“Whose white car is that parked outside in front of your house?” Connor questioned Cara as he walked through her front door.
    Cara glanced outside, looking past the misty fog, and scanned the street in search of the car her boyfriend was referring to. As soon as she located the car, her eyes widened.
    “That’s weird because I’ve noticed that same car parked outside my house a few different times now. I figured it was for one of the neighbors.”
    The car was an older model of a Chevy Impala. Maybe it was the windows that were tinted a dark grey color, preventing anyone from seeing in. Or maybe it was the rims that were blacker than black, but something was sketchy about this vehicle.
“Do I need to go out there and find out who it is?” Connor’s voice deepened due to his paranoia which was turning into a subtly approaching anger.
Cara slowly rolled her eyes to make it noticeable that she was annoyed. “No. You don’t. Whoever it is, whatever their purpose is, it isn’t bothering or harming me in anyway so I don’t care enough to have you go outside and make a fool out of yourself. Stop exacerbating the situation. Can we just watch a movie and have a relaxing, insouciant night as planned?”
“Yeah babe, you’re right. I’m sorry, I just didn’t like the fact that there’s just a random car sitting in front of your house. But I’ll forget about it.” Connor followed Cara up the stairs into her bedroom where the lights were dim, snacks were prepared, and a fuzzy comforter was sprawled out over the carpeted floor.
    A few moments went by until Cara noticed Connor being fidgety, unable to sit still.
    “Connor…” Cara gave him that look that she always did when she knew he was holding back from saying or doing something. “What is the matter?”
“Nothing, I just need to use the bathroom. I’ll be right back.” He gently kissed her on the forehead, gave her a small smile, and exited her bedroom.
She knew he wasn’t going to the bathroom and she confirmed that when she heard the front door open. “CONNOR!” She tried screaming his name to stop him from doing what she knew he was about to do, but she knew he was already out the door. She peeked out her bedroom window to see him just sitting outside on the wooden cushioned bench that rested on her porch smoking a cigarette like nothing was wrong. Confused, she walked down the stairs, stared at Connor through the window, and headed towards the door.
“What are you doing?” Cara looked worried. “Why would you say you’re going to the bathroom and then come out here to smoke when you know I hate when you smoke.”
“Yeah, I know you do but I needed an excuse to come outside. I’m sorry, I know you told me not to worry about the car but it’s been here before and it isn’t okay. I’m going to find out who the hell this is.” He threw his cigarette butt across the front lawn, paced quickly to the white car, and opened the driver’s door.
As soon as he realized it was a guy, he picked him up by his loose maroon t-shirt, making the unknown male bump his head on the car. Connor, still grasping on tight to his shirt, threw the first punch. He punched him so hard that the poor man collapsed to the ground like bowling pins after they’re hit with a bowling ball.
“Stop Connor! What are you doing?!” Cara disgustedly bolted over to Connor . As soon as she reached the scene up close, she looked at her boyfriend who was selfishly apathetic towards the random stranger. Her eyes couldn’t help but quickly travel to the man he was beating.
Something about him seemed familiar to Cara. He was tall, but not too tall. Not nearly as tall as Connor. His long, slicked back hair defined his face and the tattoo sleeve on his left arm completed the package. His face was innocent.
Cara looked deep into the man’s eyes as he lay on the ground pinned down. The eyes gave it away. She couldn’t believe who she was looking at, but she knew exactly who it was.
“James?” Cara nervously spoke.
Connor looked up at Cara and gave her the most confused look she’s ever seen appear on his face.
“You know him? Have you known who he was this entire time? Have you been cheating on me? Cara, what is going on?
Cara froze, opened her mouth to speak, and then closed her mouth when she realized that she didn’t know what to say to either of them. She pulled Connor aside so she could explain things to him one on one.
“Connor, this is my brother James.” Cara hesitated before saying anything else, afraid of Connor’s reaction after just physically attacking her own family.
“You're kidding, right? You don't have a brother.”
“I do, I just never told you about him because he moved out when he was 18 and hasn't spoken to me, my parents, or my sister since. I never would've expected him to come here and I really don't know why he is here.”
While Connor and Cara were discussing the situation, James rose, got in his car, and turned the key in the ignition to start the vehicle. Cara heard the car start and looked back at her brother who was about to drive away.
“James, wait!” She ran in the direction of his car and stopped when she got to his window.
He rolled down the car window and gave her a disappointed frown. “It was a mistake to come here, I shouldn't have even bothered wasting my time thinking you would want anything to do with me.”
“Why don't you come inside so we can talk?” Cara suggested, hoping that her brother would come to terms with her and would be willing to have an actual conversation.
Without hesitation, he rolled up his window, stepped out of the car, and locked his car up. “Let's go.”
Cara and Connor walked up her long driveway while James followed behind the both of them. They all walked through the door into the house, one after another. Each second that passed was another second that awkward tension filled the warm air they shared.
Connor went upstairs and Cara and James sat in the living room on the soft futon that their bodies literally molded into.
“So, are you going to explain yourself now or what?” Cara c***ed her head looking directly at James.
“Okay…” He paused. “Well…” He paused once more. “I don't want you to think that I'm here because I want money or I need anything from you because that is the furthest thing from true. I am financially stable. I'm not crazy. I'm mentally stable too.” He chuckled to himself. “The reason I've been parking outside of your house for the past few weeks is because I wanted to see how you were doing. It's been 18 years Cara.” He looked down at the floor as if he was ashamed of his response to her question.
“So you've been sitting outside my house to see how I've been…?” It wasn't making any sense to her.
“I didn't think you would want to talk to me. I didn't think that you would want anything to do with me. When I left mom and dad’s that had nothing to do with you. We were always close growing up. I just came back to this town and the first thing I knew I had to do was check on you. I needed to make sure that you're safe, so I sometimes park outside your house at night to make sure that you are safe.”
She felt her heart beating fast in her chest. He cared. All of those years that she thought he didn't care, all of those times where she would cry because she missed her big brother, all of that was for nothing because he cared.
“I can't believe you.”
“Wait, what? You're mad?” He seemed confused.
“Well, yeah kind of! You kept your distance for all of this time and then you just park your ass outside of my house?! Yes, I'm kind of mad.” There was a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
Connor walked down the stairs to join the conversation in the living room. He approached James and put his right hand out in front of him.
“I'm so sorry man, I had no idea. It was an instinctual feeling. I was just scared for Cara’s sake. I mean she lives here alone and I just…”
James cut him off before he could finish his apology. “It's totally fine, I would've done the same thing. It was creepy of me and I apologize for scaring the both of you.”
“I'm not mad, just shook up I guess. I missed you for the longest time, I still do miss you.” Cara calmly explained to him. “I'm just glad that you care. I'm glad that I have two people here that care enough to keep me safe and protect me, kind of like a safety net.” She smiled.