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“Hello?”
“Morning,” Emiline responds groggy and half asleep.
“Hey, Em. Just wake up?”
“Yeah. I was worried about Ave. How’s she doing?”
I know that Emiline formed a close friendship with the girls after our trip to the shore house. Knowing my sister is worried about her tugs at my heart, though. It makes me wonder that if this became real, would she continue to approve of it?
“She finally stopped puking early this morning. It was horrible, Em,” I choke out. Unable to control my emotions. Tears begin to gather behind my eyes. Emotions that I haven’t felt in a long time. Maybe it’s the fact that I'm beyond exhausted right now. “I have never felt so helpless in my life. Nothing I could do would help her.”
“Aww, Marc.” She sighs. “You care about her.”
This is a statement, not her questioning me. My little sister is a lot like me, a softy at heart. When she feels, she feels with her whole heart.
I swallow the lump in my throat. “I do.”
“I’m glad she’s getting some rest. But you need to rest too,” she scolds me the way a big sister would. For being my little sister, she’s very mature and wise for her age.
“I know. It’s just hard to sleep when I’m afraid she’s going to wake up and need something. Did I already mention how helpless I already feel?”
“That’s a very normal feeling, Marc,” she assures me with her words.
I sit in silence with the phone pressed to my ear, scrubbing my chin and contemplating what I’m going to say back to that. I know deep down that I don’t have to say much, because Emiline Ford can read people like a book. It’s only a matter of time before she catches on that a big part of me doesn’t want this to be fake anymore.
“I had a feeling this would happen.”
“What? You knew she was gonna get sick?”
“No,” she barks out a scoff. “I knew you were going to fall for her. I mean, what's not to love? This is Avery we’re talking about.”
“Now you sound like Logan.”
“Ew, Marc! Donotsay I sound like him. He’s so fucking annoying.”
“Stop it.” I laugh at her. “You love him.”
“Anyway… Back to what I was saying. You should probably consider telling her how you’re feeling. Because this whole fake facade you two are putting on is starting to look a whole lot more real, from the outside looking in.”
My heart rate picks up speed as if the air in the room has shifted.
I feel her before I see her.
Avery clears her throat from the entrance of the hallway, rooted in place with nothing but my oversized t-shirt on.
“Listen, Em. I have to go. Avery just woke up.”
“Tell her—” And I cut her off with a click of the end button.
“Avery.” I suck in a long breath of air before I walk over to where she stands. Her hair is a mess from rolling around in the bed, and she has her arms wrapped around her midsection hugging herself. She looks on the verge of tears.
“Morning,” she mumbles. Her voice is hoarse, probably from throwing up so much. “The baby monitor was a nice touch.” She adds with a dramatic eye roll.
I was hoping she didn’t see that. I wanted to make sure she was ok when I wasn’t in the room with her. If she woke up, I wanted to be there to hold her hair up, rub her back and comfort her.
“I’m sorry. Just did it so I knew you were okay.”
“You keep spare child monitors around?” She lets out a light chuckle.
