Thud. “Ow.”
My eyes widen. Even when I don’t want the answers, I still get them. That was a rhetorical question, man!
“Why me?” I mutter under my breath. “Why me?”
Don’t get me wrong—I’m extremely happy for my brother, especially because his girlfriend is awesome. Diana Blanco is probably the only person I think is suited enough to have a relationship with Carson or anyone in my family because we’re one crazy bunch.
It’s times like these that make me regret being spontaneous. There isn’t enough bleach in the world to erase this from my memory.
“You can come up now, Diana,” I assure her, feeling the instant regret of calling Carson.
Diana’s dark head peeks out from the bottom half of the screen, and eventually, I’m able to see her entire face. Her curtain bangs look more like regular bangs with how they rest on her face, and her red lipstick is a little smudged. I glance at Carson’s face and see the remnants of the lipstick on his mouth and neck.
At least they’re fully clothed this time. I don’t need a repeat of last Halloween.
“Please tell me you guys finished before I called.” As soon as the words leave my mouth, I cringe at the other implication. “Okay, I take those words back. All of them.”
Carson sighs. “You haven’t had any Adderall today, have you?”
I chose to go on meds about four years ago to help regulate my neurons and shit—like every other being with late-diagnosed ADHD. Do they work? Yeah, that’s only if I remember to take them. Most times, my memory is like a roll of developed filmthat’s been exposed to light before the chemicals—there will always be some blank spaces where pictures should be.
I shake my head. “My prescription is empty and I need to get it refilled.”
“Why don’t you do it today?” Diana asks. “The pharmacy’s like, ten minutes away from you.”
“But the traffic,” I groan.
“This is California,” Carson points out. “We’ve lived in this state for our entire lives, and you’re still complaining about the traffic.”
Diana pats his shoulder. “You guys have never driven on the streets in Florida if you’re still complaining about traffic here.”
“Over a year ago, you were complaining about driving ingeneral,” Carson points out before bringing his attention to me. “She gets her license and is now an expert on the road.”
“She’s an expert at not getting carsick,” I tease.
“Way to make me look bad in front of my girl.”
I shrug. “Just calling the shots where I see them. You two have been dating for a while now, so it’s not like she hasn’t seen the worst of it already.” Carson’s struggled with motion sickness since childhood, and it still follows him into adulthood. He can’t leave the house without a bottle of Dramamine, but, according to Diana, it’s not as terrible as I claim it used to be.
I refuse to believe her claim until I see him without a bottle of Dramamine the next time I visit him.
“So, Car,” my brother says. “What’s your reasoning for calling me? Now, of all times?” He raises a brow.
I shrug. “Am I not allowed to call my brother?”
“Not without a reason.”
“You should know that there’s always an exception to that.” I fiddle with the strands of my dark hair, which is almost identical in color to Carson’s. We’re the epitome of fraternal twins who were identical in a past life. Same brown hair as our mother,and pale blue eyes like our father. Even our initials are the same. Similar on the outside, but our interests could not be more opposite.
My brother rolls his eyes at the screen. “Right. Of course, there is.”
“I’ll come back later,” Diana tells Carson. She stands up, bending down slightly to press a soft and sweet kiss to Carson’s lips before waving at the camera. “I’ll see you later, Carly?”
“Bye, Wonder Woman,” I chuckle, waving at the screen.
When she disappears, a laugh leaves my brother’s lips. “So you’ve decided on Wonder Woman, now?”
I nod. “It’s fitting. Her name is Diana, she loves Greek mythology and can talk back to you without hesitation, which is a wonder unto itself. Hence, Wonder Woman.”
