“You know what they say about girls with great personalities,” Van told us, then he added, “Ow.”
I snorted. Lexi had shoved her elbow into his abs. I’d felt the movement before I’d seen it.
“You guys are assholes,” Daisy said with a sigh.
Though all of us wanted to laugh, we held it back.
Damn, having women around all the time was a real eye-opener.
It was another ten minutes before we were in front of our parents’ house. None of us still lived at home, technically, though Daisy lived in the add-on apartment that my parents had built ten years ago for our grandma. Once Daisy had turned eighteen, the apartment had sat empty, so my parents had let her move into it.
None of us would go into the house just yet. It was early, but our dad would’ve for sure left for work already. We’d see them later for dinner, where our parents would get to meet Lexi and Lawson for the first time.
It had to be tonight, my mother had insisted. We only had a few days because Daisy and Van were going to Chicago later this week to see Lexi and Lawson’s family. We’d already met them on the tour. It was the first time we’d all met Lexi, actually.
After dropping off Daisy and Lawson, our next stop was the apartment I shared with Van. Daltrey and Mack also shared a much bigger place in the same complex. We were never far from family.
“You don’t mind me staying here, right?” Lexi asked as we got the door unlocked.
Van sent me a warning look that I didn’t need. “It’s his place, too,” I told her. “Plus, you’re small. I can’t imagine you take up a lot of room.”
On tour, Van had started to spend most of his nights on Lawson’s bus because that was where Lexi stayed. I didn’t have a problem sharing my space. That would’ve been Van, though it seemed Lexi was the exception.
We shuffled off to our own bedrooms and I had an idea of what Van and Lexi were going to be doing, but I was going to take a fucking nap. We’d gotten on the flight at five this morning, which meant we’d been at the airport at four. It was ridiculous.
A few hours later, I was awake, showered, dressed, and had breakfast in my body. Van’s room was quiet, which it hadn’t been when I’d been trying to fall asleep, so I was going to go out for coffee. Sure, I could’ve made it here, but it wasn’t the same, and my car needed to be driven anyway.
I drove across town, which was a lot quicker than driving back into Detroit. We were in one of the suburbs, but it was big enough not to miss the city most of the time.
My favorite coffee shop was on the corner, so I parked in its parking lot and headed in.
But my steps faltered before I opened the door.
Fuck. Lacy Markle was working and I wasn’t sure where we stood. She’s cute, tall, and her blonde hair is crazy short on one side. Our breakup hadn’t been amicable and I didn’t want the headache if she was still feeling pissy about it. Nor did I want to cause her problems at work or get spit in my coffee.
So I took a step back. I wasn’t going in there, but I still wanted coffee. I glanced around and remembered that the bookstore was right across the street. They had a café. It was a win-win.
I was going to the café in the bookstore to get my coffee.
3
Jurnie
Since I was an intern, I didn’t work a full day. Maybe some places had their interns there full-time, but the radio station didn’t. They had an afternoon intern and this schedule worked for me. The only downside was that I didn’t get paid. It was an unpaid internship. Between that and the courses I was taking online, I didn’t have much time for a job. I would’ve fit one in, but my parents felt that school, which included the internship, should be my focus, and as childish as it made me feel, my mom, deposited money into my account each week.
I tried so hard not to think of it as an allowance, but my sister, Delaney, called it my allowance. As if they didn’t give her money. She was a single mother working her ass off. Of course, they helped her when she needed it, but both of us hated that we even needed it. Money came with strings, we’d always said, and those strings were wrapped around my neck, threatening to choke me at this point.
Delaney still lived at home, which killed her, but it was almost impossible for her to work, take care of Lily on her own, and afford everything. Mom and Dad didn’t make her pay rent, but she paid for her own groceries and things. They lived in the basement, which sounded like a punishment, but I’d give my left leg to live in the basement. When Mom and Dad had bought this house, it had come with a fully finished basement that included a full kitchen and a separate entrance.
It was like having her own apartment but not having the expense. Mom and Dad liked having her under their roof because then there were rules that could be enforced. Delaney just liked having a safe place for Lily to sleep at night and the basement had two rooms that she’d turned into bedrooms for them. Mom and Dad might have seriously disapproved of the direction her life had taken, but she was still family. Delaney was a receptionist in a dental office four days a week and her day off rotated. It was good money and she was trying to save up as much as she could to easily move out in the near future. Though she had a great daycare system here in the house.
Dad worked from home a lot, as did Mom. In the summers, I was around a lot of the time, so there was always someone to keep an eye on Lily. Though this week she was with her dad.
“Hey, Delaney,” I called down the stairs. Normally, we knocked or called down before actually stepping foot on the stairs.
“Come in,” she called back.
I bounced down the stairs, still in the clothes I was wearing from work, and skidded to a stop at the bottom.
“What’s up?” she asked.
Delaney had her auburn hair pulled back into a small, low ponytail. Her hair only went to her shoulders while mine, the same color, went past. Not too long, only to the middle of my back. She already had her makeup done because she did it every morning except for a few, but she was dressed in cute white shorts and a flowy pink cami top. She was dressed to go somewhere. Those forest green eyes were popping.
People said we could almost be twins, but I thought she was much prettier than me.
“I was going to ask if you wanted to go to the bookstore with me, but it looks like you already have plans.”
“I do.” She grabbed her purse and slid it up to her shoulder. “I’m meeting some of the girls for dinner.”
“That’s like three hours from now.”
“I’m going to Grace’s first.”
Grace was her best friend. My best friend, Cassidy, was traveling with her family right now, so I was on my own.
“Fine.” I let out a long, dramatic sigh. “I’ll go all by myself, but can you drop me off? I’ll get a ride home.”
She snorted. “As if you’ll even notice I’m not there. You get so into the books, you forget you came with anyone.”
“You’re not wrong…”
“Which means I’m right.”
That little back-and-forth was something that we’d done since we’d been kids. Like when I was ten years old. Delaney was older and wiser. Four years but still older.