Page 104 of Be Your Anything
But she’s been looking at me differently today, her eyes shifting away when I ask her any questions about herself. She’s also still wearing pajamas.
Remmy’s never been a casual girl. She’s never proper, but she’s always put together, always sporting thick eyeliner and loads of lipstick. It was a look I always loved, until I got a little bit older and started to prefer something more natural.
I clear my throat. Shift in my seat. Internally scold myself for focusing on trivial bullshit.
“It wasn’t originally what I was hoping for,” Remmy says, interrupting my mind from zigzagging all over the place. “But I think it’s a good move right now.”
I smile at her, glad it seems like she’s starting to figure out what she wants.
“And you’re here,” she says, placing her hand on my wrist. “And really, that should be all that matters, right? Us being together?”
I have to fight to keep the look of confusion off of my face even though it’s lighting me up inside.
Remmy feels like a jumble of emotions today, one minute soaring up with excitement about being home, the next on the verge of tears because she had to leave her old life behind and then following that up with gratitude about us being together.
Since when has us being together ever been a priority to her? This doesn’t sound like the Remmy I’ve known for so long. She’s never been one to just…change her plans because of someone else.
I can’t imagine she really came back here because of our relationship.
That stark realization turns something sharp in my chest.
I pick up my water and take a large gulp, deciding it would be best to change the subject for now.
Scrambling, I pick the only thing that pops into my mind.
“How’s the job search coming along?”
She makes an irritated face and I try to smile along with it, remembering the frustration all my other friends felt.
“You know, I didn’t do as well in college as I did in high school, and the job market is oversaturated right now. So…it’s just more difficult than I anticipated.”
“Would you ever reconsider working for your dad? You know, until you can find something else?”
Remmy laughs, but there’s something brittle about it.
I know by asking this question, I’ve picked at a wound, a sore subject between Remmy and her family. I didn’t mean to. I just…forgot. I forgot it’s tense, forgot her family resents her for making her own choices and walking away from them. Robert and Mariana are an incredibly traditional couple who care a lot about public perception.
“OfcourseI’ve thought about it. He’s offered me a job weekly since before I even graduated. Trust me when I say it would be so much easier to go that route, but I could never work with my brothers, as much as I love them. And that’s exactly where my dad would put me.”
I can’t help but smile, thinking about the two brothers who gave me quite the talking to when we were younger.
“Is it fun being back with Dominic and Mathias?”
Her brothers, one older and one younger, also live at home. Remmy broke the familial mold when she moved out. A traditional Colombian family, her parents hadn’t wanted her to move out to go to college. They wanted her to stay at home until she got married, which is what her brothers are doing.
Remmy’s smile breaks wide on her face. “You know, it’s actually been great. I know I’ve only been here for like, two days, but I already know it’s going to be awesome being back together. We’ve missed out on so much of each other’s lives since I’ve been away, you know?”
She continues to talk about Dom and Mathias, about the things that have been going on in their lives since the last time she was in town.
But I’m only partially listening, her comment about ‘missing out’ pressing on something else that’s been on my mind a lot over the past few weeks.
Ivy.
Things with Hannah have been going well, but I have more than one sister to get to know nowadays. Even though Ivy and I have seen each other a few times over the past few weeks, we’ve never really had a conversation or tried to get to know each other better.
I keep telling myself it’s because I don’t really know sign language and she’ll think I’m an idiot, or because I don’t want to impose on Ben and Wyatt’s brother-sister relationships with her.
But if I’m completely honest with myself, I know I can make it work if I just try. She’s just a normal kid who requires work and attention to get to know.
