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Peter ran towards the Purple Hand Gang fort. The sun was beginning to set, leaving wisps of orange and purple in the sky with blue pooling on the other side. There was still some time before tea, and there was nothing else she wanted to do.
Strangely enough, Henry was supposed to spend the night at Ralph’s today. But, for whatever reason, he came back early. Maybe he was bored now.
Once she arrived, she popped her head through the entrance. “Henry, do you want to play with me?”
Henry was sitting in the far corner from the entrance, hugging his knees with his face hidden.
“No,” he said bluntly, voice muffled. “Go away.”
Peter thinned her lips.
That was odd. Usually, when she asked to play with him, he’d answer with more irritation or yell an insult. However, it seemed he was barely paying any attention this time.
Peter decided to push harder. “We could play a board game or have a tea party.”
“Shut up and go away, worm!” Henry responded louder, hugging his legs tighter. “I don’t want to play with you or with anyone!”
That sounded more like something he would say. Still, an angry pout formed on her face and she ran away from the fort and into the house.
“Mum!” she called out as she opened the door to the kitchen. “Henry won’t play with me and called me a worm! And he told me to shut up!”
Now, Mum would tell Henry to stop being horrid and play nicely.
“Peter, come here for a second,” Mum answered calmly. She didn’t turn around from the counter and continued cutting up what Peter assumed to be potatoes. Seeing her working in the kitchen was strange, considering she disliked cooking. Plus, Dad had already made their meal.
Peter’s displeasured expression faded as it was overtaken by confusion. She walked over to her mother and gazed up at her expectantly.
“Could you convince Henry to come inside for tea?” Mum asked.
Peter raised an eyebrow. “Mum, did you hear what I said? Henry is being mean again.”
Pausing her movements, Mum sighed before gently placing her knife on the cutting board. She turned her head towards Peter, who was surprised to see no trace of her usual anger on her face. Instead, she held a concerned look.
“Peter, I believe your brother is… upset,” Mum explained. “He has barely said a word. I need you to try to talk to him and get him to come back to the house. He might listen to you. I’m even making chips.”
Upset? Since when did Henry being upset matter? He always got upset, like when he didn’t get the toy he wanted, or when he wasn’t allowed to go somewhere he wanted, or when he was forced to do homework. Plus, he would be throwing a tantrum, not sitting, doing nothing by himself.
“It’s quiet,” Peter said. “Don’t you always want him to be quiet?”
Mum furrowed her eyebrows. “Peter, that’s not a nice thing to say,” she scolded. Her pupils darted to the side. “Though, it is quiet,” she said under her breath.
She shook her head. “Will you do it?”
Peter doubted Henry would listen to her of all people, and was puzzled why Mum even asked. But she didn’t want to disappoint her.
“Alright,” Peter said, placing her hands behind her back. “I’ll talk to him.”
A warm smile formed on Mum’s lips. “Thank you, Peter. You’re such a good girl,” she praised, petting Peter’s head.
Beaming at the compliment, Peter ran back outside towards the fort.
Sticking her head in through the entrance once more, she noticed that Henry was still in the same position as when she left.
“Henry,” she softly called out.
“Didn’t I just tell you to get lost?” he said without much energy.
Henry didn’t say anything more as Peter went inside. Being mindful of the small space, she crawled towards her brother and sat beside him on her knees.
“Mum is making chips,” she tried. “You like chips, don’t you? You can have some if you come inside for tea.”
The red-headed boy kept his head down and gave no response.
If Henry didn’t even care about having chips, then something must have been wrong. Peter had a sneaking suspicion what.
Twiddling her thumbs, she tentatively said, “You never leave Ralph’s house early, especially when you’re having a sleepover. Did you two fight?”
Henry stiffened at Peter’s statement.
So that was it. Despite asking, Peter couldn’t help but be taken aback. Of course, Henry and Ralph often had small quarrels. It was inevitable given their personalities. But she couldn’t think of a time when they had genuinely fought.
Curiosity seeped in. “What did you fight about?”
A few moments of silence passed before Henry spoke. “None of your business.” He still refused to look up.
Peter hummed. “Is it—”
“—but it’s all his fault!” Henry suddenly shouted, shooting his head up. He didn’t look at Peter and glared at the other end of the fort. His eyes were red, and Peter wondered if he had been crying. “It’s all because—” his eyes darted to Peter, making her flinch. He huffed and stuffed his face back into his knees. “You wouldn’t get it.”
Peter tapped her finger on her leg. She didn’t believe him when he claimed it was only Ralph’s fault. It was more likely that they had both equally done something wrong and were too stubborn to admit it. Neither of them was the apologizing type.
She had a feeling that Henry wouldn’t tell her what happened no matter how much she pried. But, Mum had asked her to convince Henry to return to the house, and the only way she could do that was to help Henry get into a better mood, at least just a little bit.
She thought about what Mum did for her when she was upset. Maybe she could try it with Henry.
She carefully placed her fingers on his head and repeatedly ran them through his hair in a comforting motion. He didn’t protest and even faintly leaned into the touch. That was a good sign.
“You argued over little things with him a lot of times, but you still stayed friends,” Peter stated. “It should be the same this time, too. He likes you.” That was something Peter could say with confidence if those constant goo-goo eyes he made at Henry were anything to go by. She knew they would be fine, however they chose to sort it out. They were never separated for very long.
Henry made a strange coughing noise at Peter’s comment, causing her to drop her hand back into her lap. He lifted his head again to rub his eyes, revealing reddening cheeks. “Whatever,” he mumbled, resting his chin on his knees.
After a few more minutes of nothing but the chirping of crickets outside, Henry sighed. “I’ll go just to eat the chips.”
Peter felt her lips turn upward at her brother’s lightening mood. She did want to remind Henry that he needed to eat everything on his plate but held her tongue.
“Now move, I need to get out,” Henry ordered.
Peter quickly crawled out of the fort and stood by its entrance, Henry following and doing the same.
He pointed his finger at her face. “If you tell anyone about this, I’ll end you,” Henry growled.
Peter let out a squeak. She made a crossing motion over her heart with one hand and held the other up. “I won’t!”