The Fire Between High & Lo (Elements #2)(67)

She leaned against the doorframe, appearing deep in thought before a smile found her lips. “We never stopped being friends, Logan. We were just in a weird time out.”





Chapter Thirty-Four


Alyssa




As tensions between Logan and I finally calmed down and we found our way to a new friendship, the rocky waters between Kellan and Erika began to build. Late one night, after a bad doctor’s appointment, the two came into the house fighting, as I sat on their couch, setting up Kellan’s medicine that Erika asked me to get from the pharmacy. I’d been staying at their place for a few days, just in order to help out with things. Plus, I was worried about Kellan more than I wanted to admit.

“You’re not listening!” Kellan shouted, straining his voice.

“No, I’m listening. What you’re saying is that you don’t want to marry me.”

“Of course I want to marry you, Erika. But it just doesn’t make sense now. If I died, you’d be left with all of the baggage. All of the bills, all of the…”

“I don’t care!”

“Well I do!”

“Why are you acting like this?” Erika flipped around to me. “Alyssa, can you tell Kellan how unreasonable he’s being?”

My lips parted and, before I could speak, Kellan said, “Don’t drag your sister into this!” I shut my mouth. I would’ve gone home, but they were standing right in the foyer blocking my path. So I sunk into the sofa, trying to become invisible.

She sighed heavily. “Let’s not talk about this right now. Let’s just calm down. Tomorrow is your chemo appointment, so we should rest before we go to that.”

“You’re not coming,” he said.

“What?”

“I said you’re not coming. You flunked your last exam. You haven’t been studying as much as you used to, and you can’t keep falling behind. I’ll have Logan come with me.”

“Why are you shutting me out?” Erika whipped around to me again. “Why is he shutting me out?!”

I opened my mouth, and once again, Kellan spoke before I could. “Stop bringing her into this! You aren’t coming to my chemotherapy appointment, all right?!”

“Why not?!”

“Because you’re smothering me!” he shouted, louder than I’ve ever heard him yell. “You are smothering me with questions, and packets, and pills, and your goddamn wedding planning and your goddamn lamps! I can’t breathe, Erika!” He swung his arms in irritation, knocking a lamp off of the side table. As it crashed, the room went silent. Kellan’s eyes grew heavy with guilt as tears began to fall down Erika’s face.

Kellan lowered his voice, stepping closer to my sister. “I’m sorry, I just—”

She shrugged. “I know.”

Suddenly Logan came crashing out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist, dripping wet with water. His hair was dripping with some weird looking concoction that was slimy and green, and his eyes were wide in panic.

“What’s happening?!” he said, flustered, almost slipping on the water trail he created himself. He looked so serious, yet so ridiculous that the three of us couldn’t help but start hysterically laughing.

“What the heck is on your head?” I exclaimed.

He narrowed his eyes, confused by our laughter. “It’s the third Monday of the month. It’s an egg and avocado mask for deep conditioning.” We laughed harder, and the room which had previously been filled with anger and confusion was replaced with family and laughter.

“You know what we need?” Kellan said, lightly kissing Erika’s cheek.

“What’s that?”

“A music dance break.”

“What’s a music dance break?” Logan and I said in unison.

They both ignored us. “Kellan, no. It’s been a long day,” Erika disagreed. “And like you said, I need to study…”

“No. It’s happening. Music dance break.”

“But,’’ she groaned.

“I have cancer,” he said.

Her mouth dropped open and she smacked him in the arm. “Did you just play the cancer card on me?”

His smile grew. “I did.”

I waited to see Erika yell at him, to tell him how his words hurt her, but instead she smiled. They exchanged glances and looks that only they understood, and she nodded once. “Fine. One song. One, Kellan.”

I’d never seen him smile so big. “One song!”

“Our song,” she ordered.

He hurried out of the room, leaving a very confused me, and slimy Logan standing there. Then he came out with two conga drums, and two rain sticks, handing one to me, and the other to Logan.

“What’s going on?” Logan asked. “What the hell am I supposed to do with this?”

Erika stared at Logan as if he was a complete baboon. She took the stick from his grasp, and turned it upside down, making the rain sound. She handed it back to him.

“Duh, Lo,” I mocked.

He flipped me off.

Butterflies formed.

That was nothing new.

Kellan sat in front of the conga drums and started playing them. It took me a second to pick up on the beat of the song, but when it clicked in my head, my heart melted for the type of love my sister and Kellan had. He was playing Ingrid Michaelson’s song, “The Way I Am.”