Glass Houses [Closed] - Printable Version
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RE: Glass Houses [Closed] - saronym - 10-17-2017
His continued interactions with Julianna kept producing further waves of relief that washed over him. Relief that she would even entertain speaking with him. Relief that she had believed the story. Relief now that she would consider, perhaps, starting - re-starting - life with him. He was easily reassured in the way she responded to his touch. With an eagerness that made him feel guilty at having left her without his affection for so long. He cocked his head curious at the brief fall of her ears. Just what wasn’t she sure about, he wondered. Him? Whether she was making the right choice. Perhaps she regretted already agreeing to take this trip with him. She doubled down, offering to work on things further with him as they traveled.
Owen nodded gently. “Of course.” He agreed. His hand extended towards her when she took a little step closer to him. He curled his fingers protectively around the back of her neck encouraging her to move even closer to him if she wished to. It was easy for him to recognize neediness in her. His hand released her neck and moved to pet at the back of her head affectionately. With each pass his hand moved up farther towards the crown of her head until his fingers brushed the back of her ears before moving down her hair.
“I have time.” He reassured her that he wasn’t going anywhere. “All the time in the world.”
Cain was suddenly brought into a conversation he had been doing his damndest to ignore. His ears briefly flattened against his head before he looked up from his phone that he was trying to occupy himself with. He had been live texting Akiko the situation at the house. He was left wishing she was there.>so my parents slept together last night?
>they are being like themselves with each other
>it’s weird
>but also. They are getting back together I think?
>and my dad is seriously wanting to move to the isles?
>which is weird
>anita stormed out. Shocker.
>it’s crazy here.
Gazing up from his phone, Cain’s eyes watched his father’s hand steadily petting his mother. He blinked almost disapprovingly at the display wondering why she let him do that. Somewhere deep inside he was curious about it. He always had been. Not that he would ever admit that.
“Sure. Yeah I’ll talk to her.” He agreed managing to sound put out by the simple request.
It was settled.
RE: Glass Houses [Closed] - megs - 10-18-2017
Akiko looked down at her phone buzzing on the edge of the sink. Brow furrowed, having no idea who was texting her already. She left her toothbrush dangling in her mouth and reached for the device. Upon seeing Cain’s name she almost chose to ignore the messages, but the phone kept buzzing, and lighting up. She watched the number climb, holding the phone in one hand and resuming brushing her teeth.
>Cain 1 iMessage
>Cain 2 iMessages
>Cain 3 iMessages
>Cain 4 iMessages
He seemed to finally stop at eight messages. Eight messages that she could only assume were stream of consciousness complaints brought on by the fact the his younger sister and his parents were at his house. She wasn’t so foolish as to think he was already sending her lengthy apologies and begging her to come home. Curiosity got the best of her and she read the messages when she finished brushing.
She scoffed at the text. Nothing read out of the ordinary to her. Akiko have never understood Cain’s constant need to whine.
>None of that sounds weird. Isn’t it good that your parents seem okay? And Anita always leaves. Why are you complaining?
She worried that her response may have been too harsh, but she thought it was selfish of Cain to not be happy for his parents.
Anita breezed back into Cain’s House well after she knew her parents had left. She’d had every intention of returning and she knew it was childish to wait until they were gone. She felt like she had every right to be angry with Owen. Already wanting to leave when she had just got him back. Saying that she should drop everything and go with them. Anita often fooled herself into thinking she had roots places.
“Caaain?” Leaning on the stairwell she called up to the second floor when she didn’t find her brother in the kitchen. Tail, twitching she turned to check the garage. Swinging the door open, she all but fell into the space of the garage. She was grinning, eyes hidden as always.
“How was breakfast?” She teased him. Knowing that it was likely awkward with the way she had stormed out.
RE: Glass Houses [Closed] - saronym - 10-30-2017
> You’re right.Cain didn’t say anything more than that back to Akiko. It was essentially a conversation ender. The way she had put him in his place. The way she hadn’t entertained any of his unnecessary complaining opened a new pit deep inside him.
He felt sick. Nauseous.
