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Greg sat in his room quietly, scrolling down his phone.
It felt good to finally just sit back and relax. His brother’s band wasn’t playing, their ear-bursting music, and his parents…
Wait… Where were his parents?
Usually they would be making a ruckus downstairs doing something, or Manny would be babbling way too loudly.
There wasn't any noise in the whole house, which made him curious. There was always something happening. He silently put the phone down and got up, his footsteps not making a squeak.
He inched the door open; still nothing.
Weird.
Greg made his way downstairs only to find the lights off and the house dead.
Where were they?
He made his way into the kitchen and flicked on the switch. Warm light engulfed the room comfortably, and he began to look around. After a bit of searching, he saw a note on the fridge.
Greg made his way over and ripped it off in a quick motion. His hands clenched around the paper tightly as a sneaking suspicion began to make its way into his head.
He brought it closer and started reading the small letter.
‘Hi dear, we went out with Manny to the movies because he wanted to see the new Iron Man. We’ll go to the family reunion after that, so we won’t be coming home.’
Love, Mum
P.S. Try to get along with each other, and no party xx.
Oh.
Oh.
Mum said they were going to watch the new Iron Man with everyone and then go to the family reunion.
She said all of them, not just Manny. Why would she just leave him and Rodrick here? She didn’t forget about them, he knew that because she left a note.
Greg felt something crack a bit…or did it break?
He remembered all the time their mom would brush him and Rodrick off to spend time with their youngest brother. There was always a small crack only he could hear.
Was this the final crack it needed to fall apart?
Tears gathered in his eyes as he ripped up the note, not bothering to throw it in the trash, just letting it fall to the floor slowly.
He wiped his eyes and tried to think of something else. Food, yes, he needed food.
"Let's throw something together real quick.” He nodded to himself and opened the fridge…nothing.
Okay, not nothing, but he didn’t think milk and a pack of sliced beef with what seemed to be moldy cheese counted as food.
He took a deep breath and closed the fridge. If he had to starve tonight, he was going to do it proudly, not crying like a 2-year-old.
He turned around and made his way back upstairs; right as he walked past Rodrick’s door, it opened, and Rodrick himself stood in the doorway calmly while looking at his phone.
After a moment he looked up and saw Greg walking back to his room; before the younger could go into his room, the older stopped him.
“Hey twerp, what food do we have?” He asked as he started walking towards the stairs.
‘Deep breath.’ Greg reminded himself.
“Nothing, we only have milk, a pack of sliced beef, and moldy cheese,” he said, trying to keep out the sadness and disappointment from his voice.
Rodrick took a quick stop and whipped around.
“What? Where are Susan and Frank? They were supposed to cook dinner and then have a family night.” If Rodrick remembered correctly, he wasn’t really listening; he didn’t really care what they did.
“Yeah, the key word being supposed to… They left with Manny to go to the movies and the family reunion,” Greg answered bitterly.
“Wait, aren't we supposed to go as well?” Now the older one was confused; did they leave them here on purpose?
He could understand why they would leave him behind; they didn’t really approve of anything he did, but Greg? Why would they leave him here as well?
“Guess not.” Greg muttered and continued on his way to his room.
“Wait, so you’re saying there is no food…do you want to order?” Rodrick asked smugly. Their parents never really ordered fast food or anything because they were adamant on a healthy lifestyle.
Rodrick thought that was just a load of BS, and they weren’t here now, were they?
Greg turned his head so fast he was sure he almost broke his own neck, but it was worth it.
“Really?” Greg asked in an excited voice.
“Yep, and for the special occasion, you get to choose where we order from!” The older one said, trying to cheer up his younger brother. Greg was beaming at this point so much Rodrick was getting a bit concerned if that was even possible.
“Fuck yeah, we are ordering McDonald’s!” He yelled excitedly as he ran to his brother. Rodrick rolled his eyes fondly but opened his phone.
“Alright, small bean, what would you like to eat?” He asked as he quickly put in his order.
“Ohh, ohh, I want a toy and nuggets and a lot of fries!” He listed as he bounced on his heels. Rodrick could never understand why he wasn't a burger person but loved McDonald’s.
“Sure, sure, let me just finish this up… alright, done. It’ll be here in 25-30 minutes; now we just need to pass the time. TV?” He asked as he finally started down the stairs and threw himself on the couch, taking up all the space.
Greg sped after him and pouted when there was no space.
“Hey, scoot over a bit.”
“Nah, I’m comfy.”
“But I want to sit down.”
“Too bad, I guess.”Rodrick said looking way too cocky. Greg started thinking for a second before grinning wildly and threw himself on top of Rodrick.
The older let out an indignant huff but didn’t push the other off; he simply rolled his eyes and made himself comfortable.
The younger crawled to the side where the couch back part was and wormed himself between the couch and his brother.
Rodrick just sighed and told him to stop moving or he’ll be pushed off. He didn’t want to take chances with this, so he made himself comfy and closed his eyes, letting out a tired sigh.
Rodrick grabbed the remote and turned on the TV, putting on some kind of documentary, and relaxed.
Greg tried to keep his eyes open and watch the movie, but his eyes were starting to get heavier and heavier. He was struggling to stay awake not even 30 minutes in.
The older finally noticed Gregory’s attempt to stay awake and snorted loudly.
He felt a pinch on his side after that and decided that he isn’t going to help the little fucknugget stay awake. He slowly wrapped his arms around Greg and pulled him closer, one arm keeping him close as the other began to run through the other’s hair.
Greg whined a bit at the sudden movement before he was engulfed in sudden warmth; he felt himself start melting, and he knew it was over when a hand started petting his head and brushing his hair gently.
He felt like goo or a big puddle in Rodrick’s arm as he lost the fight against sleep very badly. Warm darkness pulled at him, and as he was lulled into sleep, he snuggled as close as he could, throwing an arm around the warm body.
He didn’t know if he imagined it or not, but he heard a quiet voice whisper.
“Good night, bud, I’ll wake you up later; for now, sleep, twerp.”
He was out after that.
Rodrick looked at the other as he finally fell asleep. He wondered if he could get the food without waking the other; the kid looked quite comfy.
Well, that’s future him’s problem, not his. He continued on with his petting as he muted the movie with his other hand holding Greg and the remote; yeah, he was cool like that.
He put on the subtitles and relaxed even more. This was very enjoyable; he doesn’t know why Susan and Frank left them alone with no food and broke their agreement, but that’s not his problem.
He didn’t give a shit.
But Greg did.
He couldn’t comprehend how Greg could still love them after everything…though he’s still a child, so that's a point. No matter, if they are too much of an asshole to actually care for at least Greg, if not him, well, nobody said he couldn’t step up.
Of course he still would be a dickhead, but as an older brother, that’s like his sacred duty, sooooo.
He smiled a bit, then went back to reading the documentary with his younger brother cradled in his arm, sleeping soundly next to him as he waited for the food to arrive