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If the universe had a sense of humor, it was cruel today.
Because as we arrived home, I blew out a sigh when my weirdo best friend sprawled on our living room sofa like a hen sitting protectively on her eggs. He was squinting at us, lounging comfortably with his legs dangling, munching on nuts straight off his stomach.
The last person I wanted to see in a state like this was him. Because I knew Andi would bombard me with a thousand and onequestions—
“Wait—what the hell?” Andi frowned, narrowing his eyes at me. “Bib? Why are your eyes red?” He squinted harder, and the second he caught the puffiness in my eyes, he shot up, set the nuts on the table, and rushed toward me. “What happened?” he asked, eyes fierce.
Exhausted, I sighed, walked past him, and dropped my bag on the sofa. Tsabinu followed behind, locking the door. “Andi, what are you doing here? At this hour?” I asked, rubbing my eyes as I collapsed onto the couch.
Avoiding his questions, of course.
Andi raised his shoulders as if it were the dumbest thing to ask. “Isn’t it our dad’s birthday tonight?” He shrugged, looking back at me as if I were the clueless one.
This guy…
“My dad,” I met his gaze as I spoke, then pointed at Tsabinu, who was calmly taking a seat. “And his dad.” Then I jabbed a finger at Andi. “Yours is at your freakin’ home, Andi.”
Rolling his eyes, he waved his hand at me. “Duh, your dad loves me, and I love him.”
Now Andi plopped himself on the couch beside me, his expression sharp as his eyes darted between Tsabinu and me. I knew, without even looking, that Tsabinu was already shaking his head in warning, but, of course, Andi was Andi.
He leaned in and hissed under his breath. “Bitch, you ditched my calls all day. That’s first. Then you left me hanging with a thousand questions. That’s second. And—” His voice rose until he practically exploded. “AND I KNOW YOU MET ZIOH TODAY, DIDN’T YOU?!”
His shout made me wince and cover my ears. Tsabinu and I exchanged the same pained grimace. “WHAT THE HELL? HE’S SUDDENLY WORKING ON OUR COMPANY’S PROJECT?!”
“Andi—”
“No, no, no, what the fuck? You must have met him, right? Didit dragged you to see him, right? Bitch, what—”
“Andi!”
Like I said.A thousand and one damn questions.
I glared at him while Tsabinu sighed and shook his head. “Andi, my dad’s already asleep. Shut it, or I’ll grab that knife—” I pointed at the cake box with the little plastic knife inside— “and stab your neck with it.”
Andi rolled his eyes. “Okay, okay, but—wait.” He squinted at Tsabinu. “Why aren’t you shocked, Bib? Hah?” His face lit up with realization. “You already knew, didn’t you?! And you stayed silent—”
I smacked him with a sofa cushion.
Not a knife.
For now.
Andi glared, then grabbed my wrist. He yanked me toward the stairs. “Come on,” he hissed.
“Where are you going?” Tsabinu stopped him.
“To her room,” Andi answered, whispering as if only now realizing how late it was and that my dad was asleep.
Tsabinu shook his head. “No. Stay here. A man and a woman shouldn’t be alone in a room.”
Andi gaped, his face screamingwtf.“Bib, if I wanted something with your sister, it would’ve happened ages ago. I’ve been with this creature forever,” he pointed at me, “If we wanted each other, you’d be a damn uncle by now. My ‘junior’ doesn’t work with her, so stop being fucking difficult. Come on, both of you, grab the cake, let’s do this upstairs.”
Andi stomped off first, grumbling.
Tsabinu and I stared at his back in disbelief, and an exhausted sigh escaped my brother beside me. “How are we even friends with him, Dek?”
