Page 42 of The Fallacy of True Love
She rushed toward me from the bedroom we shared while she was visiting. Ever the hugger, she threw her arms around me and squeezed me tight. “Are you okay?”
“I need a shower but otherwise, I’m alright.” I patted her back. “I’ll tell you later when everyone’s together.”
Luna let go of me and her eyes went wide. Grabbing my left arm, she studied my bandage. “Oh my God! What happened?”
“Accident with a surfboard. It’s fine.” With everything that happened over the past few days, my injury was the least of my concerns. “On a scale of one to ten, how much trouble am I in?”
She made a tsking sound but let me go. “We were frantic when we couldn’t reach you. After we found out where you were, Papa lost it. Then Mama cried, and he got even madder.”
Shit. “So a twenty?”
“On Saturday, yeah. We talked him down yesterday. During breakfast, he was at a six, I think.”
“So when he sees me, it’ll shoot back to ten. Good to know.”
She sighed. “We were really worried about you, Lonz. No one could reach you.”
The grime that seemed to coat my skin sank deeper, staining my being. I felt every bit like the bad child, and I didn’t know what to say to redeem myself—or if I even could. “I’m sorry, Ate L. C’mere,” I said, gesturing her close for another hug.
She rubbed my back. “I get that you needed a break or an escape, but can you tell me or Ate next time? We’ll cover for you with Papa and Mama. The important thing is that someone knows where you are in case anything happens.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
I wanted to argue that she’d been living alone in a whole other country since she was nineteen, and we’d had no way of knowing where she was at all times. Both she and Tala had enjoyed plenty of freedom living in the US as college students. They’d been younger than me, with zero parental supervision. No curfews, no checks about where they were and who they spent their time with.
I’d been gone for two nights—and I was twenty-one. A legal adult. Yet I had to explain myself because I was living under our parents’ roof.
Pulling away, I smiled at Luna in an attempt to lighten the mood. “Am I still your favorite brother?”
She rolled her eyes. “I don’t have a choice. You’re my only brother.” Lightly punching my bicep, she said, “You stink, but I love you anyway.”
“So mushy, Ate L.”
“Go shower before everyone gets here. And Lonz?”
I had started walking to the bathroom, but I glanced back at her. “Yeah?”
She smiled at me. “I’m glad you’re back.”
Cam
As though the sea sensed the storm within me, the waves surged stronger, more turbulent than usual. They wiped me out with each attempt until I finally caught one. Its force sent my heart leaping into my throat. My entire being fired up with electricity, and for a second, I felt like I was in control.
Then I remembered that time someone crashed into my surfboard, and I went down again.
Coughing out mouthfuls of salt water, I pulled my board along as I fought my way back to the shore. The moment my eyes cleared, I spotted Nikki sitting on the beach blanket I’d laid out.
“Morning,” she called out when I was within hearing range.
I grunted, both my body and my board weighing heavy.
Stupid Alonzo.
Two buko shakes and a paper bag rested on the blanket in front of Nikki, and I decided not to be mad at her anymore. But that didn’t stop me from saying, “You are such a gossip.”
She widened her eyes, putting on her best impersonation of her daughter’s innocent look. “What? I thought of you and decided to bring you your favorite shake and pandesal like the amazing best friend that I am.”
“Uh huh. And this surprise has nothing to do with how you stuck me with an annoying guy last night?” Grabbing my towel, I gave my hair and body a quick wipe before looping it around my neck.
