"What?"
"That your best friend is Noah. He’s like feral energy in human form. And you’re…well. You’re you."
He shoots me a side-eye. "What the hell is ‘you’re you’ supposed to mean?"
"It means you are all quiet and bookish and saintly," I say, leaning closer, "and then climb on top of me and whisper shit like—"
"Gio, DO NOT."
"‘I wanna scream your name so loud they hear it across the fucking street, Gio.’"
"Oh my God, stop."
"You know I won’t."
Rava groans, letting out this deep, frustrated sigh that makes me laugh.
"You’re a menace."
"And yet your legs were shaking."
He doesn’t answer. Just tightens his grip on the wheel. Which means I win. I lean back and stare up at the roof of the car. As soon as Rava pulls into the driveway, he reaches for the keys and turns off the engine. "Wait here," he says, alreadyunbuckling his seatbelt. "I’ll go grab my mom and we’ll head to the hospital. You want anything?"
I open my mouth to say no, but then I remember. "Yeah. The pies. I’m coming in to get my damn pies." He laughs, shakes his head. "Obviously."
We step inside the house. It’s quiet except for the sound of a show playing faintly in the living room. "Why the hell haven’t you answered your phone, you idiot?!" Daisy’s voice shoots out like a bullet.
She rushes up to me, then wraps her arms tight around me before I can even say anything. "We were worried sick!" I blink, surprised.
"Sorry. Um, thanks."
She pulls back a little, looking me over. "I hope everything goes well, okay?"
And that’s when it hits me again. The anxiety. The weight of it all. It’s been hovering in the background the whole time, dulled by everything else. Rava’s confessions, the kisses, the laughter in the car, but now it’s back.
Then someone slaps me on the arm.
"Why the fuck aren’t you answering your texts?" Lorenzo says.
"Why the fuck are you in his house?" I ask.
Rava turns, eyebrows shooting up. "Yeah, seriously. What the hell are you doing here?"
Lorenzo shrugs. "Dude. I’m worried about my poor aunt too, everyone was here, so I figured I’d come too. Also…"
He nods toward the couch.
"My amazing girlfriend kinda lives here, in case you forgot." Daisy flips him off, and he looks at her like she’s a star. Jin, sitting criss-cross on the rug, headphones around his neck, mumbles just loud enough for us to hear.
"Dating in this family is like borrowing sugar from your neighbor and ending up pregnant with his cousin’s baby."
I glance at Rava, who tries to hold in a laugh. Rava’s mom pops her head out from the kitchen. "Pies are ready! Grab anything you need, we’ll be leaving soon." She turns to me with a warm smile. "Eat up. Now. We’re staying with her tonight. I’m not letting my friend go through this alone."
My chest squeezes at her words.
God, I love this woman.
…
