I shuffle into my kitchen wearing a frown despite being overwhelmed by the scent of fresh brownies. “Seriously. What are you doing here?”
Elliott answers by locking me in a bear hug that’s impossible to wiggle out of. Trust me, I try. After ten seconds of squirming, I begrudgingly relax into the embrace.
“I hate it when you’re mad at me, Yaya.”
“Then don’t do things that make me mad,” I grumble against his chest.
Snorting, he tugs at the end of my ponytail. “I didn’t touch alcohol or smoke weed until college because I was scared of making you mad.”
Kennedy huffs a laugh from where she’s sitting on my counter, her long legs dangling over the edge. “Being on the receiving end of your death glare sucks.”
It takes a lot to make me mad—truly, deeply mad—but when a person does, I don’t half-ass it. I go full passive-aggressive, with the accompanying side-eye and bitchy tone. I’m not proud of it, but we all have our flaws.
Elliott loosens his hold on me, and I take a step back, ensuring I’m out of random hug-attack range. Kennedy dips into the Tupperware and holds a brownie out to me, but I shake my head.
“Are you here to apologize?” I ask my brother, arching a brow at him.
He sighs heavily. “No, I’m here to explain myself.”
That takes the wind out of my sails. “So you’renotsorry?”
“Sounds like a line from a Taylor Swift song,” Kennedy giggles, licking chocolate from her fingers. “But I digress.”
“Am I sorry that keeping the information to myself inadvertently hurt you? Yes, of course. You’re my big sister and I hate seeing you upset. But not telling you was in your best interest.”
I throw my hands up. “How the hell can you say that not telling me my boyfriend’s being traded and moving across the country is what’s best for me?”
“If I’d told you without giving Cole a chance to talk to you himself, you would’ve cut your losses and run.” His eyes soften in a way that has always made it hard to be upset with him. “You’d swear it couldn’t work, citing every excuse in the book, when really, you’re scared. You hate change, Ya. I’m not blaming you, because God knows you have every reason to, but sometimes change is good.”
Too caught off guard by the depth of what he’s saying to come up with a snarky response, I merely say, “Well, Cole didn’t tell me himself, so…”
Real fucking mature, Maya.
Elliott shrugs. “He fucked up on that account, but I genuinely think it was because he didn’t know how to tell you. His reasons for hiding it from you weren’t malicious. It’s no different from when you failed to mention to anyone that you got a scholarship to Northwestern.”
Kennedy sputters, sending brownie debris flying.
I’m too shocked by my brother, once again, to protest at how gross that is. Theonlyperson who knew I got a full ride to Northwestern was Kennedy, and I made her swear on her love for the original cast ofWickedthat she’d never tell anyone.
“What?” I stammer, my chest tightening, making it hard to breathe. “I don’t—I mean—that has nothing to do with this.”
“Oh, yes, it does.” Elliott crosses his arms over his chest. “You kept that admissions letter tucked away in a drawer because youknewAva and I would feel guilty that you turned it down so you could stay close to us. And you were right. It kills me that you gave up your dream because there was no one else to look after us. But you did what you thought was best, and I don’t blame you for that. I hate you a little for it, sure, but your intentions were pure.”
“So this was you doing what you thought was best for me?”
He shrugs, suddenly looking more like a sheepish kid than my adult brother. “I guess, yeah.”
I exhale through my nose and give a slow nod. It’d be hypocritical of me to stay upset with him, given all I’ve hidden over the years in an attempt to make his life easier. That doesn’t necessarily make itright, but I made a judgment call, the same as he did.
“When did you grow up and get so?—”
“Intelligent? Thoughtful? Remarkable?”
It takes effort to keep my eyes narrowed when the urge to chuckle is so strong. “I was going to say frustratingly logical.”
With a grin, he swipes a brownie from Kennedy and pops the entire thing into his mouth. “You have to talk to him, Yaya. You can’t stay holed up in your book cave forever.”
My body sags. “I don’t even know what to say to him at this point,” I admit, rubbing my brow. “I didn’t even know a trade was on the table, let alone a very real possibility. He blindsided me.”
