It’s a full-on belly laugh. I think it’s officially my favorite sound.
Every time I think something about her is my favorite thing, something new comes along. They’re all my favorites.
“Come on, let’s go work on our reading challenge, far, far away from Mom and Dad’s room!” Lil grabs the plate of cookies. Ariana shoots me a grin before heading up the stairs behind Lil.
Now, what the hell am I supposed to do? I debate hitting the gym again or going for a swim, but I don’t want to be alone. Which is weird for me because I’m used to doing shit by myself. But sometimes it’s nice to be in the same place as someone else, like earlier when I sat outside drinking coffee with the girls. Being here has made me crave that.
I walk upstairs. The girls are settled in on the couch with their Kindles. Ariana has a blanket over her lap and legs. It’s the one she uses the most and is threadbare in spots. The plate of cookies is already half gone, so I grab one before it’s too late.
“Do you two mind if I play video games or something in here?”
“Go for it. I’ll yell at you if it’s too loud.” Lil smirks but doesn’t look up from her book. Ariana tilts her head up and smiles at me before going back to her reading. I drag a giant lime green bean bag chair from the corner and plop down in front of the TV.
Over the next few hours, every time I glance over my shoulder, they’re not in the same place as they were the last time I looked. Sometimes, they’re on opposite ends of the sectional. Sometimes, one has her legs thrown over the other’s lap or her head resting on a leg. At one point, they both have their backs on the seat and their legs up and over the back of the couch. Another time, Lil is lying on her stomach while Ariana is curled up in a ball in the corner, both napping. Occasionally, I hear one or the other say something like, “Holy hotness, you have to read this one!” Or, “What the fuck did I just read?”
We eat cookies and other random snacks they keep grabbing from the pantry. They have a couple of those nasty ass energy drinks while I stick to water. I don’t know how any of us are hungry at dinner time, but we dutifully eat the enchiladasBecca made, only to return to the living room as soon as we’re done.
“Ari, are you reading that why choose I told you about?” Lil asks.
“Yes. How do you keep all the peens straight, Lil? This shit’s so confusing.”
“What’s confusing about five boyfriends?”
I turn to look at them.What the hell?
“Besides the fact that there’s five of them? This girl has family drama, school drama, and best friend drama going on, plus a stalker, and then she’s gonna add five dicks to all that? No, thank you. I mean, I’m still gonna read it because I’ll read basically anything in the romance genre. Except clowns.”
“Clown porn is where you draw the line?”
“Yup. All smut is good smut until the clowns show up.”
“What the actual fuck?” I ask, shaking my head. They laugh and keep reading.
Before we know it, it’s midnight.
“My eyes are burning with the flames of hell and regret.” Ariana has those burning eyes closed, so she can’t see the grin on my face.
“Mine are bugging out.” Lil blinks about a thousand times.
I drag the bean bag back to the corner and fold the approximately fifty-seven blankets on the couch. Lil grabs the snack garbage while Ariana takes care of the drinks.
“Fuck, this one’s still half full.” I shouldn’t be surprised when Ariana lifts the energy drink can to her mouth and downs it. But I am. Have I mentioned lately that she’s going to be the death of me?
It’s still true.
“It’s midnight, and you’re just now chugging the last of that damn thing?”
“I forgot about it until now,” she shrugs.
“I think it was mine, actually,” Lil says.
“Just dump it down the drain.” A vein in my temple starts to throb.
“Just… dump it down the drain? That’s… no. Just no, Luca,” Ariana shakes her head at me like it’s the stupidest thing she’s ever heard.
“Ari’s never met an energy drink she wouldn’t finish,” Lil says, like drinking half an energy drink at midnight is no big deal. I guess maybe it’s not, based on some of the stuff I’ve read about neurodivergents, but it’s hard to wrap my head around. A lot of stuff here is hard to wrap my head around.
I groan and run my hand down my face before stomping away.
