He rolls his eyes and releases her. “It’s so nice to know my little sister loves me so much that she can’t bear the overwhelming happiness she feels when she sees me. I mean, you would think after havingso muchtime apart when I left for college, you would appreciate my affection and love for you more now after not having it, Lay.”
Lani shoves his shoulder playfully. “My love language is being mean to those I love.”
“Oh, trust me, I know. Growing up being tormented by you every day taught me that much.”
“Whatever—Anyway, Sandro, this is Lydia. My dormie and new best friend.”
Sandro looks me over quickly with a smile before pulling me in for a hug. It catches me off guard, and I stiffen at the contact. My eyes go wide as I find Lani’s, signaling for help, but she just stands there, laughing and enjoying my discomfort.
He pulls back and places his hands on either side of my arms. “Sorry. I’m a hugger.”
I smile awkwardly. “Yeah, I’ve gathered that much.”
He laughs and steps back a little. “Hey, if you’re a friend of my sister, you’re a friend of mine. So you might want to get used to it.”
A small laugh escapes me. “Good to know. I’m honestly just not used to all ofthisquite yet,” I say, waving my hands around, gesturing at the party.
He nods in understanding. “Yeah, it’s a lot at first, but you get used to it. This is one of the more chill parties of the year.”
“Chill?” I blurt out, not believing thatthischaos could ever be described aschill.
“Oh, you’re in for a surprise—what was your name again?”
“Lydia,” I tell him.
“Lydia,” he repeats, like it’ll stick better if he says it out loud. “You’re in for a surprise if you thinkthisis crazy, Lydia. But it’s all good,” he gestures to himself, “that’s whatI’mhere for.” Then he points to his friends behind him. “And them. We’ll make sure you get the full college experience…while also staying out of too much trouble,” he says, looking dead at Lani now.
She puts her hand on her chest like she’s offended. “Ineverget in trouble.”
Her brother gives her a gaping expression. “Trouble is your first, middle, and last name, child. The amount of shit I had to get you and Sienna out of growing up was exhausting.”
Lani looks mock-annoyed. “Well, sorry,” she drags out. “Someone around here had to be the fun one.”
“I wouldn’t call me having to talk a police officer out of arresting my juvenile sister—fun.”
“You’re never going to let that go, huh?”
I can’t help but laugh as my attention bounces from one sibling to the other. “Ugh, I love watching siblings argue. It’s peak entertainment.”
Sandro shakes his head while looking at Lani, then turns his attention to me. “You must know what it’s like, huh? You have siblings?”
My face drops, and I see Lani smack her brother’s arm. He grabs the spot she hit and looks at her, confused. “What did I do?”
I’ve told Lani about Camilla, so I know she’s just trying to be protective of my feelings, and I appreciate her for that. It’s sweet. But, no matter how much time passes, the pain of not having my big sister around still hurts. Most days, I’m able to think about her and even talk to her and still feel okay, closer to her even. But sometimes, like right now, I still get caught off guard with the harsh reality that she’s not actually here anymore. And she never will be. I’ll never get to experience these new chapters of my life with her.
I hear Lani whisper in a scolding tone, telling him that my sister is dead, and that was insensitive.
I swallow back the sudden emotions and try to play it off like it didn’t affect me. “It’s okay, really, Lani. Thank you, I love you, but it’s okay…Yeah, I did have an older sister, but she died when I was twelve.”
I see Sandro’s face drop with regret. “Damn, I’m so sorry, if I had known—”
I wave my hand to stop him and force out a laugh. “Seriously, it’s okay.”
Simone and Tyler walk up behind us, and I let out a relieved breath at the shift in attention to them from this awkward moment.
“Drink up!” Simone shouts as she hands me and Lani both shots.
Trying to escape my own embarrassment, I quickly toss it back without even thinking, and immediately regret it when I’m doubled over coughing from how strong it is.
