Love In The Fast Lane

Chapter 1

"Aria Patel, starting in 2 weeks, you are going to be the eldest sister in the house, please make sure you're paying attention to more than just your studies okay?" Kiara says giving me a meaningful look

I sigh flopping on the bed. "Yes ma'am."

"But also, do pay attention to your studies, it's your junior year so, it's important."

I look at her, a small smile forming on my face. "Sure ma'am."

Kiara gives me a look. "Drop the sarcasm."

"Yes ma'a- sorry, Kiki."

Kiara narrows her eyes. "I really hope you mean it when you say that you understand."

I look at her. "I do, seriously, when you give someone the same lecture a billion times, they really do end up understanding the thing they are meant to understand, you know."

She shakes her head rolling her eyes. "You and your sarcasm."

"Ria! Kiki! Come downstairs, Aiden is here for dinner," Zizi, our younger sister calls out from downstairs.

Aiden young, he was Kiaras boyfriend, her current one and her only one, she'd been dating him since she was 15.

Kiara stiffens and the gesture doesn't go unnoticed by me.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

She smiles, but it doesn't reach her eyes. "It's nothing, let's go downstairs."

I knew better than to push her  into telling me, she'd only tell me when she was ready anyway.

I nod and follow her downstairs.

Even the way Kiara and Aiden meet is stiff, they hug but there's no actual love in the gesture.

I normally didn't like to butt into Kiara's buisness, because all 3 of us were like that, the type to keep our problems to ourselves until we felt like sharing it.

Right now however, I was concerned, especially because in 2 weeks from now, Kiara was going off to New York, almost a thousand miles away from us, all of us, for college.

Aiden was a year younger than Kiara and a year older than I.

Kiara walked off to the table to help out Mom with the food, and Aiden came up to me passing one of his easy smiles.

He raised his hand for a fist bump and I smiled bumping my hand to his.

He ruffled my hair, something that had become his traditional mark for me, and something that I hated in the past but now became a sort of endeavor. I caught his hand, swatting it away.

He smiled and walked towards the kitchen leaving me to follow behind.

"Wow mom, you really went all out huh?" Kiki voiced out to mom.

Mom sighs and shakes her head. "Hey this is only because this might be one of the last few times we have dinner together in a while."

She glares at mom. "Do you want me to cry?"

Mom smiles coming up to her and holds her in a tight hug.

She whispers something to her so low that no one could hear, and I watch in envy as her eyes tear up.

I sometimes find myself wishing that Mom and I had a relationship like that too.

"I don't like you sometimes," Kiki says to mom wiping her tears.

Mom smiles teary and looks at all of us. "Let's start eating!"

We all look at each other and pass a smile before and sittting down and beginning to eat.

Later on that night, Kiara comes into my room, climbing on my bed.

"I'm sleeping in here tonight."

I nod. "Sure."

I wake up in the middle of the night to see Kiki gone from her spot at first I assume that she went back to her room since it was too cold in mine but then I hear noises outside.

Noises like an argument, I look outside the window and see Kiara talking to Aiden who was crying, I couldn't make out any of the words but I had a feeling what they were talking about.

I turned on the light to my room, and a while later, she came upstairs, teary eyed.

She climbed my bed again and faced her back towards me without saying anything.

I reached out to close the light once again and just then she speaks.

"Aiden and I broke up."

I sigh as I sit on the bed.

"Why?"

"Because I'm going to college, and it's too far to date me, he's not coming there ever."

"But don't you love him?"

"Yes." She sits up.

"Daddy said never to date unless we were 30 or if we were really really sure, do you remember that?"

I smile. "Ofcourse, I remember that," I remember everything about dad, I might even have more memories of him than Kiara, after all, I was dads favourite, Kiki was moms favourite and Zizi was spoiled by all of us.

She smiles sadly. "Sometimes, I miss him a lot Rica."

At the age of 11, 9, and 4, us Patel girls lost our dad due to a car accident, we were all very young but Kiki and I remembered everything, I remember more than she remembers because I was in the car too, but I had survived.

Out of all 3 of us everyone says Kiara looks the most like my dad with her deep coloured skin and her high cheekbones, our dad is, was, indian, and our mom is white, people say that I am a perfect mix between the 2, with my healthy long black hair that reaches until my waist and the lighter skin tone with hazel eyes.

Zara looks the most like mom, with her dirty blonde hair and  light grey eyes.

I nod. "Me too."

"It's like, he's there but he's not, not really, not in reality." Her voice cracks.

"I know."

She sniffles once and even though it's dark, I can tell she's crying.

I place a hand on her shoulder.

"Everything will be okay, Kiki it'll will work out."

"And if it doesn't? What if Aiden never stops caring about me the way he does right now?"

"He won't stop caring, but that doesn't mean he'll love you forever either Kiki, it just means he.... well cares."

She sighs. "I hope so."