"Thanks, Eli," Summer murmured as she gave me a slightly awkward side-hug. I assured her it was not a problem and watched her walk all the way into her building before turning and walking back to the parking lot of The Buttered Biscuit.

The walk back felt infinitely longer and unfortunately silent, despite the numerous people milling around. The quiet was much more pleasant when the quiet was also with her. Get a grip, man; she won't even give me her number.

Thankfully, my phone buzzed in my pocket and broke my thoughts surrounding a certain fascinating distraction. I took it out of my pocket and upon seeing it was Addy calling, I immediately picked it up, dread filling my stomach. She never calls when she is with her friends.

"Addy? Are you okay?"

She sniffs, "Not really. Can you come get me? I want to come home."

I broke into a light jog, "I will be there in fifteen minutes. What's wrong?"

"I just want to come home."

"Okay, I will be there soon. Do you want to stay on the phone?"

More sniffles, "Please."

I will hurt whoever has made my baby sister cry, "Are you safe?"

"Yeah, yeah. It's nothing like that. I...they are being jerks."

"Where are you right now?"

"On Hope's front porch."

"Alright, you are okay. I am almost to my truck and then I will get on the road and get to you as soon as I can."

"I thought you were at home? Where are you?"

I smiled, "I went to a café to have a better Wi-Fi connection. It was being slow at home this morning."

"Did you get any work done?"

"A little. It turns out that a café can be quite...distracting at times. It smells so good in there though; we should go sometime."

"Yeah, that would be nice," she sighs, "I miss spending mealtimes with you."

Fumbling for my keys, I finally got my truck unlocked.

"I know. Work has just been really busy lately. But we can have dinner together tonight for sure."

I clipped my phone into the dashboard holder and pressed the speaker button before setting the rest of my stuff down in the passenger seat.

"Ooooo, could we order pizzas?"

I put my key into the ignition and prayed that it would start. After a few excruciating moments, my old truck springs to life and shifting gears, I pull out of the parking lot.

I didn't work today so I don't have extra money for eating a whole meal out this weekend, so I suggested, "Or we could make homemade pizzas again and then go out for ice cream after?"

"Could we get ice cream on the way home instead?"

I laughed, "Sure. Which place do you want to stop?"

"Lacy's has the best."

"They do. But that is another like twenty minutes out of our way."

"If gas is too expensive, we can go somewhere closer or just go straight home."

I sighed as silently as possible, "You don't need to worry about that. If you want to go to Lacy's, we will. I offered, didn't I?"

"I guess so. How far away are you?"

"About twelve minutes. I will be there soon. Are you feeling anxious?"

She stayed silent for a moment, which was enough of an answer for me. I had a sneaky feeling it was why she called me in the first place.

"Addy? Are you there?"

"Yeah. And yeah to your question too."

"Alright, what are five things you can see right now?"

"Umm, a bird. A chair...a bush. Black car. And...a telephone pole."

I stopped at the stoplight, slightly annoyed that it couldn't have just stayed green for a few more seconds, "Good job. What are four things you can touch?"

"The concrete, the chair again, my bag, and...my phone."

"Take a deep breath," I say, taking a deep breath with her, "Name three things you can hear."

"Your turn signal, the birds singing, and my friends laughing."

I caught the sadness that laced her tone at the last words, but I didn't say anything about it, "Okay, name two things you can smell."

"The leaves and a dead animal somewhere."

"Alright, and what is one thing you can taste?"

I heard her take a sip of something.

"Alcohol," she replied.

I gripped the steering wheel so hard, my knuckles turned white, but I forced my voice to stay as calm as possible, "Addy..."

She started laughing, "I am just kidding. I know better than that. It is just water."

I blew out my breath, "That's not funny but I am glad you are feeling better enough to joke with me."

She paused another moment, "Yeah, I guess I am. Thanks, E."

"I am six minutes away now."

"Okay."

She fell quiet again as I turned left. And then right. And then stopped at a stop sign.

"Are you still there?" she quietly asked.

"I am."

"Are you almost here?"

"Two minutes, Addy."

"Okay."

"Okay."

She didn't say anything else, but I listened to the sound of her breathing until I pulled into Hope's driveway. I heard the beep of the phone as she ended the call and I waved to her. She waved back before disappearing into the house. I got out of my truck and walked up to the porch, slinging her pink backpack over my shoulder.

Addy and Hope's mother appeared in the doorframe and when Addy blue eyes landed on me, they glistened with unshed tears. I nodded my head toward my truck and Addy understood the movement and walked over to the truck, climbing in. I turned back to Hope's mother.

"Ms. Calloway, I am going to take Addy home now. Thank you for letting her spend the night last night."

She pursed her lips, "It's not a problem. But she needs to stop being so sensitive all the time. She takes everything as a personal attack..."

