The Same Fight

“That’s the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard. Legitimately, I can’t think of a dumber suggestion.” Brandi shook her head in disbelief. “Like, why would you say that?”

Jacob gritted his teeth, avoiding the temptation to yell. “It was a freaking suggestion. If you’re not into it, that’s fine. But it’s not dumb, it’s how I feel.” Jacob was driving on a busy street with his sister in the passenger seat, trying to navigate both the traffic and the palpable tension in the vehicle. He took his eyes off the road for a second to glare at Brandi. “And, I can name several of your ideas that were far dumber than this one.”

Brandi scoffed. “Oh puh-lease. If you’re referring to the Great Debate of 2011, I will positively scream.”

“Yeah, I am referring to that debate. You know it was the itty bitty seed that grew into the reason our entire family fell apart.”

“Darnit Jacob, you cannot accuse me of that. There was any number of reasons that Mom and Dad split up, and it didn’t necessarily start with that.” The two were an interesting study in sibling dynamics. Whenever this fight arose--and it was always the same fight--Brandi rose to a boil almost immediately, while Jacob simmered for a while before blowing the lid off the pan. With a sinister smile, Brandi slowly turned to look at Jacob.

“If you wanna play dirty, I can play dirty. Mom told me that she always hates your suggestions. She always thinks of an excuse--”

Jacob slammed on the brakes so hard Brandi had to brace herself on the dashboard. Horns screamed at them from behind as cars whizzed past in the left lane. “I knew it!” he said through teeth that were being ground down to nubs. “I knew you and her were always teaming up, ruining my life!” Jacob had reached a full boil. He slammed his fists into the steering wheel three times.

“Well now you know it’s true,” mocked Brandi. Jacob’s rage began to get the better of him. Don’t say something you’ll regret he tried to remind himself. “And sometimes Dad agrees with us, too.”

“You were the reason behind The Mother’s Day Incident of 2014!” Jacob roared, his voice reverberating around the car interior. His self-control had run short, causing him to bring up the darkest incident in their family’s history.

Brandi gasped. “That was a special occasion! How was I supposed to know that would be the result?” Tears filled her eyes.

“Maybe because it was disgusting. We knew it as soon as we saw--it was going to be nasty! But you convinced us all to do it. And then it was sick, and we were sick, and nothing was the same.”

“Ugh, sometimes you just make me want to...to...to kill you!” Brandi whirled around toward the backseat, looking for something, her tears turning to anger. She aggressively snatched her floral-print backpack and threw it in her lap.

“What are you doing?” asked Jacob, confused.

“What I should have done a long time ago.” Brandi searched wildly for something in her backpack. “This will really help, trust me.” Her movements slowed down as an eerie grin spread across her face. Slowly, she pulled her right arm out of the backpack, revealing a long, impossibly sharp knife. The knife--more like a dagger--was at least six inches long and glistened in the sun.

Eyes growing wide, Jacob pressed himself against the driver’s side door. “Wh...where did you get that?” he stammered.

“Oh, it’s just a little something I picked up the last time we had this fight. This will definitely solve the conundrum.” Brandi’s smile was erratic, her jaw clenched tight. It was as if a switch had been flipped--Brandi was a completely different person. Only the bottom half of her face was smiling; the top half looked like it should be placed in an asylum. As Jacob surveyed his options, he tried to determine whether or not he was in actual danger. She won’t go through with this, will she? he thought. His eyes darted from the knife to Brandi’s face. Cars still flew by in the left lane, the occasional honk reminding him that he hadn’t turned on his hazard lights. He wondered if he should reach over and push the button. What an insignificant thought he mused.

“Brandi,” he said as calmly as he could, “I think you’re overreacting. I mean, this fight is about--”

“I know what this is about!” Brandi interrupted angrily. “And you just blamed me for Mom and Dad’s divorce and causing the Mother’s Day Incident of 2014, so I think it’s a pretty big deal, don’t you?” She thrust the knife closer to Jacob. He stared at the instrument in her hand: it was firm, unwavering. Jacob made a decision. Taking a deep breath, he reached behind his back and pulled on the door handle. The door flew open, spilling him onto the street. He jumped up, checked for traffic, and bolted across the street. He had to dodge traffic as he went, causing more honking and swerving from cars going both directions.

When he finally reached the opposite sidewalk, he risked a glance back at the car. Brandi, however, was not in the passenger seat. He checked the street--no sign of her.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Jacob jumped and gave a small shriek. The cold metal of Brandi’s knife was pressing against his throat. Her left arm was wrapped around his chest as if she was lovingly embracing him from behind.

“How did you…do that?” Jacob asked, still stunned.

Brandi cackled. “I guess I’m faster than you, huh? Here’s how this is going to go. I’m going to count to five. I’ll count slowly, none of that ‘one-mississippi’ crap. But when I get to five, you’re going to tell me exactly what I want to hear.”

“But...how do I know what you want to hear?”

“Shut up!” Brandi hissed, shaking him violently. “Don’t play dumb. You know what I want. It’s what I always want. You know what I always want, don’t you?” Jacob hesitated before nodding slowly. “Good. Okay, here we go: one…”

Jacob’s mind raced. There are a ton of people on the sidewalk, not to mention the cars on the street; don’t they see what’s happening?

“Two…”

Should I call her bluff? I really don’t want her to win. I don’t want to give up. But is she crazy enough to go through with this? And how bad could it be? If I let her get her way, what’s the worst that could happen? Certainly not death.

“Three…”

There’s no way she’ll actually do this. How will she explain it to Mom and Dad? “Sorry Mom and Dad, Jacob disagreed with me so I killed him.” No way! As if Brandi could read his mind, he felt the blade press more firmly against his neck.

“Four…”

“Okay, okay! Fine, you win!” Jacob wailed.

Brandi chuckled. “Then say it. Tell me what I want to hear.”

“Okay. Brandi, you win.” Jacob hesitated. “You get to choose where we eat.”

The knife fell away from Jacob’s neck. Brandi stepped out from behind him, tossed him the keys, and headed toward the car. A genuine, beautiful smile came to her face as she looked at Jacob over her shoulder. “Great, thanks! Let’s go to Burger King.”