Page 111 of Try Hard

I held a hand out in her general direction. “Eve Archer. Nice to meet you.”

“It’s a fucking travesty she’s choosing someone like you. Though at least I can rest safe in the knowledge I’m not such a huge nerd.”

“Cheers, sis. Love you too.”

She rolled her eyes. “You know I love you. It’s just… she’s cool, and you’re… you.”

I laughed. “Plenty of people seem to think I’m cool.”

“Most of them don’t know you. Given that she does, she knows all these… dorky bits of you. She knows they’re not cool.”

“I hate to break it to you,” I said, my insides warming with the direction of my thoughts, “but I get the sense she likes my dorky bits.”

Soph watched me ruefully, but I could see the smile threatening to break through. “I get the feeling she does too. And I’m happy for you both. Seriously.”

“Even if you’rewildlyjealous?”

“I’m not wildly jealous. Questioning Fia’s sense of taste, sure, but, as I said, if you’re her taste, I’m glad I’m not.”

I tossed a pillow at her. “Anyone would think you hate me.”

“Oh, no. When you actually hate your family, you’re painfully polite to their faces, pretending all that disdain isn’t swirling underneath it all.”

“Dark. You doing well?”

“I’m good.” She hesitated, picking at the hem of her skirt. “The person I’ve been seeing has a kind of… shitty family.”

“Ah. I’m sorry. Are they okay?”

She nodded slowly. “Now, yes.”

“Well, now you’re talking about them, you could bring them around, you know? Initiate them into this family. It’s wild, but it’s loving and solid.”

“And give up tormenting you by flirting with Fia?”

I scowled. “I thought they were okay with that whole thing?”

She shrugged in a way that suggested that might be something the two of them were still figuring out. “Seems rude to do it in front of them.”

“Good point. I mean, Fia wouldn’t have to be there if you wanted to bring them around.”

“Oh? Do you two spend time apart these days?”

I spread my arms wide to gesture around the room. “She’s not here now.”

Soph winced in a way I didn’t fully understand. “Yeah. How’s she doing?”

“What? Why? She’s fine?”

“Is she?” Soph looked so confused and wary that it set my heart pounding unpleasantly. Something wasn’t right. “She’s not fond of attention, so I kind of assumed…”

“Attention?”

“Oh.” Soph blew out the word and that was worse than anything else she could have done.

Soph was loud and bold. She unapologetically and sarcastically expressed herself, shot snarky comments at you asa way of showing that she loved you. When she got quiet, things were bad. It had always been that way.

The room seemed to blur as I watched her pull her phone out and tap away until she handed it to me.