"Did you meet Lucas yet?" Mom asked after we had finished dinner.

I nodded. I assumed Mr. Amberson's full name was Lucas Amberson.

"Momma, how does he know Uncle Nick? I heard them talking over the phone."

I just couldn't be at peace without knowing the answer to it.

Mom explained that Uncle Nick and Mr. Amberson knew each other even before her and Pappa's divorce. They were bosom friends for a long time, but their connection got hampered a bit after Mr. Amberson married mom. Nonetheless, they decided to stay on good terms.

"That's why Nora was the first person I called to ask about you," she added.

Made sense.

Mom had gone to inform Mr. Amberson that she would be staying with me that night when Jonas arrived.

"So, apparently Dad and your Uncle Nick were friends, that's why he asked if Dad could handle the legal matters of this case," Jonas answered even before I needed to ask.

"But as you heard, Dad refused."

I nodded. Well, I would be surprised if he didn't.

"So, when are we going back?" I commenced a new topic after a while in an attempt to shove off the previous one from my mind.

"We'll leave tomorrow morning, there's something special," he replied with a grin that did not fail to highlight his dimples.

"Something special?" I repeated.

"Will let you know that tomorrow," he vamoosed, creating a bubble of suspense inside me.

Mom returned before long, and we finally managed to clear Amy's teddies from the bed after a whole session of persuading. Mom and I stayed up late at night, continuing our chats in the form of whispers so that we don't hamper little Amy's beauty sleep. I fell asleep later on with my arms wrapped around mom.

It was the most peaceful sleep in years.

"Good morning stepsister," Jonas poked me up from sleep.

I was about to thrash him for this, but he got lucky as mom entered the room with breakfast right at that moment.

I mouthed the words "Just wait-" when he stuffed a donut inside my mouth, muffling my upcoming threat.

"See mom, Amyra doesn't eat properly," he jested.

"I'll make sure she does," Mom smiled, serving us our plates.

I stealthily snatched June's share of tiramisu as revenge while eating.

"Hey, what!" he complained.

"As you said, I don't eat properly," I smirked in triumph.

Mom chuckled at our silly fight, probably out of happiness about the fact that we both already share a nice bond.

After we were almost done with our breakfast, I felt her hand resting on top of mine.

"Amyra, is it necessary to leave? I would have kept you here if I could, you know," she mumbled.

Her voice was embedded with emotions.

"I'm sorry mom, but I'm not sure about staying here yet. I need some time," I whispered.

"Where will you stay?" she asked in apprehension.

"Xaviers' house, as of now. No clue about later."

A look of fret flashed on her face hearing my decision. She clearly didn't want me to leave this house.

"How's the connection between you and Xaviers?" she asked.

"I must say, he was really rude at first, but we got along well recently. He even saved me once, and also supported me during my panic attack."

I had told her about the forest incident and my panic attack yesterday. Well, obviously ignoring the part that he stayed with me the whole night to take care of me.

She seemed relieved knowing that we shared a decent connection.

"You can take your time. I'll talk to Lucas about it too," she tried to ease.

I nodded. Mr. Amberson would even agree to let me stay in this house because of mom, but I wasn't willing to dwell here with his displeasure.

"Amy, are you ready?" Jonas asked after our conversation ended.

"Are you both leaving already?" came mom's grief-stricken voice.

"Yes mom, we need to leave now, there's something special," Jonas replied, munching on his last piece of toast.

"What's so special? You have been saying the same thing since yesterday," I huffed out.

"It's Xav Bro's birthday tomorrow," he whispered as if Kelvin was right in the next room and would hear him anytime.

"Planning to arrange a surprise for him tonight, at 12."

It was Kelvin's birthday... That lighted up a strange exhilaration inside me as if it was my own birthday.

"So that's the case," mom chuckled. "Wait, how about I bake a cake for him?"

"Better you give us your recipe book, Amyra and I will do that," Jonas suggested with a grin.

"With a few burnt attempts, of course," I added.

"Well, as long as it turns out something edible, it will do," he joked.

Mom agreed, but she was definitely searching for other excuses to make me linger a while longer. Little Amy almost started wailing when she heard that I was leaving. No doubt she always wanted a sister.

"If you're my sister, then why can't you stay with us?" she asked out of pure innocence, not realizing how much effect that sentence carried.

Both Mom and I went silent for a minute. Kids sometimes blurt out things we elders want to scream to the world really badly but end up keeping them to ourselves.

