“They are arguing about something insignificant. It’s how siblings show love,” Carol replied with a shrug.
“Oh, I’m well aware,” I smirked before opening the fridge and pretending to look for food, hoping to avoid a shift in conversation.
Carol leaned against the counter. “So?”
“So, what?”
“You slept with Chris Jones. Are we not gonna talk about it?”
Before I could even think of a response, my phone buzzed on the counter.Thank God!I grabbed it like it was the most urgent message I’d ever received. It wasn’t. Just a text from George:“Did you get the box?”
Fuck. I really hoped this wasn’t what I thought it was. Did he somehow take‘stop sending flowers’to mean‘start sending something even bigger and more expensive?’
Carol didn’t buy it. “Was that him?”
“No.”
“Are you seeing him again?”
“No,” I said again, sharper this time.
Her eyebrows shot up. “Oh… that bad, huh?”
I ignored her, scrolling through my phone. I didn’t want to talk about it, even if it was with her. Not yet. I loved Carol, but how was I supposed to explain… everything? It wasn’t the fact that I’d slept with Chris Jones. It was the daydreaming-about-him-for-over-a-decade part. And how it impacted all aspects of my life.
Knowing my sister, this wouldn’t be a quick chat, and I needed a break. A bath, a solid twenty minutes soaking in hot water, and pretending none of this happened, and the world outside didn’t even exist. But Carol, being Carol, wasn’t about to let it go.
“What was wrong withit?”
Why do younger siblings have to be so annoying?
I sighed, continuing to ignore her. I turned toward the stairs, silently praying for peace. She caught the cue but, of course, followed anyway.
“What are we working with here? Small? Weird-looking?Too big?”
“Carol, please.” I groaned.
“Was he into some kinky stuff? I always assume Hollywoodpeople are into some weird shit.” She added, unfazed, as if I hadn’t begged her to stop. I didn’t dignify that with an answer. Instead, I turned and climbed the stairs. “I’ll give you a minute because you clearly need it,” she called after me. “But I expect a full report at some point.”
I paused at the top of the stairs, glancing down at her.
“I might need acoupleof minutes.”
“Okay,” she shot back, “but I have to know what is wrong with Chris Jones’ di—” Her sentence cut off abruptly. I frowned, leaning over the railing to see what stopped her, and there they were. Carol, standing frozen, face-to-face with Nova, whose innocent little eyes were so wide.
“Oh! Hi, sweetheart,” Carol stammered, “I was just… talking about… a dinosaur. You know. Uh, fossils?”
“Who’s Chris Jones?” Nova asked. Like her aunt, she wasn’t going to buy whatever nonsense was being sold to her. I bit back a laugh. Carol shot me a look, silently begging for help, but nope. I wasout.
As I turned to escape my room, I heard. “Oh no! Look at the time!” Carol blurted in a high-pitched voice. “You’re going to be late for school, sweetie! Come on, let’s get moving.”
I barely noticedthe amount of food I was shoving into my mouth with my eyes glued to my laptop.
So much to do.
The container I’d thrown together this morning sat open on my desk, half-eaten. I was so focused on whatever I was doing that I didn’t even hear the footsteps approaching or the door opening.
“I read an article about the dangers of eating too fast. I’llbring it to you tomorrow.” Nana’s voice cut through the quiet.
