He rescued me on Thriller Thursday.
But then, there’s the rest of it—the expectations, the talk of babies, following the rules, and everything moving too fast.
I don’t know how to reconcile those two versions of him.
Apollo
Any preference for the filling of the chocolate cake? Cream? Raspberry?
If I ignore it, he’ll stop. Right?
It’s mid-afternoon and my oldest brother, Landon, stumbles down the hallway as if he just woke up. One hand brushes through his long blond locks and the other scratches his six-pack.
“Morning,” he mumbles. His eyes are bloodshot, as usual. Glassy. And unfocused. I know he parties hard withTheta, but I’ve seen him look morenot herethan normal recently.
“You didn’t stay at the fraternity manor last night?” I ask, picking up a grape and tossing it in my mouth. Mom sets a sandwich in front of me. I can still feel my father’s stare. Observing me as carefully as he does the stars.
“Nah. Crashed here.”
Something in the way he’s not telling me why makes mesuspicious. Lan says everything he’s thinking. If he’s not busting out with some story as to why he didn’t stay atTheta Rho Zetalast night, there’s something going on.
“Saw Ayan Dutta the other night. Trying to be a dick again…” Too astutely, Lan changes the subject and gets me to forget about his non-answer.
“Oh? Where?”
He snorts a laugh and takes a huge bite of my turkey and cheese. With a full mouth, he smirks as I swat at his hands when he tries to swipe it again. “In a parking lot. Nose busted.”
At that moment, my youngest brother appears. Clean, sharp, and brightly awake. Spitting image of our father. He slaps a hand on Lan’s shoulder, and his knuckles turn white from how hard he squeezes it. “But we’re not discussing that. Because weweren’t there.”
I whip my head toward Dad to see what he’ll say, but he acts as if nothing just happened and flops down at his desk.
“I don’t need you two to do anything.”
“We didn’t doanything,” Lan says, eyes flat. He smacks a kiss on my cheek and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. “Love you, sis.”
SonowI’m your sister, I want to say. But don’t.
Bo bumps my shoulder with his as he passes on the way toward the front door. That’s as much affection as he’ll show me.
Apollo
Executive decision. Raspberry and cream. Two different layers. Do you want steak, fish, or a veggie plate for the meal?
My head snaps up when my mom speaks.
“Put a shirt on, Landon. It’s after noon,” Mom chides him as she sets down a second sandwich. And a third for my dad. She eyes Bo, who returns from the entryway.
“Someone’s at the door,” he says, eyes wide with concern.
Every cell in my body pauses its function.
“Who?” I ask.
Time stops. My breath is knocked from my lungs, and I audibly grunt with shock when I hear the words in slow motion.
“Holy shit,” Lan says, glancing out the front window. “That’s the president ofDelta.”
“Apollo Griffin?” Bo asks, but it’s less a question of his name and more of why he’shere.
