Submitting to The Mafia

Chapter 2

The day blurred into the usual rhythm of classes, notebooks, and the steady hum of professors lecturing. Lexi and I moved in sync like we always had—side by side in psych, swapping notes in English, whispering about lunch plans during the lull before math started.

Between classes, she kept me laughing with her ridiculous commentary about everyone we passed in the halls. “That guy’s backpack is bigger than my future,” she whispered at one point, and I nearly spit out my coffee.

By the time the last bell finally released us, we were both dragging. We dumped our books into our bags and headed outside, the late afternoon sun warm against our faces.

We claimed our usual spot on the curb near the parking lot, backpacks tossed at our feet. Lexi stretched out like a cat, flopping her head back with a groan. “If college is supposed to be the best years of our lives, I want a refund.”

I snorted, nudging her with my shoulder. “You just don’t like homework.”

“I don’t like homework, professors, tuition, or alarms. Basically, the whole package deal.”

I laughed, then leaned back on my hands to watch the cars pull through. The lot buzzed with chatter and the clunk of slamming doors as students headed home.

And then, like clockwork, the familiar black truck turned into the lot. I felt Lexi tense before she even saw it—like she had some built-in Alex radar.

“There he is,” she breathed, sitting up straighter, suddenly smoothing her hair.

I rolled my eyes, grabbing my bag. “You act like we’re waiting for a celebrity instead of my pain-in-the-neck brother.”

“To me, it’s the same thing,” she whispered, cheeks pink.

The truck rolled to a stop in front of us, Alex leaning across to push the passenger door open. “Let’s go,” he called, his tone as brisk as ever.

Lexi scrambled up beside me, shooting me a wide-eyed look of pure giddiness. I sighed, slung my backpack over my shoulder, and muttered under my breath, “Here we go again.”

Together, we climbed into the truck—me resigned, Lexi glowing—and the three of us pulled away from campus like we did every day.

The truck crunched to a stop in the driveway, sunlight slanting low across the yard. I reached for the door handle before the engine was even off, desperate to shake off the long day of lectures.

But as I swung my backpack over my shoulder, Alex’s voice stopped me.

“Hailey, go on in. I need to talk to Lexi real quick.”

I froze, blinking at him. “Seriously? Again?”

He gave me that calm, unreadable look—the one that never gave anything away—and nodded toward the house. “Two minutes.”

Lexi’s cheeks turned pink immediately, her hands twisting in her lap like she’d just been handed a backstage pass to her favorite band.

I groaned loud enough for the neighbors to hear. “Unbelievable. Fine. But if you two start making googly eyes at each other in my driveway, I’m moving out.”

Neither of them responded, which was basically confirmation. Huffing, I stomped up the porch steps and let the screen door slam behind me.

Inside, Dad was lounging in his chair with the evening paper, glasses low on his nose. He peeked up when I stormed in. “Rough day, princess?”

“Rough doesn’t even cover it,” I said, throwing my bag onto the couch. “They’re at it again.”

Dad lowered the paper, eyebrow raised. “Who’s at what again?”

I threw my hands in the air. “Alex and Lexi! Flirting in plain sight like it’s some kind of rom-com out there. It’s disgusting.”

Dad chuckled, folding the paper in his lap. “Sounds harmless enough.”

“Harmless? She’s been drooling over him since middle school, and now he’s actually feeding into it. You should see them—‘stay behind so we can talk real quick,’” I mimicked in my best fake-deep voice.

Dad just laughed, the sound warm and unbothered. “You know how he is. If he’s talking, it means he’s comfortable. Don’t overthink it.”

I flopped onto the arm of his chair with a dramatic sigh. “Comfortable? Great. Next thing you know, Lexi’s gonna be moving in.”

He gave my knee a gentle pat. “Well, at least she’s already part of the family.”

I was sprawled on my bed, half-heartedly scrolling through my phone, when the front door finally creaked open downstairs. Voices drifted in—Alex’s low rumble and Lexi’s lighter, breathless laugh. I groaned into my pillow. Great. Just great.

A moment later, Lexi burst into my room, her face lit up pink from ear to ear. She shut the door behind her like she was keeping the world out, then practically launched herself onto my bed.

“Hailey!” she whispered, except it was way too loud to actually be a whisper.

I sat up, frowning at her. “What? Why do you look like you just won the lottery?”

She grabbed my shoulders, shaking me so hard I dropped my phone. “Because your brother basically—basically asked me out on a date!”

My jaw dropped. “What?”

Lexi flopped backward on the bed, covering her face with both hands, then peeked through her fingers with a squeal. “We were talking on the porch, and he said he wanted to take me out sometime. Just me. Not you, not a group. Me.”

I gaped at her. “No. No, no, no, no. Absolutely not.”

“Yes!” she squeaked, sitting up again, her whole body practically vibrating. “Do you know what this means? Years of crushing, doodling his name in my notebooks, surviving you calling him a drill sergeant every other day—worth it. All of it. Worth it!”

I buried my face in my hands. “Oh my god, I hate this. You’re my best friend. He’s my brother. There should be, like, a law against this!”

Lexi ignored me completely, bouncing on the mattress like a kid. “He asked me out, Hailey. Your brother asked me out. I think I might actually die.”

“Good,” I muttered through my fingers. “Then maybe this nightmare will end.”

But the look on her face—pure joy, glowing and unstoppable—told me this was only the beginning.

As much as I want to gag at the thought of those two together, I can’t deny it: Alex softens around her. He actually listens, actually smiles—smiles for real, not that stiff soldier thing he usually does. It’s weird, sure, but also… kind of nice.

So yeah. It’s gross. Totally, absolutely gross.

But it also makes me happy. Because if my best friend and my brother can bring out the best in each other, maybe it isn’t so terrible after all.