10. April
Ten years earlier…
“Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh,” I squealed when I opened my locker and saw another flower. Lips pursed, I looked around to see if I’d drawn any attention. The last thing I wanted was to give people any more reasons to think I was weird. Taking my excitement down a notch, I returned my attention to my latest gift. It was a pink lotus. I loved lotuses. They grew in the pond at Oakland Park. I was always fascinated with how the flower floated on top of the dirty water, standing out like a rare beauty. My secret admirer knew all of my favorite flowers. The fact that he had to break into my locker to get them in there aside, I was touched. If he knew all my favorite flowers, that meant he’d been watching me for a while. Not creepy at all in this case. It was so romantic.
I glanced over both shoulders again and picked up the piece of white paper that sat beneath the flower. A note was always left with the sweet gift. This had been going on for two weeks now, and I was already in love with my secret admirer. He seemed to know me so well. A guy that paid attention was a plus—so I’ve heard from some of the girls that chatted about their boyfriends. I wouldn’t know. My eighteenth birthday was in a month, just one day after prom, and I’d never had a boyfriend. Having one never appealed to me until I started getting the notes.
Heart pounding, I read the short message:
Flower Child,
I gasped. Wait a minute. There was only one person who called me that. Surely, it couldn’t be Julian. We butted heads at every turn. There was no way he had the hots for me. He could be such a jerk sometimes; yet, he was so gorgeous with his blonde, blue-eyed good looks. He wasn’t one of the popular jocks but all the girls still swooned when he walked past. There was just something about brooding, bad boys in leather jackets who sped around on motorcycles, I guess. He was disgustingly cool. The epitome of the guys my mother demanded her daughters stay away from.
“No way, it’s him,” I muttered and read on.
You must know who I am by now. Who else knows all your favorite colors and flowers? Who else gave you such a cool nickname?
I gasped again. Julian. I could imagine the lazy grin on his face and the spark of humor in his pretty blues as he wrote the note.
That’s right, babe. It’s me, Julian. I’m your secret admirer.
It didn’t even annoy me that he called me babe like he did all the girls. “He called me babe, oh my gosh.” What was happening? It was like I was living in an alternate universe where quirky, awkward April got the cool guy’s attention as if she was one of the cheerleaders.
I think it’s time we stop fighting and start loving, don’t you? I decided to reveal my identity because I want to ask you to prom.
Will you go to prom with me, Flower Child?
Now that I knew he was into me, I was cool with the nickname. It was like our thing now. I gazed at the note, wondering how’d he get my answer. Then I felt eyes on me. It set off a series of strange sensations. The back of my neck prickled, and a delightful chill ran through me...or heat, rather. I felt hot, and my abdominal muscles clenched. I slowly turned around and my breath was knocked from my lungs. Julian stood further down the hall, arms folded. He leaned against his locker. He was dressed in his usual leather jacket, and he had his helmet hanging from a finger. His head was slightly tilted as his eyes practically penetrated me. He was looking at me funny, kind of like he was seeing me for the first time or something. I gulped, clutched the flower and note to my chest and smiled.
He didn’t smile back, just stared. I figured that maybe he was nervous about revealing his identity. As we held gazes, all the insults we exchanged in the past, all the stupid bickering, all faded away. Clearly, we went at each other because we were into each other. Yes, I admit, I’d had a major crush on Julian since day one but I hid it well. Now, we’d be going to senior prom together. All of sudden, the misery of high school faded because it was going to end perfectly. Like a fairytale.
I nodded, yes. Hell yes, I’d go to prom with him! It took everything in me not to squeal like an idiot again. The corners of his lips curled upward, then two of his buddies started snickering and slapping him on his shoulders. He told his friends that he liked me? That meant he was serious about us. However, his smile disappeared and he frowned, looking a little troubled.
Wow, he’s more nervous about this than I am,I thought.
* * *
Prom night
“April, stop fidgeting,” Tessa growled.
“I can’t help it,” I whined. “I’m so nervous.”
“Well, if you don’t stop, Julian isn’t going to find you so cute when I turn you into a pincushion.” She held up the needle and thread between her fingers and scowled. Tessa was putting on the finishing touches on my dress. It was one of Mom’s...from when she still gave a crap about her appearance. Cass stole it from her closet last month when I announced that I got invited to prom by one of the coolest guys in school. Mom would never give me money to buy a prom dress. Tessa and Lucy both worked, but they were paying their way through college so I didn’t ask them to help me buy one.
