“Shit. Is he okay?” That’s two falls that were not very far apart. He’s declining.
“He’ll be fine for now,” she says, but she sounds tired. It pulls at my ‘big sister’ heartstrings. They’re exhausted. We’reallexhausted. They had to grow up nearly as fast as I did, and it wasn’t enjoyable for any of us. “Anyway, to what do I owe the pleasure?”
I roll my eyes. “Don’t act like I don’t ever call you to talk.”
“I mean, you do, but I’m mad at you, so I don’t have much to say.”
“I know, and I’m sorry. That new home is actually why I’m calling.”
Serena pauses. “What? No. I’m not mad at you about the home. I know you need to think that over.”
I frown. “What else did I do?”
“You started dating the world’s hottest hockey player and didn’t think to mention it to me or Anya?”
I cringe. Whoops. I guess the news really did go viral. I totally forgot that the fanfare over Carter Forkerro extends past the city limits. If it were real, I probably would have mentioned it, but since it’s all an act, it hadn’t even crossed my mind.
“It’s very new.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t care.Spill.”
“I don’t have much to say,” I laugh, popping another chocolate in my mouth. “I’ll report back when I do.”
“How the hell did you meet him?” she asks.
I hesitate, trying not to wince at the answer. “The truth? You can’t repeat it.”
That gains her interest. I picture her curling inward on a chair in my dad’s room, covering the microphone of the phone like she is about to receive nuclear codes. “Duh. Tell me everything.”
“I almost slept with his teammate a couple of years ago.”
The noise that leaves Serena is loud and somewhere between a cackle and a scream. I can’t help but laugh as she hollers in my ear, quietening herself quickly, probably to avoid waking Dad. Her shocked noises turn into excited giggles, and I picture the little nine-year-old girl with long, tangled dark hair, rather than the woman she’s grown into.
“You’re kidding. Which one?”
“I’m not telling you that. That is classified.”
“I’m your sister.”
“Doesn’t matter. That’s top secret. Plus, it never happened, so it’s not important.”
“Please tell me you’ve slept with this one,” she whispers. “He looks like a good one to get in there to dust out all of the cobwebs.”
I glare at the TV. “Serena.”
“Sorry, sorry.” She laughs. “Okay, fine. You’ve given me enough dirty details to satisfy me for the day. What did you need?”
“I’m just calling to tell you that if you want to move Dad, you can do that.” I hate the idea, because this fake relationship is only going to last so long, but I am going to try my hardest to save as much as I can while Carter pays those bills and I pay off the others.
“Really?”
“Yeah, I’ll figure it out,” I tell her, and I hope she doesn’t put the pieces together. A famous athlete comes into the picture, and all of a sudden, I’m made of money. Nobody would believe that anyway. It sounds ridiculous. “Just forward everything to me before you make any final decisions, okay?”
“Of course.”
“You’re sure this is necessary?”
“He needs around-the-clock care, Arden,” she says with a long sigh. “He’s supposed to have that here, but they’re too understaffed to provide it. He shouldn’t have fallen today. He was on the ground for a lot longer than he should have been.”