"Then stop attacking her," I said through a clenched jaw.

She huffed, "My daughter didn't do anything wrong."

I scoffed, "Well, my sister called me crying so someone did something wrong. I would suggest that you..."

"Eli! Let's go!" Addy called from the truck.

I sighed, "Ms. Calloway, I am going to go take care of my sister. I hope you have the day you deserve. Bye."

And with that, I turned and confidently strolled back to my truck. I handed her the backpack and slid into my seat, again praying that my truck would start without issue. This time, it started right up, and I breathed out a sigh of relief.

Addy remained silent but was bouncing her leg up and down, so I placed my hand over her knee, trying to offer a little comfort. She stopped bouncing her leg and focused her attention out her window.

I broke the silence, "Do you still want to go Lacy's?"

"Can we just go home?"

"If that is what you want. Are you sure?"

"Yeah," she said, taking a deep breath. And then her head sharply turned to face me, "You smell like perfume."

I kept my eyes on the road and mentally weighed my options. I could deny it, or I could...nope, denial seems like the best choice.

"Thanks, I got a new cologne."

I could practically feel the narrowing of her eyes as she said, "Try again."

"It is probably just the smell of cinnamon from the café."

She laughed through her nose, "Unless cinnamon has started smelling like flowers, I highly doubt that. Try again."

I couldn't come up with another suitable lie fast enough to keep her from making assumptions.

"Were you on a date!?!"

I answered honestly, "No."

"Oh my gosh, you were totally on a date!"

I continued to keep my eyes on the road, avoiding looking at her but my own nervous habit came out and I unintentionally removed my hand from her knee to run it through my hair.

"Eli! You are blushing! You were sooo on a date!"

"One, I am not blushing. And two, it wasn't a date. I didn't even get her number."

"Did you ask her for it?"

This time I did look at my younger sister, giving her a 'seriously?' kind of glance. She giggled in response, "Of course, you asked her for it. But she turned you down? Does she have eyes? Because you are hot."

Leave it to Addy to be my ultimate hype man.

"Well, she did say I was not unpleasant to look at, so I guess that counts."

This time Addy full on laughed, "Not unpleasant? Wow, you crashed, blew up, and burned."

"I did not!"

"Did she reject you before or after she gave you a bad compliment?"

"Both?"

"How many times did you ask this poor girl for her number?"

"Three."

"Three!?! You must have lost your charm somewhere in that new house you are renovating. Maybe you can ask Shawn to lend you some of his?"

I rolled my eyes and shook my head at her, "I actually met her last night. And I am pretty sure your backpack has more charm than Shawn."

"Touché."

I turned my truck into our driveway, and mentally sighed at the sight of the peeling paint on the porch and the mess of leaves in the gutters. I wish I had more money saved up so I could do some renovations on our own house. Addy deserves that.

I grabbed my stuff while Addy grabbed hers and then we climbed out of the truck. The horn beeped as I clicked the lock and followed Addy up to the porch. I unlocked the door, leaving my shoes on the porch before stepping into the house. Addy set her stuff down on the floor and made a beeline for the fridge, so I moved her stuff to the bottom of the stairs, with the false hope that she would take it upstairs later.

"So, are you going to tell me about her?" Addy asked, while rooting through the cabinet before pulling out a granola bar.

"Are you going to tell me what happened at Hope's?"

"Do I have to?"

"No, but then I don't have to tell you either," I replied with a wink and Addy rolled her eyes at me and pulled a second granola bar out. I don't think I realized how much teenagers actually ate until I started raising one. But I swear, she out eats me most days with how many snacks she consumes.

"Okay, I am going upstairs. Let me know when you want to make pizzas," she said as she climbed the stairs.

"Take your..."

Stuff. But she already passed it, and I wasn't going to make her come back down to get it right now. Pick your fights, at least that is what my dad used to say. It has been a while since I have thought of his advices, and like always, the thought of him sends a wave of grief through my body.

How has it already been seven years? I looked at the picture of the three of us, taken a few weeks before he died and wished he was here. I could really use one of his wisdoms or his hugs right now.

I sighed and ran my hands through my hair and down my face again. Turning away from his smiling face, I grabbed my notebook and laptop and headed to my bedroom; determined to at least get one assignment fully completed today.

I ignored my unmade bed and strewn clothes and headed straight to my desk. I could clean up later, I just haven't had the time recently. I opened my laptop, making sure to plug it in again so it stays charged enough for me to use. Flipping through my notebook, I tried to find the last page I used when unfamiliar handwriting caught my attention on a random page.

I turned back the pages and felt a smile form when I read the note.

123-456-7890

For the next time you want to "work" and "not talk."

-Summer

Maybe I didn't completely crash and burn...