“Those better be LED candles,” Sasha said, lifting a corner of the blanket that was draped across a chair.
“Don’t worry, they are. I’m not going to set myself on fire. Your brotherly duty has been fulfilled,” Lara grumbled, looking up from her notebook. “Now go away.”
Instead of leaving, he crouched down and wedged himself inside the fort his little sister had created in the living room. He had to admit, it was cozy. She was leaning back against the couch, and green blankets hung over her like a canopy. With the squishy pillows and atmospheric light from the (thankfully) electric candles, plus the pile of books at her side, he could see why she had spent the last two hours in here by herself. It didn’t mean he wasn’t worried about her, though.
“Lara, come on. What’s up?”
“Nothing,” came the mulish reply, even though she wouldn’t look at him. He craned his head, trying to look at her notebook, but she snatched it away.
“Hey, I was trying to read that!” he protested, and he dodged her half-hearted punch.
“Didn’t anyone ever tell you to respect other people’s privacy?”
“Yeah, but you aren’t people, you are my little sister. I get to bug you as much as I want,” he grinned, and for a moment he saw a matching smile on her face. That was something, at least.
“Seriously, though, what’s up? You’ve been hiding from all of us for the past week. We’re worried.”
“It’s nothing,” she said unconvincingly. Sasha just stared at her, letting her decide what to tell him. He didn’t like prying into his siblings’ lives, but sometimes they seemed to want help, even if they couldn’t ask for it. Lara’s blanket fort was one such example.
“It’s Alvin.”
Sasha blinked. “Your best friend? What about him?”
Lara’s eyes welled with tears, and Sasha wondered what he could have said to inspire waterworks.
“You see!” she cried, and tears started to fall in earnest. “That’s exactly the problem!”
Sasha really didn’t see, but he sat with her quietly, waiting until she was coherent before asking for clarification.
Her sobs finally started to dissipate, and as she hiccuped slightly, Sasha finally asked, “what about Alvin, Lara? Did you guys have a fight or something?”
“No,” she said morosely, “nothing like that. Everything is the way it’s always been.”
A lightbulb went off in Sasha’s head. “Ah. That’s the problem, isn’t it?”
Lara nodded weakly.
“And how long have you wanted things to… be different, with Alvin?”
“All school year! It was like I looked up one day, and suddenly I saw him so differently. I don’t get why or how it happened, and it’s been eating me alive for months. Now I’m so nervous around him, and I get self-conscious, and it all feels so weird, but he seems normal so I think it must just be me, and I don’t want to wreck our friendship by saying or doing anything, because he is my best friend, but I also don’t know how much longer I can hold this all in!”
She took a breath before continuing, “And we are both going to college next year, and even though we will be in the same city, we are going to different schools, and I won’t see him as much, he won’t be right next door or at school every day, and what if he meets some supermodel or something at his school and forgets all about me?” She slumped back against the couch, and just shook her head. “I don’t know what to do.”
Sasha inched his way over to sit next to her, shoulder to shoulder. “I’m so sorry you’re hurting, Lara. I know how you’re feeling, and it does suck.”
Lara scoffed. “Girls are throwing themselves at you. I’ve seen it happen for years.”
Sasha nudged her gently. “Not all the girls. Not always the ones I’ve wanted to.”
Lara leaned her head against his shoulder. “I am so worried, Sasha. I am so worried that everything is going to change.”
He sat with her, feeling a tightness in his chest. “That’s the thing. Everything changes. That’s how life goes, and that’s how we move forward. You’re going to college in a few months. That itself is such a big change. Even if you didn’t have these new feelings about Alvin, your relationship would be changing. Sometimes you just have to let your feelings out, and just talk to him. Even if he doesn’t feel the same way, you can have some closure, some understanding, and maybe even still be friends.”
“You really think so?”
He nodded. “Bottling up all your thoughts and worried just amplifies them. Makes you go crazy, thinking about all the what-ifs.”
Lara sighed. “You are probably right. But what do I say?”
“I can’t tell you that. It’s up to you to figure that out. Now, what do you think? Is it time to emerge from your little cave?”
Lara punched him lightly in the stomach, and he feigned a crippling pain. “All right, let’s get out of here, you weirdo.”
They crawled out of the fort, blinking in the sudden brightness of the room. As Sasha pulled the blanket off the chairs and couch, and began to fold it, their sister Anya poked her head in.
“Lara, Alvin’s outside.”
Lara looked startled, then glanced at Sasha.
“You’ve got this, Lara. Even if it’s not right now, you can do it.”
She smiled at him, then ran hurried out of the room.
“So,” Sasha said, rearranging the pillows on the couch. “How much did you hear?”
“Pretty much all of it,” Anya answered, with a slight smile on her face. “When did you become such a font of wisdom?”
“Four years of college have to be good for something, right?” he chuckled, then glanced toward the window overlooking the front yard.
“He looked like he was about to jump out of his skin, if it helps,” Anya said, noticing his glance with a smirk.
He sighed with relief, and sank onto the recently reassembled couch. “He’s a good kid, at least.” Sasha let his head fall back against the cushions, and closed his eyes. “This would all be so much easier if Mom were still here.” He felt the couch sag as his sister sat next to him, but kept his eyes closed.
“I know,” she said quietly, “but you’ve been doing a good job filling in. I don’t know if she would have opened up to me.”
“True,” he said, and felt a pinch in his side. “Ouch! You didn’t let me finish!” He glared at his older sister, rubbing his side tenderly. “I couldn’t have gotten myself, let alone Lara, into college if it hadn’t been for your taskmaster qualities. I say that in the nicest way possible!” he continued, watching Anya raise her fingers threateningly.
Before Anya could follow through on her threat, Lara came bouncing in. “Alvin and I are going to that used bookstore a couple blocks over, okay? I know,” she said, seeing Anya’s mouth open, “it’s a school night, and we are having family dinner at 6, I’ll be back in time.”
“Everything okay then?” Sasha asked, brows raised at the change in his sister. He actually laughed a little as she flushed.
“Yeah, everything’s fine. Great, actually,” she beamed. “Okay, we’re gonna go then!”
Before Lara could dash back outside, Anya said, “Invite him over for dinner after, Lara.”
They both stared at her. Family dinner didn’t usually include friends. Then Lara grinned even bigger, and ran over to hug Anya tight before heading back outside.
“That’s an interesting move,” Sasha said, studying his sister. She grinned, and even he was a little afraid of her at that moment.
“Oh, it will be interesting all right. Someone has to play inquisitor, and I think I fill that role better than you.”
© The Lightning Tower, 2020