Page 46 of Sincerely, Your Enemy

Footsteps can be heard rumbling down the hall as soon as I unlock the door. Sierra turns the corner the next second.

“Where have you been? My friend’s going to be here any minute, and you haven’t even started dinner. What are we going to eat?” My sister bombards me with questions.

I kick off my shoes and drop my keys into the bowl by the door. “What friend?”

“I told you I’m having a friend over tonight. You said it was okay.”

Right. She made a friend at her new school, and now she absolutely loves it there. Funny how she hated my guts for making her transfer schools just a few weeks ago.

“Had to finish later to make up for being sick all week,” I explain and take off my coat. I scan the living room for a sign of my brother. “Did Oli get started on his homework?”

“He’s all done, I made sure. He’s in his room, playing video games and calling strangers pussies on his headset.”

Sounds about right.

Sierra follows me to the kitchen. “Now, what’s for dinner? I want to make a good impression. This girl is, like,reallycool.”

“Give me a second.” I check the fridge, and I’m forced to admit I don’t have much to work with. I did a small grocery run after I recovered, but my siblings obviously munched their way through everything.

I need to go and get some more food so that I can meal prep this weekend. I spend all of my Sunday afternoons whipping up a few casseroles for the following week.

My eyes travel to the coupons I left on the table. I get these in the mail. The deals are pretty good, and a bunch of restaurants in the area take them. I debate on spending that money for a few minutes. I haven’t ordered takeout in months, and I got some great tips at the café today.

Screw it.

“I think I’ll just order pizza,” I tell her before checking the coupon dates to make sure they’re not expired.

“All right. But no olives. Kelsea hates those.”

Kelsea?

“Kelsea? Is that your friend’s name?”

The doorbell sounds through the house before she has a chance to answer.

My sister squeals, racing over to the front door. “She’s here.”

A part of me knows the universe is about to pull some sort of joke on me, but I tell myself it’s just a coincidence. Until Sierra opens the door and I’m presented with two familiar faces.

TJ.

And his sister, Kelsea.

You have got to be kidding me.

“TJ? What are you doing here?”

His lips pull into a smirk. “Oh, you know, just dropping off my sister. I never let her sleep over her friends’ places without meeting the parents first.”

Seriously?

As if I don’t see enough of this guy already.

Kelsea glances up at her big brother, confusion etched across her face. “Do you two know each other?”

“As a matter of fact, we do. We go to the same school, don’t we, Mattson?”

This is making me regret not throwing that chicken noodle soup in his face the other day.

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