My Sister's First Love

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A/N: I'm editing this so that I can create an outline! Edited: 8/19/23

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"There's Acute Pain and Chronic Pain."

"Dionne."

"Chronic pain lasts more than 3-6 months, Acute lasts less than, and is considered an injury-"

"Dionne!"

I shut my eyes, shaking my head. Even with the door closed, I could still hear the shrillness in my sister's voice, and annoyance welled up within me.

"Dionne, come down for a sec!"

Toya continues to scream from downstairs, and I knew that if I didn't just find my way, she'd continue all night. There was very little that encouraged me to get out of this bed. With finals right around the corner, the last thing I wanted to do was take my eyes off my book. With a sigh of resignation, I begrudgingly made my way downstairs, bracing myself for whatever had her so excited.

"I thought I'd asked you all not to disturb me," I grumbled.

My mother's sighed, a little laugh leaving her lips as she stocked the fridge with the groceries she had bought. Her purple dress hardly hid her shape, and every so often I would find my father gazing off at her. Like right before he turned to look at me.

"My little brain bug," my father cooed, puckering up his face and I glared at him.

"You guys don't want me to have a bright future, and it shows."

"Your sister's just excited," my mother said, the smile broadening on her face as she side-eyed Toya.

I finally looked at the culprit, only to find that she was hardly containing herself. She leaned against the pillar, her face glowing. I walked closer, placing my hands on the counter.

"What's going on?"

It didn't take her more than a few seconds to practically speed walk towards me, grabbing both of my hands.

"It's Elias," she whispered and her eyes widened. "He's coming back."

My heart dropped at her words, and I swallowed hard, crossing my arms over my chest.

"From the army?"

She nodded her head yes, a wide grin on her face.

Elias was Toya's first love. They met in high school, got together junior year, and stayed together until they graduated and then when Elias deployed. To my understanding, she wanted to make it work between them but Elias didn't believe in long distance, and I honestly understood why. Not just for his sake, but for Toya's sake. I couldn't imagine what it would feel like to hear different news than just him returning. That he had passed or been badly injured. Then again, seeing how she reacted when they had to break up, I think it would've hurt her the same either way.

I just didn't expect her to be this excited upon his return, seeing though they had broken up almost five years ago. It meant that she still had expectations and that there was yet another possibility that she'd end up just as heartbroken as the first time around. The big question would be whether or not things would go back to the way they were before he left, knowing that Toya was looking forward to it being that way. I didn't think her feelings for him had ever truly gone away -- even though she tried to hide it behind different boys and quick relationships these past few years.

"That's . . . so – I'm so happy for you," I gently smiled back, engulfing her in a hug. My heart thumped against my chest, and I hoped that she wouldn't notice, hiding the apprehension on my face. "When will he be back?"