"I believe you," Erika responded straight-faced. "Although I want you to remember that I am your oldest sister and, therefore, required by every universal law to push as many of your buttons as I possibly can." Erika used (and abused) her older sister powers often, though she was always rather kind about it. And, on any given day, she would flat-out full-body tackle anyone for saying anything about either of her siblings. Like Dorcas, by the way, if that shallow little...oooh! Even just thinking about her made Erika's blood boil a little. And the stupid presents. Ugh, it annoyed the hell out of her that there was never a resolution to that. All that and Jezebelle disappears from the town on top of it. Not an auspicious situation. But she'd told herself she'd let it drop (for the moment) and she was going to. She was.
Smiling genuinely at Evan, Erika put her cheek in her palm. "You're a good guy, Evan Forsythe. And not at all bad for a little brother," she told him. She sighed. "I don't know why I'm letting myself get freaked out over this. It's really not that big a deal, right? Right. Okay. I'm going to get over this," Erika punctuated that last sentence with her Erika-style conviction. And she was, too.
Reaching over to refill Evan's coffee mug before a riot started, she made a face at Dorcas' name. Keep your cool, Erika. "Yeah, no additional leads on that one. Hate to say it, but with Jezebelle skipping town, I am straight out of ideas. But if I smell anything in air, I am on that like a bloodhound after geese." Did bloodhounds even chase geese? She didn't know. But if they did, that's how she was going to be about this. "How about Savvy? You guys still hanging out?" Hah, Erika was predictable. Sorry, Evan.