Paranoid now that she had gotten over him. Was her snappy response a sign that she no longer wanted to deal with him anymore? She didn't care. She wasn't interested. She was moving on.
Cain turned off his phone and shoved it under his pillow and closed the door to his bedroom and hid himself away in the garage. He felt immature hiding from his phone like that but he knew that if he kept it on him he would obsessively look for new messages, read over their old conversations, and ruminate.
His rumination couldn’t be helped but at least he wasn’t pitifully stalking her social media.
He was pathetic.
Cain was lounged in a bean bag chair staring at an open graphic novel on his knees. He hadn’t turned a page in half an hour. An ashtray off to the side of the chair held a cigarette that burned only half forgotten by the depressed catboy. He heard Anita return and call his name but didn’t bother answering her. She would find him eventually. He perked up some and turned the page when she pushed open the door, trying to appear perfectly fine. He wasn’t suffering and damning himself. Not at all. Perfectly fine; just reading comics. Alone.
His tail twitched skirting across the floor next to him. “It was delicious.” He responded sarcastically. “Mom and dad are gone so you’re safe from being all in your feelings now.” He teased her back before snapping his book closed and dropping it on the floor.
“Look.” He said somewhat seriously, his ears fell against his head briefly before perking up again as he gained his confidence. He felt the need to carry out his mother’s instructions to speak with Anita. “Whatever you said to dad this morning...I think...I think you really hurt his feelings. He’s pretty...fucked up. And maybe you should, you know, do something about it?” Cain shrugged as if he had no ideas as to how she should fix things. “You know you’re his favorite, so stop being all weird.”
RE: Glass Houses [Closed] - megs - 11-04-2017
Anita’s tail twitched as the book Cain had been pretending to occupy himself with was closed noisily. Her grin immediately faded. Disappearing into a straight, neon green painted line across her face. Her lipstick matched her nails. Bright green adorned fresh acrylic nails that had been shaped into points, making it obvious what she had spent her time doing while she avoided the fight she had started. She watched Cain’s ears fall from behind her sunglasses. Always the darkest tint so she could get away with anything. She knew she wouldn’t like what he was going to say next. Stepping into the garage, she did not act like she was listening even though she was. The door was shut silently behind her, and slow steps brought her across the concrete floor to where her brother was seated. She stood over him as he lectured her, and she wondered if these were his own words or some version of their mothers.
A silence fell between them when he stopped talking. She blinked slowly at him, even though he couldn’t see it. “It’s fine,” she muttered, lips barely move enough to form the words. “Even if I was his favorite, he’ll have a new one as soon as he meets, Nic, right?” It wasn’t that Anita harbored any ill will or jealousy towards her youngest brother. She just knew it was hard to compete with a perfect ten-year-old when you were a twenty-year-old peice of shit.
“I’m hungry.” She complained. As if he hadn’t said anything at all. As if she hadn’t deliberately skipped out on breakfast.
RE: Glass Houses [Closed] - saronym - 11-22-2017
Cain’s lips pursed much the same way hers did. It was like they were siblings or something. People with similar genes. He couldn’t disagree that their sweet little brother would soon capture their father’s heart. Perhaps he would be the perfect son their father had always wanted. “No kidding.” He agreed and then smirked at her. “That’s what you got me for, right? I’ll always like you even though you’re the shittiest.”
Cain was tired of looking at his own reflection in her glasses and snatched them off her face with cat like speed. He tossed them down onto the beanbag chair he had just abandoned. “Take this shit off.” He said sounding almost like Owen did for a second. “No smoking in my house and no fucking sunglasses.”
He threw a constricting arm around her neck and tugged his little sister towards the doorway. “I could eat.” He said without feeling at all hungry after the hearty breakfast he’d had. But he could certainly go for some food. He had a huge hole in his life he could try to fill with the temporary pleasure of eating unnecessarily.
"Get on Yelp or whatever and see what you wanna fuckin' eat."
