The birthday party sucked, mostly due to Harper avoiding me. At some point, she and Anastasia disappeared with the whack-ass excuse of having a headache. Chess almost lost it, but Vlad reminded him of the kids. It didn’t help that they only showed up to send the kids off and dashed back into the house right after.
Luckily, Julius and Anika planned a going away party for Vlad and Willow. Somehow, over the weeks, Julius has become a good friend to not only me but also Vlad and Chess. We talked periodically and even met for lunch a few times. He’s easygoing with an understanding ability I’ll never understand.
I asked about his sister a few times. And he would always smile and shake his head before replying with the same response. “She’s sis. Ya know?”
At first, the response irritated me, b
