The Perfectionist

The time before the end of summer disappeared in a blur. I got comfortable in my new home, and learned some of the travails of living alone. I had to do everything myself, which should have seemed obvious but didn’t occur to me until I was the one doing everything. It wasn’t really that bad though. There was a bunch of stuff I didn’t realize I needed until I needed it. Mops, paper towels, a plunger. 

I’ll never forget watching the toilet overflow while knowing that the nearest shop was 15 minutes away. That was a disgusting mess, but all the same it was freeing. A freedom I’d soon lose because I bargained it away. I didn’t regret taking the money though. I could save up even faster, or use that money to spend on my hobbies. I’d turned one of the two spare bedrooms into a reading/gaming room. I put a comfy couch in there and some shelves along the wall to store all of my books. I had my PC set up in there too, and I could connect it to the TV I had on the wall to play videos if I wanted to. It’d taken a few days to get all the wiring set up, but I was pretty happy with the end result. Needless to say I’d be banning a certain someone from entering my sanctuary. 

Speaking of Elly she hadn’t made good on her promise to visit me. She had been texting though. A lot of texting. She mostly just talked about trivial stuff or sent me pictures of some outfit she bought. Sometimes why she didn’t send any of that stuff to her friends. Then I thought maybe she didn’t have any. I doubted that though, from what I understood she was quite popular in school. She played badminton, so she had to have made some friends playing that. I couldn’t puzzle it together, but I mostly just gave her brief responses mostly when I was cooking or not doing anything else. 

My job was going well, too. It kept me busy though, so I didn’t really feel like going out on weekends or nights like I had planned to. Most nights just chilled at home because I was feeling tired. I didn’t mind though. I could go out to the bar on nights when I needed a break from my sister. 

While I was thinking that I heard a knock at the door. The time had come. I opened the door to find my sister. All she had with her was a suitcase. I was about to ask where the rest of her stuff was when she ambushed me. 

“Isaac!” She squealed and latched onto me. I could feel her generous chest pressing against me, and I quickly pulled myself away from her. I couldn’t help but think it felt nice to have her pressed against me like that. God, a few months of not seeing her and my defenses were already this low. “Mom and dad said the moves will be here in a few hours. They’ll take care of all my stuff for me. Where’s my room?” She pushed her way into my apartment and looked around curiously. The entryway leads directly into the Kitchen/living room. “Whoa it’s surprisingly clean here.” She remarked. 

“Did you expect me to be living in a pigsty?” I asked. 

“Hmmm. Maybe a little. I thought for sure it would need a feminine touch.” She said now poking around in the kitchen. “Only two plates? Come on isaac.” She was looking through the pantries too. I was already starting to feel a little annoyed. 

“Do you have to dig through everything?” I groused. “Anyway, where's mom and dad?” I asked, peeking outside. All I saw was Ally’s car. 

“They didn’t want to come.” She said frowning. “All they did this whole time was complain about how ungrateful you are…” She shut the pantry doors. She seemed upset on my behalf. 

“Well sounds par for the course.” I was actually a little hurt they didn’t even bother to come check up on me with Ally moving in. It's always been like this though, so I shouldn’t be surprised. 

“They shouldn’t treat you like that! Because of them you… you… you moved so far away. They didn’t even let me come up to see you. They said I’d see you plenty when it came time to move. They said it ‘wasn’t worth the wear and tear on the car’” She said making air quotes and mimicking dad’s voice in an annoying nasally tone. 

“Yeah, that sounds about right.” I hadn’t seen her go after my parents like this before. Maybe my moving out had riled her up more than I thought.  

“They even had the nerve to tell me I wasn’t acting like myself when I pointed out how awful they’d been. Like I’m supposed to be their obedient princess all the time.” She’d come back and grabbed her suitcase off the floor. “I think they’re mad at me now, too. So that’s probably why they didn’t come.” She gave me a smug look and I couldn’t help but smile back at her. Maybe living here with her wouldn’t be so bad. 

“Anyway, enough about them. If they’re not coming it’s probably for the better. I don’t feel like listening to mom complain about the decor while dad stands around nodding at what she says.” I rolled my eyes and walked into the hallway that led to the bedrooms. “Your bedroom is back here. There’s a bathroom across the hall that I decided can just be all yours since there’s one in the master bedroom.” I showed her the bathroom. It was a little smaller than the one back home, but she wouldn’t have to share it with anyone at least. I guess she didn’t have to share it anyway since I’d moved out, but it wasn’t much of a downgrade. 

“There’s nothing in here.” She said poking around in the drawers. She opened the little closet and it was empty too. I never used it so I didn’t see a need to put anything in here. 

“Yeah. I’ve never used it. I just use the one in my room. I figured you’d have a bunch of crap to put in here when you arrived and I just left it empty. There is a plunger and scrubber in here though. I already learned my lesson about that the hard way.” I chucked while remembering my own bathroom flooding. It was one of those things that was terrible at the time, but then funny later. 

“Hmm. I guess you’re right. You could have dusted in here at least.” She said, running her finger along the sink. There was some dust built up. 

“Can’t have all the fun myself. Since you’re here already you can clean it up.” I clapped my hand over her shoulder and she pouted at me before smiling. 

“I really missed you Isaac.” She whispered and turned to hug me. Her chest was pressing against my arm enveloping it in a warm softness. I quickly pulled it away. She frowned. “How come you never hug me anymore…” She said looking hurt. “When I saw little you used to give me those big bear hugs… but you just stopped.” 

“I uhh. I don’t know how to say this Elly, but you grew up. So it’s a little awkward now.” I looked away feeling embarrassed. “My brain knows your my sister but my body doesn’t. If you catch my meaning.” It took a few seconds before I saw a look of realization. 

“So when I hug you it-” 

“Yeah yeah. Don’t say it. I know it’s weird, but you should know by now how boys see you.” For some reason she smiled and inched closer to me. 

“Do you see me like those boys, Isaac?” She pressed closer until I felt my back press against the sink. 

“Well you are very pretty.” 

“That’s not what the boys think of me.” She raised onto her tip toes and placed her hands on my shoulders. She leaned until her soft breasts were pressed against my chest. “They say I’m ‘hot’ ‘sexy’ and when they think I can’t hear them they say much, much worse.” My heart rate was starting to pick up now. I wasn’t sure why she was doing this, or what even prompted it. It needed to end quickly though. 

“I think you’re a very attractive girl Elly, and I also think you shouldn’t push up against me like that.” I said putting my hands on her shoulders. I tried to push her away, but she wouldn’t budge. 

“I don’t mind.” She said as her arms snaked around my torso. “I don’t mind what you’re thinking about. So it’s okay if we give each other hugs again right? I won’t tell.” She buried her face in the crook of my neck and nuzzled it. Her voice had lowered to a soft, hypnotic whisper. I could feel my body reacting to her, and it felt wrong. At the same time it felt nice. Maybe just a little would be okay. I wrapped my arms around her. She was soft and slender. I gave her a tight hug like I had when she was still small. Elly made a small happy sound and burrowed herself into me. 

“I guess it’ll be okay every now and then.” I said. 

“Mhmm.” She hummed. “I missed this. I missed you. I hated living there without you.” She said, pressing herself as close to me as she could manage. I was almost sitting on the sink now. 

We stood there for several more minutes until she was satisfied. After that I helped her unpack her stuff and we waited until the movers arrived.