Always Us

sister's keeper pt. ii

"I think you guys can top it," Gianna fueled the fire, her smile growing wider as Audrey squirmed away from her brother. "Maybe six."

"Enough, Gianna."

"I don't know, mom," Gianna tittered. "You should hear—" A cushion hurled at her face. Full force. Her cheek stung. Eyes wide, she shot a desperate look at her mom.

Olivia ignored her. "Audrey is going to get her degree and go to law school."

"Yes ma'am." Audrey gave a resolute nod. Because even though her best friend and boyfriend's mom had basically treated her like one of her own for the past seven years, the woman sometimes scared her. Perching her hands on the edge of the couch, she felt it was the appropriate time to announce her exit. "I think I'm going to head out now."

Caleb was already a half step behind her. "I'll walk you out."

"Bye, Mrs. James."

Gianna watched the two linked hands exit the room. They truly were perfect for each other. She wanted to puke.

"You're just going to let them go out like that? Aren't we supposed to stay here all day—not moving—because that's what dad said this morning somewhere between we're so disappointed in you and what kind of example are you setting for your sister. He needs some new lines by the way. Those are getting kind of stale."

"He's walking her home," Olivia said, picking her article back up. After reaching the bottom of the page, she muttered. "And he'll be back within ten minutes if he knows what's good for him."

"You'd be surprised what they can accomplish in ten—" Her mom's glare shut her up. She rerouted the conversation, not caring that her mom was clearly trying to get through at least one page uninterrupted. "You and daddy never held Sienna and Jackson hostage. What is this? Some kind of new parenting technique you read about? Shouldn't we be in school?"

"SiSi and Jax didn't have a habit of sneaking out of the house three times a week."

"Yeah, well. They're boring," she muttered.

The mother sighed, setting her article down on the small wooden table beside her. "Come here."

Gianna begrudgingly slunk off the couch and dropped herself between her mother's legs. A pleasant tingle trickled down her spine, and she let her eyes fall shut.

"You know we love you," Olivia spoke softly. "With every fiber of our beings. We want you safe, GiGi."

"I know," Gianna mumbled, tilting her head so that her mother's fingers reached the crook behind her ear.

"You have such a beautiful life ahead of you, and your dad and I will support you in whatever direction you want to go. You just need a bit of a plan, baby."

Gianna opened her eyes, her gaze drifting to the pile of sketchbooks on the coffee table. Throughout the day, she had drawn every inanimate object there was to draw in their living room. She was bored by noon. Her mom's thumb ran smoothly down the back of her neck. She bit her lip and prayed. "I don't want to go to college."

For a second, the soothing strokes stopped, but by the time her mom started speaking, they were back, somehow gentler than before. "And that's okay."

"But I don't know what to do instead."

An open palm landed face-up on her shoulder, and she reached for the thinnest paintbrush on the coffee table. Her mom drew a straight line down her scalp with the fine wooden end then thrusted half the curls forward. Holding them taut, Gianna allowed herself to relax against the familiar feel of her mom's knuckles rocking methodically against her head. Halfway down, her mom spoke again. "What is it that you love about art?"