The Dare Games ✓

― nineteen: liar, liar

          If she lost someone who she was close to, she'd be devastated. She can't imagine losing her parents, or her best friend, or anything. Thinking about the future, and how grown she'll be and that at some point her parents won't be around anymore―physically pains her. But growing up knowing your favorite person in the whole world will not get the same chance as you: to live, to love, to be free―would be hell on earth.

          "What?"

          Nico side glances her, he looks at her like he knows she wants to ask something. Not that he knows what she's going to ask, but he can sense it's not something he's going to want to hear. Parker awkwardly shifts her body to look toward him. "I've heard you have a lot of siblings," Nico nods, not responding to her for a clear reason: there's nothing to say. She can tell, though, that he's uncomfortable with the feeling of her looking at him and asking about his family. It's still a touchy subject to him, and obviously she knows why. "Can...can you tell me about them?"

          Despite the fact Nico's still looking uncomfortable, and his grip on the steering wheel he keeps shifting, he talks about them anyways. "The oldest is Alejandro, he's nearly thirty―has a wife, three kids, and lives in Seattle. We don't talk. Then there's Mariana, only two years younger than Alejandro―she got pregnant at sixteen with her high school boyfriend, she left home at eighteen. Valentina is in her mid-twenties, up and disappeared a few years ago―haven't seen her in a long time. Sebastián is her twin, they were close and he was devastated when she left. He lives at home, with me and my dad, and he hasn't been the same since," Nico pauses, his voice stuttering as he clears his throat to continue. Parker bites her lip, is he actually going to talk about Sofía?

          "Lastly, there's me."

          She moves to look away. She knows she shouldn't press it, but at the same time...she can't help herself. "What about Sofía?" Nico's grip on the steering wheel tightens, and he looks somewhere between frustrated and worried. Did she press his buttons? Yes. Did she mean to? No. She just wants to know.

          "We don't talk about Sofía."

          "But, you were close with her, right?"

          Nico scoffs, "She was my sister, of course we were close," He parks the car, not far from the entering gates for the hiking path. He turns off the ignition and twists his gaze toward her. "But that's not what you want to hear, is it Parker?" The brunette shakes her head, and watches as he turns in his seat to face the front once more. A look of nostalgia passes over his face, as she wonders if he's thinking about all his memories with his sister. "Sofía was different from everyone else in my family―she had a certain 'je ne sais quoi'. No one else but her had that. That's why she was special. That's why my family loved her so much,"

          "After she died, everything sort of just...broke. Alejandro doesn't call home anymore. Doesn't come for holidays with his family. Mariana blames mom and dad for Sofía's death, screamed at the funeral. Like Alejandro, she doesn't call or visit. Valentina left―before that, she cried for days on end. She and Sofía were always really close, not as close as I was, but still. It ruined her. Sebastián became a mess, stopped working, and just sort of stopped living. Especially after Valentina disappeared. My mom separated from my dad, and left Arcadia. I haven't talked her since that day she packed up everything and drove off. Dad's an alcoholic now. He's never not with a drink in his hand," Nico turns to look at Parker, a sheer look of annoyance on his face. He didn't want to have to talk about his family. He didn't want to talk about any of it, but she pressured him. She backs away, a little scared. "Is that what you wanted to hear Parker? That my family's fucked, and I take my anger out on Leo?"