RE: Glass Houses [Closed] - megs - 12-28-2017
Tail twitching quickly in an irritated manner behind her back, Anita frowned at Cain. Eyes darted between him and where he had tossed her glasses. She could have easily batted his hand, but had decided against it. He could have his way for now. She could always just put a different pair on later. Her purse was full of them. “I want crepes,” Anita said, without missing a beat. She had been thinking about them all morning. Having seen her mother in the kitchen for that brief moment, had summoned a wave of warm memories to crash over her. Anita loved her mother crepes, and even though the diner downtown was good, she knew it wouldn’t compare, but maybe it would settle the nostalgic feelings that she didn’t want to deal with.
Crossing her arms over her chest, she continued to frown. Titling her chin upwards to the taller sibling so he could really get a good look at it. “You’re not wearing that,” she said, very matter-of-fact. At some point during her absence he had donned one of those awful beanies that he used to hide his ears. His t-shirt was wrinkled and his jeans had definitely seen better days. “Put something decent on,” she demanded. “And lose the fucking hat. We can get breakfast and go look at sad dogs or whatever it is you do in your free time now, but I want to be at a cafe in the historic district by six.”
RE: Glass Houses [Closed] - saronym - 01-06-2018
“Fine!” He said immediately after she demanded crepes. The word flew out of his mouth and his hands gestured all too much like his father. He was painfully aware the moment after he had done it that he was imitating his dad.“Let’s go then.”
But she wasn’t satisfied with his outfit apparently. Cain stared down at himself looking exasperated with his sister’s disapproving assessment of his appearance. He was too tired of arguing to even protest to her demands. He snatched the hat off his head and twisted the knitted fabric in his hands self-consciously. He knew how his sister felt about the way he hid his ears. Maybe she felt that it said something about them both, about their mother, about their heritage.
He rolled his eyes and wordlessly turned away from his sister. He marched himself to his room, his steps sounding on the verge of tantrum stomping. He stood staring with a blank expression at his closet feeling no inspiration. He had to choose an outfit she would tolerate and that would fit with the milieu of the historic district she was so adamant about visiting that evening. Just because Anita said he needed to be presentable didn’t mean he had to wear color.
So he didn’t.
He wore a short sleeve white button down, tight black jeans, and black loafers. He unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt to display a gold necklace with a pendant of a little bird with a rose in its mouth. A gift from his mother that had some symbolic meaning to his father’s side of his heritage but he’d long forgotten what it was. It just looked kind of cool.
When Cain found his sister again, lounging in his living room on the couch, he spread his arms and turned around once. “Tada.” His voice dripped with sarcasm. “Am I allowed to be seen in public with you now?”
RE: Glass Houses [Closed] - megs - 01-07-2018
Anita played on her phone while she waited, impatiently, for her brother in the living room. This agitation with his delayed routine was noted by her twitching tail and her calling out for him to ‘hurry the fuck up.’ Thundering steps on the stairs drew her attention to the landing, just as Cain appeared at the bottom of the steps. “‘Bout fuckin’ time,” she complained, shoving her phone back in her purse and standing. She threw the strap of the bag over her shoulder and moved towards him. She rolled her eyes as she walked by, without really giving his outfit choice much consideration. Anita didn’t want him to look good for her, anyway. She could have tried to be a bit more sympathetic to Cain’s situation and the fact that he was practically doing everything that she asked. But Cain had a habit of latching onto sympathy in such a way that it only propelled his shittiness.
“Yeah, you look great. I’m starving.” As they walked out of the house, Anita put on another pair of sunglasses as she moved towards the Mustang parked in the street. She chose a pair with lenses that were a purple gradient that dulled the sunlight, but didn’t hide her eyes. She could compromise when she wanted to.
When the were both settled in the car, Anita dropped her bag on the floor and turned her head to observe Cain in profile when she said, “did you remember mom’s birthday on Tuesday?”
RE: Glass Houses [Closed] - saronym - 01-07-2018
The lack of genuine enthusiasm for his appearance in Anita’s voice made Cain’s arms fall with a dull thud against his sides. “Whatever.” He muttered as he followed her out of the house. He instinctively reached for the hat hanging on a peg by the doorway. It matched his outfit. He forced himself to release the rim of the hat and leave it behind. He would play nice with his sister even if she bent the rules with her stupid purple glasses. The keys dangled from the ignition forgotten for a brief moment as dread swept over him when Anita mentioned their mother’s birthday. He gazed over at her, frowning. “Wait. Was it this coming Tuesday, or last Tuesday?”
