Sunnyside Up

Quinn watched as his sister scarfed down plate after plate of endless pancakes from the local diner while only taking short breaks to smother the carbs in slabs of butter. He tried to avert his eyes and pretend to be interested in something outside the window whenever she'd sense his staring.

"Ya know what?" She wiped her mouth on her sleeve and chugged from her orange juice before pointing a syrup dripping fork at him. "You weren't worried about carbs before you got with Linda." She shook her head before stabbing another pancake.

Quinn pursed his lips, adjusted his tie, and stiffly sipped from his coffee while carefully scanning around them.

"She says that a healthy body produces healthy sperm." He muttered through tight lips, embarrassed by the sentence even coming from him.

She watched him with puckered lips before spitting out a boisterous laugh that caused a couple patrons to glance at them in annoyance.

"Kat." He hissed under his breath in warning.

She rolled her eyes then turned around to stick her tongue out at an older lady that was still watching them who then scoffed before turning back to her meal.

"You're worse than a child." Quinn groaned while running a palm over his face.

Kat turned back and glared down at her pancakes with her hair hanging limply over her face so only her nose peeked through the dark locks.

"We said no kids." She mumbled while scooting bites of pancake around the plate with her fork.

Guilt shot through his chest but he deeply inhaled and smoothed out his napkin on the table while mentally preparing his speech that he recited the entire car ride there.

"Kat, you really can't expect us to keep the pact that we made when we were children. Things change, you know. I met Linda and we-" He was quickly cut off by Kat forcefully shoving her plate forward and stomping out of the restaurant.

Quinn hastily rifled through his wallet till he found enough cash to cover the bill and placed it on the table before shooting the waitress an apologetic smile and hurrying out the door. He found Kat standing in front of his truck with crossed arms, kicking the front tire with alternating feet. He breathed a sigh of relief and fished out his keys to unlock the truck with a shrill beep that caused his sister to shoot him a glare of irritation before hopping into the passenger seat. He looked up to the sky to mutter some prayer of patience then took his seat behind the wheel and watched her out of the corner of his eye while she nonchalantly browsed his CD collection. He flipped the ignition on and lightly drummed on the steering wheel before chancing a look in her direction.

"So are we still-" He began but trailed off when she shot him daggers.

He shifted into reverse and pulled out onto the street with a defeated sigh. They continued the drive in silence with the exception of her rapidly flicking through the radio stations until one station spouted cheery Christmas music that made her scowl and smack her palm on the power button.

Quinn pulled into the parking lot of the local grocery store and Kat unlocked the door to jump out before he was even fully parked. He watched as she waltzed into the store and wondered if she would even notice if he stayed in the car but quickly nixed that thought when the idea of her shoplifting popped up.

"Every damn year." He grunted while hurrying into the store.

His feet automatically dragged him to the dairy section before his brain gave him any other alternative and sure enough, there was his sister loading up cartons of eggs into a shopping cart. By the eighth dozen, he jerked the cart out of reach to shoot her a cocked eyebrow.

"I think this should be more than enough."

She gave him an unamused stare then plopped two more cartons into the cart before skipping towards the check out.

"With your attitude, we'll definitely need all ten." She teased over her shoulder playfully.

Quinn followed behind her to an open checkout lane and gave a sheepish grin to the cashier who lifted a brow at the egg filled conveyor belt.

"Some last minute holiday baking?" She asked flatly while popping gum and idly scanning the cardboard cartons.

"Oh, not at all!" Kat perked up enthusiastically while wrapping an arm around his shoulder. "My brother here, Quinn Wilson, he's gotta have those healthy swimmers so he's doing a raw egg diet." She beamed as Quinn's face rapidly shifted five shades of red.

The cashier gazed up and down his body before popping her gum again and giving a non-committal grunt in reply. He quickly slid his credit card while pinching the bridge of his nose; it was pointless even fighting for his innocence so he chose the other option of getting the hell out of there as quickly as possible.

"Happy holidays to you and your swimmers." The cashier grinned as they exited the checkout with Kat doubled over in laughter.

They carefully stacked the eggs on the floorboard with Kat's legs framing the bags for support. Quinn started the truck and shivered while the heater lazily kicked on then bent down to dig in a carton until he sat back up with a large white oval in his hand.

"Here. " he handed her the egg with a grin. "Since they're so healthy, my baby sister should have one too."

Kat smiled widely then snatched the egg from his hand only to swiftly crack it over his head and watch as the goo dripped down his cheek. Quinn pressed his lips into a fine line then calmly wiped the yolk from his face to sling it into her hair; Kat squealed in protest but laughed and propped her feet onto the dash while hanging her hand down to grip the handles of the plastic bags.

