Page 98 of No Summer Hotter than You

Sai didn’t deserve my help for the way he treated me lately. But who was going to stand up for him here? It wasn’t going to be my dad or Lee since they’ve made it clear they thought he was making a stupid mistake. So, I chose to do what my dad and Anthony did for me. Which was stand up for my younger brother and hopefully try to bring some calm to this family’s current chaos. That was my parting gift for him.

My mom’s chest began to heave as she inspected at each of my brothers and then me. Her lips pursed into a thin line when she turned to me and then her lips tipped into a scowl. “Of course you’d choose to go against me,” she spat bitterly.

Anthony, who was also there, placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder and squeezed gently. I let a moment pass by before I spoke up. Everyone waited rather patiently as I said, “He’s finally doing something for himself, and I think we should support him even if it’s a rash and possibly foolish decision.”

I glanced at Sai as he gave me a nod. “Thanks, Shoua,” he said.

This was probably the first time in several years I had heard him sincerely thank me. It wasn’t much for all that I had just done to help him, but it was a start, I suppose. I glanced at the time as my mom began yelling again about how Sai was ruining his life by doing this, and enough was enough.

Anthony and I were going to leave.

“Mom! I have a plan!” Sai said as I slipped off my barstool.

I glanced at my mom as my legs shook under me. “We’re leaving,” I announced, grabbing my bag.

“Where are you going?” my mom snapped.

“You can’t change Sai’s mind, Mom,” I said. “He’s already decided on what he’s going to do. He’s an adult now. Let him be one.”

“You ungrateful little bitch,” she yelled. Anthony stepped closer to me, reminding everyone of his quiet presence. She faltered for a second and then regained her composure. “Fine, leave, you unappreciative brat.”

I nodded at my brothers and Dad, then left with Anthony at my side as my mom started yelling out curses at me. It wasn’t until I closed my parents’ front door that I could shut her out of my system. I let out a shaky breath, completely drained.

“I’m tired,” I whispered.

Anthony squeezed my hand gently, pulling me towards his Jeep. “I don’t blame you,” he said softly.

“No, I’m tired, Anthony. I’m so fucking exhausted of my family,” I said, coming to a complete stop. I frowned. “I don’t want to do this anymore.”

His features softened. “What do you mean?” he asked, tenderly.

“I need to go to therapy,” I explained. “I’m tired of living my life this way with my family. I’m tired of my mom treating me like this. I’m tired of having anxiety attacks because of her.”

Anthony’s eyes became watery as he nodded. “Yeah, okay. Anything you want to feel better. I’ll be here through it all on the easy and hard days.”

My vision became blurry, and I let a tear escaped the corner of my eyes without trying to hide it like I usually do without permission. “I know you will.”

I let out a long sigh of relief, finally enjoying my Sunday peacefully. Anthony and I were finally back home after spending half of the day out. First, we went to my parents and then we headed over to his parents’ place.

As we enjoyed our downtime together, I sucked on a cherry-pineapple popsicle as the memories of today’s events replayed in my mind. When Anthony and I showed up to say farewell to Aunt Sue and her crew, she was also berating and humiliating Evelyn for refusing to leave for the airport.

Sai wasn’t the only one who had to deal with a screaming, angry parent this afternoon. But the moment he pulled up, Evelyn hopped into his car with her four luggage. They zoomed off before Aunt Sue could even yell out any profanities at them. She glanced at me in frustration as if I had been the one to cause all of this.

She walked past me as I tried to reassure her Evelyn would be fine with my brother. He may be a lost soul, but I knew he wouldn’t hurt her. He was willing to change and start living life again because of her. She got into the car and that was the last I saw of her until she visited again for another summer.

I wasn’t upset to see Aunt Sue, Evelyn, and Kelvin go, but I wished Julie and Andy could stay longer. I always loved it when the two of them visited, but they were only ever here for a few days at most. This was the first time in several years that they visited for an entire week.

“This month was crazy,” I said, lazily watching Scream playing on my TV.

“Tell me about it,” Anthony said with a laugh, throwing his arm over my shoulder. We sat thigh to thigh on the sofa. “But this was probably the best summer I’ve ever had in years.”

My brows knitted as I turned to glance at him. “Really?”

He let out an adorable hyena laugh that made my heart flutter. “Yup.”

“What made this summer so special?” I asked with a coy smile.

“Let’s see. For one, I asked you to be my fake girlfriend. Then, two, I asked you to be my real girlfriend. And three, I know I want to spend the rest of my life with you,” he hummed. “I honestly wouldn’t have wanted it any differently this summer.”

---