It wasn’t a question of whether Cain would have remembered his mother’s birthday under ordinary circumstances. Akiko would have reminded him. That’s how that would have gone. She would have marked it on the calendar and reminded him repeatedly about it until he did something about the fact that his mother turned another year older. Maybe Akiko had already marked it on the calendar, but he wasn’t even sure it was turned to the right month.
He sighed and scrubbed his hand through his hair. “I don’t even know what day it is. I’m kind of fucked up about Akiko right now, okay? Not to mention dad. Everything is so fucking fucked.” He admitted this prematurely to stave off any excessive reaction from Anita. And while that was true, it perhaps wasn’t a good enough excuse for neglecting their mother.
Cain cranked the car and backed out of the driveway. “Did you remember mom’s birthday?” He demanded as they cruised down the neighborhood side street which would dump them out onto the main road that would take them into town.
RE: Glass Houses [Closed] - megs - 01-07-2018
Muttering something derogatory towards her brother under her breath, Anita leaned back in the passenger seat and kicked her Converse covered feet up on the dash, knowing full well that Cain hated it when she did that. “It was last Tuesday,” she confirmed, rolling down the window. She pulled her cigarettes out of her jacket pocket and lit one. “You’re overreacting,” was her response to his claims that everything was fucked. “You need to get your shit together and quick if you’re going to get your girl back.” She took a long drag of the cigarette before blowing smoke at him. It quickly disappeared out of her open window. “This who clueless wreck thing you have going on isn’t cute and it probably part of the reason she left you.”
Anita smirked at Cain and it glittered in her dual-colored eyes, even behind the sunglasses. “Yes, as a matter of fact I did remember.” She dropped her feet off the dash to retrieve her phone again. “We went to lunch.” She unlocked the device and tapped through a few screens until she pulled up a picture. It was of her and Julianna together, looking nice at a fancy restaurant. “It’s not everyday your mother turns 300. She asked about you a lot.”
RE: Glass Houses [Closed] - saronym - 01-07-2018
Cain’s ears pinned to his head. It was guilt from being told that his mom had been inquiring about him. Of course she did. She always did. And then there was Anita and her looking close. They looked so alike. Well dressed and even smiling together. He forced his eyes straight ahead. “Since when is mom 300 years old?” He demanded, sounding stupid and out of touch with his own family. They pulled up to a red light and he frowned at Anita.
“How old is dad then? Wasn’t he like fourty or something like that?”
It was as if Cain had never paid any attention to anything either of his parents had said. He actually didn’t mind the conversation about their parents. It spared him having to talk about Akiko and ‘getting his shit together’. That subject was much harder for him.
He swatted Anita on the knee before he took off again when the light turned green. “And why didn’t you invite me to dinner with mom. You’re such a bitch.”
They neared the restaurant that Anita had demanded crepes from and Cain whipped the Mustang into a spot. When he killed the rumbling engine it seemed for a moment eerily quiet. “I’ll call mom and make it up to her or something.” He promised as he shoved open his door and exited the car. He didn’t wait for his sister before he headed into the restaurant.
RE: Glass Houses [Closed] - megs - 01-08-2018
Anita tapped through a few more pictures on her phone, tail swaying idly over the edge of the seat. Her long acrylic nails made an audible noise when they came in contact with the glass screen. “What do you mean ‘since when?’” There was clear disgust in her tone. “Since 300 years ago, I would assume.” He asked about their father and she put her phone done with a huff, and turned in her seat to look at him. She looked very disappointed. “If you count being dead he’s like...fifty-two? Not that it matters, because of the ridiculous age gap between them?” In a delayed reaction she moved her knee out of he reach. Swatting at his retreating hand with her own. “I didn’t invite you because I didn’t want your mopey ass ruining our nice dinner.” She explained without missing a beat.
