The Man of the House

Chapter 149

“I guess I can let you work here.” The manager sighed, scratching his large belly. “The waitresses tend to get tipped better than the waiters, and we don’t do a lot. What you earn is what you keep. As long as you don’t start complaining about how much the girls make, we can use the extra help, especially on the weekends.”

“Thanks… and I’ll earn my tips.” I nodded, although inside, I felt a bit melancholy.

In many ways, it was like the last few months of my life never happened. Well, they hadn’t happened. I had been in a coma and all of my experiences belonged to another world. I wondered what happened to that world. Were my girls still there? My slutty mother, my naughty sisters, were they all just one blow to the head away from returning?

No, I wasn’t contemplating suicide. I had gotten passed that point. Besides, my new girlfriends would be angry if I fell into another coma. I had dates with Abigail, Samantha, and Anna. They weren’t set up on the same date! I wasn’t that bad… but then again, I hadn’t decided yet if I should settle on one girl, or try to claim all three. I wasn’t sure how I was going to introduce them to each other, let alone make them okay with that.

Either way, Abigail had left me a note in a typical stalker fashion after our previous run-in, and I had locked Samantha down for a date while Dan tried to come up with a reason to meet with my mother. Of course, even though we had tacitly agreed to stay out of each other’s ways, that didn’t mean I was going to help him with my mom. If he wanted my mom’s affection he was going to have to figure that out on his own.

With three upcoming dates, meant I needed things like the ability to drive and money. I had planned to get a job anyway, and with my experience waiting, I ended up back at the restaurant where I had worked in my previous world. The boss was a guy now, so the restaurant was mostly women.  He seemed just as perverted as my previous boss. Were all restaurant managers major perves who ogled at their employees? At least, this time, I wasn’t hired for my looks.

Instead, I just nodded and smiled as he complained about how lazy some of the girls were, and if it wasn’t for their looks attracting patrons, he would have fired them ages ago. I didn’t know if it was because I had matured, or because the other world had increased my perspective, but I had a feeling that the girls on his shit list were the ones he had made a pass at and refused to participate. I didn’t care though. It wasn’t like one of my sisters worked there or something, so he could be as much of a pig as he wanted. I meant it when I said I’d take care of myself.

Still, after leaving with my updated schedule, I couldn’t help but feel like I was putting in a lot of work for things I had already accomplished. My grades I had painfully started to improve were incomplete, the relationships I had spent months getting close with were only just starting, and now I was getting hired at a job I had already had. That was a good enough reason, if any, to make me feel a bit tired.

“Hmm?”

I was standing in the parking lot wondering if I should call mom to pick me up. The sun was just starting to set, turning the sky orange. I didn’t have to be as concerned about walking around at night as I did in that world. It wasn’t like I was free from danger. I could still be mugged. However, something just felt different now that I was back in my old world. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but things were different.

Either way, I noticed a form hiding behind a trashcan in front of a nearby ally. If they didn’t look extremely suspicious with a hood up, sunglasses hiding their face, and crouching low while looking around, I might not have noticed them at all. More so, I was pretty sure I knew who I was looking at as well. I recognized that ass anywhere.

Kelsey’s toned butt and fit physique were hard to miss. I also recognized her jogging pants. She usually went out jogging before it turned dark. It was something that worried mom a bit, but she promised to always be back before dark. I hadn’t expected her to end up over here. She’d be hard-pressed to make it home before it was dark now, and she didn’t look like she had any intention of going home.

Letting out a long breath, I walked over to my sister. Her focus was on something in the ally. I watched for a minute, her kneeling over, her butt wagging in the air. I missed that butt. The way it used to bounce when she was riding me… ahem… I was going to live a more restrained and chaste life now that I had a second chance. I still did want to give that thing a nice little slap. Instead, I softly cleared my throat.

Kelsey jumped up, spinning around with a look of fear. She was about to scream, but I put my hand over her mouth to stifle her cry. She struggled for only a moment before she realized who was holding her. She glared at me, her body relaxing, and I finally let go of her.

“What are you doing here? Wait… how did you know I was trying to be quiet?” Kelsey asked both questions at once.

“I had a job interview over there.” I pointed to the restaurant across the street. “And it’s pretty clear you’re sneaking around on someone. The real question is what are you doing looking around the dark alley?”

I tried to look around the corner, but Kelsey stiffened and grabbed my shoulders, pulling me back behind the garbage dumpster. “Okay! I’ll talk!”

“What?” I asked, looking her in the eyes.

Her face turned red as she realized how close she was to me. Her hands dropped from my shoulders and she took a step away.

“You can’t tell anyone.” She murmured.

“What?”

“I said… you can’t tell mom or Mackenzie or anyone else!” She hissed at me.

“Oh.” I blinked. “I wasn’t planning to. Why, what is it?”

