"David!" Alexis sang, flouncing through his bedroom door. "I'm home! Did you miss me?"

"Not even a little bit", he shot back, as she leapt onto the bed beside him. He set his book aside, propping himself up on his elbow. "How was Hong Kong?"

"Can you keep a secret?"

"I don't want to".

"Please, David? I need help". She turned her big blue eyes on him and he rolled his heavenward.

"What?"

She slipped off the bed, kicking her bedroom door shut, before climbing back up beside him. Her eyes darted around furiously and she lifted the back of her shirt, exposing a large, white bandage.

"What did you do?"

"Shhhh, David!"

He was absolutely certain that he knew the answer, but she was twelve years old. He was hoping that she'd simply injured herself, and not tattooed her lower back.

"What the fuck?" David roared, as he gently peeled back the bandage.

"Shhhh, David!"

"You're twelve years old!" he put his hands to his face, breathing deeply. "Oh! My! Fucking! God! Who did this to you?"

"Shhhh, David!"

"What were you thinking?" he continued, jabbing at her porcelain skin. "Who let you do this? You're twelve years old! Did they know you're twelve?"

"I need to put cream on it and stuff, to make sure it doesn't get gross- can you help, David?" she checked. "I can't see it properly, and I don't want it to get infected!"

"Good God". David let out a noisy breath.

"Calm down David".

"Do you even know what it says?"

"It says 'that's hot' in Cantonese".

She flipped over so she was laying on her stomach, her shirt pulled up to her rib cage. "Can you put some cream or something on it, David?"

He grabbed a tube of antiseptic cream from his bathroom, squeezing a glob onto his ring finger. "Fucking hell, Alexis". He winced slightly as she flinched, and he tried to apply the cream with a lighter touch. "Do Mum and Dad know?"

She laughed. A high pitched, hysterical laugh. "No. No they do not".

"There". He wiped his finger on a tissue, and she jumped off his bed, pulling her shirt down.

"Thanks David!"

"Where are you going now?"

"Packing!"

"For where?"

"Mum and I are going to London, David!"

His sister was born without an ounce of fear, which made sense, because David had enough for the both of them. She was the biggest pain in his ass… but he slept better knowing she was tucked into her bed, just down the hall, than galivanting around the world.

"She's twelve", he mumbled again.