Page 13 of When The Rain Falls

"Oh, you know, the usual." I follow and plop onto the bed beside her. "Drinking, dancing.”Biting strangers on the mouth.I wince to myself.

"Sounds fun.” Alicia seems uninterested.

Alicia’s five years older than I am. Growing up, I idolized her. But I was always an exasperating wild thing that messed up her orderly games of house and school by pretending to be a monster. Ironic how that seems to perfectly reflect our current situation.

"So, what happened with your prior living arrangement?"

"Eh, just time to move on." I shrug. Because I am not admitting to Alicia that I ruined a perfectly good lease by banging my landlord. That goes to my grave.

"That's it? That's why you walked away from a one-year lease for a decent townhouse in Seattle? Because it was time to move on?" Here we go. Already cutting straight to the criticism.

"It was month-to-month," I say defensively.And sometimes, mouth-to-mouth.

"Right. Of course. I forgot you don’t do commitments.” She brushes a hand to smooth back Logan's hair and gives me one of her signature older sister looks. I hate how her comment explodes in my chest like a powerful, ugly, truth bomb. Because she’s right. I don’t finish the things I start. And not just relationships. I quit things when they stop being fun. It’s why I have one quarter of a master’s degree, a crocheted blanket that might cover your whole ass, and shelves of unread books.

“I do commitments, Alicia,” I say, my voice dripping with mock offense as I cross my arms in front of my chest. “I can watch an entire season of a Netflix drama in one sitting. AndI never open a bottle of wine unless I’m prepared to drink the whole thing.”

“Really, Aimee?” The look she gives me is downright prickly. Tough crowd.

I sigh. Because it feels like, once again, I’m thirteen. And she’s dressing me down for something she considers to be careless and naïve. Her disapproval twists deep in my gut. Because how can you try to be a better person when everyone keeps putting you in the same tired box?

“And I’m training for my first ultra-marathon,” I add.

Alicia’s ears perk up as she studies me with new interest. “An ultra-marathon? What’s that?”

“Any distance longer than a marathon. I’ve been training for a year.” And right now, that seems to be the only thing going right in my life. When Alicia only looks mildly impressed, I sigh and drop my crossed arms.

“It’s at Mt. St. Helens,” I add, trying to conjure a little bit of false cheer. I chose this particular race because it takes runners on trails around the mountain. Mt. St. Helens is one of Washington State’s five active volcanoes. My parents always talk about the day it erupted back in 1980. When the sky turned black with ash and when the highways were slick and dangerous for days afterward. My dad gathered some ash in a bottle and kept it on his dresser. I figured my first big race would be a great chance to see it.

“Mom and Dad called the other day.” Alicia raises a cautious eyebrow. Great. Speaking of my parents. “They were asking about you.”

“What?” I huff. “Did they call to see if I joined a cult or something?” Now that I think about it. Maybe I should join a cult. That seems like a quick way to make friends.

No, Aimee! Bad girl.

“They’re worried about you.” I try not to snort. They have a funny way of showing worry. Scolding me for the tattoo I got on my leg. Always nagging me about when I’m going to buy a house, and get married, and have kids. Always comparing me to Alicia.

“You’re flighty and all over the place,” Alicia’s verbal lashing continues. “They want to see you put down roots. Honestly, I don’t think they’ll be able to enjoy retirement until they know you’re settled down.” Something in her tone tells me there’s something else.

“And?”

“And…they also asked if you needed more bail money.”

“Come on! If you haven’t been arrested once in your life, are you even living?” I huff with exasperation. Screw it. I might as well just be the person everyone here thinks I am.

Alicia gives me a deep frown and I roll my eyes. For fuck’s sake. There was a perfectly reasonable explanation for that arrest. When Tate was busy with Dom last year, I met a guy on a local Facebook group and we planned an impromptu trip to the Oregon sand dunes. I didn’t know his Jeep was stolen. The charges were dropped. Eventually.

“You tend to think more with your heart and less with your head,” Alicia says carefully. I know the word she’s really thinking.Reckless.She thinks I’m reckless. I’m pretty sure my whole family thinks I’m reckless.

“But, Pt. Evans is a great town,” Alicia says encouragingly while I silently sulk beside her. “It has a lot to offer. You can build a life here, you know. Something permanent." Just as I suspected. Alicia's hospitality comes with strings. "Now that you have that job, well, you are in a good spot to make something of yourself. We think it could be really good for you. Living here. Away from the city, and the nightlife, and…”

“Frat boys?” I offer.

“Distractions,” she clarifies. “It will help you focus.” What she really means is that this is a great chance for her to keep me on a short leash.

When I don’t answer, Alicia frowns at me and I realize that the creases across her forehead have gotten deeper since the last time I've seen her.

“Alicia—”

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