“I know, right?” There was affection in her beautiful green eyes, indicating she didn’t mean anything she said except her next sentence. “But you know we all love him.”

“Hold on there. I’m not included in that ‘we.’ You and your parents may be bound to love him by blood. Me? I can hardly tolerate the guy.”

Perhaps if I had a brother I would know the feeling of unconditional love for a sibling. Or maybe not, considering Kris and I were nothing alike. She behaved as graciously as a princess with a heart of gold to boot, while I had a hot temper and a level of stubbornness that could tempt Mother Teresa herself. Our looks were distinctive too. She was the pretty, platinum blond with jade-green eyes, and I was her brown-eyed, redheaded sidekick.

“Why do you guys fight like cats and dogs now? I don’t remember you being like this when we were kids.”

“Oh please. Don’t you remember third grade and all those horrible nicknames he created for me?” Kris pointed at the orange dress on my left, and I handed it over. “Or that time he ruined our first time hosting a party here by kicking everyone out?”

Kris neatly put the dress inside her suitcase then reached for a white tunic. “We would have been in deep trouble if he hadn’t done that, Ave. That party got out of control.”

“That’s not the point. The point is he ruined it for us.” I reached for Kris’s pajamas. “He even dragged Raymond out by his ear. Like, who does that?”

This time, my best friend laughed. “My brother, apparently.” She leaned back against the wall. “Do you remember what happened to Nikki, though?”

“Yes! How could I not? That’s the only time your brother did something that I actually approved of.”

Nikki had been a bully at our Hellenic school, and somehow, she had managed to sneak into our party. When she tried to make a move on Vlad, he flat out rejected her. It was a small piece of revenge after all the nasty stuff she had done to Kris and me over the years. As we talked about all the funny things that happened at that party, my tension dispersed until the anger ebbed away. Talking to Kris always had that effect on me.

Kris sat on top of the suitcase while I slid the zipper shut. “Hey, I just realized—I can’t text you since my phone died and I can’t find the charger.” She tapped her forehead. “Here’s the thing, Mom and Dad can’t come with me today—they have something to take care off. Do you want to come with me or would you rather go with your parents?”

“Yes!”

My best friend giggled. “Which one?”

“Joining you, of course.”

“Cool. I’ll let my parents know.” Kris looked down at her clasped hands.