Chapter twenty-three - Jenny

My parents are pretending Kenji doesn't exist. He's become a taboo subject in my house without anyone officially announcing the fact, but any time my cousin's mention his name, they are silenced and the subject is quickly changed.

On Christmas Eve, Danny comes to visit and my parents dote on him as though he is royalty, but even his passing question about whether Kenji would be visiting was quickly diverted by my Amma piling our old photo albums onto the table in front of him, insisting she go through each one with him so she can point out whether it's Priya or I in each one.

While we're sitting there quietly, my phone starts vibrating in my pocket and seeing Kenji's name on the screen, I excuse myself to talk to him in the privacy of my own room.

"Hey." My stomach flutters like it's filled with butterflies when I hear his voice.

"Hi, how are you?" I whisper back, locking my bedroom door so no one walks in while I'm talking to him.

"Are you at home? Can you talk?" He asks and he's wh