As she stepped out of the car she could be heard mocking his response in a high-pitched sort of whine. Apparently, his little sister didn’t think that a phone call would be good enough. “Goddess, you are so fucking useless.” She complained. “Even your girlfriend managed to spend some time with mom for her birthday.”
Pushing her sunglasses into her hair Anita stalked off towards the diner. She chose a worn out booth by a big window and ordered a cappuccino and an ice water.
RE: Glass Houses [Closed] - saronym - 01-11-2018
Cain was left standing stupidly at the door with his hands by his sides as Anita moved ahead of him to pick out their seat. He could feel his own mouth hanging open. The fact of his uselessness was dawning on him after repeated insult by his sister. A wandering waiter passed by him and paused to tell him he could pick his own seat not knowing that he was with Anita since she was already sitting down. “I know.” He said to aggressively to the waiter before moving towards his sister. He dumped himself into the seat across from her and stewed before ordering the same drinks as her. “I’ll just have the same.” He muttered at the waiter.
He stared blankly at the menu. He wasn’t feeling terribly hungry since he’d actually eaten the breakfast their mother had cooked that morning.
He slammed the menu closed, bothered by the last thing Anita had told him. “What do you mean Akiko saw mom for her birthday?” Even in their little breakup, Akiko was still dedicating time and energy to his family. He felt a pang of guilt surge through him that made him feel homesick for her. It also bothered him that he felt the time for acknowledging his mother's birthday had passed given that now she was running off with their father to do God knows what in the Isles. And he was left feeling like the bad guy in all of this.
RE: Glass Houses [Closed] - megs - 01-14-2018
She was only looking at the menu for something to do while she waited for her coffee. She hadn’t bothered to remove her sunglasses, and her eyes moved lazily across the printed text without absorbing the information. Anita already knew what she wanted. Same thing as always. Her food preferences were predictable. When Cain’s menu slapped against the table, her eyes darted over the edge of hers to consider him curiously. As if she didn’t know what she could have sat that had upset him. As if she hadn’t been saying mostly upsetting things since she’d gone back to his apartment to retrieve him. Her lips pursed briefly before she spoke. “Exactly what I said? Akiko took mom to the botanical garden on Monday. They do a cute little tea service thing in the butterfly garden. You apparently have to book reservations for it, like, months in advanced. Mom said she had a good time.”
When the waiter returned with their drinks, she ordered two crepes filled with sweet mascarpone and topped with peaches and honey. As well of an order of scrambled eggs and sausage links. After handing over her menu she loaded her coffee with cream and sugar and took a tentative sip.
“Why do you look so pissed off? I said we could go look at sad dogs after this.” She said this like she was completely unaware that mentioning Akiko could have left him in a sour mood.
RE: Glass Houses [Closed] - saronym - 02-18-2018
Cain had dumped his face into his hand while Anita described the very sweet birthday gift his girlfriend had thoughtfully organized for his mother. He was slouched in the booth looking miserable. One side of his face was being pushed up by the hand his cheek rested on. Grey eyes rolled when Anita asked him what his problem was. She very well knew. “Nothing. Forget it.” He mumbled as his hand slapped dramatically on the table. His ears were basically permanently pinned back. The guilt of having forgotten his mother’s birthday. The shame of having lost his girlfriend. It all kept his ears flat against his curls.
The waitress seemed somewhat put off by the toxic negative energy emanating from the two of them. She seemed keen on dumping the food off and leaving but Cain called her back.
“Can I get like a piece of chocolate pie or something?” He basically whined his request at her. His choice in food was also predictable. He’d certainly inherited his father’s sweet tooth. But unlike dad, Cain usually limited his sweets to beverages. The pie was a special occasion. Special chocolate misery pie.
“I look at sad dogs all day at work.” He complained even though they both knew Cain was always down for looking at sad dogs.
When Cain had chocolate pie in front of him, he perked up some as he shoved a bite in his mouth. “So, you seeing anybody or...?” He asked around a bite of pie. “Or are you destined to be perpetually single? I could hook you up with someone at my work.” Cain shook his head. "Nah nevermind. That would be a waste of time. You're just gonna end up in the isles with mom and dad anyways."
They could do this all day. Stab each other with words.