I shrug. “Fine, my cousin’s birthday brunch. Ali, I don’t really see a difference.”
“Ugh.” She facepalms. “What is it with you three and your dislike of family?”
Well, my only problem is with Bailey and her mom, my aunt Janine, who asks way too many questions and speaks when no one wants her to. The rest of my family is crazy but still lovable.
“Not all of us have amazing relatives, sweetheart,” Vinny reminds her. “The ones who don’t are a large gang of misfits.”
“Misfits with shitty families,” Crew adds. My eyebrows furrow at his comment, and I’m tempted to ask more, but he would have told me about it if he wanted to.
I nod, downing my dose of medicine and chasing it with water. Honestly, there might not be enough Adderall in the world to get through brunch.
“Well, you’re all a bunch of lovable misfits,” Ali says, bringing the two boys in between her into a group hug, while shooting me a wink. This is my cue to head back into my room before she gets too mushy.
I run through a checklist of everything I need to get through my brunch.
Car keys? Check.
Phone? Check.
Lip gloss? Check.
Wallet? Yup, I have that.
That leaves…
“Must be a glamorous doom you’re heading towards.”
I spin around to find Crew leaning against my door frame. Crew has already visited the apartment before, so why do I feel a little fluttery inside with him standing like that?
Placing one hand over my heart, I say, “You are just full of surprises today.”
“Well, I aim to please.”
“You know, I didn’t think you’d be visiting today.” Or at all. Wouldn’t he have better things to do today?
“Well, I had nothing to do.” He straightens up, stepping into my room with ease. “Might as well, right?”
“At least you’re enjoying the company for now.” I step over my backpack and open the nightstand drawers. What am I missing? I always remember to bring five things, regardless of where I’m headed.
“Before you march off to your doom?” He kneels to meet my gaze. “Family troubles, too?”
They weren’t always “troubles.” Bailey used to be my favorite cousin growing up. Sadly, times have changed, and it’s best not to dwell on it. People always change, and there’s nothing you can do about it.
“It’s probably nothing compared to what you have.” Even though I know nothing about his family troubles.
“Don’t compare your problems to mine,” he murmurs. “They are just as valid as anyone else’s.”
When my hand finds the camera, I pull it out of the drawer and place it in my tote bag in an attempt not to act like I was affected by a sentence that I’ve heard multiple times. “I’m just not my cousin’s biggest fan. We don’t have a great relationship anymore. That’s all.”
Instead of continuing with the discussion, I rummage through my purse, mentally checking off everything. “Okay, I think I got everything.”
“You don’t have your ring.”
My ring? I lift my right hand and, to my surprise, he’s right. I forgot to put my Claddagh ring back on my finger after waking up. Reaching for my nightstand, I grab the ring on top and stand back up, turning around to face him. “Why are you always around when I’m forgetting it?”
Crew shrugs. “Why are you always forgetting your ring when I’m around?”
“Touché,” I chuckle. Since I have everything, all I have to do now is drive to Carson’s and pick him up, because he doesn’t trust anyone else to drive except for me and Diana. Since Diana wasn’t invited, Carson and I have to fend for ourselves at the birthday brunch.
