Page 24 of Next to Everything We Wanted

A beam spread across my face. “Of course.” I whipped my blue flair pen out of my pocket and wrote,To Adam, the boy who survived the toughest wound. Ivan Hicks.I drew a few stars around it. “There you go.”

He beamed back at me. “Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Can we watch the movie now that you’ve healed my brother?” Emma asked, her drenched shorts leaving a streak of water behind as she slid off the counter. “You said that you love cheesy movies.”

“A movie still sounds fun.” I faced Sienna. “Is that okay with you?”

She nodded, though I couldn’t read the expression on her face well. Did she regret inviting me over? I mean, yeah, she was one of my biggest fans, but I was still a stranger in her house.

“Do you have any clothes to change into?” She gestured to my backpack. “If not, you can borrow something from my dad. It might be a little big, but it’s better than being soaked.”

“You don’t have to give me anything,” I said as the twins ran out of the kitchen. “I’m okay in these soaked clothes.”

“No, I’ll turn the heat on and find something warm for you to wear.”

“Okay.” I didn’t want to be any trouble, though I doubted that I’d be able to convince her I was fine. I hadn’t been able to convince anyone lately.

After I followed her into the living room, Sienna went into another room and came out a minute later with a worn-down UNLV T-shirt and basketball shorts. “Here you go.”

“Thank you.” I smiled. “Where can I get changed?”

She pointed to the hallway near the front door. “First door on your left.”

“Thanks.” I went into the bathroom, greeted with the smell of coconut air freshener. I tried not to knock anything over as I fought against the wet clothes that stuck to my skin. Once I finally won the battle and put on the dry clothes, I returned to the living room.

When Emma saw me, she smiled and held up her DVD. Man, I hadn’t seen one of those in a hot minute. “Have you heard ofCamp Rock? We haven’t watched it in forever.”

“Oh,Camp Rockis cool,” I said, looking for a place to sit. Adam sat on a blanket next to Bailey, their Golden Retriever who’d run off in the rain. “Where can I sit?”

“Sienna usually sits on the couch,” Emma said as she put the DVD in. “She wouldn’t mind if you sat next to her.” She winked at me.

I laughed. Gosh, she was ridiculous. I was about to tell her that Sienna was nice and all, but I had a girlfriend, before realizing that it wasn’t true anymore. My stomach twisted, but I pushed the feeling away and sat on the couch without answering Emma.

“What are we watching?” Sienna asked as she came out of the hallway. Her dark hair was in a bun, still damp from the downpour, and her face was now clean from her dripping makeup. I’d never seen her natural face before, and with her navy-blue tank top and tight shorts, she looked nice.

“Camp Rock,” Emma said as she fast-forwarded through the ads.

“The first or the second one?”

“First.”

Sienna groaned. “Gosh, I hate that one. The second movie is so much better.”

“I agree,” I said. “The second one has more tension. I need tension in a good movie.”

“Same.” She brushed loose strands of hair out of her eyes and faced me. “Do you want something to eat or drink? We usually make popcorn and drink soda.”

I licked my dry lips. “That sounds good. All that chaos in the rain worked up an appetite.”

“I’ll get the food. I don’t need to see the beginning of this lame-behind movie again.”

“Come on!” Emma said, throwing imaginary popcorn at her. “Why do you have to ruin the fun?”

“It’s my opinion!” Sienna sang as she walked into the kitchen.

She made two trips back into the living room. The first time, she came with cans of Dr. Pepper. When she came the second time, she had two bowls of popcorn.