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“I’ll be fine.”
Sighing, I look over at her house and see all the curtains closed. “You don’t seem like you’re going to be fine. I’ll be over in a minute.”
Even though I don’t want to babysit her, the Brielle that I’ve come to know since moving in isn’t one who would call me to talk about the messages. Not unless she was scared out of her mind. She never made things easy. She would fight me and hide what was wrong.
Which means that something in that message is bothering her more than all of the others.
I leave my house and cross the yard quickly, knocking on her door. I can hear her moving around on the other side for a few seconds before the door opens.
When she looks at me, her eyes are bloodshot and there are dark circles beneath them. She has her arms wrapped around her body as if she is trying to hold herself together.
There is a part of me that wants to pull her into a hug and tell her that everything is going to be alright.
Instead, I lean against the doorframe and cross my arms. She looks up at me like a deer caught in the headlights.
“I’m having a bunch of my family over for my birthday. You should come over.”
Brielle shakes her head. “I don’t want to intrude.”
I shrug. “It’s not intruding if I invite you. So, you either come over, have a drink, and relax, or we stay here and talk about what that message said. It’s your choice.”
“Why are you even giving me the choice?” She stands a little taller, her arms dropping to her side. “You don’t even like me.”
“You don’t really like me either.” I push off the doorway and start walking toward my house. “But it’s your choice.”
“Which leads me back to why are you giving me the choice?” she asks, her voice raising slightly as she locks her door before chasing after me.
“I’m not in the habit of leaving people alone when they look like they’re terrified to be alone.”
She scoffs. “So, there is a heart in there after all?”
I stop and turn to face her. “Don’t confuse this with kindness, Brielle. I’m doing a favor for your brother.”
“Alright. You’re still an asshole. Good to know.”
I laugh and shake my head, turning to look at her. “I’malwaysan asshole. The sooner you learn that, the better.”
Brielle says nothing else as she follows me through my house and into the backyard. Sofia is the first one to notice Brielle and runs over to her like a kid who has had too much candy. They start talking right away and it isn’t long before my brothers are swarming her too. The kids jump around her legs, all of them trying to say something to her.
My family may be filled with criminals, but nobody can ever say that they don’t make everyone they meet feel welcome immediately.
Matteo breaks away from the rest of the family for a moment as I flip burgers off the grill and onto a tray. He comes over, his troublemaking smile on his face.
“So, she seems nice. Want to tell me who she is and why she’s crashing your birthday?” Matteo asks as he grabs a couple burgers and drops them onto a few plates. He cuts them into small pieces for the youngest kids.
“My neighbor. She’s been having a rough time. Looked like she could use some company.” I shrug and throw more burgers onto the grill to start cooking.
“You’re being nice to your neighbors?” Matteo chuckles as the kids come running for their plates. They take off with their cut up burgers, settling down near the playhouse under the trees.
“I’m being nice to that one. I have no real interest in the others.”
Matteo nudges me with his elbow. “So, you have an interest in that one?”
“You know, sometimes I think that moving away is the best decision that I ever made. I don’t know why I invited all of you here.” I look over at Brielle who seems to be in some deep conversation with Tyson. “But no, I don’t have an interest in her.”
Matteo smirks and makes himself a burger. “You keep thinking that. I won’t be surprised if we see her at more family events.”
He walks away, heading over to join Tyson and Brielle. Matteo hands her the plate of food as he sits down in the grass. Brielle eyes it for a moment before digging in. She laughs as they talk, the fading sunlight making her red hair shine.
