4: You were right

KJ didn’t return until three days later. The moment the front door opened to reveal her younger brother, Camilla sent a pillow flying at his head. He caught it and winked, and she was reminded of Vanya’s wicked smile when he caught her shoe.

“You are such a prostitute,” she stated.

“I thought we agreed the right term was fuckboy,” KJ answered, laughed at the disgusted face she made. Tossing the pillow to a couch, he slumped into it and kicked out his legs. The scarf around his neck came off first, followed by his jacket. “Yo, Cam. You girls are really wild.”

“I’m not wild,” Camilla retorted. Snatching the remote off the table, she flipped to the first channel that interested her. “Where were you? Wait, keep your answer PG-13.”

KJ stood, his loafers dragging across the rug as he bridged the gap. Touching her shirt, he blinked a few times. “Jesus Christ. Is that my shirt? I told you to stay away—”

“From the designers,” Camilla finished. It was the exact spot she got this. The cotton material was always softer. “You should have returned sooner like you promised. Beside I didn’t come here with any clothes. I had to borrow some of yours. Sorry, bro.”

“We both know you’re not sorry. You could have just bought,” KJ shouted at the air. “For Chrissake, you love shopping.”

KJ’s apartment was in an open floor style, so he brushed past the dining table and halted midway to his destination. Retracing his steps, he pointed at the blue shorts she paired with his shirt. “Is that… is that my, my, is that…” Camilla’s lips thinned. She waited for him to recover and finish the statement. “You are wearing my boxers. What the fuck is this, Camilla? Mum!”

“Mum’s not here.”

“I’m calling her.”

Camilla relaxed on the couch, throwing her arms over the back. “Okay. Go ahead. Do that. I’ll tell her you left your sister alone when she needed your help the most.”

“You said you were fine alone,” he said.

“For just one night, not three or four.”

“You should have gone to Cal’s,” KJ murmured. Calvin was her twin brother.

“He’s married, with a pregnant wife. Of course I can’t just storm into his house.”

KJ sighed, stepping back until he hit a wall and leaned on it. Camilla had lost count of the number of times he had sighed since he walked through that door. Maybe she was exhausting, but he shouldn’t have left her alone.

This was partly his fault. Faye hadn’t even called to know if she was okay. But how would she know when she hadn’t gotten a new phone? She had sulked for three days.

“KJ? I need a new phone,” she whispered.

“What happened to the last one? You know what?” he added, stretching out his arms. “Don’t even answer. I’ll get you another one. Do you want it now or tomorrow?”

“Right now,” she replied. “Now, now.”

Moments passed, and KJ finally nodded. He grabbed the keys he dropped on the table when he arrived. “I’ll be back.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t touch any other thing, okay?”

The door shut after him, and she headed to his room to grab his blanket. Now he was back, she would have to find somewhere to sleep. She couldn’t ask him to give up his bed. And she had never slept on a couch. She would have to wait for him to book a place for her. Payment wasn’t an issue.

When KJ returned, Camilla had her bag and other items she had acquired within the four nights in his place on the stool. KJ scoffed at her belongings as he pulled out the new phone from the pack. There were other items inside, but she was too busy setting up the new phone to care about that. Should she be thankful to Vanya for giving her the SIM card? He shouldn’t have taken her phone in the first place.

“What’s with the bag?” KJ asked, slumping into the couch as she fixed her SIM card. “What even happened to your phone? You need to stop being careless.”

Her head perked up, her eyes raging hell. “I wasn’t careless. I was harassed by a fool.”

“A fool?” KJ muttered. Camilla wished her baby brother would disappear. He stretched forward to grab the remote on the centre table and put the channel on mute. “What’s up with the bag? You know you don’t have to leave, right? I can always take the couch.”

“Wouldn’t that be inconveniencing?”

“A little. But where will you go? What’s actually up with you and Faye?” her brother asked. He dragged the centre table closer and folded his legs on it. “She’s not picking my calls or replying my texts. Cam, what did you do? Faye is a nice girl.”

“Shut up. I did nothing.”

Minutes passed with KJ watching his big sister. She sighed, her attempts to ignore this situation growing more impossible with each passing second. So, she told the truth. If anyone could give advice on this tricky situation, it was her womanising brother. He could explain Vanya’s behaviour.

