one time, Will and I stopped at McDonald's, and the woman who was taking our order had these extremely long, swirly fingernails, see, and Will kept making jokes about her nails for the next two weeks."
"What?"
"Yeah! And her nails were, like, bright purple and green, so Will kept saying they looked like snakes. I hate snakes. It was so gross!" Nico made a face.
This was the first time I had seen Nico di Angelo so... exuberant. And happy.
It made me especially happy when Nico calls me "sis."
Nico and I had stopped to eat at a McDonald's, but since it was drive-thru only, we parked in the parking lot and snacked from the bag.
We ended up buying a cheeseburger each, two large fries, an extra container of medium fries, a large order of chicken nuggets to share, a large Mountain Dew (for me), and a large Coke (for Nico).
The man who took our order was fed up by the time we finished ordering.
We wanted to get ice cream, but the worker said the ice cream machine was broken. It probably wasn't, really.
"How was she even allowed to work there, with those long nails?" I made a face.
"I have no idea." Nico and I laughed.
We didn't talk for another ten or so minutes, mainly because Nico was intensely eating his cheeseburger, and also because we had run out of things to talk about.
Almost.
"So, are we gonna talk about the party?" Nico finally said, slurping the last of his Coke. "I should have got a refill." he muttered.
He stared at me, intently waiting for an answer.
"I don't know." I finally said.
"What do you mean you don't know?"
"I just don't know." I stared in his eyes, intently.
"You did go to the party, didn't you?"
"Yeah."
"So why do you say you don't know?"
"I-"
"You are responsible for your actions, aren't you?"
I huffed. "I don't know! Stop yelling at me for my mistakes! I know that I did something wrong, but do you think I don't feel bad about it?"
I realized just now that I was screaming at my brother who just bought me McDonald's, and who saved my life twice already, but, still!
I also noticed now that my hands and arms were corssed over my face, the automatic movement I would do whenever my mother or brother was mad.
Nico seemed taken back.
Nico noticed my arms too. "Georgia, did something happen-"
"No!" I snapped, moving my arms down.
Nico was staring me down, looking for answers.
After about five minutes, I broke.
"M-my mother, she was always..." I stopped. "She was always... she was always getting drunk. She would never come home. Only my brother was there, sometimes."
The tears started to stream down.
"And, my older brother, when I left, was about your age, he vaped a lot." I said the word with disgust.
I knew what vaping could do to a kid, or adult. I had seen firsthand with my mother and brother, and I never, ever, wanted to live like that.
The tears were now flowing consciously.
"And, he usually gets angry after he vapes, and then he-" I hated talking about this. I knew I had to let it out of my soul.
More tears.
"He would just beat me up sometimes. Not bad, compared to what others go through, but, you know, but enough. He would punch me and throw me to the ground, or bruise me."
More tears.
I hated feeling like this. I felt like I did something wrong, talking about this, but I knew in my heart: I couldn't normalize my family's behavior anymore.
At this point, I was just crying buckets of tears to myself.
Nico stares blankly. I understood his astonishment. I felt guilty about it.
I waited for him to say something like "Oh my gods, I'm sorry," or "That must have been hard to go through."
I hoped he didn't. I didn't want anyone to sympathize with me. Or, for me.
Instead, he learned over and gave me a hug. A gentle hug, not a hug you would squeeze your best friend with, or (obviously) a romantic hug you would give your significant other, but a brotherly hug.
From my brother.
"I would never hurt you, Georgia. Ever. I swear on the River Styx." he said squeezing for effect.
Three months ago, I would have laughed if someone told me I'd be hugging my demigod half-brother in a Tesla, in a McDonald's parking lot, while traveling on a dangerous mission to save humanity (and, of course, the dead).
Right now, I would have smiled. Because, it was the perfect description of my life, right now.
I realized, just then, that I do have a brother. A good, non-abusive, drug-free, vape-free, kind and loving brother.
His name is Nico di Angelo.