Sunkissed

chapter three.

"This is actually a pretty decent idea," I admit, and when a cool wind blows, my dear sister flashes me her tushy. I snicker. "Good God, Lola, you have strawberries printed on your panties?"

She lets out a gasp of surprise and probably lets the rope slip from between her fingers because the next thing I know, I am half bent, struggling to hold and support my sister's weight.

"Holy fuck," I breath out through my mouth, tightening my arms around my sister whose feet aren't touching the ground yet. "You're heavy."

I can't see her face but for a fact, I know that she is scowling as she jumps forward and lands on her feet on the soft grass, and then turns to me.

"Thank you so much for catching me," She says, and in the moonlight, she really does look like a princess. I wonder what I look like.

I direct a shrug towards her. "You're my sister. It's in my job description to catch you when you're falling on your arse. Or your face."

That draws a deep chuckle from her, a wisp of her hair escaping from her thick braid that's tucked neatly over the left shoulder. Her hair almost seems lustrous, her tresses alluring like they hold the night. Another bitter feeling erupts in my chest - is this what Kenzo saw when my sister opened the door for him when he came to see me? Hair as smooth and dark as night? Eyes brighter than the stars? What did he see in me then? A dying star? A nebula about to collapse?

I shudder out a breath unknowingly and Lola gives me a questioning look, but I wave it off. "Just caught a chill," I murmur. "The cool coastal winds got to me."

She hooks my arm in hers and we glide quietly over the grass, just when a sudden panic flares inside me. Have I locked the door from inside? What if Baba somehow gets out to the lawn and sees the cord hanging from my balcony? Has Lola locked her door properly? My racing thoughts are stopped when Lola's phone vibrates, messages incoming. She shoots me a look before swiping up and opening the texts.

"What does it say?" I ask, trying to peek over her shoulder but she straightens to her full height and I collide with the nape of her neck.

"Giraffe," I murmur and she shoots me a sneer before her screen blinks back to darkness and she turns towards me.

"She's here. Just 'round the corner."

My eyes almost pop out of my sockets. "You- what? You gave them our address? Already?"

She gives me a leveled look, the type of look you would give to a toddler while talking to them. "We are going to Neil's for the little get-together. Their family has a nice vacation house here right along the beach. Daiyu is coming to pick us up. But we have to walk till around the corner so that the headlights here don't catch anyone's attention."

"When we get kidnapped, I am going to say I told you so," I murmur breezily, as I follow her on the sidewalk.

"If that happens, I will wear only boring shirts and jeans for the rest of my life."

I lift a brow at her. "You don't say."

She gives me a poker face but almost instantly bursts into a hearty laugh, grabbing my wrist, her slender fingers burning hot against my ice cold palm. "Nevermind, even saying that makes me feel bored."

I fight back a smile, but when she tries to hold my hand, I don't fight it.

It is almost nice, walking in the cool, dark night, hand-in-hand with Lola. It makes me feel... nostalgic. It reminds me of all the times I would run out with an eight-year old Lola as soon as the clock in the living room would strike six and the sky would darken - because the ten year boy Lola had a crush on would pass through our colony on his bright blue bicycle at exactly three minutes past six. I would accompany her because I liked seeing the smile on Lola's face as she gazed at the boy with all the adoration of an eight year old, and also because I had grown fond of the little touch-me-not plant that had grown and curved along the dusty, narrow concrete sidewalk. I liked tickling the plant and seeing the leaves shy away. It made me feel like I had a presence that others noticed, like I had some affect on others, be it plants, if not humans. We would always be back around seven, after locating the first star visible in the darkened sky, and after buying the cheapest toffees with our own money from that little old lady who lived right around the corner. She had a nice little cat who always handed me a dead insect as a present, and the lady herself would give the two of us two free toffees every week.