“Alycia,” I said softly, touching her arm.
“I’m sorry, Tor.”
“It’s okay, it’s not your fault.”
“It’s just that he never told me. And what am I supposed to do? I don’t wanna be with a person who thinks that way. If he wants me, he has to accept all of me, including my family. If I stay with him, is he going to avoid you guys? I don’t want that. My family is more important to me, and if he rejects them, then he’s rejecting me too.”
My stomach twisted and my chest tightened. I rubbed Alycia’s back and stared at the floor. I couldn’t look at Wesley.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to just dump all this on you,” she said quietly, her brows furrowed. “I just didn’t know what to do.”
“I’m sorry too.” I didn’t know what else to say. She had been with Mike for over a year.
“What should I do, Tor? I love him. I mean, I really do love him. But… this is just too much.” Alycia sniffled and wiped away the tears in her eyes.
I patted her back and glanced at Wesley. “Could you take the lasagna out of the oven?” I asked quietly. Wesley nodded and stood up.
“You made lasagna?” Alycia asked, her face perking up and her eyes hopeful. She blinked quickly, trying to dissipate her tears, and smiled childishly.
“Yeah, using Mom’s recipe with a few changes,” I answered, returning her smile with a slight laugh. Her stomach never ceased to amaze me. She was small, petite really, and looked delicate and fragile, but she had a stomach made of steel. It was like there was a switch in her brain that put her in food mode.
“Ooh, I can’t wait! I haven’t eaten for two days waiting for dinner tonight. I just hope you made enough, ’cause I’m starving!”
“Well, dinner’s ready, if you wanna eat now,” I said, but she was already up and heading toward the kitchen.
Alycia set the table while I tossed the salad and Wesley cut up the lasagna. We sat down to eat, and Alycia and Wesley battled to see who could eat the most.
“Hey, can I have a beer?” Alycia asked after dinner. She was hunched over in front of the refrigerator and glanced back at me with a grin.
“Sure, grab one for me too,” Wesley said, heading into the living room.
“Hey!” I objected, but was ignored. Alycia passed me with two beers in her hands and I followed her into the living room. “She’s my little sister!” I protested halfheartedly. “Oh, forget it.” I gave up, without hearing a single word of opposition.
“C’mon, Tor. Have one too,” Alycia urged, pulling her legs under her on the sofa.
“Nah, he doesn’t like beer,” Wesley said and took a long drink. Then he stood up quickly. “Oh, but I got something he does like!”
Wesley ran into the bedroom and Alycia and I exchanged glances. I didn’t know what he was getting; I just prayed it wasn’t something embarrassing. He came back with a joint between his thumb and index finger and my stomach dropped.
“Tor… ren!” Alycia scolded. “Shame on you!”
“We can’t smoke it on the balcony, so can we do it in here? Or do we have to go to my car?” Wesley asked. He didn’t smoke in the apartment, but it wasn’t because I wouldn’t let him; he decided to smoke outside of his own accord. “Oh, have you smoked before?” he asked Alycia.
“Just once,” Alycia said. “Me and a friend decided to give it a try, but I don’t think I got high or anything. It kinda sucked. Honestly, I was a little disappointed.”
I didn’t know she had ever tried it. I looked at her blankly and she smiled sheepishly at me. I guessed I shouldn’t have been surprised, though.
“Well, if you’re anything like your brother, you will this time.”
“Yeah, in here is fine,” I said, resigning myself to the fact that my little sister wasn’t little anymore and knew more about the world than I did. I deflated with a sigh, snatching the joint from Wesley and falling back on the sofa next to Alycia. “Lighter?”
Wesley tossed me an orange lighter and sat down on the sofa next to me. I lit one end and inhaled. Wesley watched me with a smile on his lips. He seemed impressed that I could get a good burn, but I had watched him enough times to know. I handed it to Alycia and she was cute, bringing her lips out to the joint rather than bringing the joint to her lips. She closed her eyes and inhaled, holding her breath with her cheeks puffed out. Wesley and I giggled; then he took it and we passed it back and forth until it was a tiny roach. Then Wesley got his bowl and we smoked that, too, although it wasn’t really necessary.
“Fuck!” Alycia shouted, surprising Wesley and me. She looked at us with a loopy grin on her face. “I definitely didn’t get high before. What a rip-off!”
Wesley and I started laughing and we turned on the TV with the volume low, barely audible. We sat three abreast on the couch with silly grins plastered on our faces.
“I’m thirsty,” Alycia said, smacking her lips.
I got up to get her a soda and both Alycia and Wesley followed me into the kitchen. I poured a soda for Alycia, but ended up drinking it myself because she opted to have another beer with Wesley. I took out the carton of
