'Morning light, midnight lies!' Starter for Bryan.

Issa was woken by shards of sun seeping through the sheer curtains that clung to the window in Connor’s spare bedroom. He never used the room except for storage, so he hung anything to keep prying neighbours at bay. The bed was not the most comfortable—her Brother’s way of keeping house guests from overstaying their welcome. But Issa was currently in between abodes, so she had no choice. Her last landlord decided to sell the apartment she had been renting for the previous 8 months, when she had more or less first arrived in LA.

Her relationship with her Brother had come full circle. As children, they were close. Although Connor was just shy of two years older, he had always looked out for her, he was apt at being the older brother - With many a wrapped knuckles from their Father for taking on those who chose to bully her; of which he would get in trouble for, and so punishment was expected. Yet truth be told, he was proud of his boy, for looking out for his sister, and then as an adult, Bloodying his fists with any man who treated her wrongly. Notwithstanding the time he was deployed to Afghanistan, a fire ran rampant through their parents' home, taking their parents' lives and obliterating any physical monuments of the memories they had shared.  Issa was twenty-four and in her final year of university at the time. Connor returned for the funeral, but soon returned to his regiment, becoming further estranged after two consecutive tours in Iraq. Although Issa understood, because their Father had been a military man, and this was how they had been raised, yet she felt so alone in her grief, and that he could have done more, like he had always done so in the past. And for a long time, she retreated from everything, including her Brother. It was only after numerous grief counseling sessions, Issa and Conner finally reconnected.

So here she was, in Los Angeles, waking up in her Brother’s spare room.

The aroma of coffee lingered through the apartment, arosing Issa’s senses. Sliding from out of the bed sheets, bare feet treading on the outdated beige rug, before stepping onto the coolness of the wooden floor. Her mind wrapped in where the day would take her. She knew at least with whom.

Thirty minutes later, give or take, Issa was standing in front of the mirror; a towel wrapped around her damp body, wet hair tousled and dripping onto her shoulders. The steam from the en-suite began to filter into the bedroom, obscuring the scent of the coffee with a sweet citrus.

A further fifteen and she was now staring at herself, wearing her favorite slouch short-sleeved sweater, covering a cami vest, and her denim shorts. Hair primped and makeup done. She exited the bedroom and made her way to the kitchen, where the same soft morning light bathed the room, with its warmth and anticipation of the day. She slid into her pumps that she had left by the door.

Connor was standing by the counter, pouring himself a fresh coffee. He glanced up.

“Morning!” He gave her a half smile. A smile played on her own lips, smooth and composed, yet beneath her smile, remained words unspoken. A confession. That she was not yet ready to share. Instead, she commented on the uncomfortable bed.

“Shit, ‘Princess’ count yourself lucky its not a mattress on floor. Like when we we nine”

“Oh ma god, that was when Dad got posted to Catterick and none of our furniture got delivered.. The neighbour loaned us those manky mattresses, to tide us over…”

The pair chuckled about their shared memory. 

Issa checked her watch.

“Yup, he was not a happy man, for sure! Anyway, you got somewhere to be?” Connor enquired curiously, noticing her prevalence toward the time 

“Um, I’m meeting a friend…”

“Who?”

“Oh, you don’t know them…I’ll be gone all day, so I probably won’t see you till the morning, because no doubt you’ll be out with Jaide, doing…whatever it is you do…”

His eyes lingered on his sister; he could tell when she was concealing the truth, and a knowing smile pulled the corners of his lips upwards, but he decided to let it slide. For now.

“Okay,” he smiled, “Have a good day… Princess!” He jested with a smirk, brows quirking with amusement.

“You too, butt nuggett!” She laughed, grabbing her house keys and purse from the sideboard, and she headed out the front door. Butt-nuggett being the coin of phrase, their father used when they were going through their ‘Disney’ era, also known as being too young for the actual profanity. It soon became Issa’s nickname for Connor.

Pulling the front door closed behind her, Issa made her way to the end of the path, making a right turn onto the sidewalk. Speeding up a little, once she was out of sight of the house, she reached the corner of the street, making another right, slipping into the adjacent alleyway.

Here she was, an independent woman in her thirties, and she was hiding her relationship from her brother. Her heart began to pound a little faster in her chest, with a mix of adrenaline and longing for Bryan to arrive already. She hated lying to Connor, but she had no choice. He continuously pulled the ‘big brother’ card and treated her as if she were to soft to live in the same world as him, the world of the cartel and so for him to discover that she was in love a man from the same world he was trying to ‘protect’ her from, would be disastrous.

Issa fidgeted on the spot, in anticipation of Bryan’s arrival.