I locked my bedroom door an hour ago when I heard somebody come upstairs to use the bathroom I share with Drew. Not long after that, I had to put on my noise canceling headphones to drown out the music even though I can still feel the vibrations through the floor.
When I look at the clock sometime later, it’s almost nine. Drew clearly forgot to bring pizza upstairs like he promised and now I’m starving.
Taking off my headphones, I muster up some courage to head downstairs to sneak some dinner, but the sound of voices outside my door stops me in my tracks.
“Dude, relax. Everything’s fine.” That’s Drew.
“Fine? Your sister’s locked herself in her room. She’s probably scared.” Connor’s declaration startles me. One of them must have tried to come in while I had my headphones on.
“Scared of what, man? It’s the guys, you know them. They wouldn’t do anything. I wouldn’t put her in danger.”
“I know that and I know they’re good guys but she’s eleven and there’s a house full of teenage boys downstairs. You saw McDormand bring in that flask, didn’t you?”
“What? I told the guys no alcohol.”
“Fisher, you’re my best friend, but I’m also your team captain and I shouldn’t have to explain to you the risks of the team getting caught throwing a party with underage drinking.”
“You’re right,” Drew sighs. “I’ll take care of it.”
Muffled footsteps shuffle down the staircase a moment before there’s a knock at my door.
“Who is it?”
“Fish, it’s me.”
I turn the lock and peek my head around first before opening the door completely.
“You okay?” he asks.
“I’m fine. I was gonna come downstairs for some food.”
“You haven’t eaten yet?”
I shake my head. “Drew was supposed to bring me some pizza, but I think he forgot.”
Connor laughs but it isn’t all that funny. He pinches the bridge of his nose and says, “Stay in your room, I’ll bring something up for you.”
He turns to leave and I start to follow after him. “You don’t have to do?—”
“Stay in your room, Gretch. Please.” His hand comes up, stopping me. “I’ll be right back.”
His tone, combined with the nerves I’ve been trying to ignore, courses straight to my feet. I spin on my heel and go back inside my bedroom.
Twenty minutes later, Connor returns with a plate of food.
“The pizza was all gone, so I made you a grilled cheese.”
Except, this doesn’t look like any grilled cheese I’ve ever eaten.
“It’s pesto and mozzarella. Trust me, it’s the superior of grilled cheese sandwiches. Oh, and here.” He pulls a bottle of water from his pocket.
“Thank you.”
An uproar of laughter comes from downstairs and Connor pivots toward the sound, jaw clenched. Sighing, he leans against my doorframe, hands inside his pockets. “Do you like it?”
Covering my mouth, I bob my head eagerly. “It’s so good. Thank you.”
A scurry of footsteps come up the stairs and Connor rushes to the landing to block their path.
