Page 104 of The List of Things

“Hey, B,” He smiles, and she runs down the long entryway until she’s jumping to hug her big brother.

He hugs her tight, and I smile at the reunion, the two of them making me wish I had a sibling. He lets her go, and her eyes go to me, and back to Bellamy.

“Oh. Bri, this is Kamryn, and Kamryn this is my sister.”

I smile, and wave, and his sister goes past that, wrapping me in a hug. It’s nothing like the hug she just shared with Bellamy, but it’s still warm.

“It’s so nice to meet you. Bellamy doesn’t bring girls here, he only brings those meathead football players he calls friends over,” She rolls her eyes, and I laugh, watching Bellamy shove his sister to the side.

“I’m letting Lawson know you said that, he’s going to have a mouthful to say to you when-”

“Oh I’d like to see Lawsy even try to get a word in when I’m in the room, he has no chance,” She argues back, and I love seeing Bellamy in his element.

This is his element just like football is. Being with his family is comfortable.

“Belly is that you?” I hear from upstairs.

“It’s me!” He calls back.

“Come up here for a minute, we need your help with something,” The older voice of a woman speaks.

“Coming!” He yells up. “Do you want to come with me?” I open my mouth to agree with him, but I don’t get a chance.

“No she can stay with me,” Bri takes my hand, and pulls me from the entryway, and to the other room before I can even say anything else, so I shrug my shoulders toward Bellamy, and turn toward his sister instead.

“I’ll be down soon. Don’t be annoying B!”

She rolls her eyes as she pushes the door open to a very clean, and simple bedroom. It’s clean but lived in. There’s a desk with books and schoolwork. She’s far more put together than I am. At least Bellamy and his sister have one thing in common. She jumps on her bed, and she pats it too, signaling for me to sit down.

“You’re really pretty. Bellamy was right.”

I smile at the compliment.

“I wasn’t aware Bellamy had been talking about me at all,” I raise my eyebrows, and she smiles, just like I am right now.

“Obviously. He’s been telling me about you since February. I don’t remember, but he said you were his tutor right? And I thought it was a little bit silly that he needed a tutor, especially in math because he’s super smart. He tutors me in math every time he comes home.”

My stomach drops a bit at the confession. Her math must not be too complicated if Bellamy is the one helping her. He’s smart, but… He’s been with me once a week every single week since February.

“Oh, he does? Well, he seemed completely clueless when I was tutoring him,” Realization strikes me hard.

Has he been lying this entire time? He was so believable. He couldn’t have been. His sister shrugs her shoulders, completely unaware of what I’m thinking.

“But either way, I’ve been hearing about this crush he had, and now I finally get to meet you because you and Bellamy are dating right?” She doesn’t understand that she’s ratting him out right now.

And I can’t tell if I’m happy or mad.

“Oh... It’s complicated... Not dating... But-”

“I totally get it. Complicated is better than nothing. Sorry, I just never really get to meet any cool people through Bellamy, they’re all gross, and like throwing balls for fun.”

I laugh, despite the uneasy feeling in my stomach. At least she has a similar sense of humor to me.

“You don’t have to apologize. You seem close to Bellamy, I think it’s sweet you’re excited to meet his… Friends,” I fumble the words, and she smirks as she notices.

“We are close. Bellamy is my best friend. Boy problems? Bellamy. Math problems? Bellamy. If I just want to talk? Bellamy. He’s always here. And I wanna be just like him too. I’ll be going to SPU next semester. I just graduated and I got accepted to the university early admission last year,” She tells me, and I raise my eyebrows.

“What for?” I lean myself into her, wanting to know her well. I don’t know why. I have no idea why but she’s sweet. And she’s funny.

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