Devil on the Rooftop [Book 1]

Chapter 84 - Loyal -

Tomasia tracked me down to the rooftop during lunch to finish the conversation we started in the hall. I wasn't looking forward to hearing her lecture me on my dating life—nothing good ever came out of it. The last time she meddled in my personal affairs, we stopped talking for months. My sister had a lot of questions for me that day. Why did I pretend to be dumber than I actually was? Why did everything mom and dad say make me so angry? Why was I always trying to get out of being the successor to the family business? Why didn't I trust her more with my problems? They were all good questions in hindsight but the answers would be difficult to swallow.

Tomasia was six when she found out I could hear people lie. Fascinated by my gift, she tried to test me many times. She thought my ability was so cool, and while she was busy envying me, I was busy envying her. Like so many other, normal kids, she was aloof to the reality of our world and how cruel it could be if you caught on to the politics of family and friendships.

I tried to protect her to the best of my ability. I threatened guys who dared to look in her direction. After Tomasia's encounter with Dobberman, I stopped hovering. I sort of felt responsible for the tragedy that took place. Dobberman would have never made a move on her if I didn't make such a big deal about her being off-limits. The asshole challenged me, and during his scheme to piss me off, he ended up falling head over heels. Tomasia was quick to reject him, as her eyes were set on a different boy at the time. A boy who hadn't caught onto her feelings yet.

"Did the acceptance letter get sent to the school too?" Tomasia asked, leaning against one of the power ramps. "It did, didn't it?"

"He sent it to the school dean," I calmly replied. "Good news, I'm allowed to stay at Jackheights until the end of this term. Bad news, he has to tell the board aka mom and dad about the acceptance letter when they consider me for next year."

Tomasia rolled her eyes. "And you're dating the girl who made all this happen. You're out of your mind."

"It's not Arisa's fault." I sighed. "I made a bad first impression and she took caution. If anything, that means she's smart and resourceful."

"So, what?" Tomasia snapped. "You're going to stay at Jackheights for this term and then go to Brown in the fall?"

"No," I scoffed. "Trust me, once this term is over everything will be different. I won't have to do anything I don't want to."

"Don't be so naive!" Tomasia's reply was abrupt. "What about Arisa Hoffman?"

"She's my girlfriend," I told her. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't threaten to kick her out of the school."

"I didn't," my sister lied.

"She said you did."

"I implied that she wouldn't be here because I was hoping you and Khaleel would snap out of it, and toss her out like you did all the other idiots who disrupted the peace."

"Khaleel's the one who needs to snap out of it," I argued, angry at the reminder. "His obsession is bordering on creepy, forcing girls to kiss him."

"You tricked that exchange student into kissing you before she left," Tomasia pointed out.

"Using spin-the-bottle with witnesses around!" I clapped back. "It was a completely different situation."

Tomasia shrugged. "I'm just saying, sometimes people do stupid things to get their way. Neal sure did."

I watched the light leave her eyes for just a brief second. "But that's neither here nor there," she faked a smile. "My point is, you should listen to both sides of the story before coming to a conclusion. Even if Khaleel's actions were wrong, his heart might have been in the right place."

I couldn't believe it. My sister and Khaleel were usually ready to rip each other's throats out. What changed? Did something happen while I wasn't looking?  "Why are you advocating for him?" I asked suspiciously.

Tomasia placed a hand over my shoulder. "Because Khaleel is someone you want on your team, not someone you want to go up against in a fight."