Dead Girl Walking ― Aaron Minyard

32. i found

and i'll use you as a makeshift gauge
of how much to give and how much to take
― amber run

♦

MARA VOWED NEVER TO GO SHOPPING ALONE WITH NICKY EVER AGAIN. 

She was well aware it was her own damn fault for waiting until the last minute to get the twins' birthday presents, but in all fairness, they hadn't given any indication that they were even celebrating it. Even Nicky confessed that they wouldn't make it a big deal, so why she'd let him talk her into shopping with him anyway, she couldn't say. 

"I always get Andrew a book," Nicky said, pulling into the local mall's parking lot. "Safest bet. But nothing cheesy or optimistic. And nothing nonfiction. He likes to make fun of crime thrillers—the worse, the better." 

Mara nodded slowly. "And Aaron?"

"Oh, I'm leaving that to you," Nicky said, winking at her as he pulled into a spot. "You're his girlfriend."

Mara made a face. "We never should have told you about that." 

"Yeah, but you did," Nicky teased. "Because I'm y'all's biggest supporter!"

"You're our only supporter," Mara reminded him. "You're the only one who even knows." 

"Neil knows," Nicky pointed out. 

"Well, he is certainly not a supporter," Mara conceded. Her brother had made it clear he thought they weren't right for each other—as if he knew either of them well enough to have an opinion in the first place. 

She grudgingly followed Nicky into the mall, straight to the bookstore. Mara found two books— one that sounded absolutely ridiculous and couldn't have more than two stars on Goodreads, and one that actually looked like it might be good, which was quite the commendation, seeing as her father was so much like all these crime thrillers' antagonists. 

"When's your birthday?" Nicky asked her as they waited in line to pay. 

Mara considered lying, but she figured Neil Josten had a different birthday than hers and Nathaniel's, so it shouldn't matter. "January nineteenth." 

"Oooh, you're a Capricorn," he said. 

"I don't know what that means," Mara said. 

"Your zodiac sign?" Nicky asked. "Please tell me you know what zodiac signs are." 

Mara shrugged as they paid for the books and headed back into the mall. "Sounds familiar, I guess."

Nicky sighed, shaking his head. "We'll have to do something for your birthday," he said, moving on. "I throw a bomb-ass party." 

"Do you?" 

He feigned offense. "I do!" he insisted. "Just because Andrew and Aaron refuse to have a party doesn't mean I couldn't throw them a rager!" 

Mara shook her head. "I don't celebrate my birthday," she said. "It wasn't really a thing in Evermore." 

"Well, you're not there anymore," Nicky said, sounding resolute. "So we have to have a party, even if it's something small. We threw Kevin one his first birthday at Palmetto." 

"How'd that go over?" Mara asked. 

"Swimmingly," Nicky said. 

"Is that code for 'Kevin got absolutely plastered and couldn't tell you a thing about the party itself'?"

"...Maybe," Nicky confessed. "But he still had fun!" 

"In case you haven't figured it out, I don't really do fun," Mara reminded him. "Besides, I'm just turning nineteen. It's no big deal."