First Run

William sat down on the edge of his bed as he sighed when he realized that he had fallen asleep while waiting for his sister. His sister, Lei, hadn't come home for almost two months. They were worried and didn't know what they should do. Natasha, the second oldest sister of William, went to Lei's company and asked about her, but it turned out that she was fired because she hadn't gone to her work for almost a month. It was started when the new vaccine for boosting the immune system was finished.

"Sis," William greeted his second older sister when he went out of his room and went to their living room.

In this world, there is only him and his sibling. Thus, they treasure each one of them as a precious jewel. Especially with their youngest, Javis.

"Oh!" Natasha was startled when she saw her brother's face. "Goodness, William. Don't tell me you didn't fall asleep again after waiting for sister Liesa?" Natasha asked her sister in disbelief.

William just sighed and then sat down and plopped down on the dining table. "I've been waiting for her since last night, but she didn't come home," William said, as his worried face could be seen.

Natasha put down a plate with fried rice, bacon, and an egg in front of William and said, "If that comes home, it won't come home." Natasha's voice shows her annoyance with her brother. "She knew we would be worried and she didn't even give a damn, not even a text."

"Morning."

Both Natasha and William looked at the source of the voice, and they saw Jarvis walking towards them. Seeing his face, the elder sister and elder brother both smiled. They spoiled him to the point that he couldn't do anything without his siblings.

"Good morning, Jarvis," both Natasha and William greeted him back.

Jarvis looked around and saw that his eldest sister still hadn't come home. Looking at his only brother, he knew that their oldest sister hadn't come home.

"Still no news?" Jarvis asked his brother and sister.

Natasha also immediately put Jarvis in front of him to eat when he sat down on his stool.

"Unfortunately, none," William answered as she poked his food. "It's quite unusual for her to do this," he added.

When Natasha put everything on the table after they had eaten, she sat down in her chair. "You know that last month he was busy, I just didn't know this month. I went to her office, and I was told that my sister hasn't come in for a long time," he immediately told his two brothers.

"I guess he ran away with his boyfriend?" Jarvis joked.

Both Natasha and William sneered. "Young man, can you hear me say that?" Natasha asked their little brother in disbelief. "You know how picky and how high her standards are with a man, right? It is impossible for her to get some rich, handsome man and run away," she added.

Indeed, Liesa is the type of woman who is more prepared to read a novel than be outside. Because of his love in a romance novel, she became picky and has a high standard for a man to become her boyfriend.

"Let's just wait for her," William said impatiently. Jarvis was his brother's name.

"Hmm?" he replied as he munched his food while looking at his brother.

"I already paid half of your tuition. Please notify me or sister Tasha if you require anything at school." William said.

Jarvis stared at his brother and finished his food that he was munching on. "What? Wait, why? Aren't you going to pay your tuition too? Why did you pay half of my tuition first? You should-"

"No buts," William said, cutting his brother. "Tasha will take care of my tuition. You needed it first, so I paid for it first," he added.

Jarvis looked at Natasha and saw that Natasha just shrugged her shoulders. "Sis..."

Natasha smiled and said, "There's nothing you can do, Liam already did." She patted her brother's head. "You should study well. Don't worry about money, okay? Also, sister Lie sent us money last month. Even though he hasn't come home yet, we still have money to spend," Natasha added.

Jarvis just bit his lip and didn't speak. He also did not know what he would do and say because he knew that his brothers would do everything for him. Jarvis knows very well how much sacrifices his sisters and his brother made for him. He even remembered that his brother, William, dropped out when Jarvis needed a large amount of money for his course. Jarvis knows very well how much his siblings loved him. Thus, he'll do his best to protect them.

Their breakfast went well. After they eat, William tells them that he's going to wash the dishes so that Natasha can prepare herself for her interview. Also, for their little brother to get ready for school.

Jarvis only went home once a week, every weekend. Thus, they did everything they could to have a home-cooked dinner, breakfast, and lunch.

At ten in the morning, Jarvis said goodbye to him and went back to his dorm. Jarvis was a good kid, and that made William, Natasha, and Liesa less worried about him. They know that Jarvis won't make their effort in vain.

Not long after Jarvis left, Natasha also said goodbye that she was leaving too. This left William alone in their house.

He looked around, and somehow, he felt lonely. His eyes went to a big portrait on their wall. It was a portrait of their family. It's been a decade and a half since their parents died in a car crash, and since then, they have been alone in the world. Their eldest sister, Liesa, is the one who made the most sacrifice for them. She was the one who worked hard to make Natasha finish her degree and helped her with the bills and other things that were needed in our house.

Both of their sisters are responsible for them. Since then, William didn't bother to ask them for money, even if he needed them. He knew that his sisters had already done a lot for them, and it was enough for him.

A certain memory flashed in William's mind. It was the day he confessed to them about his sexuality. About him being gay.

"I'm gay, I like men," William stated to his sister when they had dinner together.

Jarvis, Natasha, and Liesa were startled. They knew that something happened with their brother-William and that there was something bothering him, but they didn't know that it was about his sexuality. It was hard for them to process, but they didn't dislike it.

"And so?" Natasha immediately said. "What if you're gay? I mean, will anything change when you're gay? You're still our brother, and we're not going to outcast you just because you're gay. So what are you worried about? Stop frowning, ok?"

William smiled when he remembered those memories. It was one of the most nerve-wracking moments in his life, but it was also the day when all his burdens on his shoulders were lifted. He felt like there was nothing wrong with him. Some of his friends couldn't help but feel disgust when they knew about him being gay, and that is the reason why he's hesitant to tell his family. If the reaction of his brothers is the same, he doesn't know what he will do with his life.

