Page 131 - It Ends with Us

Allysa shru gs. “Oh yea h. So Marsha ll walked over to me, pulled me

off the bed , kissed me with the same mouth he was just kissing the
floozy with, and we made out for ha lf an ho ur. R yle walked in on us
and started screa ming at Marsha ll. Then Marsha ll pushed R yle out of
my bed room, locked the door, and made out with me for ano ther
ho ur.”
R yle is sha king hi s hea d. “Bet rayed by my bes t friend .”

Marsha ll pulls Allysa to hi m. “I like her, you stupid fuck-face. ”
I laugh, but R yle turns to me with a seri ous look on hi s face. “I
didn’t spea k to hi m for an ent ire mont h, I was so mad. I ev ent ually
got over it. We were ei ght een, she was sev ent een. Wasn’t much I could
do in the way of keep ing them apart.”
“Wow,” I say. “I somet imes forget ho w close in age you two are. ”
Allysa smiles and says, “Three kids in three yea rs. I feel so sorr y for

my parent s.”
The table grows quiet . I see an apologet ic look pass from Allysa to
R yle.
“Three?” I ask. “You ha ve ano ther sibling ?”
R yle straight ens up and takes a sip of hi s beer. He set s it back down
on the table and says, “We ha d an older brother. He passed away when

we were kids.”
Such a great night , ruined by a simple question. Luckily, Marsha ll
red irec ts the conv ers ation like a pro.
I spend the res t of the ev eni ng listeni ng to stories about them
growing up. I’m no t sure I’ve ev er laughed as ha rd as I ha ve toni ght .
When the game is over, we all walk back to the sho p to ret riev e our
cars. R yle said he caught an Uber over ea rlier, so he’l l just ride with

me. Before Allysa and Marsha ll lea ve, I tel l her to ho ld on. I run
ins ide the store and grab the stea mpunk flowers and run them back
to thei r car. Her face light s up when I ha nd them to her.
“I’m ha ppy you’re preg na nt but tha t’s no t why I’m giving you thes e
flowers . I just want you to ha ve them . Bec ause you’re my bes t friend .”
Allysa squeez es me and whi spers in my ea r. “I ho pe he marri es you

somed ay. We’l l be ev en bet ter sisters .”
She climbs ins ide the car and they lea ve, and I just stand there
watchi ng them bec ause I don’t kno w tha t I’ve ev er ha d a friend like
her in my who le life. Maybe it’s the wine. I don’t kno w, but I love