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"I don't think about it like that."
"You weren't happy when Vi and I got engaged."
"Yeah, I was."
"Then why'd you stare at her ring like it gave you the plague?"
I can't lie to Ethan. I've never been able to bring myself to lie to Ethan. "You asked Piper to pick out the ring."
He runs a hand through his wavy hair. "I didn't want to lose my nerve if you told me it was a bad idea."
That's fair, but it still stings.
"I'm sorry, Mal."
I press my lips together.
"But get the fuck over it. I'm twenty-five. I don't need your approval anymore."
"I know."
"You don't want Vi. You don't want to be in love. What the fuck are you upset about?"
"We're never going to have it." I motion to Mom's room. "We're never gonna be a family again."
"We are a family. Me, you, and Piper. We don't need Mom and Dad."
I shake my head. "You and Vi are a family—"
"No, we're all a fucking family."
"It's not the same."
He nods. "A lot of shit has changed in the last two years."
"Yeah."
"I thought you were cool with Kit and Piper."
"I am."
"But it's fucking weird, right?"
I nod. "I miss having you and Piper around."
"I'm still around."
"But you aren't going to burst into my room first thing in the morning, screaming about how you've finally figured out the riff."
"I can call instead."
"And when we retire?"
"Only way I'm retiring is if I'm dead."
I have to laugh. "That's fucking insensitive."
He shrugs. "Better to get comfortable with it now." Ethan leans in to hug me. "You're a good brother, Mal. Bossy. Annoying as fuck. But a good brother."
