reticent

20

• AMALIA •

I walk downstairs a few minutes after Archer leaves, then into the kitchen.

Jenna grins at me. "He's cute, why aren't you with him?"

I laugh, suddenly giddy. The last thing in my mind is defending Frankie, overridden by my brain responding with: I have no idea.

I see Mason relax at the sound. He smiles.

"He's polite, too. He said goodbye to us before he left." She nudges Mason. "Didn't he?"

"Mhm." My brother mumbles, still smiling softly. He takes a sip of his drink.

     "Are you guys coming to my competition tomorrow?" I ask.

     "So we can watch you win? Hell yeah." Jenna says. Mason and I both laugh.

• ARCHER •

Ally wakes me up the next morning by jumping on me. I grunt as I lift her up, setting her beside me. "Jesus, Ally." I mumble. I sit up, leaning against my headboard.

     "It's competition day!" She shouts.

     "Yeah, I know." I mumble.

     "Mum made breakfast, come on!" She exclaims, rolling over me and landing on the floor. I sigh and climb out of bed, following her as she skips out the room and downstairs.

     The smell of pancakes greets me, and I walk in behind my baby sister to see our mother pouring batter out onto the pan.

     "Hi, honey." She says to me. "How many pancakes do you want?" She asks.

     I can't remember the last time she made us breakfast. It's always just been Ally and I against the world, bouncing between both our parents houses depending on who was saner.

     I'm glad it isn't like that anymore. I'm glad we have someone else to rely on. I'm glad I have someone to rely on.

•

I stare out of the window of the bus as Ally giggles with her friends. She's sitting at the front of the bus, but I can still hear her talking. She's the most extroverted six year old ever.

     "Waiting for me?"

     I snap my head toward Amalia, who has a soft smile on her face. She goes to put her bag over the seats, but I stand up and take it from her, doing it for her.

     Her smile widens. "Thanks."

     I smirk as she shuffles into the window seat. I drop down next to her. "It's not like you could reach it anyway." I mumble. She narrows her eyes. "You know, because you're short."

     "Yeah, I got that." She replies with a small laugh, nudging me with her elbow.

     She's wearing yellow joggers, a white shirt and a white jacket. She looks really pretty, like she always is.

     She slides her backpack off and sets it on the floor. She nudges it aside with her foot, and I laugh.

"Are you wearing crocs?"

She blushes. It's fucking adorable.

"Don't make fun of my crocs. They're comfortable. And look," she says, taking a socked foot out of one and flipping the back. "It has a running mode."

My lips tilt up into an amused smile. "Well. As long as you can run in your crocs."

     "It's the most important feature of shoes. Can you run in yours?" She asks.