Page 15 of Forget Me Not

“What do you got?” he asks, still smiling at her, oblivious to the change in her demeanor.

“Water, Diet Coke, ginger ale, or cranberry juice. If you want something alcoholic, I think all we have is vodka and wine.”

“Diet Coke is good with me. Thanks, Lo.” He pauses. “I can call you Lo now, right? I feel like our friendship has hit that level, don’t you?”

She lightly laughs at him and nods her head. “Yeah, Lo is fine.” She turns her direction toward me.

“Just water, please,” I speak. She turns around to walk back into the kitchen without a response. I force myself to look away from her, not willing to give Asher any more ammunition. He’s also smart enough to know he won’t get anything from me, especially while we’re here.

It’s only a few minutes before Logan is walking back into the room with a glass in each hand, Demi following behind her with the same. They set them down before going back to grab the food from the kitchen. They set each plate down and then take their seats.

I had assumed my sister would sit next to me, but she surprises me when she quickly slides into the chair next to Asher, earning herself a glare from Logan, to which she responds with a smirk. Logan reluctantly sits in the chair next to me, seemingly doing everything she can to avoid looking at me.

I’m not sure what Demi’s intentions are with making sure that Logan sits next to me, but I can’t say I’m not happy with the outcome. Watching Logan sit next to Asher, knowing how he made her smile earlier, would’ve been torturous.

Not that her sitting next to me is much better. The table isn’t big considering the room is small itself. Just big enough for the four of us, and the chairs are close enough together that if I spread my legs a little wider, they would rub against Lo’s. The temptation to do so is strong.

“Holy shit, this looks good,” Asher says, referring to the plate of food in front of him and he’s not wrong. It looks like some sortof chicken with lemon sauce, mashed potatoes, and vegetables. It seems simple enough, but the way it’s placed on the plate looks more like art than a home-cooked meal.

“He’s right,” I say, directing my attention to my little sister. “This looks amazing, Demi.” I watch a beaming smile take over her face. She looks like the fourteen-year-old little girl who was constantly begging me to hang out with her.

I should have been flattered she thought I was so cool instead of ignoring her or saying I was too busy with work. Eventually, she started reaching out less and less until she stopped asking altogether. Our relationship revolved around “How are you?” and “happy birthday” texts for years, and it was all my fault.

My father left my mother and me because he got Demi’s mother pregnant. My mother knew he was cheating on her but chose to ignore it. She chose to ignore a lot of things when it came to him. She probably would’ve stayed with him too, even with Demi’s mother pregnant, but he left to go play happy family with them instead.

I know Demi had no control over the fact that our father had chosen to stay and raise her instead of me, but it still caused me to push her away for years. It’s only over the last six months that we’ve been talking more and developing the brother-sister relationship she’s been begging me for all along.

“Thanks, guys. I hope it tastes good too.” She throws Logan what looks like a nervous glance. “Dig in,” she says, cutting into her own food.

It does taste as good as it looks, if not better. Every component on the plate is full of flavor, it’s probably some of the best food I’ve ever eaten.

“It’s really fucking good, Demi,” I say, and I can instantly see her relax as if waiting for my approval.

“Thanks, Kaden. That means a lot to me.” She smiles and I return the gesture. I catch Logan looking at me out of the cornerof her eye as if she’s analyzing the interaction. The second she realizes she’s caught, she jerks her stare away.

“Delicious as always, Dem,” Logan says to my sister.

“This shit is some of the best fucking food I’ve ever eaten,” Asher says. “Where do you work again?”

“Oh, I’m just a waitress at Angelo’s right now.” Demi looks down at her food as if the fact embarrasses her.

“Fuck that, why?” Asher speaks while still shoveling food into his mouth. “I’ll hire you to be my personal chef right now.”

Demi laughs at him at the same time Logan cracks a smile.

“Please,” Demi says, eyeing him up and down. “You couldn’t afford me.” She smiles and he laughs at her in return, nodding his head as if he agrees. “For real though, I’d love to have my own restaurant where I can cook and create my own menu one day. But it’s just a pipe dream for now.”

“Well, I’d eat there every day for sure.” Asher smiles at my sister.

“I think you’d gain a hundred pounds if you ate this every day.” Demi chuckles at him. Asher being the asshole that he is, proceeds to stand up and lift his shirt showing off his abs.

“Please,” he says, flexing to each of the girls. “These things are made of steel, I could never.”

Demi looks at him like a fish out of water, looking back and forth between his stomach and his face. He laughs at her expression, making her snap out of it and roll her eyes at him. Logan laughs at the situation, acting as if she’s not affected, but I can see the tinge of pink on her cheeks. It fucking pisses me off.

“Put your shit away.” I kick Asher under the table. He drops his shirt and fakes being wounded before plopping back into his seat.

The rest of the dinner goes by relatively quietly. Everyone’s more focused on eating their meal than having a conversation. We’re all just about finished when Asher starts his meddling.

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