Page 89 of Bound to You

“Hey,” I say as I get closer. His tan skin glows under the bright morning sun. I climb up onto the wall and let my feet dangle just above the water. “How long have you been here?”

“A while. I wanted to get out in the sun before we went for coffee.” This is the first time I’ve really seen my brother since my birthday. I’ve been so busy at the studio, and then with Caio…I’ve been too caught up in my own little world to dedicate any time to Miles.

“It’s been good having a few days to myself to explore,” he says, as if reading my mind.

“You like it?” I ask, looking up at the water that stretches on for miles.

He smiles, looking over to me. “It’s perfect for you.”

I laugh. “Yeah, well, I haven’t quite decided what I want to do yet.” He just looks at me with a knowing look in his eyes. “What?”

“Nothing.” He shakes his head.

“Nuh-uh,” I nudge him with my shoulder. “What?”

“Let’s do pros and cons.”

I roll my eyes. “I do not need a pros and cons list. There’s so much going on here at the moment?—”

“Okay, so let’s put your thoughts in order.” This is something Miles used to do with me whenever I needed to make a big decision. Whether it was my college degree, moving out to the dorms, whether to buy a new laptop or not. Pros and cons lists were the way we worked everything out when we were younger.

“Pros. Go.”

I groan, knowing I’m not getting out of this. “Okay. It’s pretty.”

“Uh-huh.” He puts his thumb out, beginning to count.

“I’ve got a job.” He flicks another finger up.

“I don’t know. I like it here.”

He rolls his eyes. “Oh my god. Okay, let’s start with the cons then.”

I sigh. “Well, it’s far away.”

“From what?”

“Everything?”

He tilts his head. “Is that really such a bad thing?” I shrug. “When did you get so bad at this?”

“We’re talking about like a life-changing event here, Miles!”

“I know,” he puts his hand over mine. “Why don’t I tell you what I think?”

“Please oh wise one,” I mock. His face turns stern. “Yes, yes, go on.”

“Yes, it’s far away, but like you said, you like it here. From what I can see you’ve found your people. Caio aside, everyone I met on your birthday seems to care for you, right?” I nod in agreement. “Then there’s the elephant in the room,” he nudges my shoulder, and a smile slips from my lips. “My little sister is in love.Big love.”

“I don’t know about love,” I cut in.

“I do. I’ve never seen you look at anyone the way you look at him. Especially not Brandon.” I snort. “It’s okay to be scared, Isla.”

My eyes start to sting just at that. My brother always knows how to make me cry.

“I am scared,” I whisper.

He pulls me into a hug, careful not to wobble us too much. “I know.”

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