“Good. Now go ahead and do three more sets of five.” I don’t even wait for her response; I cross to the other side of the room before I say fuck all to my promises.

Later that day after I’ve had my twenty-fifth cold shower, Olivia and I are back on solid ground. We’re sitting in the kitchen talking about how I still play Super Smash Bros to this day. I tell her that I mostly play with Lincoln and Isaiah’s nephew, Malcolm, and that I’ve rest-smashed him with Jigglypuff quite a few times. She’s still salty about me doing that to her precious Samus when we were kids.

She’s telling me her friend Justine got her hooked on the Dark Pictures Anthology games when I get a text from Kylie.

Kylie: Hey favoritest big brother. I need you to come home today. I have something to do and I don’t know when I’ll be back but it’ll definitely be after Lily leaves

Kylie: I’m sure she’d love to see you anyway it’s been a while

My jaw tightens at her attempt at a guilt trip. I’ve been taking care of Po Po for years now with no help from Kylie. I’ve arranged my entire schedule and life around my grandmother’s needs, never doing anything for myself unless my parents are able to come stay with her. Kylie’s been at it for ten weeks; she can deal.

“Woah. What happened?” Olivia asks.

“What do you mean?”

“Just a second ago everything was good, and now you look like you wanna murder something.”

“I’m good. That was just Kylie. I need to go check on Po Po tonight.”

Her mouth opens then clamps shut. A look of resignation crosses her face. “Oh, okay. Is she okay?”

“She’s fine. Kylie’s just not going to be home, and we don’t like to leave her unattended.” God, if Po Po knew how we talk about her like she’s a child incapable of being left to her own devices, she’d have all of our heads.

If our relationship hadn’t taken a dive off a cliff, I’d probably do more to ensure she’s happy instead of just comfortable. Thinking about that makes me feel like the biggest piece of shit ever. Holding on to all this animosity is exhausting.

“You should come with me,” I blurt out.

Her eye twitches. “I don’t need a babysitter.”

“When did I say you did?”

Tightening her grip on the kitchen island, she leans forward. “You only want me to go to keep an eye on me which is dumb. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you why it’s dumb.”