Ten Years Ago
ELLIE
“Natalie.”
I was sitting between Sully’s legs, leaning against his chest while we lounged on Natalie’s bed, eating sandwiches he’d made—peanut butter, no jelly (at my request).
He twirled his fingers in my hair absently as he regarded his sister, who was surrounded by biology notes from the summer course she was taking.
“Hm?”
“When I eventually convince Eleanor to marry me and we have kids, do you think they’ll have black hair or blond hair?”
Natalie looked up. “Ugh, can you not be all over my best friend for like one single minute?”
“She was my future wife way before she was ever your best friend, Natalie.”
“That makes literally no sense, Sullivan.”
“Yes it does. I saw her first.”
Natalie rolled her eyes, but I laughed.
“As cute as it is that you’re both fighting over me—”
“Oh, baby.” He put a finger beneath my chin, tipping it back so I was staring up at him. “This isn’t fighting. If you want to see me actually—”
“I don’t,” I interjected, trying to give him a stern look. “Not with your sister, anyway.”
“Want me to pick a fight with someone else, darling?”
“No,” I laughed again. “No fighting.”
“Fine, no fighting,” Sully agreed. “But Natalie still has to answer the question because I’m terrible at biology. I could never do those pendant squares.”
“Punnett squares,” Natalie corrected.
“Whatever.” Sully trailed his finger down my throat, giving me shivers. But I didn’t look away from him and that lopsided grin on his face. “Just tell me our kids will look just like her.”
His gaze found mine, and then I was lost in it—in looking at what the future was like. We were young, but Sully talked like this all the time. And it never failed to introduce butterflies in my stomach.
“I will tell you whatever you want, as long as you get lost and stop interrupting our sleepover.”
“You’re doing homework, Nat. What, exactly, am I interrupting?”
“Not anymore. I’m done.” She slammed her textbook shut, tossing him a glare. “And we’re going to paint our nails now, and I know how much you hate the smell.”
“Oh, God, fine.” Sully surrendered, carefully sliding around me and off the bed. “I’ll be in my room with R2-D2.”
Natalie lifted a brow. “Did you buy a new robot companion?”
“No.” Sully’s smirk did things to my insides. “I’m building one. Out of LEGO.”
“Do you still want me to give you a haircut today?” I asked, and he paused in the doorway.
“That’d be great, otherwise Mom is going to drag me to the salon she goes to. And they don’t cut it like you do, El. But it can wait until you’re done with your nails.”
“God, you two are disgusting,” Natalie moaned, but Sully simply shot me a wink before he disappeared.
He knew he’d see me later.
Sleepovers with Natalie were my favorite because she always crashed early, and then I’d sneak into Sully’s room across the hall.
I didn’t use to be so bold.
Last summer, it started with cracked doors.
Natalie would shut the light off, roll over in bed, and I’d turn to face the other way. Face the sliver of darkness that connected the two rooms.
Meanwhile, Sully would rearrange himself in his bed to rest his head on the foot of it, just so he could see across the hall, too.
We’d make faces at each other that we could barely see until one of us fell asleep.
Usually me.