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Her eyes narrow as she finally glances down at the camera. “How do you not know this? Don’t you interact with your fans?”
“I would, but I think it’d give me too big of a head. Next thing you know, I’ll be referring to myself in third person and asking you to erect a shrine in my name.”
After obsessively checking the internet for stats when our first album dropped, I quickly realized this habit was a) not healthy, b) not going to increase our sales, and c) not going to convince my parents or older brother that I’d made the right choice quitting high school to pursue music.
The latter is still an open wound, but it probably will be forever. No matter how much we’re appreciated by our fans or how the media spins us, I’m still that southern boy with a gnawing ache for his family’s support.
“I’m so proud of you, Hail,” Stasi says, feeding me exactly what my soul hungers for. Leave it to my twin to read my mind. Though we’re not identical, our brains are synced up like we’re one operating system. “You’ve worked hard to get to where you’re at.”
I groan. “Damn it, Stasi. You know I can’t be seen crying at the gym. Liam will make sure I can’t walk for a week.”
She swipes at a rogue tear and adjusts her baseball cap. “I’m the one crying, dork.”
“Yeah, but if you cry, then I cry. We’re like the same person.”
Liam strolls passed to rest his massive dumbbells on the rack by the wall of mirrors. He gives me a long look with a cocked brow.
“How are classes going?” I ask. “You have to be close to finishing, right?”
It’s enough of a shift in conversation to shut down the waterworks. I rarely cry, but when I do, it’s never-ending. Really, the dramatics are impressive.
Stasi rolls her eyes. “Ugh. Tough. Between physical therapy courses and my internship, there’s no light at the end of the tunnel. Tell me why you let me party my early twenties away and switch my major three times? I’ll be in college forever at this rate, drowning in debt.”
“You’ve got this. You’re on track to graduate in the spring.”
But my smile wavers. Even through all of Stasi’s irresponsible decision-making, somehow I ended up the fuck-up by not pursing a secondary education and following my dad and Max into business.
“You still have that crazy roommate? The one that let her cat eat all of your granola bars?” I ask with a chuckle.
“God no! She got fired for having sex with a patient at her clinic. She moved out weeks ago.”
This grabs Liam’s attention mid-stroke on the rowing machine. Sometimes, I get the sense that he wants me to hand the phone over so he can talk with Stasi with the way he tunes into our conversations. He rarely gets phone calls, so I give him a pass.
“Nope, it’s just me for now.” She sighs, lips pursing. “I’m going to see if I can swing rent alone.”
“I can send you money—“
“Hail, I swear.” Her voice takes on more of a southern twang. One day, she will entice fear into the hearts of her children with her no-nonsense tone. “If you so much as Cash App me a dime, I will never forgive you.”
“I just don’t want you under Mom and Dad’s roof again. It’s not healthy,” I counter. Noticing my slacking, Liam leans over to move the pin on the weights down a few notches.
Hate you, I mouth at him.
He gives me a wink. If I wasn’t confident he’d lay me out on the floor, I’d jump on his back like a rabid spider monkey.
“Seriously, though.” I grunt through a few leg presses, relishing in the burn. “I’m not there to take the edge off all their overbearing judgment. Don’t get me started on the passive-aggressive mutterings from Dad.”
Stasi slows to a walk. “You’re not a human punching bag for me, Hail.”
“Just promise me you’ll let me know first if you get into a rough situation, okay?”
“I’m not promising shit. I’m a grown ass woman. I’ll figure out my own problems.”
I glimpse Liam cracking a smile at that, and a flicker of anger works through my chest. That hall pass to listen in on me and Stasi’s conversations is nearing expiration.
“I’m two minutes older,” I try to argue.
Liam and Stasi both snort.
