The Way It Was Before

sixteen

Clover hadn't talked to me from that day on. I tried to approach her many times in hopes of striking up a reasonable conversation with her, but she would only grunt and take off. She wouldn't even meet me at school or spare me a glance during dinner. I couldn't put up with her stubbornness any longer, so when the weekend came, I tried to end our silence.

She was reclining on the porch swing and reading a book from my shelf—her biggest tell when she was bored and angry. Her eyes looked like laser beams burning holes in the book. If she were a stranger, her visage would scare me away for sure. I stood over her and poked her shoulder several times.

"Clover, talk to me." I must've looked like a child begging her parents for food. "Clover Jane, please talk to me."

"Go away."

That was harsh, but at least she finally talked.

"This is ridiculous," I said, my shoulder slumping. "Our first sibling fight is over some guy I don't even have romantic feelings for."

She slammed the book shut and turned to me in disbelief, a reaction I didn't anticipate. "What? You don't like Michael? How?"

"I'm so confused," I mumbled to myself. What on earth did she want me to say? I shook my head to ignore her question. "Look, what happened last time wasn't a date. We were just hanging out as friends. I'm sorry I wasn't honest with you. I'm sorry I didn't tell you that we were talking."

Clover took a few moments, either assessing the truthfulness in my words or constructing a critical remark. Then, she sat up, placed her feet on the wooden floor, and sucked in air through her nose.

"No, I overreacted. I should be saying sorry," she said in a softened tone. "When I saw you finally going out with a guy and having a good time, my first reaction was to get extremely jealous and feel sorry for myself. I should've been happy for you."

I sat next to her hunched figure and put a hand on her shoulder. "Clover, we are not going out."

Her mouth lifted to one corner in dry amusement. "That's hard to believe when you two looked like you were having a blast. You guys could've burst into a song, and I wouldn't have been surprised."

"No, I swear, we're not together like that. We're just friends."

"Almost every relationship starts with that classic line."

"I'm telling the truth, Clover," I insisted. "You can ask him yourself."

She narrowed her eyes at me and pulled out her phone from the pocket of her shorts. I couldn't believe she was going to ask Michael right away. Although I was sure he would answer her truthfully, I couldn't help getting apprehensive.

A minute later, Clover shrieked, "See? I freaking knew it!"

I seized her phone and read their messages.