"Thankfully, I have the best sibling in the world," William whispered to himself as he stared at one of the portraits. It was his and his siblings' portraits without their parents.

William stretched out his hands and then he looked around. "Time to clean the whole place," he said in his mind.

That day, it was his day-off but he preferred to clean their whole house rather than lie on his bed thinking about where Liesa was. An hour after he cleaned their house, someone opened the door.

William was immediately surprised because he knew that Natasha came home at night and he also knew that Jarvis was now on the bus going to his university. William had only one thing in mind. It was his sister, Liesa.

William hurriedly ran to their door and he made no mistake, Liesa was there. William immediately hugged his sister as soon as she went inside the house.

"Oh my!" Liesa uttered as she was startled when William gave her a hug. "Liam?"

"You! "Are you stupid?" William said as he looked at his sister, he was about to cry. "You told us that you won't be able to go home in a month then it became two months? When sister Natasha went to see you at the company, you were not there anymore!"

Liesa's appearance immediately changed. He sighed and felt his neck. Liesa doesn't know how to tell her siblings what she's been through and she doesn't know if it's right to tell them.

"If I told them about it, wouldn't it put them in danger?" Liesa said in her mind. "Right, I should do it in secret," she added.

"I'm sorry," Liesa said, and sighed. "I was caught up with my work," she lied.

William stared at his sister. In the more than two decades that he has known his siblings, he knows when they are lying to him. If those lie, whether it's a good or bad day. That is how William looks at someone's character. Seeing his sister lie to him without batting an eye, he knew that it was for their sake.

William and their other siblings always knew how critical and dangerous Liesa's job was; they knew that there were things that she shouldn't disclose to any single soul. Even if they wanted her to stop working at that company, they couldn't stop her. It was his greatest wish. Being able to work at one of the most successful pharmaceutical companies was Liesa's dream since she was a child. Because of her sacrifices, they couldn't stop her.

"At least give us a call or a text," William said immediately when he saw that Liesa had gone inside. "Did you eat it already? It's almost lunch," he added.

Liesa immediately appeared on the sofa in their living room. "I didn't. Please cook a ramen for me," she requested.

William immediately raised his eyebrows and frowned. "A ramen? Are you serious about that, sister? For your information, you're at home, you're not at work." William said shaking his head.

William immediately went to the kitchen and started cooking. When he looked back at his older brother, he immediately saw that he had his eyes closed.

"She looks so tired. What the hell did she do?"

William wanted to ask but he couldn't. Liesa warned them not to ask questions about her work because there are some things she cannot tell others. If someone catches wind that she gave some information to others, then they will be in trouble.

William did not ask because he was afraid of what might happen but because of the respect he had for his brother.

When William finished cooking, he immediately served it on the dining table. William and Liesa were the only people in their house, so he only cooked enough for the two of them.

"Sis, the lunch is ready," William immediately called his brother.

Liesa, being hungry, immediately stood up and went to the dining table and started to eat with William.

Liesa winced. "Ah, Natasha will kill me for sure," he said when he heard what his brother said.

"That's for sure," William immediately seconded.

Liesa glared at him. "Don't you have any encouragement there?" it said.

William stared at her and shrugged his shoulders. "You brought it upon yourself. If you just give her a call or a single text, she won't be this pissed."

Liesa sighed. "If it's possible," he said weakly.

"Did something happen?" William asked, worriedly.

Liesa immediately shook her head. "Nope, nothing happened. It's just too confidential so I can't tell you," Liesa immediately told William. He smiled foolishly. "Now, tell me, did you finally find yourself a boyfriend?" she asked out of the blue.

William's face turned red as he was flustered by his sister's question. He knew that his sister wanted to change the topic, but he never imagined his sister asking him about his love life.

William feigned his cough. "Sis, you better worry about yourself," he denied.

Liesa groaned. "Oh, come on, Liam. You know, I'm already in my thirties and it's already too late for me to have someone. I know that you guys will take care of me when I get old. So, tell me," Liesa stopped and smirked. "Do you have a boyfriend?" he asked again.

William narrowed his eyes as he looked at his sister. He could see that his sister was curious about him.

He sighed. "Sis, I was busy studying and working. How can I find time for flirting?" it's an immediate answer.

Liesa frowned. "Why? You should have stopped working and done something about your love life. You know, you and Natasha are the only hope we can find the one," Liesa said as she smiled at William.

For Natasha and Liesa, there is nothing else they can ask for but for William and Jarvis to find their one. Even though William and Jarvis always said that they both deserved it more, they still didn't believe it. For Natasha and Liesa, if they find someone to be with for the rest of their lives, they can leave Jarvis, especially William, and they have no intention of doing that. They are women, they will have children. Once they have children, both of them will lose their attention to their brother, that's why they don't want to have a husband.

"Sis, it was just a part-time job I know. Still, I like working there. If you just ask me to have a boyfriend, I can do that during my work. You know, I'm working in the convenience store . Actually, many daddies went there," Willaim joked as he winked at his sister.

Liesa stared and then burst out laughing. "Right, that's how it should be! With your beauty, you can't capture anyone? Who are we fooling here? You inherited my beauty," Liesa lifted the bank.

William just shook his head at his brother's behavior. After they finished eating, William let Liesa rest anyway, Liesa did not agree.

"We need to drink a tea to help our digestion," Liesa immediately said while William had his back to her and was washing up.

"You're not really going to lose, are you? Sister," William said immediately as he turned on the faucet and started washing the dishes.

They were both silent and when William finished, Liesa also finished making tea.

William sat down in his usual spot on their sofa, and so did Liesa. Both of them talked about a random topic, and when William drank Liesa's brewed tea, he felt a little dizzy.

"I'm sorry..." Liesa whispered before William lost consciousness.