Page 38 of It's Always Sonny

I look at Amber, who’s wrangling Max while Anthony draws up plans with one of our cousins. “I didn’t think about it like that.”

“Exactly the problem,” PJ says.

“That’s not fair,” I say, although now that I think of it, it does feel like I’m trading Sienna’s happiness for some of the others. “I can’t make everyone happy.”

“It isn’t your job to make other people happy, Sonny.”

“I can try.”

She squeezes her temples. “You know what? I’m making this about me, and that’s not fair. This is your family. You should do whatever you want to do.”

I feel my eyebrows pull together before I can stop them. She isn’t making this about her. If anything, she’s making me wonder if I somehow made this night about me. Seeing Sienna in pain causes me so much pain, I feel sick to my stomach. I hate seeing my sister hurting. She might be older than me, but every protective instinct in my body flares to life when I see her upset.

And those same instincts are flaring to life seeing PJ upset now.

Sienna will understand if we push it back a couple of hours. Won’t she?

I don’t know how to make them both happy.

But I have to try.

Chapter Twelve

Parker

“Guys,” Sonny yells to his family. “Parker organized a life-sized Hungry Hungry Hippos game. It sounds awesome. Let’s do Capture the Flag later.”

A few faces look over, and Amber and Lauren both nod excitedly, but most of the family ignores me.

“You’re just afraid you’ll lose,” one of his cousins says.

“I think the Hungry Hungry Hippos game sounds fun!” his aunt says.

“No way,” Noah says, pointing his thumb down. A boy of about eight looks at Noah with star-eyes and does the same movement. Noah has such a magnetic Sonny vibe that it almost gives me déjà-vu.

And suddenly, people start disagreeing with each other. Husbands and wives are pointing to their children, little kids are tugging on their grandparents’ coat sleeves, siblings are arguing.

They’re arguing about whether to follow Sonny’s plan or mine.

A feeling of horror crawls up my throat.

“The game won’t be ready tonight,” I call out quickly. “But I’ll make sure it’s ready tomorrow if you want to try it!”

Sonny looks at me with wide eyes. “What are you doing?”

“They’re fighting! I can’t stand the thought of breaking your family to satisfy my stupid itinerary,” I say. The handful of people who were excited about my game shrug and turn back to the group.

Thank goodness.

“And I can’t stand the thought of you hurting over my stupid game. I know how hard you worked to make this week perfect. But you have to understand something: this week will be perfect no matter what. Because we’re together.”

Does he mean us? Or him and his family? Why does either possibility make my throat ache so badly?

“It’s not a big deal. It’s an itinerary.”

“It’s more than that,” he insists.

He keeps throwing me, keeps picking up on things in a way that’s new to me. He’s even talking about some of these things instead of making a joke to lighten the mood. Not that there’s not a time and place for that, but it was his default. The second I wouldn’t open up about something, he turned to joking and lightheartedness. It was nice because it let me off the hook.

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