My critical-thinking skills don’t work on an empty stomach, which is probably why it doesn’t hit me until right this second. Maldonado.Eat you alive.Those fathomless dark brown eyes burning through the center of me. There’s only one other person I know with that last name and coincidentally, she also lives in this building.
No. Fucking. Way.
It’s ridiculous, the series of coincidences we’ve been through. There’s no possible way Andrew’s sister could be…
“Uh, random question,” I say as I arrive outside apartment 213. “What did you say her name was again?”
He doesn’t have to answer because Leti is bounding up the stairs this very moment. I get five whole seconds before she spots me,already marking the differences from when I last saw her this morning. The flowy sleeves of her blouse are pulled up her arms and her hair is tied in a messy, lopsided bun at the top of her head—and not the artfully, done-on-purpose kind either.
But it’s her expression that halts me in place and pulls my brows down in concern as she climbs up the stairs. Her eyes are scrunched closed, one hand gripping the railing so hard her knuckles turn white, mouth turned down in that permafrown I’ve come to expect from her, but somehow it’s different. Softer than the scowl she leveled at me this morning. Hell, even her resting face has more bite than this. No, this frown is…sad.
Her slumped shoulders tense as she finally spots me, and that sad frown curls downward into the sneer I prefer and am all too familiar with.
“Seriously, just drop the bag and run.” Andrew’s voice startles me out of my thoughts, and I register that he’s probably been talking for a while. “Trust me. You’re better off not meeting her.”
Too late.
“Is that mine?” she asks as I hang up on Andrew. My roommate and best friend—Leticia’s brother. There’squite literallyno escaping her. “Since when do you work for Grubhub?”
“I don’t.” I shake my head. “This got left at my door by mistake.”
“Thanks,” she says as she takes the bag, avoiding my eyes.
“How’d your meeting go?” I ask before her hand reaches the doorknob, because for some reason I can’t shake, I don’t want her to leave yet. I want to know what had her looking so defeated, and why one look at me suddenly has her back in fighting form. “Have they decided to let you off the hook with subbing for the year?”
She heaves a sigh, and when she shuts her eyes, it looks as if the weight of the world has fallen back on her shoulders.
“Actually, I found out another teacher left that they need me tofill in for.” She shakes her head. “So who knows how long it’ll be before I get to do my job.”
“That sucks.” I grimace. “No wonder you look…”
Her eyes narrow on me in a death stare and my mouth shuts immediately, lips curling inward until they disappear. But if I’m being honest, I’m not nearly as cowed by her as I’m pretending to be. If anything, I’m delighted to be glared at so evilly by her again.There she is.And when she nearly laughs at the expression on my face, my heart could burst from how hard it’s beating inside my chest.
“Think closely before you finish that sentence, Gutierrez.”
“…like you could use a good nap?” I cringe. It’s not my best save, but at least she seems willing to let me off the hook for the slip. “All I meant was it’s clear you’re stressed out. You don’t look bad, I swear. I can’t even imagine how that would be possible.” The words are out of my mouth before I think better of it. If I squint, I can swear that new curve to her lips is a smile.
“Anyway”—I rub the back of my neck—“I thought you didn’t have a brother.”
There’s no mistaking the way her shoulders tense. “Never said I didn’t.”
“You only mentioned an older sister on Saturday,” I say. “But you’re Andrew Maldonado’s sister, aren’t you?” I would’ve made the connection sooner if she hadn’t omitted having a brother at dinner.
She lets out a sigh that deflates her shoulders. Then she nods.
“Small world, huh?”
“Suffocatingly small. I’m pretty sureyou’rerelated to a girl I went out with earlier this year.” Her brows crease. “Well, I guess we never technically went out. Angela Gutierrez?”
“My cousin.” I nod. “Thought I recognized you from her party.”
“You were there?” She places a hand on her hip. “How come you didn’t say anything before?”
“I…wasn’t sure,” I lie, flat out, and I’m not even sure why. Maybe because the thought of confessing I knew who she was from the very beginning when she had no idea who I was is embarrassing enough on its own. Now that she’s rejected me—asecondtime—it’s outright mortifying. “There were a lot of people. It was a hectic night.”
“That’s for sure,” she agrees, then hesitates as if mulling over something. “Listen, please don’t tell my brother we went out. It’s not a good look for either one of us anyway.”
“I guess I can see how that would be awkward for you. If it helps, I haven’t had the chance to tell him much about the date yet.” At least, I haven’t given him aname. I have no idea how he’d feel if he found out I went out with the older sister who doesn’t like him. “He spends most nights at Kayla’s, so it’s kind of like I live by myself.”
