Noah continued to sip from one of the free sodas, so I assumed there weren’t any qualms for him.
“Maybe I should change my major.” Daphne ruminated asshe stirred the orange liquid in her glass. “I don’t think nurses get to go to Aruba for free.”
The waiter brought the pizza then and set it in the center of the table. Noah sliced it, and I ignored the frown on his face. I gave Daphne my full attention as she rattled on about majors and minors, and why did finals count so much toward your grade, anyways?
“Well,” I said through a mouthful of cheesy goodness. “Enjoy spring breaks while you still can. I think it’s nice you planned to visit your brother.”
I didn’t realize I had stepped onto a landmine until it exploded. The full force of it hit Noah’s face, as he stared at Daphne, who pointedly looked away from the disaster.
An unplanned visit, then.
“I missed him,” Daphne said, then admitted, “Also my friends told me it would be best if I didn’t go to New York with them.”
“What?” Noah exploded. “Why?”
“It makes sense,” she said in a small voice. “We wanted to do different things. And they wanted to stay in these expensive, five-star hotels?—”
“Daphne.” Noah covered his face with his hands. “We’ve been over this. If you need money, just come to me.”
“And as I’ve told you, I don’t want to spend my life depending on you?—”
“You’re twenty years old. You’re not in any way dependent on me?—”
“I am,” Daphne said decisively. “And it stops now.”
Suddenly, I felt very out of place. The wallpaper behind them became fascinating to me. Black-and-white swirls spiraling into the abyss. If I stared too long, I swore they moved.
Moving.Great idea. I should move. Relocate. Flee thepremises and let the two Hansley siblings duke it out without me.
I shifted toward the edge of my seat, but Daphne stopped me with an arm. “Macey, what do you think?”
From Noah’s glare, I gathered I shouldn’t have any opinions on the matter. Unfortunately for everyone involved, I did.
“Based on the limited knowledge I have of this situation”—I met Noah’s eyes—“I think it’s understandable that you’d want to be independent and handle things yourself.”
Daphne nodded, satisfied. Noah, on the other hand, looked like he was mentally drafting my obituary.
“But,” I continued, hoping I could hop out of the grave he was ready to dig, “it’s also okay to accept help from other people, too. I wish I had someone like Noah in my corner when I was in college.”
Noah’s glare shifted from murderous to mildly offended. “You make it sound like I’m a rare Pokémon.”
Daphne smirked. “A charitable, overprotective Pokémon.”
Noah groaned, dragging a hand down his face. “I swear?—”
But Daphne was already humming the Pokémon theme song under her breath.
Noah tilted his head an inch, and I had a bizarre urge to run a hand through his hair. Check if it was as soft as it looked. He looked not at all like an Instagram bad boy. Just an older brother. A lot of concern. A little vulnerability. Watching me quietly.
“True friends would have met you in the middle,” I added.
Daphne nodded. “I know. Chicago’s better anyways.”
Noah tried to force salad on my plate, but I waved him away. Only carbs for me tonight. “Now that, I agree with.”
For the remainder of dinner, I focused all my attention on Daphne, trying to ignore the way her not-so-bad older brotherwas staring at me like he had just learned something that tilted his world on its axis.
7
