Page 10 of HER SISTER

"It's about Alyssa," Mya said, pursing her lips.

I felt my body relax on command, feeling grateful that it had nothing to do with me.

Wait.

Alyssa? Who's Alyssa?

Mili sighed, "Not this again."

"She just wants to talk to you... she knows you're back in town," Mya said, and instead of my heart racing in my chest, it felt like it had sunk to my stomach instead.

Alyssa must be an old fling. Or maybe a—

"She's my ex Mya. I know you're naturally the nice sister, but you have to understand that I owe her nothing," Mili said, sitting up from her leaned-back position.

I felt a sting vibrate through me—was I jealous?

No. No. How could I be? I have no right to.

"You never gave her an explanation regarding the breakup—at least give her closure," Mya said, her tone growing firm, like she's tried to tell her this before.

The brief thought of being Mili's ex crossed my mind, rattling me completely.

The idea of being on the outs with her and not being a part of her life felt very unappealing to me.

I hate to admit it, but I could see why Alyssa wanted to speak to Mili.

"Don't you agree Ana?" Mya asked, snapping me from my thoughts yet again.

I peered over to Mili, whose brow was raised as she waited for me to answer whatever question Mya was asking.

"I... uh what was the question again?" I said.

Mili rested her head in the palm of her hand as she looked over at me. "Do you think I should speak to my ex," she said, reiterating Mya's question, except hers was a statement, like she was leaving room for me to say no—a part of me wondered if she hoped I would say no.

"I think that's a question that only Mili should answer," I said, knowing better than to get involved in the standoff between the two siblings.

My answer would be wrong regardless.

"No, it's a yes or no question," Mili said, pushing me to answer a question that would put me in a very awkward predicament.

I peered over to Mya, who shrugged, which ultimately meant that I needed to answer it.

Internally, I felt a slight irritation even thinking about Mili speaking to her ex.

An ex that seems like she wants more than closure.

Then again, Mili can't know that—and Mya definitely can't either.

So that leaves only one correct answer.

"I think... you should speak to her," I said, my stomach turning over as I forced the sentence out. I could one hundred percent throw up right now.

Mili clicked her tongue on the roof of her mouth, pulling her eyes away from me with a distasteful look coating her face.

Something tells me that I still managed to say the wrong answer.

"See," Mya said, motioning to me.

Every second that passed, my stomach grew more unsettled. I shouldn't have even answered the question.

"Yep," Mili said, her tone dry and cold. "I'll reach out to her," she said, reaching for her phone that was tucked away in her pocket.

I wanted to say no—but the reason behind the urge would be unexplainable to Mya.

Instead, I decided to say, "I'm going to go shower and change. It's been a long day."

Mya nodded with a smile. "Cool, everyone was planning on coming over for a movie night if that's cool?"

I nodded. "Sounds fun."

When Mili didn't bother to acknowledge me and kept clicking around on her phone, I decided to take my leave, hesitantly hopping off the tall chair.

Well, there goes any progress we made.

—

Willow clicked through Netflix, "No-no, we definitely should watch Red Notice—it's so good."

Frankie nodded, "Ryan Reynolds is absolutely hilarious in that one."

"Well, I say 6 Underground if we're going based on Ryan Reynolds," Arielle said.

"But Dwayne Johnson is in Red Notice—automatically that gives it the dub," Damon pointed out, which caused everyone to nod in agreement.

Finally, Cam—who was lying beside me in the pile of blankets—raised her hand up, "Let's just vote on a movie," she suggested.

"Amazing idea," Mya said.

Marco nodded, chewing his popcorn before saying, "Well I want to watch Red Notice."

"Me too," Ryder agreed. "Gal Gadot also gives the movie bonus points."

More than bonus points, I thought. She's a knockout.

Before I could think about it further, I blurted, "Red Notice is my choice too."

Cam side-eyed me with an amused smile. "Oh really?" she said, nudging me as if she knew my thoughts exactly.

"Honestly, I'm fine with Red Notice too—let's just watch the damn movie okay?" Arielle said, grabbing popcorn from the bowl that she and Damon shared.

"Great we—" Willow went to say, but was cut short by a short knock on the door.

"Mya, did you forget to call your booty call off?" Damon joked, which caused Mya to throw a pillow at him, muffling his laughter.

Mya stood from the couch, "I hate you, Damon."

"We should seriously tally how many times someone says that in a day," Frankie said, laughing as she grabbed another sour Trolli from the bag.

We all stayed silent as Mya answered the door, peering over to see who it was.

At this point, I wasn't quite sure if we'd ever get around to watching Red Notice or not.

"Oh hey M," Mya said, opening the door further. My heart rate instantly spiked at the slightest mention of her older sister, let alone her actual presence. "Oh... hey Alyssa," she said, watching the brunette walk in behind Mili.

My quickened heart rate diminished, and suddenly I felt nauseous again.

The brunette was irritatingly beautiful—but what else did I expect from someone who managed to get Mili to settle down? To actually date?

Even without knowing her reputation, anyone can assume that dating isn't exactly her scene.

Alyssa's dark blue eyes peered around the room, a smile growing on her face which displayed her perfect white teeth.

She was wearing a black furry cropped sweater with matching pants, leaving her long shiny hair down.

Mili was in a black t-shirt and grey joggers with her shiny dark hair parted in the middle and pulled into a low ponytail.

I hated to even have the thought cross my mind, much less admit it, but Mili and Alyssa actually complimented each other.

"You don't mind if we join?" Mili asked, and I wanted to scream Yes we mind. Why the fuck would you bring her here?

But I didn't. I stayed silent as Mya shook her head, insisting that they stay and join in on our movie night.

Alyssa smiled graciously as they walked into the living room, grabbing a pile of blankets.

Of course, Willow and Marco made a pile close to the floor-to-ceiling windows, while Arielle and Damon sat in the middle. Leaving Ryder, Frankie, and Mya on the L-shaped couch.

Of course, this all meant, Cam and I were on the end, where Alyssa was currently making a pile for her and Mili.

I wished I had laid on the inside of Cam and I's pile of blankets, especially since this meant I'd either be next to Mili or Alyssa.

I couldn't determine which was worse.

Alyssa sat down, just as Mili sat down next to her, choosing to sit between Alyssa and me.

"You must be new," Alyssa said, peering past Mili at me. Her voice was genuine and sweet, and I absolutely hated it. "I'm Alyssa."

Yep. I gathered that.

I smiled, hoping it seemed genuine. Like I wasn't feeling some overwhelming claim over Mili.

Like my body wasn't screaming mine-mine-mine when Cam was lying beside me and her sister was sitting behind me.

"I'm Ana," I said, my tone smooth and warm.

Alyssa smiled leaning to lay back on the pile of covers. "Nice to meet you, Ana."

"You too," I said, leaning back over to rest my head on Cam's chest.

I have Cam, I shouldn't be worried about Mili. I thought, hoping to swallow the jealousy and push it far-far away.

But... are they dating? Are they back together?

I really hope they're not.

"We're watching Red Notice," Mya said, switching the movie on.

I forced my attention on the movie that began to start, but I couldn't ignore Mili's familiar scent, which easily overpowered Cam's.

The same scent that wrapped around me earlier today as she slid my bathing suit top off or when we kissed until we physically couldn't breathe anymore in that bar bathroom.

"You okay?" Cam murmured, her fingers gently rubbing up the side of my torso as I continued to lay on my side with my head resting on her chest. "You seem tense," she added.

"I'm good," I whispered, forcing my tone to remain warm and unbothered.

Cam nodded, holding me closer to her, which easily spread warmth throughout my body.

Still, I somehow felt cold and uneasy.