You and Me and Us | Muffy

Part 8

Marty's POV

When I get inside, I notice a light on in the kitchen and walk in to see the shadow of my older sister, Courtney, cast upon the cupboards. She bites into a cookie and raises an eyebrow at me as I enter.

"You're home late," she points out. "It's almost 5:00 AM."

"Please don't tell Mom and Dad," I say.

"I won't. I genuinely could not care less about what time you get home at. But I am curious as to where you were."

"I was out."

"Well, that part's obvious," she scoffs.

"What about you?" I say. "Why are you home so late?"

"I'm not," she retorts. "I'm up early for work."

"Oh."

"You were out all day yesterday too," she states. "We literally got here, like, two days ago, so how could you already have friends to hang out with?"

I lean my arms on the opposite side of the kitchen island from where she stands.

"Contrary to what you seem to believe, people do like me."

"And who are these people?"

I pause before answering, "Do you remember Buffy?"

"Your girlfriend from middle school? You're seeing her again?"

"I never stopped thinking about her when we left," I admit. "And when we got back, I just really wanted to be with her again."

"And you succeeded?"

I grin and glance down at the countertop before looking back up and nodding.

"Congrats," she says. "So exactly where were you?"

I reach for the camera hanging around my neck and turn on the preview of the photos to show her.

"Working on a photography assignment," I reply.

"That doesn't look like Shadyside."

"That's because it's not."

"You were driving out of town and you didn't tell Mom and Dad?"

"I'd appreciate if you wouldn't tell them either," I say. "And if they ask about my flat tire, I was just going to Denny's."

She smiles at that and takes the camera out of my hands, getting a closer look at the pictures.

"She's grown a lot since I last saw her," she mentions.

"Yeah," I say as I walk around the island to join her. "She has."

I look at one of the photos of her at the lake, where her hair was flying wild but she still looks beautiful as ever.

"I'd say she's still the same on the inside, but I think she's even better."

Courtney glances up at me. "Do you still like her the way you used to?"

"Nah," I respond. "It's more."

"More as in . . .?"

"I'm in love with her, Courtney. Everything about her is just . . . perfect. And I never wanna let her go again."

She smiles and gives me back the camera. "She's cool, so if you want to keep her, make sure she doesn't find out how lame you actually are," she teases.

"Thanks," I say sarcastically.

She takes another chomp out of the cookie she'd been eating, then says with a full mouth, "Turn off the lights when you're done in here."