Page 69 of Don't Let Go

“Knock, knock,” Lizzy sang, happy with her little jokes.

“Not another one,” Carmen moaned, sinking deeper into her chair.

Rory placed plates full of pancakes and bacon in front of her sisters. “Come on, Car. Be nice to Lizzy.”

Carmen sighed, picking up her fork. “She’s not being nice to me.”

Rory gave Carmen an evil glare as she put down plates for herself and me.

“Fine.” Carmen blew a piece of orange hair out of her face. “Who’s there?”

Lizzy was tickled pink that Carmen was going to play along. She gleefully picked up her fork and said, “Orange.”

Carmen cut into her pancakes too aggressively, ripping them into uneven pieces. “Orange, who?”

“Orange you glad your hair turned out so good?” She snorted at her silly punchline.

Carmen shoved pancake into her mouth to keep from saying something smart-ass.

Rory chuckled a little. “At least you know not to do that again. Right?”

Carmen stabbed another bite. “Yup.”

Rory side-glanced me and then looked at her food.

I swallowed my bite and took a swig of coffee. “I don’t think it looks too bad. You’re in drama, aren’t you? Makes you stand out.”

Carmen rolled her eyes and left the table. Rory shook her head as her sister walked by her going to the kitchen.

“Have you ever dyed your hair?” I dared to ask, concentrating on breaking a crispy piece of bacon in half so I didn’t make Rory freeze up by looking at her.

Rory dragged out, cutting into her last pancake. “Yeah. I dyed my ends blue once. My parents freaked when they saw the tub.”

“Oh, that’s bad,” Lizzy chimed in.

Rory nodded. “Yes, it was.”

I finished my last bite. “I bet you looked great with blue hair.”

She stood, grabbed her plate, and padded into the kitchen. “You bet I did.”

“Are you done?” I asked Lizzy.

“Yeah.” She pushed her plate away.

“I’ll take that for you. Why don’t you finish getting ready for school?”

“Okay.” She bounced out of her seat and ran toward the stairs.

I put her plate under mine and headed for the kitchen when Lizzy shouted, “Thanks, Tyler!” and darted up the stairs.

Rory loaded the dishwasher and didn’t look up as I rinsed off the plates and forks.

“I’ll take those.” Rory grabbed the plates out of my hands before I could reply.

I bent down to put the forks into the dishwasher. “How long is it going to be awkward between us?”

She slid the drawer back in and closed the dishwasher door. “What are you talking about?” She turned the machine on and grabbed a dishrag to wipe the already clean counter.

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