“It’s… it’s about Kristy.” Kelsey spoke quietly.

I immediately realized what it must be about, letting out a sigh. “She’s selling drugs?”

“What?” Kelsey’s eyes opened in shock. “Drugs? No… I mean, she’s selling makeup, but that’s only because another girl is bullying her!”

“Avery…” I muttered.

It was like nothing had changed. Kristy was guilty that she had gotten Avery in trouble years ago, and Avery was using that excuse to extort money out of Kristy. In that world, Kristy had ended up selling drugs, but in this world, it sounded like it was something a bit more harmless. It was still a problem. Kristy was being forced to do something while Avery was just collecting the profits. It turned out that with or without me, Kelsey eventually figured out what her twin sister was up to, it just took a bit more time.

“You know about it?” Kelsey’s mouth was open in shock.

“I know enough.”

Some things would be different because of this world, but it was mostly the same. I probably couldn’t offer myself to solve the problem this time or inflame Kristy’s perverted lust for me to the extent that she finally stood up for herself. This was a big problem indeed.

“Well, Avery used to be our friend, but in middle school, she got in trouble for vandalizing another girl’s property. She had a crush on a boy but he was dating that girl, so she tried to scare her away. Ended up going to juvey for a year. I’m not sure what we can do other than sending her back to juv-hey!”

I stood up and started walking into the alley. Kelsey was content standing back and watching, and while I found her information interesting, especially where it differed from the previous world, it was just a different variation of the same event.

“Is this all you made? I thought the girls at your school were rich.”

“I-I’m not friends with the rich girls.” Kristy was defending herself.

“Then, become friends, eh? I expected way more- huh?”

The same group of people I had run into outside of the school had seemingly relocated to this dark alley. Other than that, the whole scene had a vaguely nostalgic feel for me. However, I had already beaten this level, so I couldn’t feel too much excitement about being here again. They froze when they finally heard the footsteps of someone else coming down the alley.

As I came into the light, my sister’s eyes widened, but Avery and the other two girls relaxed. “Oh, your brother, don’t tell me you told.”

“I didn’t!” Kristy cried out.

“Kristy!” Kelsey’s voice came from behind me.

“Ah! Y-you too?” Kristy’s eyes when from shock to resignation. “You shouldn’t have come.”

“Hey, what was your name again, Noah?” Avery pointed at me, giving out a grossed-out look. “I can’t believe she’d call her big brother to save her, but you’re not wanted here. If you don’t leave immediately, you’ll-”

Slap! Whatever she was going to say was immediately silenced when I struck her across the face. Kristy and Kelsey both froze, staring with wide eyes, as did the other two girls. There was a moment of silence before she reached up and touched her cheek. A dark look of satisfaction appeared on her face.

“You just hit me! I’m going get you for assaul-”

Slap! I struck her the other way.

“Assault, my ass,” I responded.

“Y-you…” Her composure broke slightly. “You won’t get away-“

Slap!

“Get away, my ass,” I responded. “It’s my word against yours.”

“There are witnesses!” She backed away, covering her face as tears welled down her cheeks.

“Two on your side, and two on my side. That means you can’t prove anything. They might instead wonder what we’re all doing in a dark alley near nighttime.”

“I never said I was on his side,” Kelsey muttered.

“Shhh!” Kristy elbowed her.

“Either way, you’re going to regret every hit-”

Slap! There was a knife in her hand, so I moved forward and struck again.  This time, I also struck her hand, causing the blade to fall to the ground. I grabbed her and shoved her against the wall, causing her to cry out. The other girls all took a step forward as if they wanted to help her, even my twin sisters. I spun and glared at her two friends, who backed off, fear on their faces.

“Regret, my ass. I can make you regret it more.” I whispered in her ear.

Avery shook for a moment, her eyes becoming afraid. “P-please…”

I let go of her, and she let out a gasp.

“Don’t get me wrong. I understand why you’re angry. My stupid sister had a crush on a boy and was jealous of his female friend, so she lashed out. There was misinformation and they thought it was you, not her. Not only did you take the fall for her, but she never even thanked you.”

“What?” Kelsey took a step back, shock in her eyes.

“You know?” Kristy’s face turned white.

Avery also looked up at me, her body shaking slightly. “If you know, then why-”

“She’s my sister… and even if she’s lazy, petty, and childish, I’m going to look after her, no matter the cost.”

“N-noah…” Both twins turned red for some reason.

Avery looked away, a defeated expression on her face. “Fine, whatever. I’ll leave your sister alone. Is that what you want to hear?”

“It’s a start.” I smiled. “However, part of being a big brother also means I have to clean up their messes. That’s why I want to help you too.”

“Help me?” Avery asked, a confused look on her face.

“Tell me… what are your thoughts on competitive gaming?” I grinned.