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Tina looked up at the moon from the roof of her house. It was the only place she could find complete solitude in her chaotic life. At thirteen years old, she felt worlds apart from everyone else. She had a million reasons to feel like an alien among her peers and there was nothing she could do about it. Now, more than ever, she felt lost and confused. Her big brother, Alex (or better known as A.J.), was leaving in a month for tour. He had just been signed into a group called the Backstreet Boys. Even though she was happy to know that he was following his dream, she couldn’t help but feel sad that he would be leaving her behind. A single tear fell down her cheek as she continued to count the stars, hoping one of them would grant her a wish and make it come true. She was lost in a daze when she heard the sound of someone climbing up the ladder. Tina quickly wiped the tear away from her cheek and brought her knees up to her chest. A.J. appeared at the top of the ladder and smiled at her.

“I thought I’d find you up here,” he said as he took a seat next to her.

“Yeah,” she said, not looking at him.

A.J. gently bumped himself against her and put his hand under her chin. “What’s up?”

“Nothing.”

“Don’t lie to me.”

“I’m not,” she said as she turned away from him.

“Tina.”

She sighed and laid her head on her knees. “Don’t worry about it, Alex.”

“I think you know that doesn’t fly with me,” he said as he poked her side. “Talk.”

“No.”

“I know what it is,” he said while putting his arm around her.

“You do?” she said as she looked up.

“It’s about a boy. Am I right?”

Tina felt herself grow angrier. “No, it’s not a boy,” she said in a short tone.

“Really? Not even Corey Anderson?” he teased.

Tina glared at him. She hated it when he teased her about Corey. He was the most popular boy in school and she’d been in love with him since the third grade. Of course, being the nerd that she was, he’d never give her a second glance.

“No,” she said in a huff.

“Then what is it?”

Tina sighed and stood up. “Nothing, don’t worry about it,” she said as she headed toward the ladder.

A.J. grabbed her arm before she could step away from him. “Why can’t you tell me? Is it a girl thing?”

“Alex, let go of my arm.”

“You’ve always been able to talk to me,” he said softly. “What is so different this time?”

Tina looked at him and sighed. She started to open her mouth to tell him what was on her mind, but she was interrupted by the sound of their mother.

“You two have until the count of three to get your butts back into the house and into bed,” she called from the porch.

“Come on, hurry up, before she grounds us,” A.J. said as he climbed down the ladder.

Tina climbed down the ladder and pushed passed A.J. as she went into the house. She kissed her mother on the cheek and went to her room. She picked up her discman and pressed play as she put her headphones on. The soothing sounds of Boyz II Men blared in her ears as she laid on her bed. Her English book was sitting beside her. Tina scrunched up her nose and tossed it onto the floor. She’d finish her homework in study hall. She wasn’t in the mood to decipher all the thous and thees of Shakespeare. Tina was switching tracks on her CD when she heard a soft knocking at her door. She rolled her eyes and took off her headphones.

“Yes?” she said.

The door slowly opened and A.J. stepped into her room. He looked around at the mess in her room and chuckled.

“Are you ever going to clean in here?”

“No,” she stated bluntly.

He glanced at her Journey poster on the wall and smiled. “You still have the poster I gave you.”

“Of course,” she said as she sat up. “Did you come in here for a reason?”

“Yes,” he said as he sat on her bed. “Why won’t you talk to me?”

Tina rolled her eyes. “Do I have to tell you everything?”

“Yes,” he said with a grin.

“Be serious, Alex.”

“I am being serious. You’ve always came to me when something was on your mind. What’s wrong? Did I do something?”

Tina blinked back her tears. She wanted to tell him how angry she was at him for leaving. She secretly wished it was all a dream and she’d wake up with everything back to normal. Tina glanced at A.J. as he wiped the tear from off her cheek.

“I did do something,” he said softly.

Tina shook her head. “No, you didn’t, Alex. I swear.”

A.J. looked at her as if he didn’t believe her. Tina looked away from him and reached for her teddy bear.

“Tina, are you mad at me?”

“No,” she lied.

“Why do I get the feeling that you are?”

“I don’t know,” she replied with a shrug.

A.J. sighed and stood up. “Well, I’m going to bed. Good night, Sis,” he said then kissed the top of her head.

“Night,” she mumbled.

A.J. left the room and quietly shut the door. Tina felt horrible about lying to him. Tina turned off her lamp and laid on her bed. She let the tears spill down her cheeks as she buried her head in her pillow and sobbed. She was crying so hard that she didn’t hear A.J. come back into the room. The next thing she knew, she felt him rubbing her back. Tina didn’t fight him. She just sat up and cried on his shoulder. A.J. hugged her tight and ran his fingers through her hair. He didn’t question why she was crying and she was glad. All she wanted to do was cry until she fell asleep. It wasn’t fair that he was leaving. Everything good always happened for him. She was always the one who was left with the bad stuff. For the first time in her life, she wished she’d never been born.