"So what, now we're going to live together?" Jamie takes another step towards me. "That's your idea of a good plan?"
Unwilling to back down, I poke a finger at his chest. "This is my family's house. Not yours. I have every right to be here."
"Newsfl...
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“You know, for the record, I think this whole thing is a little over the top.” Enzo pokes me with his foot. “You’re doing fine. Mom and Dad don’t need to be so worried.”
I’m oddly touched by this. The thought that Enzo’s on my side in all of this is comfort to my poor betrayed soul. “Well, at least you’ve got some faith in me. Did you know this whole thing was Marco’s idea?”
He’s already apologized more than once, and explained all about how he was just trying to help, how he thinks I’m stuck in limbo, and maybe this could be good for me. I’m not mad anymore but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t still sting.
“Don’t pout, Liss,” Enzo teases, even though I totally wasn’t pouting. “Marco just feels bad for ditching you for his family. He thinks he’s let you down or something since he can’t be around much anymore.”
So they’ve talked about it. They talked about me? I’ve never imagined my siblings having conversations that involve me, aside from, “Remember when Lissa was four and she married the dog? Hilarious. So, the stock market.” Apparently, I was wrong.
“Thanks, Enzo.”
“No problem.”
He pulls out his phone and starts scrolling, and we fall into a comfortable silence. Not for the first time, I wonder how much closer he and I could have been if it hadn’t been for Christy. I can’t blame him for picking her over me. She was his baby sister for five years before I came along. On my least selfish days, I’m even glad for her. With all the chaos of Christy’s life, she deserves someone steady and loyal like Enzo. But I’m still jealous sometimes when I think of how things could have been, if she hadn’t always made him choose.
“Man, my shift’s in ten minutes.” Enzo jumps to his feet. Luckily for the rest of us, he’s actually taken an interest in Dad’s sports equipment business, where they rent out everything from ice skates to kayaks. We were all relieved when Dad realized he didn’t have to keep guilt tripping the rest of us.
I toss Enzo his keys.
“Thanks for dinner, but you still owe me,” he says as he stuffs his feet into his shoes.
“Yeah, yeah.” I scowl. “Three car cleanings and a month of laundry.” I was really cheated on that deal.
“And hey.” He pauses next to my chair. “If you really want this place for keeps, don’t give up. You can be pretty creative when you need to be.”
Then, because he can’t just say something nice, he ruffles my hair like I’m six and cheerfully tells me, “This is my last set of clean clothes, so you’ll want to run a load tonight. Key’s under the mat.”
I bat his hand away. “Wonderful. Looking forward to it.”
