Page 28 of Captivated

“I just miss you, Liliana,” Cella said.

“I know.”

“But you did get time away to spend just with me, so yay!”

Her sister did a little happy dance on the sidewalk, and gained the attention of several passersby. Some of the people gave them a strange look—how often did you see a girl dancing on Fifth Avenue like a crazy little wild child, anyway?

“Stop that,” Liliana muttered, trying hard not to laugh. She grabbed her sister’s arm, and tugged Cella back into her side to get her attention focused on what they were currently doing. “You’re drawing attention.”

Cella preened. “I know, that’s the whole point.”

“Well, let’s not.”

“You’re a ballerina, Liliana. Your whole job is to be beautiful and graceful on stage, all the while keeping an entire audience’s eyes on you. So …”

“Yes, but we’re not on a stage right now,” Liliana countered, “we’re on a sidewalk in the middle of Fifth freaking Avenue.”

Her sister only laughed, but she didn’t try to do another crazy dance routine to give the gawkers a show. Soon, the two sisters were on their walk again, and nearly at the salon where they both had appointments for the day.

Cella, for manicures.

Liliana, for a foot treatment.

God knew her feet could use it.

“We should bring Lucia the next time,” Liliana said. “I bet she’s feeling left out at home.”

Their far younger sister sometimes liked to tag along for their girls’ day out, but she never actually spoke up and asked to go. That didn’t stop Liliana from feeling like shit whenever they left their younger sister behind.

“She went to the movies with John, according to Ma,” Cella said, shrugging. “I called and asked.”

“Huh.”

“Yep.”

Liliana stared into a storefront window as they passed, and wondered out loud, “Do you ever feel like she got a longer end of the stick with John?”

“Uh …”

“I just mean … she kind of never had to deal with the bad shit from John, right, not like we did. And so, she doesn’t have the same kind of issues we do when it comes to him.”

“I love John.”

“Me, too,” Liliana quickly said.

But the history they shared with their older brother was still very real, and a little too raw sometimes. It was just easier to deal with those feelings from afar.

“I’m actually really glad Lucia has a good big brother in John,” Cella said, smiling from the side at her sister, and linking their arms together again. “She got what we didn’t, and there’s nothing wrong with being happy for her, you know what I mean? And maybe for him, too.”

“What’s that mean—for him?”

“I don’t think it’s easy on John to be kind of distanced from us, either, but have you ever noticed how he doesn’t push us for more than what we give? Yeah, he knows how we feel, and respects it, I think. And that’s important, too.”

“Never thought of it like that.”

“Yeah, well …”

Cella trailed off, and left the rest of her statement unsaid. Liliana didn’t mind. This had been more than enough for her to take another look at her previous feelings, and reevaluate them when it came to her brother, and what she thought was his imposed distance.