How to Love ✔️

23 enough

"Oh yeah." I could hear her smiling. This room witnessed two smiles today. "What does she have to say about it?"

"Katie greatly disapproves."

"Tell Katie to pay for seventy-percent of my rent and I'll kick Santana out." Someone yelled, Eden swore, a door slammed, and I heard her bed creak as she lay down. "How is she?" Eden whispered.

"Same as always." I eyed the tubes, the heart monitor with a steady red line and my sister, laying in bed, looking like that princess she was obsessed with as a kid. "Hey, what colour are you wearing to the wedding?"

"I thought I promised you devil red," she said while yawning.

"You did, and we both know how important promises are to you."

"Very funny."

"But you did break your last one, so. . . I need some guarantee you won't break this one too," I said, ignoring the nurse now glaring at me. I still had, like, five minutes. "Eden?"

"Too soon."

I chuckled, shoving the dress shirts in my backpack in a way that guaranteed they'd be covered with wrinkles.

"Can I come over?" I asked. "I'll make it up to you."

She wouldn't let me though. At least not in the way I had in mind. Eden had spent the entire weekend at my house, just the two of us, and insisted on sleeping on the couch. Then pretended to be surprised when I forced her to take my bed instead. What'd I get out of it? A bad back and an even worse case of blue—

"Are you using me as an excuse to see Santana?" She was laughing so loud I had to hold the phone out in front of my face until she calmed down.

"Can you come over instead?" I was halfway out the door, and the nurse finally stopped glaring. I waved to Katie and made my way down the hall, pressing the phone closer to my ear.

"I have class tomorrow at eight," Eden said, "and then work all night. Rain check?"

My heart wasn't racing when I stepped into the elevator like it used to. I wasn't worried about what would happen to Katie when I was gone. Or if I'd return tomorrow to find her condition had worsened. I wasn't crying. My hands didn't shake.

I listened to Eden's voice as the doors closed, then watched the numbers flash until it reached the main floor.

Well, that's not entirely true.

My heart was racing. For a different reason now.

________

I got back to my apartment to find my parents standing in the hall. They were talking, with their faces nearly touching. I could tell they were angry. Dad's arms were crossed too tightly, and Mom never went anywhere without a smile.

They turned towards me at the same time, and both of their faces lit up. It reminded me of the summer Katie's hamster died. They looked at her the same way before breaking the news.

"What are you two doing here?" I asked, reaching into my pocket for the keys and wondering when the last time I vacuumed was. Or washed the dishes. Even opened a damn window.

Mom laughed too loud. Dad slapped my shoulder, then said, "We don't need an excuse to come visit."

"We just went for dinner down the street," Mom added, walking in first and turning on the lights. "And you disappeared for a week, Truman. You know we worry when you leave."

"Right." I grabbed three water bottles from the fridge and joined them on the couch. There was that look again, the bad news lingering behind too wide smiles. "Will you just tell me what's going on?"