Page 87 of Fight for You

She looks from the box to him, a question in her eyes.

"Figured I owe you for being such a dick to you the last couple of years," he mumbles and then shrugs like it's no big deal. "I'm sorry for hurting you, and I hope you'll forgive me."

Her expression melts, hesitation turning to adoration in the blink of an eye. "Of course I forgive you," she whispers, squeezing his hand. "I love you, Titan. Even when you are a jerk."

"I love you too, baby sister. Now open this shit!" he says and rubs his hands together. He's almost as excited about the gift as she is.

She tears through the pink paper like a little kid at Christmas. It goes flying in all directions.

"Titan!" she squeals, pulling a pair of high-top Chuck Taylor sneakers out of the box. They're UCLA blue and gold, with her name embossed across the side. She hugs them to her chest before diving out of her seat to hug her brother. The box tumbles to the floor, but she doesn't even notice it.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she chants, jumping up and down.

"You're welcome, brat," he says and then drops a kiss to her forehead.

She bounces back to her seat and slips the shoes on her feet to admire them. Once she's satisfied, she picks the box up and pulls out a UCLA hoodie with her name on it, a t-shirt, and a little jewelry box. She opens it to reveal a dog tag with a picture of the two of them embossed on the front. The back is engraved with a message about how his love is her greatest gift and her happiness is his deepest desire.

"I have one, too," he says, pulling a chain out from beneath the collar of his shirt to show her.

It's so sweet that January and Jana both cry. A lump forms in my throat, too.

"I love it, Titan. It's perfect," January whispers through her tears and lets him put it on her. "Thank you."

He winks at her and then steals her piece of cake.

"I'm not even going to yell at you for that," she mutters, sticking her tongue out at him.

Her mom sets a plate in front of her with an even bigger piece of cake on it.

"Should have stuck to your own plate," January teases him when his face falls at the sight of the massive slice he just lost out on.

The mournful look on his face makes the rest of us crack up laughing. He puts away food like a garbage disposal.

Once we've all gorged ourselves on cake and January has opened all of her presents, I ask Jana if I can steal my girl away for a few minutes. She waves us away, announcing that Titan can help her clean up and get all the trash out to the road for pickup.

Titan grumbles about not being a goddamn maid but starts helping his mom.

I slip January's hand into mine and lead her outside. She shivers and cuddles up at my side as we walk to Ma Lucia's house.

"They probably think we're sneaking off to have sex," she whispers and then giggles.

"I have something to show you," I tell her.

"If it's you naked, I'm totally on board." She waggles her brows like a villain.

I chuckle and shake my head at her before leading her up the steps to my door. A black Honda SUV creeps down the street as I fish for the key in my pocket. I glance at the SUV but don't recognize it. Whoever it is, they aren't from around here. Not driving brand-new wheels like that. They're driving so slow I briefly wonder if they're lost.

"It's freezing out here," January complains, drawing my attention back to her. It is so cold out that her breath actually steams in front of her. She shivers, her teeth chattering.

"Come on," I mumble and unlock the door before pulling her inside. I don't spare another thought to the SUV out front, instead focusing on getting her inside before she freezes to death.

She stops right inside the door and peeks around. The house hasn't changed since I first moved here. The furniture is all heavy wood and leather, with glass-topped tables. Little knick-knacks, beloved trinkets Ma Lucia picked up over the years, sit here and there. This is still her house. I haven't changed anything about it.

"You're one of those annoyingly clean people, aren't you?" January teases me, running her hand along a bookcase and then holding it up to show there's not even a hint of dust on it.

"No," I say, even though I kind of am. Ma Lucia always kept the place spotless. No way am I going to mess it up. I miss her like crazy, but I don't want her coming back from the grave just to kick my ass for fucking up her house.

"You totally are," January says and then wraps her arms around me. "You always keep this place freakishly clean, but that's okay. I think it's sweet that you take such good care of her house. Or your house now, I guess." She scrunches up her nose like she's thinking hard about something. "You know, I think you're the only twenty-two-year-old I know who owns a house."

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