Page 110 of The Pinkie Pact

After reaching for her phone, she handed it to me. "Will you do it for me? That exact thing you just said?"

I was glad to help her out, so I typed the words for her and read it aloud. "Should I send it?" I asked.

"Yes. Just do it, please."

I did, and we both held our breath, waiting. And waiting. I took another drink, my glass almost empty. There was a noise outside of our door, and Kara jumped up.

"I think it's just your brother," I said, knowing she was hoping for Gen.

But she whipped the door open anyway, making Kieran jump in surprise. "Hey. I didn't want to bother you, K."

She started crying yet again, and Kieran glanced at me, a helpless look on his face. I made a motion with my arms to hug her, and he did so, a little awkwardly. Honestly, it was kind of cute how much tears made Kieran uncomfortable.

As Kara sobbed against him, he patted her back and said soothing things. He was definitely learning, and my heart swelled seeing his sweet face while he tried to help his sister. She finally pulled away from him, mumbling an apology.

"No worries," he said. "You know I'm always here for you if you need me."

She nodded, her lower lip quivering. Kieran retrieved the bag he'd left outside our room and brought it in.

"Thought you might need this," he said as Kara came back to her bed and collapsed.

Getting up from my perch, I took the bag from him and peeked inside. Wow, Kieran had hooked us up with a Whole Foods run—fresh mac and cheese from their hot bar, several bags of chips, a big tub of two-bite brownies, and ice cream. Not a vegetable in sight.

"Thank you," I said, unable to stop myself from beaming at him.

His smile was just... sigh. I walked away to put everything in its place in the kitchen.

"Are you hungry at all, Kara?" I asked.

I knew from experience that during stressful times, you either didn't want to eat a thing or you wanted to stuff your face like a pig.

"Yes," she surprised me by saying as she stared at her phone, still waiting. "And more wine, please."

Kieran helped me and brought her the bottle of wine along with a bowl of the mac and cheese. He had bought a huge container of it, and I knew that shit was expensive. I would never buy it for myself. Actually, I didn't even go there much because I ended up spending way too much of my hard-earned money.

After a moment of watching Kara scarf down the food, Kieran cleared his throat. "Well, I'll, um, I'll just get going then."

Kara glanced up at him. "What? You're leaving?"

The look of surprise on Kieran's face was super cute. "You want me to stay?"

"Yeah," Kara said like he was an idiot.

Kieran rubbed the back of his neck. "Um, okay. If you're sure. Just... if you change your mind, let me know, and I'll go."

She rolled her eyes and picked up her phone again as Kieran gave me a funny look. I shrugged in return. I had no idea that Kara would want him here either, and I was just as surprised as him.

Kieran followed me to the kitchen, asking for the latest. His eyes intent on me, I gave him the whole story in a nutshell, including how Kara was anxiously waiting for an answer to her text.

Her phone beeped, and she let out a yelp. "It's her!"

Kieran and I both rushed over, pausing by her bed while she studied the message.

"Well?" I asked, impatient as hell.

Finally, she glanced up at us both, a triumphant look in her eyes. "She said she was so relieved to hear from me and of course she understood I was upset. And she wants to talk it all out whenever I can."

Kieran and I exhaled at the same time.

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