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“You’re gonna love it here, Mia. I just hope I’m still here so I can enjoy it with you before I have to go back.” A pang of sadness squeezed my chest.
“Well, I’m currently apartment hunting from afar. So ifcough-coughyou know of any handsome realtors who have spare apartments in their buildings, let me know.”
“I’ll ask Owen for sure. If there’s nothing opening up here, maybe he knows of some other places. I’m sure he has connections.”
“Add it to the list of favors he’s done for you?”
I cringed. “Great.”
She laughed. “How weird is it gonna be that our situations reverse? I’m gonna be there, and you’re gonna be back here. What universe is this?”
I didn’t know whether to be happy or sad. I would potentially get to see Mia soon, but I’d be losing my best friend once I got back to L.A. That felt like a sucker punch. With no family out there, it was a hard pill to swallow.
“Well, as much as it’s gonna suck not having you around every day, I’m so proud of you for this promotion. And I’ll definitely be coming back here to visit, especially if you’re in New York. Talking to you right now made me realize how much I’ve missed you. I have, like, no female friends out here.”
“That’s ’cuz your best friend is Owen.”
“Truth.” I sighed.
After Mia and I hung up, I noticed my sister looking morose on the couch. I hadn’t seen her come out of her bedroom. She was hunched over, staring intently at her phone. And she looked upset.
I walked over. “What’s wrong, Han?”
She wiped her nose with her sleeve. “Nothing.”
She’s crying?“Don’t give me that. You’ve been crying. Is it about Mom?”
I hoped not, because that woman wasn’t worth anyone’s tears.
“Iwishit were about Mom.”
“Talk to me.”
She handed me her phone and showed me the screen. It was the social media page of some girl from her school. The little bitch had solicited other kids to list the ugliest people in their grade. Some asshole had listed Hannah’s name in the comments.
Irate, I handed her back the phone and worked hard to remain calm. “You don’t believe this, do you?” I asked. “These are people who just get off on being mean. Nothing else.”
“I wish I didn’t believe it.” She sniffled.
My sister was beautiful, inside and out, and I couldn’t understand how anyone could be so cruel. It brought back memories of being teased by girls in expensive clothes and shoes when I had to wear the same ratty garb over and over back in the day.
“I know it’s hard for you to understand this, Hannah. But I’m gonna be straight with you. People who do this have low self-esteem. They do it to make themselves feel better. And often times, they’re actually jealous of the people they’re bullying.”
Her lip trembled. “What do they have to be jealous of when it comes to me?”
“You’re smart, funny, talented in the arts? What’s not to be jealous of?” I rubbed her back. “I know it’s hard to see now, but kids your age are the worst when it comes to this kind of thing. The same stuff used to happen to me.”
“It did?”
I nodded. “But social media wasn’t as bad back then. Now people use it as a weapon. You know what else I didn’t have back then?”
“What?”
I wrapped my arms around her. “A big sister who could set me straight about what’s really going on with those miserable kids. And I want you to understand that when people do this, they’re being mean, and you shouldn’t place any value on what terrible people have to say.”
She frowned. “You’re not gonna be around forever, though, Devyn.”
I squeezed her tighter. “That’s not true anymore, Hannah. I’m gonna make sure you guys are taken care of, and I’m gonna do my best to be around, okay? I can’t guarantee I’ll be living with you, but I will always be looking out for you. And if I get my way, we won’t be leaving each other at all. Okay?”
