When I woke up, I tapped my head.
When am I ever going to stop blacking out every time I drink?
As soon as I stepped out of the room, I bumped into Peyton.
He was wearing an apron, his voice as calm as ever, "Come downstairs for breakfast."
I stared at his mouth, curiously asking, "Are you having a flare-up?"
He raised his eyes to look at me and smirked, his tone carrying a deeper meaning, "Yeah, having a flare-up."
As he spoke, the red mole on his Adam's apple moved up and down, drawing attention.
I sat down at the table and started eating, noticing a pot of flowers I had never seen before.
"What kind of flowers are these?"
Peyton, with his long, fair hands holding the rice bowl, glanced at the flowers and said slowly, "Snapdragons, just picked them up on a whim."
I had to admit, they were pretty.
I casually asked him what the flowers symbolized.
He picked up some food, his expression indifferent, "Please notice my love."
He remembered that so clearly?
A strange feeling stirred in me, and I didn't respond right away.
The silence at the table made me feel a bit uneasy.
"You're not mad anymore?"
Yesterday, he was so angry when I mentioned finding a brother-in-law.
"Mm."
Good, as long as he's not angry. After dinner, Peyton went to do the dishes.
I turned on the TV and was just about to check my phone when Fiona messaged, asking me to go out for dinner with her in the afternoon. She said she had something to tell me.
I quickly agreed.
As I was leaving in the afternoon, Peyton stood in the living room and glanced at me leisurely.
I instinctively explained to him, "Going out for dinner with a friend."
Seeing that he remained silent, I added slowly, "It's a girl."
Only then did Peyton curl his lips and lazily said, "I'll wait for you to come back."
Damn it, isn't the older sister usually the one in control?
How did I end up being suppressed by Peyton...
How embarrassing.
When I met Fiona, I told her about this and complained about my lack of backbone.
Fiona propped her chin on her hand, smiling as she said, "But he looks like Oh star! So what if you're being suppressed?"
That... kind of made sense?
"By the way, you said you had something to talk about. What's up?"
She took a sip of her coffee and said slowly, "I've stayed with you for so long, it's about time I head back."
Fiona is a friend I met abroad. When she heard I was staying in China for a while, she came to visit me and also to have some fun.
"Abbey, are you really not going back?"
I fell silent. How long until Peyton's birthday?
Seems like it's next week.
"Book me a ticket for next week. I'll... see how things go then."
"Okay."
After saying goodbye to Fiona, I stood on the street, fiddling with the necklace around my neck.
Actually, I don't want to go back with Fiona because I can't find a sense of belonging abroad.
But here, I found it.
Peyton and I share the same blood, and after these years of bonding, being with him makes me feel at ease.
But soon, he'll get entangled with the heroine, and I'll be left out, an outsider.
No matter what, I don't want to witness that.
When I got home, I told Peyton:
"If you ever get a girlfriend, make sure to let your sister know."
I'll know to step aside on my own.
At that moment, Peyton was leaning on the sofa.
Hearing this, he squinted at me, a low laugh slipping from his throat: "Mm, I'll let you know."
