Three months after the death of her childhood friend and first love, Lea Martinez moves to New York to live with her older brother.
Desperate to escape the trauma of 'that night' and fight her lingering insomnia, she drowns herself in the impending...
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LEO GREETS ME with concern etched in his features when I arrive home at nearly eleven. His eyes rake my form as I stride into the middle ground of the house (shoes kicked off at the door) as if he'll find cuts and bruises on me from walking the streets of New York late at night. "You need a car," he says. His tone is critical and his brows are low. "I almost had a heart attack waiting for you."
I laugh and throw my arms around his neck despite being fresh off the line of serving and cleaning a restaurant. "Aw! You were worried about me!"
"Ew." He shoves me aside as if my uniform carries mutant diseases and dusts his nightwear off. "Go call Mom and Dad, eat dinner, take a shower, go to bed."
I raise a brow at his parenting voice. He's hardly in his mid-twenties and no more mature than I am. "Are you sure you're not my dad?"
He returns to his own age with a swift roll of his eyes. A graceful turn in his white slippers leads him strolling up the stairs. "Just do as I say, dirty girl."
I snort and prance up after him. "Aren't you interested in the events of my first day of school?"
"Oh, yeah. How'd that go? Make any friends?"
"Several!"
"Of course, you did." His tone is light with amusement and he leads me to his bedroom. He turns fast before I can follow him in and holds a slender finger to my face. "Don't come near my bed."
I make a show of cringing in disgust. The thought of it would never cross my mind. "You've had far too many dudes on that bed for me to ever want to come near it, hermano."
Leo smirks with pride and whirls back around. "You should try it sometime. You're almost eighteen now."
"Eh." I shrug and follow him into his pristine room. I've never been interested in guys much. All I cared about was Ethan and having the most fun with him. Perhaps he was the reason I never fantasized about a perfect romance because he was already making me happy in so many ways. When he 'accidentally' kissed the corner of my lips the night of the state fair, I knew what it felt like to be aware of romantic and physical attraction. My heart and body were brimming with foreign emotions and sensations I was dying to explore with him.
Those sensations died when he did.
"You know, maybe a healthy romance is what you need to help ease you in to..." He collapses on his bed and gives me a look that says he's trying to be considerate and gentle but can't quite find the words to say.
I lean on the threshold of his doorway and fold my arms. "Funny how everyone wants to be my therapist when we already pay a little too much for one."
Leo huffs and spreads his arms behind him. "I'm just saying. If he was your only experience-"
"Let's not talk about Ethan." I smile to show that I'm not upset despite the sudden agony ripping through my chest. "Especially in the past tense. He's still here just not in the same form."
