“I guess,” he sighed.
God, he sounded just like Eeyore. And Eeyore was my favorite, but he was ruining the sad donkey for me.
“I laid out some clothes for you to wear. Let’s get you dressed and hit the bar. We’re gonna have so much fun tonight. I heard it’s karaoke night.”
“What? Josie, don’t make me do it.”
“It was such a hit the last time we did it. And everyone loved your impression of Neil Diamond.”
He nodded sadly. “That’s the night I met Pearl.”
I could have smacked myself for not remembering that. “Well, then you definitely won’t sing Neil Diamond. How about Toby Keith? You love his music.”
“I guess.”
“Yeah?” Wrapping my arm around his shoulder, I guided him to his room and practically shoved him inside. “Alright, get dressed so we can leave.”
I pulled the door shut and leaned back against it, screaming silently at how much effort I was having to put into this.
Hurrying to my own bedroom, I changed out of my work clothes and got into something a little more casual, a little more fun. I didn’t normally wear makeup, but for one night, I could let loose a little and dab some eyeliner and mascara on for the fun of it.
Anything that might help my brother feel less like this was a pity date with his sister.
When he emerged from his bedroom, the sadness on his face nearly had me turning him around to put him right to bed to weep into his pillow.
But I was desperate, and if I had to be his date for the evening and show him a good time, that was exactly what I was going to do.
“Ready for the best night ever?” I asked cheerily.
Sighing, his shoulders heaved as if he had the weight of the world on them. “I guess.”
“That’s the spirit!” I roped my arm through his and practically dragged him out the door.
This was going to be the longest night of my life.
“Any chancewhen we get in there, you could leave me in a corner with a bottle of vodka to drink away my pain?”
“Not a chance in hell,” I muttered, already bored with the night.
It was a five-minute drive to the bar, and those five minutes felt like the most excruciating five minutes I’d ever experienced, and that included the time I had to sit in the lecture hall and listen to our principal ramble on about the importance of tying your shoes and all the potential tripping hazards. If Sawyerdidn’t find someone to cheer him up soon, I was going to have to seriously rethink our living arrangements.
I shoved the door open and let the music wash over me. My mood lifted instantly at the sight of so many of my friends, all of them laughing and getting out on the dance floor. How could this night go wrong?
Weaving my way through the crowd, I waved at Cheyenne, grateful for a friendly face. “Hey! I was hoping you would be here. Sawyer had another breakup.”
“Oh, no. Who this time?”
I rolled my eyes, but it wasn’t until she frowned, looking into the crowd behind me, that I realized he was no longer with me. Scanning the path I wove through the crowd, I realized he was tucked in at the door, his head hung low.
“Geez. Give me a minute.”
Laughing, she squeezed my arm. “I’ll get you a drink.”
“Thanks!” I called over my shoulder as I made my way back to my sad sack brother. “Come on. You’re not going to stand in the corner all night.”
“Being here just reminds me of Pearl.”
Snatching his hand, I refused to listen to another second of his whining about losing Pearl. I had to drag him all the way to the bar, and when Cheyenne spun around to hand me my drink, I downed it with much less class than I normally would.
