Page 56 of Busted Dreams

“What do you normally watch?” She tipped her head up and looked at me with sparkling blue eyes.

“Trinity and I usually stick to the horror films. The older the better. Sometimes, it’s a good time to make fun of the bad special effects.”

She snickered. “That actually does sound fun. Is anything off limits?”

“Yes. No children’s movies or westerns.”

“Because?” The sweet scent to her hair swirled around me.

“I don’t know. Children’s movies always had a happy ending, and most of the time, they were very wholesome. Our childhood was never like that, and it was always a reminder of what we didn’t have. Now that I’m on my own and have made my own version of my dream come true, I could watch one if youreallywanted to. And westerns really irk me for some reason.”

“That’s oddly specific. Okay, no children’s movies, although I reserve the right to watch one at a later time. I really loveBraveandMoana. Any movie where the woman saves herself and doesn’t end up waiting on a man is fantastic. And I’ve never been much of a western fan either.” Plucking the remote from my hand, she started scrolling through Netflix to see what was available.

“Does it have to be a movie?”

“I guess not. What did you have in mind?”

“What aboutDark? It’s completed and a couple seasons long.” She clicked into it to read the description. “It gives off that horror vibe, and it’s something we can continue every movie night.”

“I like that.” I pulled her closer. And it would keep her coming back. “As long as you promise not to watch any episodes when we aren’t together.”

“Perfect. I hardly watch TV anyway. I’m always working on my photography or homework at the cottage.” Once the show started, she grabbed a handful of Reese’s Pieces. I picked up the popcorn, dumping some of the candy inside. It wasn’t a real movie night unless you mixed them together.

I meant series night. Yeah, I could get behind this idea.

We watched three episodes before calling it quits, and I knew she wanted to watch more from the way she kept gazing at the remote periodically. It had a horror like feel and a complex plot, everything we’d want in a series night.

“Good pick, Astrid.” Placing the bowl back on the table, I wrapped both of my arms around her. It was coming close to ten, and I wasn’t ready to let go of her just yet.

“That was a really good pick. Their music was wild and made me feel like something was going to jump out every five minutes.” She turned in my arms so she could lean into my side, now facing me while we talked.

“But it was more about the plot and suspense than the scare factor.”

For a minute, I held her in the silence of my living room, wishing I had some type of nanny cam set up to capture this image of us. I’d love to paint it.

“Where’s Trinity? Doesn’t she do movie nights with you?”

The happy glow surrounding me dimmed as reality and the drowning weight of responsibility pressed down on me. I felt like I’d aged ten years in the last two weeks and didn’t even know why. Not a lot had changed, except Trinity now lived with me seven days a week instead of three to four.

Ha. Like she actually lived here that much. Not since I found her stash.

“She does.” I tried to play it off, because who wants to talk about their rebellious sister when they finally get a chance to be with their girl? No one. But something in my face or my voice must have given me away.

“Now is the part where you tell me why you sighed like that.” She relaxed into me, resting her chin on my chest. I loved this position. I loved it so much, I didn’t want to spoil it with my shit life right now. Astrid had had enough of a shit life, and I shouldn’t be adding to it.

But that was exactly what I did. This idiot unloaded it all.

“My sister is mixed up in drugs.”

She blinked. Then blinked again.

“I’m sorry, did you say drugs?”

“Yes.” One succinct word to leave no doubt in her mind.

“Do you mean like taking them? Dealing them? I’m going to need more information to be a solid participant in this conversation.”

Damnit, I started to smile. She always had the driest comebacks.

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