Page 73 of HER SISTER

Mili's loft was exactly how we'd left it the day we rushed off to our flights—the smell of vanilla lingered in the air and everything was organized in a specific spot like Mili preferred.

She was really weird about leaving any sort of mess since we'd come back to it.

As she had quoted—Leave it how you want to find it.

And she was one hundred percent right, coming back to a clean and organized space after a short trip was really nice.

Settling in wasn't hard—the first night we unpacked and Mili casually offered a spot for all my clothes so I wouldn't be living out of a suitcase as I was doing before we had left.

I didn't know what exactly that meant... I mean, I know we weren't moving in or anything, she was just giving me a spot for when I'd be staying over for long periods of time.

But it was hard to deny the step up we had suddenly taken.

That night, we showered and laid in her warm bed with our limbs tangled and the fresh smell of our shampoos intermixing.

It was surprisingly blissful to be back, especially since I had been dreading it.

Classes didn't start for another couple of days, so at least I had one last weekend without any stress.

Well, other than the thoughts of Mya crowding up my head.

Mili had been working overtime trying to distract me with various things, except today she had some work to handle.

And I swear I had never been more bored in my life.

I had binged watched a full Netflix series and watched two movies—meanwhile, Mili remained seated in her office, carefully clicking and typing on her computer.

She had been at it all day due to a lot of work she had fallen behind on while we were away.

I managed to make her breakfast and lunch to the best of my abilities, knowing that she was too caught up in work to make anything for herself.

But now dinner was approaching, and I couldn't begin to think about what to make.

An empty sigh fell from my lips as I closed the fridge and reluctantly walked toward Mili's office.

The room was nestled under the industrial staircase and composed of two glass walls which gave me a peak into the office.

The last thing I wanted to do was bother her, but I didn't exactly know what to do—and being honest, I missed her within the span of a few hours.

It was scary that she was only in the other room and I already missed her.

That's probably not healthy, right?

Mili almost immediately looked up from her bright laptop as soon as I took one step into the room.

And as if on queue, she looked back down to her laptop, and it was clear she was looking at the time.

"My fault Ati, I got caught up with this final draft," Mili said, stressfully running her hands through her dark straightened hair.

And before she could get up I shook my head, "No, it's okay, I just wanted to know what you wanted for dinner," I said, clearly not wanting to disrupt her previous workflow.

Even if I was bored and missed her, I knew she had work to get done.

Mili's lips twitched up into a smile, "You're so sweet baby," she said, easily reaching out for my wrist and pulling me closer to her, "But you don't have to worry about dinner—I'll call in takeout somewhere for us," she offered.

I couldn't help but laugh, "Is this your way of saying I'm a bad cook?" I joked with her.

A beautiful laugh fell from Mili's lips, "After you made me the best eggs and bacon for breakfast? And then managed to make me a fresh salad?" she reiterated the day, clearly disagreeing with my previous statement.

I pursed my lips into a shy smile, "Eggs and bacon are easy to make—and I just threw a bunch of ingredients together for a salad," I countered, knowing she was really hyping me up for no reason.

Mili only hummed, "Well, it was really good for just throwing things together," she mocked my words back to me with a loose smile.

I only shook my head at her as I leaned down to peck her lips gently.

My smile managed to grow when Mili pulled me down into her warm body, forcing me to sit down on her lap.

"Would you mind if I finish this up and you go pick up the food for us?" Mili murmured as she pressed another kiss to my lips.

And even if I felt a little saddened by the idea of spending even more time away from her, I nodded.

"Yeah, of course," I whispered as she pulled back slightly.

Mili's twitched up into a small smile, "Okay, I'll order it from somewhere close—we could do that Indian food place nearby?" she suggested.

I didn't hesitate to nod a few times, "Their butter chicken is to die for," I said, easily growing excited over the familiar meal.

Mili's smile grew at my excitement, "I'll call it in now," she said, pressing another kiss to my lips as she grabbed her phone.

I hummed as I stood from her lap, "Great, and I'll go get changed—"

I was cut short when Mili suddenly grabbed my wrist again, easily halting me from walking away, "One more kiss first?" she said, looking up at me with her beautiful brown eyes.

I couldn't help but smile as leaned down into her for not just one, but two kisses.

And somehow two turned into three and three turned into... too many to count.

"The food," I reminded her.

Mili only hummed against my lips, "I'd rather you," she said, easily forcing my body to swirl with a familiar warmth.

However, when Mili managed to pull back slightly, I easily felt something deflate inside of me.

"I guess I can still have you for after," she determined, clearly prioritizing our hunger that wasn't just for sex.

I jokingly pouted as I stood from her lap—which she managed to pull me back down onto in the midst of kissing her perfect lips just seconds ago.

"Fine," I said, smoothing down my frizzy dark hair as I turned on my heel, "Don't forget the—"

"Naan, yes I know baby," Mili cut me short, and it was hard to miss the way her dark eyes carefully watched me walk away.

I swear we couldn't keep our hands off each other if our lives depended on it.

Soon I was dressed in a pair of Mili's sweatpants with one of my cropped tees—heading out of her loft toward the Indian food place that was only a couple of blocks away.

The best part about right by the college was all the food places and shops nearby.

It made everything so accessible.

"Pick up for Damaris," I told the man who stood behind the counter.