Why couldn't I stay with my mom?

"But if I stay here, then you will have to share all your things with me," I made an excuse at last.

Her little wondering mind sank in a deep puddle of thought as if there couldn't be a tougher dilemma than this. After all, she loved her teddies way too much to share them with me permanently.

"You can visit us during weekends the way Brother Jonas does," she concluded at last.

We all shared a giggle at Amy's clever childish mind before mom kissed me farewell.

"Do come here frequently, and don't forget to call me every day," mom ordered, setting up the checklist.

Jonas geared up the Ferrari, and I hugged mom one last time before settling in the car. She waved at me as long as she was in view, and I waved back.

It was a fairly smooth journey. As planned, we halted the car by Lingdale street to shop a bit for the party. I decided to have a look in the mini-mall nearby to choose some accessories for the decoration while Jonas informed me that he would be right back from the grocery store beside.

There were so many options in the store that it was hard to choose only a few. I had only decided on a long set of white fairy lights, three sky lanterns, and a few firework sticks when Jonas returned.

"Did you get the snacks and the cake mix?" I asked.

"Yep, reserved them in the car," he replied proudly.

"Don't tell me you haven't finished choosing yet! Girls, I must say," he sighed.

"Well..."

I actually had no comeback for that, so I silently picked up two packets of blue and white balloons; I had assumed it to be Kelvin's favorite color.

"How old is Mr. Angry Young Man turning? Thirty?" I jested, seeing the numbered balloons.

"Very funny," Jonas replied in Kelvin's serious tone, imitating his crossed arms.

I tittered as I placed my cart on the counter with the last box of party candles.

"He's turning twenty-four," Jonas calculated using his fingers.

I turned nineteen this year, so he was five years older than me. Not a bad age difference, I thought.

Wait, why was I even calculating our age difference? Something was definitely wrong with me.

Jonas snapped his fingers in front of my eyes, which got me back to awareness.

"Where you lost at?"

"Oh, nothing," I blabbered. "Let me pay the bill."

"I just did it."

He guffawed at my bewilderment.

"June, we didn't buy any gift yet," I reminded, changing the topic.

"Ahhh, I completely forgot about that! What are waiting for then?"

We drove to a shopping mall on the next road, which Jonas had previously noticed on the way. We surfed the floors together at first, splitting up in the process to buy our own gifts. We decided to keep it a secret what we were buying.

I went inside a gift shop called Archie's; I loved their items. I wanted to gift Kelvin a locket like mine, where he could keep his parents' picture. Nevertheless, I realized that guys don't prefer wearing lockets, especially not him. So I decided on a keyring with a mini photo frame attached to the keychain. There were options between heart-shaped and regular shaped ones. I had a strange urge to buy the heart-shaped one but then resisted myself since it might make things awkward. They also had the option to inscribe a name on that metal photo frame, so I got 'Kelvin' engraved on it.

The shopkeeper wrapped it in a gift box while I scanned the other items in the store. My eyes fell on a pillow that had 'Brother From Another Mother' written on it. I chuckled thinking how relatable it seemed now.

How about I get this for June? He would definitely love it.

I asked them to pack the pillow in another packet as I paid the bill.

"Amy!" Jonas called from the shop's exterior.

"There you are, found you at last!"

"Where's your gift?" I asked after getting out, observing his empty hands.

"Oh, they will deliver it to our home by tonight," he grinned.

What had he got?

"By the wayyy," he buzzed.

"You haven't got a nice dress for today, have you?"

I shook my head. I didn't have anything in my bag except for essential clothing.

Well, only if I knew I would live long enough to have a party with these detectives.

"Let's get you a new dress then. A gift from your brand new brother," he chuckled.

I smiled back. Was it a coincidence that I had also just bought a gift for my brand new brother?

Well, we sync a lot.

We advanced to the women's section of the mall. The shops were lined with irresistible gorgeous dresses, but I decided to stick to a plain one since Jonas was buying it using his savings. I had a closet full of dazzling dresses in Valdez Mansion, but who knew if I would ever be able to wear those again. I chose a blue velvet dress that was short in the front and long at the back. It had floral prints in black at the edges, with a black satin belt at the waist. It was within June's budget too, so we got it packed. Although not that lavish, the dress contained a different type of value.

Someone had gifted me something using their savings for the first time.

I loved it.

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Your dear author <3