It Ends with Us

Thank you, Jesus.
I set it to brew and then go in search for a mug when the kitchen door
opens behind me. I spin around and I’m relieved to see that Allysa isn’t
always a perfect concoction of makeup and jewelry. Her hair is in a messy
topknot and mascara is smeared down her cheeks. She points at the
coffeemaker. “I’m gonna need me some of that,” she says. She pulls
herself up on the island and then slouches forward.
“Can I ask you a question?” I say.
She barely has the energy to nod.
I wave my hand around the kitchen. “How did this happen? How in the
hell did your entire house become spotless between the party last night
and me waking up just now? Did you stay up and clean?”
She laughs. “We have people for that,” she says.
“People?”
She nods. “Yep. There are people for everything,” she says. “You’d be
surprised. Think of something. Anything. We probably have people for it.”
“Groceries?”
“People,” she says.
“Christmas décor?”

---

She nods. “People for that, too.”
“What about birthday gifts? Like for family members?”
She grins. “Yep. People. Everyone in my family receives a gift and a card
for every occasion and I never have to lift a finger.”
I shake my head. “Wow. How long have you been this rich?”
“Three years,” she says. “Marshall sold a few apps he developed to Apple
for a lot of money. Every six months, he creates updates and sells those,
too.”
The coffee transitions into a slow drip, so I grab a mug and fill it up.
“You want anything in yours?” I ask. “Or do you have people for that?”
She laughs. “Yes. I have you, and I’d like sugar, please.”
I stir some sugar into her cup and walk it over to her, then pour myself
a cup. It grows quiet for a while as I mix in creamer, waiting for her to say
something about me and Ryle. The conversation is inevitable.
“Can we just get the awkwardness out of the way?” she says.
I sigh, relieved. “Please. I hate this.” I face her and take a sip of my
coffee. She sets hers down beside her and then grips the countertop.
“How did that even happen?”
I shake my head, trying my best not to smile like I’m love-struck. I don’t
want her to think I’m weak, or a fool for giving in to him. “We met before
I knew you.”
She tilts her head. “Wait,” she says. “Before we got to know each other
better or before we knew each other at all?”
“At all,” I say. “We had a moment one night, about six months before I
met you.”
“A moment?” she says. “As in . . . a one-night stand?”
“No,” I say. “No, we never even kissed until last night. I don’t know, I
can’t explain it. We just had this sort of flirtation thing going on for a
really long time and it finally came to a head last night. That’s all.”
She picks up her coffee again and takes a slow drink from it. She stares
down at the floor for a while and I can’t help but notice she looks a little
sad.
“Allysa? You’re not mad at me, are you?”
She immediately shakes her head. “No, Lily. I just . . .” She sets down
her coffee cup again. “I just know my brother. And I love him. I really do.
But . . .”
“But what?”

---

Allysa and I both look in the direction of the voice. Ryle is standing in
the doorway with his arms folded across his chest. He’s wearing a pair of
gray jogging pants that are barely hanging on to his hips. No shirt. I’ll be
adding this outfit to all the other ones I’ve catalogued in my head.
Ryle pushes off the door and makes his way into the kitchen. He walks
over to me and takes my cup of coffee out of my hands. He leans in and
kisses me on the forehead, then takes a drink as he leans against the
counter.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt,” he says to Allysa. “By all means, continue
your conversation.”
Allysa rolls her eyes and says, “Stop.”
He hands me back my cup of coffee and turns around to grab his own
mug. He begins to pour from the pot. “It sounded to me like you were
about to give Lily a warning. I’m just curious as to what you have to say.”
Allysa hops off the counter and carries her mug to the sink. “She’s my
friend, Ryle. You don’t have the best track record when it comes to
relationships.” She washes out the mug and then leans her hip into the
sink, facing us. “As her friend, I have the right to give her my opinion when
it comes to the guys she dates. That’s what friends do.”
I’m suddenly feeling uncomfortable as the tension grows thicker
between the two of them. Ryle doesn’t even take a drink of his coffee. He
walks toward Allysa and pours it out in the sink. He’s standing right in
front of her, but she won’t even look at him. “Well, as your brother, I would
hope you had a little more faith in me than you do. That’s what siblings
do.”
He walks out of the kitchen, shoving the door open. When he’s gone,
Allysa takes a deep breath. She shakes her head and pulls her hands up to
her face. “Sorry about that,” she says, forcing a smile. “I need to shower.”
“You don’t have people for that?”
She laughs as she exits the kitchen. I wash my mug in the sink and head
back to Ryle’s bedroom. When I open the door, he’s sitting on the couch,
scrolling through his phone. He doesn’t look up at me when I walk in and
for a second, I think he might be mad at me, too. But then he tosses his
phone aside and leans back into the couch.
“Come here,” he says.
He grabs my hand and pulls me down on top of him so that I’m
straddling him. He brings my mouth to his and kisses me so hard, it makes

---

me wonder if he’s trying to prove his sister wrong.
Ryle pulls away from my mouth and slowly rakes his eyes down my body.
“I like you in my clothes.”
I smile. “Well I have to get to work, so unfortunately, I can’t keep them
on.”
He brushes the hair from my face and says, “I have a really important
surgery coming up that I need to prepare for. Which means I probably
won’t see you for a few days.”
I try to hide my disappointment, but I have to get used to it if he really
wants to try and make something work between us. He’s already warned
me that he works too much. “I’m busy, too. Grand opening is on Friday.”
He says, “Oh, I’ll see you before Friday. Promise.”
I don’t hide my grin this time. “Okay.”
He kisses me again, this time for a solid minute. He starts to lower me
to the couch, but then he shoves away from me and says. “Nope. I like you
too much to make out with you.”
I lie down on the couch and watch him get dressed for work.
To my enjoyment, he puts on scrubs.

---