Can't be Bought

Chapter 15 - Sister Time!

After all of the craziness from the weekend, I needed time to just chill. Volleyball practice has been kicking my butt and stressing me out. A few days into the week, I called my sister to hang out so I could spend some time with her and get some advice.

We decided to go to a pet store to play with puppies because we both miss our dog from home. Looking around, we asked if we could see the four husky puppies. They put the dogs into a little room with us. We had dog toys, beds and a few treats. The puppies ran in and bounced from wall to wall eating my shoelaces, biting onto Luna's scrunchie and playing tug of war over the toys. 

"So, what have you been up to?" Luna asks while pulling her tube top up, preventing one of the puppies from pulling it down and exposing her. She laughs, looking into my eyes, waiting for a response. 

"Well..." I sigh.

"You remember that guy from the auction?" I ask wearily, squinting my eyes and bracing myself for impact. A smile fills her face.

"Oh my gosh, yes!" she squeals. 

"What happened?" Luna jokes, raising her eyebrows at me. 

I grab one of the puppies and place them in my lap, allowing them to chew on my fingers even though it kinda hurts. 

"We went on the date, he took me ice skating and to the beach. It's funny because he didn't even know me to know that I love those two places." I pause, waiting to see her response. Her mouth is open slightly and she laughs quietly to herself. 

"And?"

"And then the night ended." I shrug. 

"But he invited me and the girls to a pool party the next day and we went. It was fun." I smile, thinking back on the memories, especially the bridge. 

Luna pokes my side, making me laugh. She grabs the puppy out of my lap and places it in hers. She lifts the puppy's arms up and motions them as though the puppy is scolding me. It's adorable. 

"You're not telling us everything." She says in a baby voice, as though she is talking as the puppy. 

I giggle and look at the other three puppies play-fighting with each other. 

"We may have kissed."

Instead of looking at her, I continue to look at the puppies and try to keep myself from smiling. 

"Cammie!" I laugh and look over at her. 

"What?!" I ask cheekily. 

She gives me a stern look as if to say this is serious. She purses her lips with some sass.

"Did you finally find a boy you like?" She jokes, raising her eyebrows and smiling while talking. 

"Ugh! See this is why I don't tell you everything!" I'm only joking, of course, I tell my sister almost, everything. 

Luna smiles, pushing the puppy out of her lap to go play with its brothers and sister. 

"I don't think that's everything. You wouldn't bring this up unless something is bothering you." She adds, making our conversation a bit more serious than before. She brushes the dog hair off of her pants and looks at me. 

"What is it?" Luna asks, inquiring for more. 

Should I tell her what I'm thinking?

Without realizing it, I start talking. 

"I just have this feeling." I pause for a moment, contemplating what I'm about to say. 

Do I tell her? 

"This feeling from Mary. I don't know what about but she was off." I twirl my fingers through the ends of my hair, a little bit nervous that I said that out loud. 

"What do you mean?" She asks, her nose all scrunched up

"It's just the other girls seemed happy and excited. She's my best friend, I thought she would be too. But she just seemed fake, like she wasn't really excited." I go on to tell Luna exactly what Mary said and explain my thoughts. 

Luna's not sure what to think and tells me I should try talking to Mary about him again and see if she reacts the same as before. I agree. 

Shortly after, we end up giving the puppies back and heading to the car. We drive back and I drop Luna off at her place since it's just down the road. 

I feel better now that I've gotten to talk my feelings out. 

As she's getting out, I remember something. I quickly roll down the window to catch her before she gets inside. 

"Luna!" I yell. She stops and turns around, walking back to peek her head through the window. 

"Yeah?" She asks, tilting her head to the side. I think she's noticed there isn't a smile on my face. 

I look at her and I can feel the tears form in my eyes.

"You know it's this Sunday." my lip quivers slightly, but I push the tears back.

Her eyes soften and I can tell she might just cry too. 

"I know."

"I miss him." Instantly I know I'm going to lose it. I close my eyes to feel a tear fall down my cheek.

"Me too." She opens the car door and hops in, giving me a hug across the seats. We both sniffle, trying to hold back our tears. Luna pulls away, we both wipe underneath our eyes and laugh. 

"Same place as last year?" She asks. Her eyes are red and nose runny but she flashes a reassuring smile.

I nod my head and push my hair out of my face. 

"Of course."

Luna opens the door and steps one foot. She looks back at me. 

"I know he's so proud of you." She grabs my hand and smiles, fighting back the tears again.

"He's proud of us," I add, smiling with tears in my eyes too. She lets go of my hand and makes her way out of the car. 

"I love you!" I say quietly to her as she closes the door. 

 With the window still rolled down, Luna pops her head in my car once again.

 "I love you baby sis." And with that, she's headed into her house. 

As I drive the few minutes to my place, I can't stop thinking about my dad. I can hear his laughter, see his smile, feel him mess up my hair. It's been almost 5 years without him and my heart still hurts.