“Didyouknow?” I shoot back. We’re not togetherallthe time.
“No! I’m still stuck on the fact that you assigned him a ringtone like it’s 2006. Who does that?” She laughs with a wide-eyed expression. “Does he know aboutyour …”
“No! And you’re not telling him. But that song’s always been my favorite, and something about him … it just fits.” I shrug. “You know I give everyone a theme song. I’m ‘Lucy in the Sky,’ and you’re ‘Smooth Criminal.’ It doesn’t mean anything.”
Doesn’t everyone do this? No?
“What about Sam? ‘Carry On Wayward Son,’ right?” She laughs, knowing our love for the showSupernatural.
“That was my brother’s first, but yeah, it makes me think of Sam too. ‘Brother’ by Need to Breathe is probably my Sammy song.”
My brother, Jamie, is only twelve, but he makes me feel like the “get his butt out of trouble” sister version of Dean. And as for Sam? Under all the silliness, he’s as much my brother as Jamie.
“What about Jace? What’s his song?” she asks, trying not to sound too interested.
“From your perspective or mine?” I tilt my head to stare at her much like our subject does to me.
“Is there a difference?” she asks.
“Uh,yeahhh.” I raise my brows until my meaning hits and her face flashes with annoyance. She throws a balled-up paper towel at me and rolls her eyes.
She decides she needs to hurry and get to work, but I laugh and call out my answers even though she’s pretending to ignore me.
“From your perspective, ‘She Will Be Loved,’ obviously, but from mine, ‘Real World’ by Matchbox Twenty. Or ‘Welcome to the Jungle.’ He’s so moody, he gets one for each personality!” I yell after her as she climbs the stairs.
“Okay! Gotta run!” she yells back, all the way done with this conversation once it involved her and Jace in the same sentence. I still don’t know what’s up with them. It’s subtle, but it’s not nothing.
I shove my laptop into my backpack and shuffle back to my room to get my phone from the charger. I pull on my sandals and head out into the sweltering heat.
My phone pings as I get in the car, and I breathe a grateful sigh of relief when it starts right up and the air begins to cool. I take a minute to respond to messages that have come in over the last hour before I leave.
Mom:OK, let me know.
Me:I will. Love you!
(Regarding the weekend visit.)
Nathan:Going to bed. Call me at 3.
(I’ll clear my calendar. Stress level up two notches now.)
Jamie:It wasn’t my fault.
(Nice of him to respond to a message from a week ago.)
Derf:He’s an idiot. Joey thinks so too.
(High school bestie in Kentucky. Real name Alex. Referring to something Nathan posted online. She’s not a fan.)
Jazz:Your dead to me.
Me:**y-o-u-’-r-e
(Musician friend in Texas. Real name Josiah. He might’ve received a glitter bomb in a birthday card.)
Joey:You doing ok? Just checking in.
Me:I’m good J! Miss you. Say hi to the fam for me.
