The Road Trip

Chapter 16
The Road Trip, Part Sixteen

Part Sixteen

It took at least ten minutes to finish the second full bottle, probably. Kate still had my phone, and I hadn’t thought to glance at the clock at the front of the car before starting the exhausting task. The first chugging attempt had been one thing; there was time pressure, and it was just the one bottle involved. Technically on number three, it was a small miracle that I was actually able to force the rest of the water down. 

I’m the kind of girl who only eats a quarter of her meal, and takes the rest to go. For someone used to small portions, drinking around two liters of water in under half an hour was a lot. But I did it. Because there was too much on the line to quit halfway. “Phone.” I held out my hand in a conscious attempt to mirror the way Kate did for my bra. I can be demanding, too. And she gave me her word.

As bratty as my younger sister can be, at least she keeps her promises. The trade-off being, of course, that she found a way to weaponize a promise, as I experienced back at the rest stop. 

Still, I was a little surprised when she procured my phone from her purse. I had expected her to drag things out, or reveal how she actually hadn’t agreed to XYZ. Because even when I’m watching for it, Kate still has a way of subtly ‘agreeing’ to things without fully saying the words herself. Not this time, apparently. She placed the phone into my hand and let go without so much as a teasing tug-of-war game. 

“And the photo?” I asked. Being agreeable about one thing wasn’t about to distract me from the other half of the deal that we made.

“You’re like, the most impatient little girl ever,” Kate said. Mimicking my patented eye roll, and adding a personal flair of her own in the form of a small sigh, she pulled out her own phone. She turned the screen towards me before unlocking it, so I could watch the whole process. I felt myself flush a bit when faced with the photo. My top was freshly wet in the picture, and I was looking at Kate and the camera with parted lips. Instead of the shock and annoyance I remember feeling, I ended up looking immature and pouty thanks to the pigtails.

Seeing the childish styling of my previously perfect red hair, not to mention the freckles, it felt somewhat pointless to push back against her words. But I had to. “I’m not a little girl,” I said. I’m in college, for fuck’s sake. And, also worth mentioning, “Kate, I’m your older sister.”

“It doesn’t matter how old you are,” she said. Deleting the photo with a simple tap of her finger, Kate glanced up to meet my eyes. “You’re a girl, Annie. And you’re little. So, what does that make you?”

That is SO not how that works. “Kate, I’m a woman,” I said. Setting my phone aside for a moment in order to give my full attention to my sister, I continued. “And so are you. You’re eighteen now, sis. It’s time to grow up.” 

With an idle smile, Kate used her free hand to give one of her boobs a squeeze. “I am grown up, Annie. You’re the one playing pretend, with your pads and make-up and heels. Just admit it. You’re the little sister here.” 

“Kate-”

“Annie, come on. You’re literally wearing pull-ups.”

It had the same two effects as always. One, I blushed at the reminder of the bulk between my legs that I had managed to put out of my mind for a few minutes. Two, my head snapped towards the front of the car to make sure no one overheard Kate’s way too casual mention of what she was supposed to be staying quiet about.

There was no ground to stand on when Kate kept pulling the rug out from under me. As long as I was wearing wet, yellowed pull-ups, I was at a huge disadvantage. With a visual like that, no one would dare get close enough to do a sniff test to verify that it was simply a colored sports drink. It was crucial to keep my sister’s silence until I was able to wash up and put on normal underwear.

But, at the same time, I couldn’t just let her walk all over me. “Kate, keep your voice down.” Speaking in a hushed tone myself, I narrowed my eyes and tried to act like none of this was bothering me. “You promised you wouldn’t tell.”

“Did I?” Kate asked, “I don’t think I did. But if you want to swear me to secrecy now, I’m all ears!”

I actually couldn’t remember. It felt like she said she’d keep this to herself, but maybe that was just to ensure I got in the car without changing. The shock of having her drink poured down my pull-ups was enough of a shock that everything afterwards was a bit of a blur. “What do you want, Kate?” I asked. In comparison to my sister, I wasn’t particularly creative. Short of offering my phone back up to her, I couldn’t think of anything that would make for an appealing deal. Plus anything I suggested would show her what bothered me the least, and then she’d have more information to go the opposite direction.

“Hmm . . .” she mused. After knowing my sister for years, I still didn’t know how to deal with her in the slightest. We were total opposites, and she treated literally everything like it was a game. No matter how hard I tried, she wasn’t going to take any of this seriously. It was going to be nice to have the buffer of relatives in a few hours so I wouldn’t have to deal with her usual nonsense. 

For now, however, I was her only source of entertainment.

“Got it!” Kate exclaimed. She reached into her purse with a smirk, “Oh, Annie. This is going to be so CUTE.”

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