Page 76 of Built to Fall
I shoot a look back at Lina, mouthing,I’m sorry.
Claire snorts. “She’s funny. I like her.”
“You’d like her a lot more if you weren’t posing as the damn SWAT team, bursting in my room before nine a.m.,” I tell her, my tone sharp.
Dad claps a hand on my shoulder, eyes suspiciously bright. “Well, I’m sure we’ll get to know your girlfriend really well over breakfast.”
“I’m not his girlfriend,” Lina quickly cuts in, sitting up straighter in my bed. “Just friends. In fact, we’re barely even that. Friends with alowercase f, as Grant put it.”
Hell, I’m lucky enough I got her to agree to that.
“Friends who… sleep together?” Claire questions suspiciously.
“Sounds about right,” Abby mutters, glaring at me.
My dad’s eyes widen, and he walks out of the room at the measured pace of a man trying to pretend his daughters aren’t bringing up his son’s sex life.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping the past few weeks,” Lina admits. “It might sound weird, but I sleep better here.”
My sisters give each other a look before turning to face me with knowing smirks.
“I don’t blame you, girl,” Abby says. “I slept so much better when I had Gigi at my disposal.”
“You have ahusband,” I retort. This is the same argument I’ve had with her time and time again.
“Did you just call himGigi?” Lina asks.
“We were hoping for a third sister,” Claire explains.
I roll my eyes. “So as punishment for me not being a girl, they forced me to be their bitch my entire childhood,” I tell Lina, making her smile.
“Our sweet baby brother used to sit at the edge of our beds and scratch our backs until we knocked out. And he’d hum our favorite songs, like a human white noise machine,” Claire says.
“Against my will,” I remind them.
Abby waves me off. “You wereso goodat it. We trained you well.”
“I was eight.”
Claire smirks at Lina. “Once, I told him I had a test coming up and couldn’t fall asleep because of the stress. He stayed uptwo extra hoursjust to trace the periodic table on my back.”
“I still can’t believe you made me draw all the noble gases,” I snap.
Abby puts a hand over her heart. “He was the best little emotional support brother.”
“Decades of sisterly torment,” I mutter, throwing a blanket over Claire to shut her up. “That’s what built my skill set.”
“Well, it’s clearly still working. You’ve upgraded from anxious sisters to pretty girls with sleep issues.” Abby grins.
I look back at Lina, smirking as a blush rises to her cheeks. “This won’t be the last time, either.”
She smacks me in the chest, but she didn’t deny the fact.
“Alright, we’ll let you two get ready while we make coffee,” Abby says.
“No,” I say, leading them out my bedroom door. “You’ll leave. Immediately.”
“Too late,” Claire calls. “I’m already making pancakes.”
