Elevator ➵ J.M.

32. Aw, Sis, You Looked Bad Yesterday

t h i r t y - t w o

"OKAY," I SIGH. "YOU CAN do this. Just talk," I continue, moving my hands around. "Talking is easy, right? Yeah! Just gotta talk about what the situation is and—ohcrap, this isn't easy," I sit down on the bed, cupping my face in my hands. No pep talk could help me now. I have to talk with him. Just as I'm about to let out a scream of frustration, the doorbell rings.

"Yo, Amber," Lucas calls.

"Hey," I call as I walk to the door. "Fair warning: I look really bad."

"Aww, sis, you looked bad yesterday," he says as I start opening the door. I can hear the smile on his lips before I see it. I just glare at him softly before looking at the figure behind him. "Oh yeah, I brought a friend."

"Hey," Jonah says as he steps out from behind Lucas, rocking on his heels.

"Are you a mind reader?" I ask Lucas.

"No, I just know what advice I gave you," he says with a cheeky smile. I guess I've always been a little predictable.

"Come in, Jonah," I call, pushing Lucas to the side.

"Yay! Be friendly again!" Lucas cheers as Jonah walks in. "But not too friendly!" I merely stick up my finger as I close the door. "Love ya!"

As I turn around, I see Jonah completely. His eyes seem sunken in, rimmed with red. He looks paler than usual, and skinnier. This isn't the kid who ruled the magazine covers. This isn't him. And it's my fault.

"Hi," he says unsurely. "You seem better."

"Well, you don't," I say, pushing him over to a chair. "I'm making you something to eat."

"I'm—" he starts before I cut him off.

"Shut up," I say sternly. I pull out some stuff from the fridge and cabinets. As I put some cereal in the bowl, I also get some coffee ready. I pour milk onto the cereal, stick a spoon in it, and set it on the table in front of Jonah, ordering him to eat.

He quietly eats it as I get the coffee out in clean cups. I set down a cup next to his bowl which was almost empty. Working up the courage to say something, I sit on the counter and swing my feet.

He gets up, putting the bowl for washing as he says, "Okay."

Taking a deep breath, I start talking, "We need to talk, and I've come to a decision on my end. And I really need to tell you." He nods his head solemnly, taking a sip of coffee. "I want this to happen. Honestly, I didn't want it to. I mean, look at you! You're like a megastar! Your fans hate me! There were so many reasons to not.

"But then, Lucas came to talk to me and he said to just do what I want. And I want to let this happen," I say, sighing.

"Hey," he says, setting down the coffee and walking up to me, "I'm glad we agree." He holds my hands in his, rubbing his thumb over my knuckles.

"We do?" I choke out, a smile overtaking my face. He looks up at my eyes, smiling a little as the old him retains control.

"Yeah."

"That's great," I smile.

Our gaze intensifies as his hand cups the side of my cheek. As our lips get closer, I find myself smiling even more than before. This is actually gonna happen.

After what felt like minutes, our faces parted and he whispered, "Tastes like coffee. My favorite."

they finally admitted it.

December 1, 2018