Page 40 of HER SISTER

"What happened to that super glue idea, Ry?" Willow questioned as Akeyla poured alcoholic egg nog into the bronze mugs for us.

The gingerbread competition was long over and now everyone seemed to be spread out as they took in the calming mountains.

Willow, Ryder, Marco, and Mya were in the kitchen with me—along with Akeyla who was preparing our drinks.

While Arielle, Damon, Frankie, and Cam were by the fire in the living room.

Meanwhile, Mili was outside with Terrance—and it was obvious that they were smoking together on the outdoor sectional with the lit fire pit in front of them.

Ryder rolled his eyes, "You said it was cheating remember?" he pointed out.

Willow only laughed as she took the bronze mug from Akeyla, "Or... you knew you'd lose either way."

Ryder narrowed his eyes at Willow, "Well, you didn't place either, so—"

"Okay! How about we head into the living room for a movie?" Mya suddenly interrupted them as her mom handed her the mug of egg nog.

I nodded a few times, "Amazing idea," I said, knowing what turn this was all about to take.

Akeyla nodded a few times, "I'll grab snacks—Mya go grab your dad and your sister," she instructed as I followed Willow and Ryder into the large living room.

And I couldn't even imagine sitting through an entire movie with Mili just a few feet away from me.

Yet, I still found myself sitting down on the U-shaped sectional couch beside Arielle—who gave me a warm smile.

Soon Mya was sitting on the other side of me with her parents on the other side of her.

"Hey, where are you going?" Mya called out as Mili walked toward the stairs.

"She has some pictures to edit," Terrance suddenly said before Mili could answer.

Akeyla shook her head, "You two are so annoying," she declared, and it was obvious that the family had formed two different alliances.

Mya clinked her mug with her moms, "Agreed," she said, easily earning laughs from Terrance—and Mili, who was going up the stairs.

And even if I wasn't completely on board with watching a movie with Mili—I also found myself slightly disappointed that she wasn't going to be staying.

Apart of me wondered if she was purposefully avoiding me, or if she genuinely had pictures to edit.

I internally scolded my thoughts, knowing that I shouldn't be thinking about her this deeply.

I've done so much work to move past everything that happened on Halloween night—I've even fallen into a friendly dynamic with Cam.

Suddenly an idea popped into my head.

Maybe that's what I need?

Maybe Mili and I just need to declare that we're cool—that we're friends.

And then there won't be any more avoidance or awkwardness.

I'm not saying we have to be best friends or anything, but maybe addressing the elephant in the room and declaring that we're cool with each other might help.

Maybe that's the last step in moving forward for good.

All I need to do is find time to pull her aside.

It might be better to talk to her one-on-one once everyone leaves on Sunday.

—

The next day, we were all dressed in thick layers as we headed toward the nearest hill.

I couldn't actually believe I was about to sled for the first time—hopefully, it was as fun as I imagined.

A part of me wondered if it would be like surfing, except you're sitting down.

I let out a wavered breath as we finally made it to the top of the hill—and to say it was intimidating would be an understatement.

"Uh, guys..." I trailed off as I looked down.

Frankie laughed, "You really shouldn't look down," she suggested, and I swear the last thing I wanted to hear was her voice.

And I hated that.

Because Frankie was a genuinely nice person, and she didn't even know that I felt that way about Mili at all—her flirting honestly seemed nonchalant.

And on top of that, it seemed like we all saw it in that light just because she and Mili had slept together before.

But the entire point of all this—is that Frankie had no idea, so I shouldn't be mad at her at all.

"We do this every year, Ana—trust me, it's so fun," Mya assured me as she got situated on the sled before motioning me over, "Sled down with me," she offered.

And I didn't even hesitate to join her, knowing that I wouldn't want to go down with anyone else.

Well, perhaps Mili, but she isn't here.

I practically clung onto Mya as Marco went to stand behind us.

"Ready?" Marco questioned, easily earning quick nods from me and Mya.

Damon and Ryder suddenly stood on either side of our sled as they pushed it back and forth.

"Three," Cam called out.

"Two," Frankie called out.

"One!" Both Arielle and Willow shouted.

And just like that, the three guys pushed us down, sending me and Mya flying as a scream fell from my lips.

Mya laughed as I held onto her even tighter, but somehow—halfway down the mountain, I found myself actually basking in the adrenaline rush and the cold air whipping against my face.

It really was—

"Fun," I said to Mya as we landed at the bottom, "That was so fun."

Mya clapped happily, "Yay, I'm so happy you liked it," she said, giving me a brief hug before she grabbed our sled.

And soon everyone else was sledding down the mountain behind us while Mya and I began to trek back up.

An hour managed to pass as we kept sledding down the mountain and then walking back up—until soon we decided to head back to the cabin for lunch.

Well, until Mya and Damon came up with a stupidly impulsive idea.

"All of us?" Cam questioned.

"On one sled?" Willow repeated back to her in her skeptical lawyer voice.

Mya gave us puppy dog eyes, "Oh come on guys, it'll be fun," she tried to convince us.

Damon wiggled his eyebrows at Arielle, "Come on babe—just once," he said, clearly trying to convince her.

Arielle let out a sigh, "You guys are stupid—but I guess that makes me stupid too," she determined, clearly giving in to the crazy idea.

"Me too," Frankie managed to say.

Cam shrugged, "Guess I am too."

Ryder laughed, "Hey, I was on board since you mentioned it," he admitted.

"This is insane," Marco laughed out.

Willow let out an irritated sigh, "You guys are going to get us killed one day," she said, shaking her head to herself.

Everyone suddenly looked at me, easily making me roll my eyes to myself, "Fine," I said, clearly reluctant over the idea, but I also didn't want to be the odd one out.

Mya clapped happily while Damon fist-pumped the air.

And before I knew it, we were all climbing onto the largest sled we had.

The guys purposefully sat at the front, just in case they needed to stop us—while we got seated at the back.

I held onto Mya as tight as I could, barely managing to fit at the very back of the sled.

How I got stuck sitting on the end was beyond me.

"Ready, set..." Damon trailed off as they rocked us back and forth.

"Go!" Ryder called out.

And just like that—we were flying down the mountain at the quickest rate we had ever gone before.

I held onto Mya even tighter when I felt myself sliding off the back, "Mya," I called out, easily causing her to turn her head.

"Wait, I got you," she said, leaning forward to give me more room, but instead it caused my grip to loosen.

And just like that I was sliding off the back of the fast sled.

I scrunched my burning eyes closed as I practically tumbled down the tall hill, bracing myself for rocks that stuck up out of the snow.

A painful groan fell from my lips when I felt my body hit something extremely hard—which I later realized was a tree.

A deep and wavered sigh fell from my lips—I really don't know if I should be lucky that the tree stopped me or not.