Still, I struggle to breathe and to keep up the fragile mask threatening to disintegrate off my face. It doesn’t help that as I walk out of the library and head to the university’s parking deck where my car is, I feel like I’m fighting against gravity.
“Danny!” Pen calls my name, halting me before I make it inside the parking deck.
I hope to God Angel didn’t tell her because I told him not to.
I turn, masking a smile. “Hey.”
“Where’s your phone? I’ve texted you like twenty million times.” She stands in front of me, panting and slightly sweaty.
I should tell her. She’s right here. She deserves to know, but so did Adrian and he’s not here.
The bridge of my nose and the back of my eyes burn.
“Did you run here?” I blink the feeling away, but that distorts the color making everything one blur of black and white.
Smile harder.
“Yeah, I wouldn’t have if you would have answered your phone.” She aggravatedly blows out a weary breath.
“Sorry, I was busy.” I fish my phone out and sure enough find ten messages from her. All of them are her asking if I have cash on me. “Really, Pen? You know there are ATMs everywhere.”
“I know but they tax you like five dollars, and in this economy, I refuse to lose that.” She wipes the sweat off her forehead. “So can I borrow twenty dollars?”
“Borrow?” I cock a brow, knowing damn well she has no intention of ever paying me back. “You owe me like a thousand dollars.”
She gasps, pretending to look offended. “That’s not true. I’ve never borrowed that much.”
I pull my wallet out. “Do I want to know what it’s for?”
“Nope.” She sweetly smiles at me when I take out forty dollars. As she goes to take the money from my hand, her eyes do a double take on my wallet. “What’s that?”
“What’s what?” I quickly shut it and tuck it in my pocket.
Her eyes narrow in suspicion. “What are you hiding?”
“What are you talking about?” I take a step back when she takes a step forward.
Her gaze burns a hole in my jean pocket, and she takes another step. “What’s in your wallet?”
I stretch my hand out, my palm on her face to stop her from taking another step. “Do you have no sense of personal space? You’re worse than Angel.”
She slaps my hand away. “I don’t think your boyfriend would appreciate you talking about him like that. And I’m your sister; personal space doesn’t exist between us.”
“Is that right?”
“Don’t do that thing where you mix my words and use them against me,” she says and again, she tries to get closer. Somehow, she manages to achieve it because she’s right in front of me. I try to push her off, and if it weren’t because we’re on campus, I’d put her in a headlock. We play around a lot and have playfully fought, but not everyone sees it that way and I don’t want them to think I’m attacking her. Which is why she finds a way to take my wallet out and opens it. Her eyes excitedly shine until she sees what’s inside. Her entire face morphs into confusion. “Why do you have this?”
“No seas pinche metiche.” I snatch it away and tuck it deeper in my pocket.
“Is that the?—”
“It’s not. I gotta go to my hiking seminar. Do you need anything else?” I step back, adding enough distance between us, but something tells me she’s not going to get in my space again.
She saw it and knows exactly what it is. But I deny it regardless.
Her lips stretch wide into a knowing grin, eyes sparkling with hope. “Oh Danny.”
“Shut up. It’s not like that. I meant to take it out.”
