Jiro sighed.

“We have something else we also need to talk about.”

Reno, not really paying attention, squinted at the air above my head.

“Hey Kari, where’s your parents?”

Vegas looked around my head too.

“Oh, yeah, I haven’t seen the little glow bugs in a while.”

I stared down at my plate and concentrated very hard on twirling my pasta onto my fork.

“Your parents live here too?!”

Why did Noah sound so excited about that?

Vegas was sounding more and more confused.

“Ah, yeah, they’re these little glowing things that always float around Kari.”

Wow, these noodles are super good. Like freaking awesome. Jiro must be some kind of genius or something.

Tina chimed in to help clear things up.

“Kari’s mommy and daddy weren’t there when she came home with Noah.”

Bread, I definitely need some bread to soak up some of this awesome sauce.

Reno’s voice had a slight tickle of laughter in it, as if he was expecting a joke.

“Um, what do you mean they weren’t there?”

I crammed my mouth with another bundle of pasta, and really focused on the creamy, garlicky sauce that covered every strand. Yeah, this was some damn good food.

Jiro sighed again.

No, Jiro don’t. Please don’t say it. Please.

“I have some sad news. . . . This morning Kari’s parents passed away.”

The table went completely silent for a long moment.

I busily pushed my pasta around my plate, focusing on tangling every bit of garlic into the knot of noodles on my fork.

It was Noah that finally broke the quiet.

“Oh my gods, Kari. Your parents died today? Why didn’t you say anything?”

His voice was trembling, as if he was on the verge of tears.

I looked up.

Why he would be upset?

Looking into his face, gentle eyes staring back at me were already rimmed in red with sadness and pity.

Nope, nope, I couldn’t do this.

I bit the inside of my mouth and stared back down at my plate.

Vegas’s voice sounded worried.

“Kari, are you okay?”

I flicked my eyes up to look at all the faces around the table that were staring at me, then back down to my plate just as quickly. I couldn’t take the pity on in their eyes.

For a rare moment Angie’s voice was gentle.

“Kari, ya know, finding closure is. . .”

I sharply shook my head “No” and her words trailed off.

I clenched my jaw to keep my chin from trembling.

Seriously, I was just barely holding it together, couldn’t we all just change the subject?

Noah shifted next to me.

“Kari?”

A gentle hand touched my back, and I couldn’t take it anymore.

I just broke.

A choking sob rattled out of me, and when I looked up at Noah again, hot tears were already running down my face.

Noah looked shocked and about ready to cry too.

And just like that he wrapped me up in his arms.

“Oh my gods, Kari! Come here. I’ve got you.”

I buried my face in the crook of his neck and bawled like a little kid.

Noah murmured gently in my ear.

“Shhh, shh, it’s alright. Everything’s going to be alright.”

He held me a little tighter as I trembled with wave after wave of sobs.

I knew I was being an ass. This was Noah’s welcome home dinner, and I was just sitting here crying all over someone I didn’t even know. The only reason Noah thought he needed to comfort me was because my magic brainwashed him into thinking that he was my childhood friend. We were complete strangers, only Noah didn’t know it. I was totally taking advantage of him. It was wrong, I knew it was, but at that moment I didn’t really care.

Having someone hold me and whisper that everything was going to get better, even if it was all just magic and lies, that’s all I wanted right now.

At some point Tina had started crying, because her Big Sissy was crying. The twins had to take her to her room to try to calm her down. I don’t know how long I cried, but when I finally calmed down a little I was cradled on Noah’s lap, my head still cuddled up to his shoulder. Jiro was sitting across the counter from us, spooning bites of tiramisu that he had brought from his restaurant, into my mouth.

Angie was somberly emptying the counter of plates and foods. The whole apartment had grown so quiet.

Jiro wiped some more dampness from my face with his rough and callused thumb before bringing another spoonful of creamy sweetness to my mouth.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Not bothering to lift my cheek from Noah’s shoulder, I shook my head “No”.

I felt so exhausted. I just wanted to curl up right where I was and go to sleep.

Hmm, was it okay for me to be sitting on Noah’s lap like this? I mean, we were childhood friends and everything, but did friends usually sit on each other’s laps?

Whatever, it felt nice being here, and no one was teasing us over it.

I shifted my head a little, trying to get away from the growing wet spot on Noah’s shoulder.

“Oh sorry, I guess I got your shirt kind of soggy.”

I plucked at the shoulder of Noah’s shirt, feeling bad about it.

Noah pressed his cheek against the top of my head.

“Don’t worry about it, my shoulder is always there for you to cry on whenever you need it.”

He gave me another little squeeze.

“It’s a shoulder that’s just for you. I’ll put a sign on it, saying this shoulder is reserved for Kari only, no trespassers allowed.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle and smile.

Gods, Noah was so corny!

Jiro was staring at something just above my head, it took me a moment to realize it was Noah. He didn’t look pleased.

Wanting to distract Jiro from the invader, I baby birded and asked.