"Punk." He rolled his eyes then shifted the car into reverse.

The ride managed to keep the playful air for about half an hour while she laughed and talked about various stories that had happened over the past year but as their destination grew closer, an unsettled aura draped over them. Kat put her feet back down and sat hunched with her eyes dazed yet focused out her window. Quinn always hated this part but knew that it was necessary to allow her the silence she needed to begin processing the demons that swirled in her mind. He learned many years ago that talking her out of things was pointless and only served to frustrate them both and lord knew he couldn't spend another year restlessly waiting for her to return his calls.

Quinn stopped at the beginning of the winding driveway and firmly pressed his forehead to the steering wheel as he listened to his sister's breathing anxiously quicken. They sat in silence with only the idling engine rumbling with the occasional shudder from the cold and the sound of their shaky breaths filling the car. Finally Kat reached a trembling hand onto his arm and gripped lightly, signaling for him to continue the drive. He couldn't bring himself to look at her and see those tears welling up that he already knew were there, so he slowly inched their way up the drive while attempting to steady his breathing. The gravel crunched beneath the tires while the rest of the world remained ignorantly peaceful despite the turmoil that saturated the inside of the truck.

"This is close enough." Kat rasped while clenching tightly to his wrist.

Quinn swallowed the excess saliva in his mouth and gave a shaky exhale before turning the engine off. His fingers restlessly twitched on the door handle while he waited for his sister's signal but as the moments dragged on, he finally peeked over to see Kat violently trembling with her head in her lap. His jaw clenched when she released soft whimpers and in that moment he wished he bought every single egg carton the town held. He reached behind them to grab his spare jacket and started to drape it over her shoulders when she suddenly sat up straight and shrugged it away while rubbing her eyes with her sleeve. She grabbed the bags of eggs while sniffling then wordlessly kicked the door open and exited to which he quickly followed suit.

They walked at an even, steady pace that felt equally excruciatingly slow and all too fast for where they were headed.

They stopped several feet short of the dilapidated cabin that creaked with the wind and lacked all evidence of inhabitants. Despite the clear state of decay, Quinn's throat tightened with the sensation of imminent doom like someone was going to reach out from the darkened doorway and snatch them into the abyss. His eyes fell over every splintered board, tattered curtain, and graffitied wall, yet it wasn't enough to satisfy him; he doubted he would be satisfied until nothing remained but ash and the memories. He looked over at Kat who was already tearing open the bags to get into a carton of eggs.

"Merry!" Kat screamed while launching an egg towards the cabin. "Christmas!" She shouted with a scratchy voice. "Dad!" She began sobbing while pelting eggs at the window that used to be their parents' bedroom.

Quinn thought that the years would make it more tolerable to hear her wails of anguish but all it managed to do was ignite the rage that he kept pent up inside his whole life. He dug his nails painfully into his palm before finally clicking his tongue and ripping open a carton for himself. With the force of her throws, Kat's hair whipped violently around her face and he caught a peek at her disfigured ear. Quinn paused with an egg in each hand and stared at his baby sister and in that moment he didn't see a grown woman, but the little girl that hid under his covers while crying with bandages wrapped around her head after another failed skin graft. It wasn't fair, none of it was fair. He clenched his fists so hard that yolks oozed between his fingers and he choked back a sob as he hurriedly grabbed more eggs and chucked them at the ghosts of their childhood.

One box remained as they were bent over with their hands on their knees, panting and only able to whisper because of their cracking voices.

"This box is yours." Quinn coughed while handing her the cardboard carton.

Kat took the carton with her face twisting in anger and cocked her arm back to launch the entire thing before slumping and turning to him with a quivering lip.

"I know." Quinn soothed while wrapping her in his arms.

She dropped the eggs between them and shook from the force of her sobs as she desperately dug her fingers into the back of his shirt. They stood like that for an immeasurable amount of time, only now noticing that their surroundings had darkened. Kat sniffled and rubbed her nose on the shoulder of his flannel before pulling away.

"I actually do like Linda." She mumbled while picking up the empty cartons.

Quinn's lip twitched into a half smile as he helped her pick up the remaining boxes. He curled his arm around her neck while they walked back to the truck and she complained about how cold it had gotten.

"So, kids, huh?" She tilted her head once they were in the truck with the heat blasting.

"Uh, yeah, kids." He rubbed the back of his neck and handed her the extra jacket.

"Hmm." She hummed then turned to look out the window with the jacket draped over her legs.

Quinn watched her for several moments before smiling and shifting the truck into drive. He wasn't sure how many more years this tradition would continue, but he'd do it indefinitely and maybe, just maybe, eggs would turn into matches.