Life of a Little Sister 3

Chapter 6

Happy Reading :)

Anthony followed me up the stairs and into my apartment. I walked in and couldn't help the embarrassed smile that covered my face when Bernie and Anita were there giving me a very grandmotherly look of curiosity. 

"This is Anthony," I introduced him, and he shook both of their hands. 

"Nice to meet you guys." 

"How do you know Anthony?" Bernie asked. This was the first time I brought a boy home, I could tell the embarrassment wasn't going to stop here. 

"He's from my hometown."

"What are your intentions here Anthony? Can I call you Anthony?" Bernie raised an eyebrow. 

"I would prefer it," he said amused, "My intentions are to have a cup of tea and help Lydia pack perhaps." 

"How old are you Anthony?" Anita pressed.

"I'm 24 ma'am, almost 25." 

At that I thought to myself how different it was now. I thought he was much older than me, everyone felt so much older than me when I was in highschool. He was just a couple years older, and in my head he was a grandpa. I think part of that was being the youngest and being treated like the youngest constantly had warped my sense of self.

"Hm," Anita  chided, "He's too young for you." 

"He's too old for you," Bernice countered.

"I'm 22," I laughed, "Come on."

"Leave the door open!" Bernice shouted after us.

"Your roommates are nice." Anthony grinned.

"They're the best." I laughed. 

"Nice room," he stated after walking in to my tiny room.

"Thank you, I'm pretty sure this was a hallway closet they turned into a room, but at least rent is cheap." At that I remembered why it was so affordable, instantly feelings of dread took over. 

"What's wrong," Anthony asked noticing my change in demeanor, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Felix has been paying our rent. A chunk of it. And we didn't know. We just thought we had a good deal." I felt vulnerable telling him all of this, the feeling of familiarity made me comfortable to divulge all this information. 

Why was it so easy to tell him all of this? Was it because he was from our hometown? 

"Jesus," he whistled, "The guy is persistent."

I felt embarrassed, maybe I shouldn't have told him that, maybe I shouldn't have shared so much of the crazy, my thoughts started to spiral again and he took my hand. 

"Hey it's fine," He said softly, "You're okay. Everything is okay." 

I felt the need to lie, to agree that yes I was okay, I didn't want to be a burden, I didn't want to be weak. I regretted bringing him upstairs. I could be alone right now processing by myself. Why did I entertain him for this long. I just wanted to lay on my bed and cry for two hours straight. 

"You should go back to work, thank you for helping me with my family stuff, I appreciate it. Maybe I'll see you when I get back." I tried to put on my best normal smile, hoping he would buy it and leave me alone. 

"Lydia."

"Anthony." 

"I'm gonna get you some water, you sit down, and chill out." He made no move to leave my house. 

"I said you can go," I repeated, "I'm fine." I tried to smile with teeth this time and Anthony snorted.

"Lydia you look like someone shoved a cactus in your belly button, what the hell is that smile."