Page 81 of Wicked Tricks

I rolled my eyes, shaking my head, “not anymore.”

She pursed her lips and gave me a tired look.

“Really? You’re just gonna pout about it like a baby?”

“Didn’t you come to cheer me up? Or did you just show up in the middle of the night to call me a pussy, and then fuck off back to Perth?”

“The second option,” she said with a serious face, nodding.

I glared at her, and a small smile creeped across her face as she realised she had very easily met her goal of pissing me off.

I couldn’t be mad, and laughed as she did.

“Fine,” I said, trying to be serious, “but you don’t know Rome. I don’t know how to make it right. I don’t want to push her either. If she wants me to stay away, I’ll stay away.”

“Did she actuallysaythat she wanted you to stay away?” Valerie asked.

“Well she had her fucking gun to my head, so yeah, kind of.”

Valerie laughed, almost choking on her coffee, “I like this girl already.”

“Val,” I groaned.

I didn’t need the bullshit, I wasn’t in the mood for her sarcasm and jokes.

“Fine, fine,” she leaned forward, her teasing expression dropped, “I can’t tell you what to do about Mum, OK? Only you can deal with that. You know how I dealt with it, and I know you could never hurt her like that. She’s not speaking to me, obviously. But this girl - man, if she’s what you want, you need to show her that. Give her space, but don’t let her think you’ve forgotten about her. Don’t give up so easily.”

“That’s rich coming from you,” I mumbled into my cup.

“Excuse me!” she snapped, “do not even start.”

“Ren was a mess when you left,” I shrugged, “all these years and not a word from you.”

“Did he say something?” she leaned forward.

“No, but he’s my best friend.”

“I’m your sister.”

“Different.”

She stood and went to the sink, shaking her head as she poured the remainder of her drink down the drain.

“I came to help you, Toni, not to be reminded about all of that high-school crap. I’m going to bed,” she said, storming out of the kitchen in a huff.

I followed her, and she climbed the staircase quickly, dragging her bag behind her. Valerie was not usually one to shy away from an argument, so I knew that I had hit a sore spot by mentioning Ren.

“So I guess you’ll be gone in the morning then?” I shouted from the bottom of the stairs, looking up at her.

She sighed, pausing and looking over her shoulder at me.

“I’m leaving tomorrow afternoon, Toni. You can’t seriously have expected that I would stay for long?”

I shrugged, putting my hands in my pockets and she smiled.

We argued, probably more than any of our siblings - but it never lasted long.

Yes, Ren was my best friend, but so was Valerie.

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