Best Friend's Brother

- 9 -

CHRISTIAN LOOKED AT ME WITH a smile and rosy cheeks that basically said it was up to me. It was my decision to decide whether or not we should start a relationship. But I wasn't sure if I wanted to do that right now. I would need to talk to Frida and Sylvia before giving both him and Amara a solid answer. They would need to approve before I can do something like that. I was tired of lying to my sisters who have done nothing but watch my back and protect me, pre-accident and post.

   "Riley! Are you okay? How was school? Did anyone say anything about the scars? Let me know and I'll fuck then up!" Sylvia would said, wrapping her arms around my waist to hug me since no one could put their arms around my back or give me tight hugs because of how deep the scars were. Frida would come in behind me after walking me home even though she was so pregnant. It didn't bother her because she knew she was protecting me. When Alex and Stella would get home, they'd run to hug me. "Ri! Hey Riley!" The twins would cheer, kissing my cheek while on their tippy-toes. Maxine would drive me to every appointment while talking to me easy in the car. "Hey li'l sis, you're gonna get better. I know so. You don't deserve this. You deserve all the good things that were created for you to enjoy. You're gonna get a guy who loves you with those scratches and dents in your skin." She'd say with nothing but a smile of pure sisterly love.

   My eyes moved away from Axle and focused on his chest. My mind analyzed how he breathed, how his chest moved up slowly when he inhaled a breath, and moved down when he exhaled just a tiny bit. A vein was visible on his neck—one of his thick veins—and it pulsed a bit every time he breathed. I was fascinated by how he breathed and couldn't help it. His movement seemed to calm me down more than I should be.

   I took a deep breath. "I need to make a few calls before I can even answer that." I said, scratching my shoulder.

   Axle kissed my head. "Free and Sylv?"

   Amara looked at my face. "You're too selfless, Riles."

   I bit my bottom lip. "Can I do that now?"

   Axle stroked the side of my face. "Do you want us to leave you alone?"

   I nodded. "Please."

   "Take all the time you need, Ri. We'll be downstairs."

   Amara hugged me and I waited for both her and Axle to leave me before taking out my dead cellphone. I connected it to Amara's charger and it sprung back into life. All the notifications flew into the screen and I disregarded all of them as I had only one thought on my mind: Call Sylvia first. She was the first girl that got her heart broken by Axle so she was the first person I needed to call.

   My fingers lingered over the screen, grazing over Sylvia's name. I had to think through things before I could even speak to her. I couldn't just say hey sis, remember the boy who broke your heart and cheated on you with Frida, our sister? Well, I love him and I have loved him for years. Oh! Did I mention he's the reason I was found nearly dead in the middle of King of Prussia Road? Well, he was, all because of his dumb posse. So, that's that. Do I have your blessing? I had to think twice before even saying anything to Sylvia about Christian Thompson. But I knew that Sylvia was going to be easier than Frida. As far as I knew, Frida still had mixed feelings for him, in which I could not bring myself to tell him.

  "Hey Ri. What's up?" Sylvia said, sounding a bit confused.

   "Sylvia, are you alone?" I asked, feeling jittery.

   I could feel her fill up with worry. "Yeah, why? Do you need me to get you?"

   "No. I need to tell you something very important."