I really hate seeing Kami cry. It just drives home the fact that she won’t let me help. Only once has she spilled her heart to me; it saddened me to hear that she believes herself so terrible, especially when I tried to tell her otherwise and she wouldn’t listen.
Sitting in the living room with Conor, I busy myself with tomorrow’s paperwork. Kara is still asleep, but I doubt she’ll stay that way for much longer. Conor scoots closer. “Hey, Lina, what’s that?”
I know he’s trying to ignore Kami’s sobs, but his query surprises me nonetheless. “They’re student registry papers,” I say quietly, trying not to disturb the sisters. “Since the Student Council helps oversee the clubs and teams, we have to keep track of who belongs to which groups, and how many people are in each, so that we can help plan things like matches, outings, and competitions.”
“Ohhh,” he says, as if a lightbulb suddenly turned on. “No wonder you guys always look so tired.” He sighs.
“Hey, what’s the heavy sigh for? Has something new gone wrong?” I ask, teasing.
“No, well, not exactly. It’s just, it suddenly occurred to me that Rina does a lot on her own, and I was considering whether there was anything I could do to help.” He looks sad.
I toy with the idea of telling him how she feels, but decide against it. I’ll just give him a nudge. “Kami said something once, about feeling like a terrible person… I don’t remember why. Maybe if you could find out…” I trail off meaningfully.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
He’s watching me, and I have a feeling that he knows I’m hiding something, but isn’t going to ask. “Okay, I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks, Lina.” He hesitates. “You too, do your best, okay? I know you want to help, and she hasn’t been letting you, but keep trying anyway.” He pauses again. “As much as I don’t want to admit it, I do respect Lakodi in that regard. His persistence is rather amazing; most guys wouldn’t even be going near her after getting rejected this many times.”
I laugh softly. “Most guys wouldn’t have been rejected this many times anyway. They don’t have the willpower.”
“True that.”
We sit together in companionable silence until Kara suddenly stirs with a soft groan. Kami has stopped sobbing, but still has her head buried in my mom’s shoulder. I probably shouldn’t let Kara see that.
To my surprise, Kara doesn’t so much as glance toward Kami. Instead, she looks directly at me and asks in a soft voice, “Is she okay?”
Conor and I both startle, wondering how long she’s been awake and how much of our conversation she heard.
I stare at her with wide eyes for several seconds before my expression softens into a smile. “Yeah,” I murmur. “She’ll be just fine. A good cry should help her quite a bit; keeping all those emotions locked up inside can’t have been good for her. I think she fell asleep, though.”
They nod sadly. Kara sighs lightly. “Well, at least I got a good nap in.” Pushing herself off the couch, she stretches. “Now, I have homework, so I guess I’ll work until she’s ready to leave.”
Two hours later, with Kami finally awake and both Conor and Kara having finished their homework, they wave goodbye and head home. It’s a fifteen-minute walk, and it’s only 7:15 right now, but I suspect I’ll be patching up more bruises tomorrow during school.
Grumbling under my breath, I start preparing extra lunches. I hope I get to help them soon…