After narrating the story to KJ, including the dumping of the drink on his head, all he did was gape at her. His feet landed on the floor with a thud, and he pointed at the new phone she was almost done setting up. She had some really, really risqué pictures she wouldn’t want getting into the wrong hands. So far, her account looked safe and unaffected.

“Faye’s boyfriend took your shoe?” KJ finally spoke.

Of all the things she told him, was he really going to settle on that? She dropped the phone to her lap. This was the reason she sometimes didn’t enjoy talking to her siblings. Granted, she could be a bit reckless, but this incident had nothing to do with her.

“He’s not her boyfriend. He’s a monster.”

“Cam, you know you sound crazy, right?”

“I mean it, KJ. He took my phone, too.”

His eyes narrowed. “Camilla.”

“I’m serious.”

“No matter how many times I run this through my head, it makes little sense. Why would he take your shoe?” KJ asked. Camilla also had no reply to that question. She shrugged and resumed checking her photos. All good. “What will he do with it? No wonder Faye didn’t believe you. Heck, I don’t even believe you. And your phone? You can just admit you lost it. It won’t be the first time you are losing your gadget.”

Grabbing the pillow closest to her, Camilla smacked him in the face. She was not lying. Why did no one believe her?

“I hate you,” she spat out. Shooting to her feet, she snatched her bag and extra package. “Don’t you ever talk to me again.”

On his feet, KJ pried the strap of the bag from her. “I’m your brother. I have to talk to you.” She smacked his chest once, then a second time, for good measure. He laughed. “You can’t hate me. You love me.”

“Not right now.”

“Let’s say you’re right. What do we do?”

Many thoughts swirled in Camilla’s chest. None of them sounded nice enough to be voiced out. Violence didn’t yield positive results the first time. She had to try a different, more logical tactic. But what?

“I honestly don’t know,” Camilla admitted.

“You will have to confront Faye at some point,” he replied. “It’s your apartment, not hers. And as much as I love you, I don’t want you in here stealing my clothes.”

She fisted the collar. “It’s just a shirt.”

“Don’t do that,” he warned. A smile tugged at her lips, and she stepped back. If she squeezed it enough, he wouldn’t want the shirt back. She wanted it. “Cam, I swear—”

“Okay, okay.”

“I’ll go take a shower, and then,” KJ said, raising a finger. Camilla nodded for him to continue talking. “We can see a movie while eating Pringles and whipped cream.”

“For real?” she squeaked. His head moved in a nod, and she clapped, jumping like an overexcited kid who received her first cake. “Where is it? When did you get it?”

KJ headed towards his room, stopping at the door to say, “On my way here. I know you are a Pringles monster, but save some for me. Cam, I mean it. Save some for me.”

Already riffling through the nylon he came with, she could only nod. She sank into the seat, the Pringles container in one hand and the cream in the other. Taking out a piece, she spread the whipped cream over it and inserted it into her mouth. The soreness and spiciness of the Pringles plus the sugariness of the whipped cream made the combo perfect. Her eyes closed in appreciation, only shooting open when her phone rang.

If it was Faye, she didn’t want to talk to her. Not when her best friend didn’t give her a chance or care for her wellbeing. What if her parents—Mum, was the caller? She wouldn’t be surprised if KJ told them she was currently crashing at his place.

Dumping the snacks on her lap, she picked up the phone. It was Faye. She let it ring until the call ended. Almost immediately, it rang again. She didn’t want this fight to escalate, so if Faye was calling to scream at her for the sake of it, she wanted no part of that.

On the third ring, she picked up. KJ walked in that moment, his hair still damp from his shower and in a shirt similar to hers. He sat on the couch and collected the Pringles. He preferred his without the whipped cream.

“Who’s that? Faye?” he mouthed, and she nodded. “What’s she saying?”

Camilla shrugged. Faye hadn’t spoken a word, and she wouldn’t say anything until her friend did. A sniff, followed by a quiet sob from the other end of the phone, made her break that promise. She sat up straight.

“Faye, are you okay?”

“Cam. Cam. Oh my God. You were right.”

That voice, the sadness in the words. She rushed to the door, shoving her feet into her footwear. Her friend had been crying.

“Faye, what’s going on? Talk to me.”

“Vanya is everything horrible you said he was.”