𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐀𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐑 |

chapter twenty-four

Enzo

Maia helped me push the couch back so we could set the living room up for us to sleep while Vera was taking a shower. We could've slept in my room but I didn't want us splitting between the bed and the floor so why not we all just sleep on the living floor and make it as comfortable as possible?

Forts exist for a reason.

"This is nice," Maia speaks up, pulling the couch cushions onto the floor. "Having sibling time after so goddamn long."

"It is." I toss one of the large blankets over the cushions, pushing them closer together. "There's a lot we missed out on."

"Yeah...about that," she sighed, leaning against the couch. "I've probably apologized before, I don't know. But I am really sorry for missing out on so many years of being a sisterly figure for you. I should've came back sooner or tried harder–"

"Maia, I'm not blaming you for any of that because it isn't your fault," I assure her, dropping the blanket and standing beside her. "I will admit, there was a small grudge because I was raised to believe that you... left because you didn't care."

She glanced over at me, pursing her lips.

"But I know the truth and I don't blame you. It was our mothers doing, not yours. You were practically forced out of the house, why would I hold that against you?"

I paused, slowly grinning.

"May-May."

She groaned, bringing her hands to her face. "What did I say about that stupid nickname?"

"You loved it when I was five," I laughed.

"And you're twenty now. You use it to annoy me at this point," she grumbles. She loves it.

"May-May," I sang, poking her arm.

"Enough, enough," she chuckled, nudging me away.

"I did mean what I said, though," I said, nudging her gently. "What matters is that I have my older sister back and that's it."

"Thanks, Enzo."

She reached over, hugging me with one arm and sighing. Then, she slaps the absolute hell out of my back.

"Ow!" I groaned, rubbing the spot.

"It was too much sappiness. Now, go check the cookies. You know Vera will kill you if they burn."

Glaring at her, I grunted and went to the kitchen, pulling the tray out of the oven and placing it on the stove. Looks good enough to me. Maia's hand magically crept beside me, almost reaching for a cookie until I smacked her hand. She rubs her hand, jaw dropping in disbelief.

"Vera made them, she gets the first cookie," I told her, shooing her away.

"Whipped," she mumbled, walking off and finishing setting up the living room.

Taking the oven mitt, I fanned off the cookies a bit so they aren't steaming hot when it's time to eat them. Gentle footsteps traveled down the stairs and I glanced over, watching as Vera was jogging down. Her hair was wrapped up in a towel and further down she was dressed in a tank top and loose sweatpants.

She could be a model just in that alone.

Vera gave me a quick kiss then grabbed a cookie, breaking off a piece and biting into it with an approved hum. She took the other piece and brought it to my lips, smiling when I took it after kissing her hand. A kiss to the cheek later and I put all the cookies on a plate, traveling back to the living room.