When I didn’t get an answer, I worried he had burned himself. I gave him a quick once-over, head to toe. He seemed fine, but I wanted to be sure.
“Hi back,” he said.
“What?”
“You said hi. I’m saying, hi back.” It took my brain a few seconds to understand before I started laughing, and he joined me.
“I’m fine, don’t worry,” he added when he saw I was still a bit worried.
“I’m Dagon, by the way,” I said, reaching out to him. He stared at my hand with furrowed brows, and I was about to pull it away when he grabbed it.
“I’m Di. Nice to meet you.”
“Welcome to the family.”
With a shy smile, he said, “Thank you.”
“What are you doing up so late anyway?”
“Um, couldn’t sleep.”
“Yeah, I get it: a new place, a new life, new people. You’ll feel at home soon. Give yourself some time.”
He nodded and started cleaning the mess, but I stopped him, “Go sit down. I’ll take care of this.”
“No, I-”
“Leave your big bro to take care of it, Di.”
His eyes widened a bit, but he did as I said. I was sure everything felt strange and uncomfortable to him. For all of us, it felt that way when we first came here. Even for Bren and Luc, I imagined it had been the same.
However, I meant what I said earlier. I didn’t believe I’d feel part of this family when I joined it. I didn’t think I’d look at King as my father or at the boys as my brothers. But years later, here I was. The Hughes were my family, and Di was part of our family now. I didn’t need to get to know him better to feel it. Diablos was already my brother the moment our father sat us down and told us we’d have one more family member.
“So, what would you say about some late-night talking?” I smiled over at him as I asked.
He hesitated, his brows furrowed, and I wondered what he thought and felt. When I was sure he would refuse, he surprised me by saying, “Sure, let’s do this.”
We spent the next several hours talking, eating snacks, and playing games. I learned Di liked reading books, though he didn’t say what kind. We were a year and a half apart, and since I was a year behind in high school, we’d graduate together. I was also pretty sure he was bored out of his mind after listening me talk about history. I enjoyed it more than anything.
Usually, I was only this talkative with Andras. There was something about Di that made me feel… I wasn’t sure how to describe it. Right? Right sounded strange, but it was the first word that came to my mind. Anyway, I called it a night when I saw he barely held his eyes open.
Before heading to bed, he said, “Thanks for today, Dagon.”
“No need, little brother.”
***
Six months later
It was 11 p.m., and I was waiting for Di to show up in the kitchen. Our late-night talks had turned into a tradition. Every Friday night, we met here, drank tea, and talked about random things. Last time, I listened to him complain for an hour about our chemistry teacher. That witch wasn’t someone I even wanted to think about.
Andras had joined us a couple of times as well, but he was more of the silent type. So, he would just listen or played on the PlayStation while we talked.
I’d already made the tea and was eating a chocolate brownie when Di arrived. He looked more at ease now, like he was finally settling in.
“You started without me?” he asked, in mock accusation.
“I was hungry!” I raised my hands in an innocent gesture like a kid caught red-handed.
