Dear August

|Twenty-Four|

"Finley?" I call through the shut door, Joey standing beside me. Were answered by soft footsteps and sniffles leading up to the door. The lock clicks over and the door is opened revealing a puffy eyed Finley.

Joey and I enter cautiously, closing the door behind us. Finley plops herself back onto her bed, crossing her ankles and clasping her hands together. Joey and I share a look before walking towards Finley and sitting on either side of her.

"So what happened?" Joey asks, placing a hand on Finley's back. Finley lets out a puff of air.

"They're not gonna be back till July. Probably not even then."

"How long has it been since they left?" I ask leaning over slightly so I can see Finley's lowered face.

"Five months. I mean, I talk to them, they call me occasionally. But, they're supposed to be here for me, you know?"

Joey and I nod.

"Five fucking months I haven't been able to cry in my mothers arms, or casually fight with my dad about whether or not we bought butter the last time we went to the store. The phone calls are always, 'Hi, how are you, how's school going? Great? Okay bye.'"

"How often do they call?" I question.

"Once a week."

"I mean, Finn, they're always gone. Haven't you gotten used to it?" Joey draws soothing circles on her back.

Finley stops wiping away the tears streaming down her face and lets them drop onto her folded hands.

"Yeah. I'm used to it. But that's the bad part about it. No kid should be used to coming home to an empty house. No kid should be used to having birthdays without their parents, or not having parents to come home to and complain about how much they hate school."

Joey and I stay silent and share another look.

"Look, I mean a visit every so often would be appreciated. They practically live there now."

We let Finley silently cry for a few minutes, patting her back and softly reassuring her.

"Hey Finn," her red eyes look up and meet mine. I smile softly and place a hand on her shoulder. "You may not have parents to cry and yell at, to come home to, to congratulate you when you get an A on your test, but you have us. We're your family. We'll be here for you no matter what and we're not going anywhere. Okay?"

She blinks away a few tears and bites back a smile.

"Okay," she softly responds. "Thanks guys." Finley engulfs Joey and I into awkward side hugs.

"Anytime," Joey laughs. "Now. Let's go plan that party before the boys order a jumpy castle."

"I actually think a jumpy castle would be fun," Finley laughs as she hops up from the bed and towards the door.

"I'm not going anywhere. I promise you. I'll be here for you no matter what. You're my little sister and I'm supposed to protect you from anything and everything."

"Riley?" Joey and Finley look at me from the doorway as I remain on Finley's bed.

"Sorry," I laugh and hop up from her bed and towards the door.

•••

"Okay how about a tiki themed party? This is a start of summer party. We gotta impress the guests," Luca suggests as he jots down some of the things her said onto a note pad.

"Didn't know high school parties had themes," I joke. Luca looks at me and rolls his eyes.

"Only the good ones my dear Riley," he taps the pen on my forehead.