The man suddenly turned around to the takeout bags waiting to be picked up, "Right here—Damaris," he said, handing the bag over to me with a friendly smile.

I reciprocated his smile, "Thank you," I said as I took the bag from him.

And before I could reach for my wallet, he managed to say, "It's already been paid for so you're all good to go."

I nodded, knowing that the odds of Mili letting me contribute to anything, especially dinner, were extremely low.

"Have a great night," I told the man as I turned on my heel.

"You as well," he repeated back to me before attending to the next person in line.

I smiled as soon as the door opened for me, which was due to someone holding it open from the outside.

"Thank y—"

"Ana?" the familiar voice cut me short.

I blinked a few times as my eyes locked with hers.

"Hey, um..." I trailed off awkwardly as her brown eyes carefully held mine.

Arielle suddenly pulled me into a hug, "There's no need for the awkwardness, Ana—all that stuff happened ages ago," she said.

I couldn't help but laugh as I hugged her back, "It was only a week ago," I pointed out.

Arielle smiled slightly as we pulled back from the hug, "Almost two weeks technically, and it seems like everyone's moved past it," she corrected me as we stepped off to the side of the door for the people walking into the small restaurant.

My brows raised at her words, suddenly recalling Mya.

Does that mean she's moved past it as well?

"The last I heard was that you needed some time—understandably, I mean a lot of people came at you that night.

.. I really should've stepped in better," Arielle said, whispering the last part more to herself, "Even if you had lied, you still didn't deserve any of that," she added, and it was surprising to hear her siding with me.

I guess I just assumed everyone would take Mya's side, and I had come to terms with that, especially after my wrongful decisions.

"Wait," I suddenly said, recalling what Arielle had just said, "You heard that I needed some time? From who?" I questioned, clearly piecing her words together.

Arielle furrowed her brows, "From Mya?" she said, clearly confused by my own confusion.

"Wait Mya said that? I haven't spoken to her since that night? Is she mad?" I said, suddenly allowing all of my questions to flood out of my mouth.

Arielle tilted her head, "She didn't seem mad. I don't know, she hasn't really talked about it with us," she said, growing just as confused as me, "She only told us that Mili said you needed some time and—"

"Wait, Mili said that?" I cut her short, suddenly growing more confused.

Arielle furrowed her brows, "Yeah, that's why Mya hasn't reached out—that's why none of us have reached out," she explained, and her explanation managed to explain why I haven't heard from everyone.

But Mili wouldn't do that—not with how stressed I had been over all of this.

It meant so much to me to even talk to Mya and fix things with her.

Mili would've told me if she reached out.

"No way, Ana?" I heard a familiar deep voice call out, suddenly jerking me from my thoughts.

I smiled as I looked over to the man, "Damon," I greeted him.

Damon didn't even hesitate to pull me into a side hug, clearly excited to see me, "Where have you been? We thought you fell off the face of the earth," he joked as we pulled back from the brief hug.

"No, I just went to see family and now I'm settling back into campus life," I briefly explained, leaving out the part where I quite literally went through a friend breakup.

Damon nodded a few times as he draped his arm around Arielle's shoulder, "Yeah, we heard you needed some time. How are you?" he questioned as his girlfriend leaned into his side.

I forced a smile, hating that I never said I needed any time and that I never knew that those words were said on my behalf.

"Good, I've been good," I said, forcing my tone to remain light, when in reality, I was extremely confused.

Damon smiled, "That's good, are you joining us all for dinner?" he questioned, looking between me and Arielle.

And I couldn't help but feel a pang of hurt strike my chest, realizing that they had all still been hanging out without me.

I really missed them.

I suddenly held the takeout bag up that was in my hands, "I was actually grabbing dinner for me and Mili," I confessed.

And even openly talking about her to them felt so odd.

"Aw, how are you guys? I was really surprised when everything..." Damon suddenly trailed off when Arielle gave him a narrowed look, clearly telling him to stop talking.

I smiled slightly at their hesitation, it was clear that they didn't want to hurt my feelings or make me feel uncomfortable.

"We're good, we actually just got back from Islamorada," I explained, feeling warm at even the idea of our beautiful time on the familiar island.

Now, everything feels like it's suddenly coming crashing in.

No, no, I'm assuming.

Who's to even say Mili lied—maybe Mya lied instead.

I don't know.

"Oh, she met the parents? That's a pretty big deal," Arielle said, and it was hard to miss the smile that lit up on her face.

I felt my own smile grow wider, "Yeah... it went really well," I said, recalling how much everyone loved her.

And before Arielle could say anything else, Damon's phone was buzzing, easily causing him to slide it from his pocket.

He briefly read whatever was on the screen, "I think they all just got here," he said, suddenly typing on his phone.

Arielle shot me a sympathetic look, clearly knowing what came next.

"I'll see you guys around," I said, knowing that I probably shouldn't be here when they all arrived.

I don't think my anxiety could handle seeing them all at once after everything that happened.

Damon and Arielle nodded, easily causing me to back away to leave—but not before they both pulled me into brief hugs of their own.

Soon I was walking back down the sidewalk towards Mili's loft before the rest of my old friend group could show up.

And with each step that I took, I felt questions start piling up in my head, clearly confused about who lied and why they lied.

I'm just hoping that the who didn't involve Mili.