Page 133 of Six Years
“Brooke,” I say in a warning tone. It even surprises me.
Brooke sighs. “I know, I know”—she rolls her eyes—“I can’t open my presents before dinner. But why do I have to waitsolong?!”
I don’t know, but Miles told us not to give her any presentsbeforedinner.
“I heard you uninvited all of your friends last-minute, huh?” I set Eden down, then sit down on the floor myself just because. “What’s that all about?” Yes, yes, I know why she did it, but I want to hear it from her.
Brooke takes a seat on the floor with me, her smile turning upside down. “I think they’re going to be mean to me, but that’s okay. I only need Reece anyway.”
“Well, if they’re ever mean to you, they’re not your friends.”
While I talk to Brooke, Eden drags Luan away. I’m guessing to show Luan his truly awesome bedroom. The entire room is Lego themed because he loves Lego’s, even though he’s not allowed to play with them unless Miles or Emory are watching. Or any adult, really. Miles and Emory are afraid he’ll try to swallow the tiny pieces.
His walls are hand-painted by Emory to make it look like they built an entire wall out of Lego’s. It took her several days to paint, but the result was totally worth it. His bed also looks like it was built using bigger Lego’s, and any decoration he might have, they’re all built from Lego’s. He even haspillowsin the shapes of Lego pieces.
“Daddy said that, too,” she tells me. “Oh, Uncle Grey, do you think Sofia’s baby will be a girl?”
I shrug. “I don’t know that.” As far as I know, neither Sofia nor Lily are even far long enough to find out the gender yet.
“And Lily?”
“… I know Emory’s having another boy.” And a girl, but Em and Miles refuse to tell Brooke just yet.
Brooke rolls her eyes, again. She’s sick of only having boys in her life, but I get that. If Lily’s and Sofia’s kids turn out to be boys as well… Brooke’s going to go feral.
“Really? I thought I’m getting a sister.”
“You already wanted Eden to be a girl. Maybe you should start wishing for a boy, then they might turn out to be girls.”
“Alright. So when Luan and you have a baby, it better be a…girl. Uncle Grey,please. I want a sister.”
Sighing, I say, “She wouldn’t be your sister though. More like an unofficial cousin.”
Brooke shakes her head. “But she’d be like a sister to me someday. And when she’s a little older, I can dress her in my old princess dresses and teach her how to annoy Daddy, and you, and Luan, and Eden. She better annoy Eden a lot because he annoys me a lot.”
The pleasure of having siblings. Siblings are the definition of hating someone and loving them at the same time. One would give them a kidney but draw the line when it comes to sharing something like food.
I’d give my life for Sun, but if she were to steal my food…
Chapter 10
“I’d walk through fire for you / just let me adore you”—Adore You by Harry Styles
September 2026
At first I was alittle confused as to why nobody was allowed to give Brooke her gifts yet, but when a few hours later, Miles and Colin came back from “a short walk” with a karaoke machine,… actually, no, I still don’t understand.
But it’s safe to say Brooke enjoyed her new karaoke machine a whole lot more than any of the other presents she got.
According to Miles, the karaoke machine is only allowed to be used on one day of the year, and that’d be Brooke’s birthday, but from what I’ve gathered about Grey’s friend group, Sofia and Colin will definitely make sure to use that machine a lot more often.
And if I am judging the past two hours correctly, all of them had fun. I, for my part, really enjoyed it when Brooke begged Grey to sing a Barbie song with her and he knew the lyrics. It was mediocre singing on Grey’s part, but karaoke isn’t about it sounding good anyway. Karaoke is for fun, it’s laughter, and enjoying the time you spend with your friends, not some song contest. Although Brooke and Reece, as well as Eden, gave everyone points and there was a clear winner of tonight’s karaoke marathon.
It was Emory. Emory won, and Miles believes she only won because Eden always gave her ten out of ten possible points because he’s “the mini devil in training”. I think she deserved first place because unlike everyone else, she has a good voice. Then again, it’s not about the singing.
Overall, today has been a fun day. I do, however, feel like I could never be an active part of this friend group. They’re already so close and I’m just now showing up more regularly. Sure, they all try to include me, and I really appreciate it, but I worry that they’re only doing this for Grey, not because they truly want me around. Maybe in a few years I’ll think differently… I hope.
Brooke fell asleep ten minutes ago, so Miles went to tuck her in. Reece seems to be wide awake still, even though it’s late already.
