I rub a hand over my chest, not sure what the sting deep inside means. It’s bittersweet, and it confuses the hell out of me.
“Hey, little brother.” Gigi finally notices me and flashes me a bright smile, her cheeks reddening more. “Didn’t see you there. Whatcha doing on the floor?”
“Just hanging out with the carpet mites.” I lift an old and battered copy of The Man in the High Castle and put it inside the duffel, on top of the socks. “The mites say hi, by the way.”
Jarett snorts and helps Gigi out of her coat, then hangs it beside his on the hook by the door. “Gonna nuke some dinner. Unless you wanna order pizza?”
“I vote for pizza!” Gigi blows him a kiss and catches me shaking my head as I zip my duffel closed. “What?”
“Get a room, you two.”
“We got an apartment, dumbass.” She sticks her tongue out at me, though her gaze keeps returning to Jarett who’s scrolling through his phone contacts for the pizza place. “Suck it up, Mercurius.”
Grinning, I get to my feet and glance around at the place I’ve called home ever since Mom moved in with her new man, and I had to find my own place to live. It was supposed to be a temporary stay, but I ended up hogging Gigi’s living room for two months.
Yeah, it’s time to go. I haul the duffel onto the couch and drag my suitcase right beside it.
“Hey…” Gigi tears her gaze off her boyfriend and comes to stand beside me, her eyes wide. “You’re moving out? Really?”
“Yeah. I’ll gather all my stuff by tomorrow and be out of your hair.”
“Aw, Mercky. You know you can stay with us for as long as you like.”
I tug on a strand of her hair that’s come loose from her ponytail, then tuck it behind her ear. “Thanks, Ginger. I appreciate it. But it’s time I left you two in your love nest and went my own way.”
She sighs. “Found a good place?”
“Looks okay. The guy who owns it seems decent.”
“One day,” she pokes at my chest with her finger, “you’ll build your own love nest and stop making fun of me. One day a girl will come along and steal your heart, turn you into a love-struck fool.”
“Is this a prophecy?” I widen my eyes dramatically down at her. It’s always funny to find out how much taller than her I’ve grown over the years. She’s barely up to my chin these days. “Otherwise, I doubt that.”
“So, no girlfriend? Not even a love interest? Come on, Merc, you can tell your sister.”
“Nobody, I swear to God. I’m celibate as a monk.”
Right now, anyway. I’ve been with chicks. I’m not a fucking monk. But it never lasts. I don’t want it to. No girl has ever drawn me enough to wanna stick around.
Well, except for psycho girl. This girl I keep seeing on the college campus, who’s in my Calculus class, the one I can’t stop thinking about… Though nothing has happened with her, and nothing is likely to.
Girl just isn’t interested, Merc. Get a fucking clue.
“Merc.” She puts a hand on my arm, her expression turning concerned. “You’ll be okay? In that new place?”
“I’m not three. Don’t you worry about me, sis.”
“You know what I’m talking about.”
Yeah, I do. Not something I wanna discuss in front of Jarett. Something I don’t wanna discuss at all, period.
But Gigi isn’t one to easily give up. “When will you talk to me about it? Or if not to me, then to a psychologist, someone who can help—”
“Forget it, Gigi.” I grab my duffel, swing it over my shoulder. “I’m fine.”
“Merc…”
I ignore her puppy eyes and turn toward Jarett. “Gotta go. Thank you both for putting me up for so long.”