Rising Tensions

*KACIE*

At first, I was all for it.

Seriously.

When Eric told me Jamira was moving in, I supported it.

“She’s carrying your child,” I’d said. “Why wouldn’t she be here?”

It made sense, and I wanted my nephew close.

I wanted Eric to step up.

I wanted stability for all of them.

So no.

I wasn’t secretly plotting against Jamira.

Not then.

But then things changed.

Little things.

Eric stopped hanging out as much.

Kayla asked twice in one week if Uncle Eric was taking her to school, and both times I had to tell her no.

Movie night got canceled, and dinner plans got postponed.

He stopped answering my texts right away.

And every single excuse somehow came back to Jamira.

Jamira needed something.

Jamira had an appointment.

Jamira wasn’t feeling well.

Jamira wanted company.

Jamira.

Jamira.

Jamira.

And I hated myself for noticing.

One evening, I sat at the kitchen island while Kayla colored beside me.

Jamira stood at the stove stirring pasta sauce while Eric hovered behind her, his hand resting low on her back.

Casual.

Natural.

Intimate.

My jaw tightened, and I mentioned, “Kayla asked about you yesterday.”

Eric glanced over.

“Yeah?”

“She missed you.”

Eric frowned.

“Why didn’t you call me?”

I gave a soft laugh.

“Because you’re busy.”

Jamira looked over her shoulder.

“Oh, if you needed him—”

“I wasn’t talking to you.”

The words slipped out before I could stop them.

Silence.

Heavy.

Eric straightened immediately.

“Kacie.”

Jamira slowly turned from the stove.

Her expression stayed neutral.

Too neutral.

“I was just saying,” I muttered.

“No,” Eric said. “What was that?”

Kayla looked up from her coloring book.

Great.

Perfect.

“Nothing,” I said quickly.

But Jamira wasn’t stupid.

“No,” Jamira said calmly. “Go ahead.”

Eric rubbed his temple.

“Please don’t.”

Kacie crossed her arms.

“It just feels like we never see you anymore.”

There it was.

The truth.

Eric blinked.

“Kace—”

“And before anybody makes me the bad guy, I was the one encouraging this.”

Jamira said nothing.

That somehow made it worse.

“I supported her moving in,” I continued. “I support the baby. I support you being happy.”

“Then what’s the problem?” Eric asked.

I laughed bitterly.

“The problem is I lost my brother.”

That landed.

Hard.

Eric’s face shifted immediately.

Not anger.

Guilt.

Jamira saw it.

Of course she saw it.

And suddenly she became the outsider in what should’ve been her home.

“You didn’t lose him,” Jamira said quietly.

I looked at her.

“Didn’t I?”

Eric exhaled sharply.

“Okay. Enough.”

“No,” I snapped, emotion cracking through now. “Kayla asks about you constantly.”

That got him.

Eric looked toward his niece.

Kayla kept coloring, unaware.

Jamira suddenly understood this wasn’t hostility. It was hurt. Which somehow made it harder.

I loved my brother. That would never change.

Eric had always been the one to protect me, even when we were kids. If I got into trouble, Eric handled it. If somebody hurt me, Eric was ready to fight. That was just who he was.

So forgive me if I wasn’t exactly rolling out the welcome mat for the woman who moved into his condo after what? A week?

Okay, maybe it had been longer, but that wasn’t the point.

The point was everything felt fast.

Too fast.

And my brother—my smart, cautious, overthinking brother—was acting like a man who had lost every bit of common sense because some pretty girl with a complicated past smiled at him. I wasn’t blind. Jamira was beautiful.

She could cook. She had manners. She was funny when she wanted to be.But she also came with baggage. A bitter ex. A pregnancy. Drama that somehow kept following her everywhere she went.

And now Eric was neck deep in it. No. I wasn’t being mean.I was being a sister.

That same night after dinner, Jamira was in the kitchen rinsing plates while Eric leaned against the counter finishing his drink.

I folded my arms.

“So,” I started sweetly, “how’s domestic life treating you?”

Jamira smiled without turning around.

“Pretty good.”

“Good,” I said. “That’s great.”

Eric looked at me with a look that said behave. I ignored it.

“Just seems like a big adjustment.”

Jamira dried her hands slowly before turning toward me.

“It is.”

Her smile stayed in place.That was the annoying part.She always smiled.

“Especially considering everything.”

Eric straightened.

“Kacie.”

“What?” I shrugged. “I’m just saying.”

Jamira tilted her head.

“Saying what exactly?”

Eric sighed.

Here we go.

“Nothing,” he muttered.

“No,” Jamira said, still calm. “Let her finish.”

I smiled.

“Oh, I just think moving in with someone because you’re carrying his baby is… a lot.”

The silence in the room was heavy.

Eric immediately stepped forward.

“Kacie.”

But Jamira held up a hand.

“No, let her talk.”

Her tone stayed even, but her eyes were cold and sharp. She saw me. Good.

“Because if this is about protecting your brother,” Jamira continued, “just say that.”

“It is.”

Eric blinked.

I blinked.

Well At least we were being honest now.

“I love my brother,” I said firmly. “And I’m not going to apologize for making sure he’s not making decisions with his heart instead of his head.”

Eric ran a hand over his face.

“Kacie, enough.”

“No,” I snapped. “Because nobody else is saying it.”

Jamira crossed her arms.

“You think I’m using him.”

“I think this happened conveniently.”

Eric stepped between us.

“Okay. We’re done.”

“No, we’re not,” I said.

“Yes, we are.”

“Eric—”

“No.”

That shut me up.

Because Eric never used that tone with me.

Jamira noticed too.

And suddenly Eric was exactly where he didn’t want to be… between us.

A few days later, I pulled Eric aside after dinner. “She’s moved in fast, you know,” I said, my voice low. “

“Are you sure she’s all in for you, not just the situation?”

Eric gave a patient glance, but before he could respond, Jamira entered, catching the tail end.

With a calm but firm tone, Jamira said, “Kacie, I know you care about him. But I’m not here for half-measures. I’m here for us.”

I held my gaze a moment, then softened. “We’ll see,” she said, not fully convinced, but willing to watch.

And from there, trust would have to be earned, step by step.