“Last bite?”

Jiro, woken from his intense focus, looked down at the heaped spoon still in his hand.

“Huh, oh yes.”

He swooped it into my open mouth then asked.

“Feeling any better?”

“Mmm, mm!”

I nodded and gave a thumbs up. My mouth too full of desserty goodness to actually talk.

Noah gave my back a little rub.

“Want to go watch some TV?”

I had to swallow a few times before a could answer.

“Yeah, that sounds good.”

I shifted a little to try to scooch off Noah’s lap. I got only a few inches before Noah scooped one arm under my knees and another arm around my back, his arms circling around me.

Wait, what the hell was he doing?!

He shifted on his stool, getting ready to stand up.

And I royally started freaking out. I flailed my arms and legs, struggling to climb out of Noah’s arms.

“Wait, wait, wait! I can walk. I can walk. You don’t need to carry me!”

Oh my gods, this was just too embarrassing.

“Oh, okay, okay.”

Noah gently lowered my butt back down onto his lap so I could slide off with some tiny shred of dignity.

Seriously, what was up with Noah? Was he really planning to princess carry me over to the couch? I mean, he’s strong enough to tear a car in half, so it’s not like he would be struggling, but that didn’t make it any less embarrassing for me.

I scurried off his legs and over to the couch, quick as a bunny, before Noah decided to do something else embarrassing.

I curled up in the middle of the couch and grabbed the remote before someone else could snag it. Noah sat weirdly close next to me, making me shift to give him some room. And then Jiro sat on my other side and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me under his wing.

Seriously, what was with everyone having to sit right in my space? There was plenty of room on the couch.

The twins wandered back into the living room, looking drained.

Angie perched herself on the green footstool.

“How’s Tina doing?”

Reno scrubbed his hair with one hand, making it all messy.

“She ended up crying herself to sleep. She’s out like a light now.”

Vegas was rubbing the back of his neck, looking just as exhausted as his twin.

“Yeah, when that kid’s out, she’s really out.”

I chuckled.

“Yeah, Tina could sleep through a hurricane.”

Vegas stopped by the couch where I was sitting and gave my shoulder a little nudge.

“Hey, how are you doing? Are you okay?”

Reno gingerly sat on the edge of the broken recliner.

“I think we need to schedule a therapy appointment for you tomorrow.”

I sighed and curled my self into a tighter ball on the couch.

“I saw my doctor just this morning, I don’t need another appointment.”

Vegas squished in next to his brother, on the same chair that was not designed for two.

“Yeah, but you need to talk this out with someone.”

No, I really didn’t.

Angie leaned in from her seat.

“Um, so should we have some kind of funeral?”

Oh gods, couldn’t we just watch TV? I seriously don’t want to think about this anymore. I could already feel my eyes sting with tears again.

Angie continued. I know she wasn’t saying this stuff to be mean, she just didn’t get it.

“I know you didn’t get to go to their first funeral, so maybe we should – ”

Jiro could probably feel how tense my shoulders had become since Angie started talking, and held up a hand to stop her.

“Angie, Angie, maybe we should talk about this later.”

My nose started to run, and I sniffled loudly.

Finally everyone stopped talking about it, and I clicked on the TV. We didn’t watch anything special that night. A variety show that wasn’t that funny. A cop drama that was filled with plot holes. Jiro made us watch a short documentary on the history of cheese making. The day ticked over to midnight, and my head was dozing a bit.

Jiro murmured in my ear, and gave my shoulder a little squeeze.

“Maybe time for bed, hmm?”

I nodded and rubbed my eyes.

The twins were already getting up out of their chair and stretching, and Angie was clicking off the TV.

Reno watched while Noah struggled to peel himself off of yet another sticky patch of the couch.

“So, where’s Noah going to sleep tonight?”

With one last yank, Noah managed to get the back of his shirt free from the candy coated cushions. He looked pretty proud of himself for completing that great feat.

“Oh, I thought I would just sleep in Kari’s room.”

He’s what now? Umm, did he forget that he’s a guy and I’m not?

Noah was smiling, and scratching his head. Totally oblivious to how that just sounded.

Vegas stared at Noah bug eyed.

“You were planning to sleep where?!”

Reno swooped in and wrapped an arm around Noah’s neck in a choke hold, dragging poor Noah away to the twin’s room.

“Oh, hell no! You’re coming with us, ya little perv."

Jiro stared after the three and mumbled.

“There’s something very wrong with that boy.”

On her way to bed, passing me, Angie gave my shoulder a little pat.

Me and Jiro were the last to waddle towards the line of bedroom doors.

Before we parted ways for the night, Jiro turned to me, cupping my face in both of his big, rough hands. He stared down into my eyes, and he looked so sad.

“It might be dark now, but things will be brighter in the morning. I promise you.”

He kissed my forehead, and rubbed my cheeks with his callused thumbs, before letting me go.

“Try to get a good night’s sleep, alright?”

I nodded and shuffled off to my room.