Page 116 of Shortcake
That was it. One word.Hey.
And yet, it was enough to make my heart slam into my ribs with such force that if I didn’t know better, I might have thought I was having a heart attack.
Three little dots appeared as she typed more.
Ping. Another message popped up.
I’d really love to get to know you better. Your brothers have been so great. And when I saw you were on here, I thought maybe it was a good time to chat?
Your brothers. Not our brothers. It was like she could read my thoughts. Like she knew what might trigger me.
Then again, if she could read my thoughts, she would have known that popping up and wanting to chat live would have spooked me, too. Why couldn’t we just send messages back and forth with plenty of time in between correspondences. You know, likenormalpeople.
That annoying burning sensation flooded my eyes yet again and I took a moment to look directly up and into the light. “Get back in my skull, you twatwaffles,” I muttered to my tears, as though they were obedient dogs or something.
Beside me, Eleanor grunted and I shot her a look, too. “You didn’t see a thing,” I said to her.
She blinked her beady, black eyes at me and squeaked before shuffling off to hide in her tunnel.
“Good girl,” I said and dropped a treat into the cage for her.
“Okay. Okay, okay, okay.” I linked my fingers, giving them a good crack before typing back,I’m going to be honest. My emotions are kind of all over the place regarding you…
Delete.
… us. I meant what I said. I want to get to know you. But I need to take it slowly. Just pretend I’m a virgin on prom night and you’re the quarterback of the football team.
Andsend.
I was impressed by how quickly her response came.
I understand. So you want me to keep pressuring you and then tell you that I’m too big for condoms?Done. ??
“Ha!” The honking laugh was out before I could stop it and I clapped a hand over my mouth.
I laughed out loud. Like actually LOLed like this was 1998 and I was on AIM or some shit.
But I had to admit it, Hope was clever. And funny. And if that one joke was any indication, then maybe Finn and Haylee were right, and she and I would be similar.
Maybe we could actually be friends. Not just half-sisters. That ‘half’ was like some annoying equivocation I kept forcing my brain to make to protect my heart. But maybe we could be sisters. Period. Nohalfabout it.
Another message came through from her.Seriously though, I get it. I’m around any time. Let me know when you want to chat.
If this brief interaction was any indication, then she wasannoyinglyperfect. She was funny and understanding and compassionate and strong.
A lot stronger than me. Her world had flipped on its head too when my brother introduced himself to her.
She went from being an only child, to one of five siblings.
And she was handling it in stride.
At least, on the outside she was.
“Addy?”
I screamed, nearly toppling out of my chair and quickly slammed my laptop shut.
“Oh my God!” Harper shouted, rushing over to help me up. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. Are you okay?”
