Steam is all around, and his head is leaning against the bathtub. It looks just like the one I use in my room. It looks like a swimming pool with how big it is, but Samuel makes it look so much smaller. Probably because he is bigger than me.
I take only one step in and stare at my feet, not wanting to invade his privacy. “Y-Yes, Samuel?”
“Come here, silly,” he says as I pick at my granola bar. “You can’t help me from all the way over there.”
Putting the snack next to the sink, I keep my eyes low, then walk toward the tub but stop before I get too close.
“You can look at me, you know?” He chuckles.
I slowly look up at him.
He’s in hot water, and his hair is slicked back with water dripping off. His hair looks like when a polar bear comesout of the water on those National Geographic shows. It’s almost see-through.
“You said you needed help?” I ask, trying not to look at him for too long.
I don’t think I should be here.
“Yes. I do.” He turns in the water, folds his arms on the edge of the tub, then places his chin on them. Staring at me, he says, “Can you help me wash my hair?”
I scrunch my face up. “Wash your hair?” I look at him more closely.
“Yeah, it’s what family does.”
“They do?”
I don’t know the rules on how to be a sister.
“Yes, they do.” He seems very confident in his words, so I step closer. “Family helps family when they need help, and I need help.” He grabs the shampoo bottle and puts it down in front of him.
“But you’re—you’re . . .”
I don’t want to sound weird, so I just point to the water.
“Naked?” he says and laughs. “It’s fine. You won’t get in trouble. You’re my little Eden, who came to help me in a time of need.”
He reaches his hand out. I take it, walking up the one step to the edge. My heart pounds, and the sicky feeling gets worse.
“My Eden is allowed to be here when I am in the tub.” He turns my hand and squirts shampoo into my palm. “Relax.” Pushing away from the edge, he smiles.
I don’t mean to look into the water, but I do, and I see him. My cheeks heat up. I don’t know what to do.
I shoot my eyes back to his face and see he is silently chuckling to himself.
“I-I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to—” I say really fast with the shampoo still in my hand.
He takes my other hand. “Hey, hey, it’s fine. Remember what I told you just now?” I nod. “You’re my Eden...” Looking the other way from me, he slides down the wall of the tub so his head is as high as the edge. “You can wash now.”
“O-Okay.” I put my shaky hands on his head. My fingers glide through his white locks.
I am his sister, and he is my brother. He just needs help.
But that sicky feeling keeps mixing around in my stomach when he starts washing himself. I don’t know how this sibling stuff works, but I don’t want to mess it up.
What if he wants to send me back because I am not doing sister things?
I can’t go back there.
Never again.
