I watch Zach pull off and grab my phone from my purse and dial Dani’s number. I hold the phone to my ear and listen to the endless ringing before her voicemail message picks up. I exhale and end the call. No point leaving another message that I know will go unanswered. I start the car and head home to the silence.
Me: Hey, Hails. How was prom?
Haylee: It was fun. Was nice to dress up and escape my life for a night.
Haylee: But, it was also weird with Dani not being there.
Me: Mom sent me photos. You guys looked great.
Haylee: Thanks. Not as fun as last year, of course.
Me: Well, duh. That’s because yours truly wasn’t there. I’m the life of the party.
I wait for a response, and it doesn’t come right away. Shit, why did I say that? Of course it was different. Nothing about this year has been the same.
Haylee: How’s school?
Me: It’s good. I have this one teacher, Professor Watts, that’s kind of cool. He’s not much older than us, which is kind of weird.
Haylee: Cool.
I go to type a response when my phone buzzes and I see my sister calling, the last person’s name I expected to see. I’m not sure when the last time she called me was. I begin to panic. I hit “answer.”
“Dani? Is everything okay?” My breathing is labored, worried of her response.
“Hey. Yeah. Why wouldn’t it be?” Her voice is calm as if this is an everyday occurrence.
I bring the phone away from my ear to make sure I was on the phone with my sister. “Umm, well, you’re calling me, for one.”
“Can’t a sister call her brother without there being something wrong?”
Who is this girl and what did she do with my sister? The one who has been shutting us all out for months.
“Dani, don’t get me wrong. I’m glad you called. I guess I’m just a little confused. You never want to talk to me and when I do call, you can’t wait to get me off the phone.”
Neither of us say anything and I have to check to make sure she is still there.
Finally Dani speaks up. “Well, that changes now. I was wondering if you wanted to hang out the next time you’re home. Like, maybe we could watch a movie or something?”
Baby steps, I tell myself.
The corners of my mouth lift. “I’d love that. I have something going on this weekend, but I can make it home the following weekend. That work for you?”
“Umm, sure.” Maybe I should reschedule plans with Ky and his sisters so that my sister doesn’t change her mind, but then she speaks up. “I’m really looking forward to it, Zach. I’ve missed you.”
“Yeah, me too, Dani. I’m just getting to the gym. Call you later?”
“Sounds great. Bye.”
As I enter the gym doors, a sense of peace comes over me. Maybe, in the long run, we will all be okay. I might just be getting a glimpse of my sister returning to a new normal.
Standing on the front porch of the Jacobses’ house, I decide to ring the doorbell instead of just walking in. I hear footsteps on the other side before Kelly opens the door. Perfect. Just who I wanted to talk to.
“Hi, sweetheart. How come you rang the doorbell? You know you can always just walk in. This is your home too.”
I laugh and cringe. “Yeah, that did feel a little weird. I don’t know why I did that.”
I look down at the ground and shuffle my feet nervously.