"Theo, shut up and say come in."
"Mellie, that is not getting you into my room."
She waits and huffs, "It's Amelia. May I come in?"
"Yes."
This time around, the door opens with less purpose and in an even slower fashion.
"Hi, Amelia. What can I help you with?"
"Cut the shit. Let's go watchGame of Thrones."
Opening my dresser drawer, I pull out a shirt and slip it on over my head. "Fine, let's go."
I let her lead the way downstairs and follow behind.
Amelia queues up the television while I make myself comfortable on the couch.
"Where did we leave off?" I ask.
"Tyrion won his trial by combat. Daenerys's brother got his golden crown."
"Ah yes, how could I forget that?"
The theme song plays on high volume and Amelia scrambles to turn it down.
"Shit, I don't want my dad to hear and come out and join us."
Her shoulder is touching mine, and you couldn't slide a ruler between our bodies, which is not quite abiding by the stepsibling rule of a mandatory three feet apart.
"If they do come out here, you might want to scoot over," I suggest.
"You're right, sorry." She leaves a couch cushions space worth of distance, and now I feel like a fool for pointing it out in the first place.
Episode eight is done, and I could binge the complete series by that pesky Fourth of July party.
Between the credits and the beginning of the next episode, I turn to Amelia. "Why is Independence Day such a big deal?"
"It is but it isn't. My dad loves tradition. Each year it surpasses the last party in terms of size and celebration. Neighbors would drive to Arizona or Nevada and bring back illegal fireworks…"
"You hooligans."
"A house almost caught on fire one year because someone got some faulty roman candles. When my mom died, my dad was too upset to continue it. I guess all he needed was a new wife by his side to get it back up."
"I'm sorry, you make it sound like it's not even fun for you."
"I only came down once and it was a mistake."
"Why?"
"Honestly? It felt like your mom replaced my mom, like she stepped into her role. It was difficult being around them."
"Sounds like it won't be that fun this year?"
"Might be easier since you're here."
"Excuse me? What was that?" I scoot closer to her to confirm I heard her correctly. "Do I possess the magical fluids of influence, and things are looking better for us?"
