After the apartment quieted down and I finished cleaning up the aftermath of the Great Truth or Dare War, I found myself scrolling through my contacts aimlessly. My finger hovered over one name for a second… then another… and finally, I sighed.
"Alright, family time," I muttered to myself.
I hit the group video call button on my siblings' chat. It barely rang twice before Dania picked up, her face filling my screen with a big grin.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't Miss CEO-slash-Professor," she teased immediately. "Calling us peasants from your throne?"
I rolled my eyes, grinning. "Yeah, yeah. I needed a break from being perfect, so I figured I'd see what chaos you lot were up to."
"Chaos is our middle name," Dania said, then yelled over her shoulder, "Devansh! Danish! Get your butts over here — Daph's on the line!"
Within seconds, my brothers appeared on the screen. Danish was holding his phone at a weird angle, looking like he was in the middle of a workout. "Yo, sis. You still alive?"
"Barely," I laughed. "You?"
"Same old," Devansh chimed in. "Work, eat, sleep, repeat. Dania's still bossing us around."
"Because someone has to keep you idiots in line," Dania shot back.
I shook my head fondly, the familiar banter warming something in my chest. "God, I miss you guys."
"Move back already," Danish said, raising an eyebrow. "The house is way too quiet without you starting fights over who gets the last slice of pizza."
I smirked. "Please, we all know I always got the last slice."
"Only 'cause you threatened to stab us with a fork," Devansh reminded me with a laugh.
"Legendary times," Dania said dramatically, wiping an imaginary tear.
Just then, Dania's toddler, little Aariz, popped into view, climbing into her lap with his tiny curls all messy and his cheeks pink from running around. He blinked up at the screen, then grinned.
"Aunty Daph!"
My heart just melted on the spot.
"Hey, buddy!" I cooed. "Look at you! Getting bigger every time I see you."
"I drawed a dragon!" he announced proudly, holding up a piece of paper covered in colorful scribbles that vaguely resembled… something.
"Wow, that's awesome," I gasped, pretending to be amazed. "It's ferocious."
He beamed, clearly pleased with himself.
"Kid won't stop drawing dragons ever since you showed him those cartoons," Dania grumbled, kissing the top of his head.
"Hey, I'm raising him right," I said with a wink.
We chatted for a while — Dania filling me in on her latest clients, Danish bragging about his new personal best at the gym, Devansh complaining about a terrible date he'd been on last week.
"You seriously need to start screening these people," I teased.
"Not all of us can be single by choice, Queen Daphne," he shot back.
"Shut up," I laughed.
Eventually, Aariz started dozing off in Dania's arms, and the conversation softened. I felt a pang of homesickness then, missing the noise and the warmth and the way they made the world feel a little less heavy.
"I love you guys," I said quietly.
"We love you too, Daph," Dania smiled. "Come home soon, okay?"
"Promise," I whispered.
We hung up, and the silence that followed felt a little less lonely.
I grabbed my tea, curled up on the couch again, and for the first time in a while… I felt okay.