Luckily, my fifteen-year-old sister had the biggest balls of anyone I knew. She marched into Mom’s room and told her she was taking a dress to play dress-up with our youngest sister, Ruby. Mom thought nothing of it because Ruby was the girliest girl on Earth. She was all about makeup and princess tea parties and whatnot. Cass was such a badass. Sometimes, I wished I could be more ballsy like her.
Getting me to prom was a huge mission and all of my sisters were in on it. If Mom found out I was going anywhere near a guy tonight, she’d freak and lock me in the attic like freaking Rapunzel. She’d loosened up a little with Lucy and Tessa because they were both in their twenties. The rest of us were still on pretty heavy lockdown. But I’d fight tooth and nail to make it to my senior prom.
“There. Perfect.” Tessa stood up and beamed proudly at her creation. I did a three-sixty in front of the full-length mirror and gasped.
“Tessa, you’re a freaking genius!” She got all the talent in the family when it came to cooking, sewing, and all things domestic. Mom’s white floral dress had been transformed into something out of a magazine. It was so...me. It was bohemian-chic, and I loved the flower print. It would go great with the flower crown I’d been working on for a week.
“Looking good,” Lucy sang as she walked into my room. She held a pair of silver strappy heels in her hand. “These shoes will go perfectly with that dress.”
Tessa and I gasped. She began, “Is that…”
“Your birthday present from Nic?” I finished. He’d worked after school at the repair shop for months to buy Lucy a fancy dress and shoes for her sixteenth birthday. She”d been bummed that Mom didn’t care enough to put together something special for her sweet sixteenth. But her best friend, Nic, had been planning a surprise date for her the entire time. She’s been so happy. Where could I get a best friend like that? Seriously. Lucy hadn’t been the same since Nic left town four years ago.
She shrugged and handed me the shoes. “Wear them and put them back in my closet. No big deal.”
I didn’t miss the sad look she gave the shoes before stepping back. Something happened between Nic and Lucy before he left, but she refused to tell us what. “Thank you, Luce. All of you, thank you.”
Cass was sitting on my bed, flipping through a magazine, and wearing her usual bored expression shrugged. “Whatever, princess. Now you can go to prom and play Cinderella. Just be sure to get back before the stroke of midnight before you turn into a pumpkin.”
We all sighed and shook our heads as we gazed at Cass’s deadpan expression. She was just too young to be so jaded. It was all Mom and Dad’s fault. Ruby ran into the room at that moment, breathless, her waist-length dark blonde hair flying. “April, you need to get out of here now. Mom is starting to ask questions. She’s wondering why Lucy and Tessa are still here, and why everyone has been upstairs for so long.”
“Okay, come on, kiddo. Let’s go before she sees you,” Lucy sighed. “I do not need to battle with her tonight.” Lucy was always the one to fight our wars when it came to Mom. She’d argue my case about going to prom if she had to.
Tessa gave me a kiss on the cheek, careful not to smudge my makeup. “Have fun.”
“Use protection if you plan on losing your skin-tag tonight, Cinderella,” Cass said. “Be responsible.”
“Ugh! Why are you like this?” Face burning, I grabbed a pillow from the armchair and threw it at her.
Sniggering, she ducked and flipped me the bird.
“What’s a skin-tag?” Ruby asked.
“Nothing,” we all chorused.
She snorted. “Please, you guys think I’m that clueless? I only ask to see if one of you would have the balls to tell me.” Giggling, she skipped to the door. “Don’t worry, I’ll distract Mom so you can slip out. You guys know I’m good at creating distractions.”
“We know, drama queen,” I grinned. Ruby was a precocious twelve-year-old and just as much a brat as Cass.
* * *
By the time Lucy pulled up to the curb a block away from school, I was nearly hyperventilating. I couldn’t believe in just moments, I was going to meet up with Julian. He’d said he’d pick me up at home, but I had refused. There was no way I could let Mom know about him. So, we decided to meet up at school.
“April,” Lucy peered around the block. It was getting dark. “Why can’t I drop you off at the school?”
“Because, Luce, I can’t have my big sister dropping me off at prom.”
“You make me sound like an uncool parent.”
“You’re twenty-two, a full-blown adult hence, no longer cool.”
She scoffed, her brown eyes widening and shining with laughter. “Excuse me? I’m the coolest big sister ever. I just snuck you out of the house to get you on your first date.”
“Oh my gosh, this is my first date.” It hit me then that Julian was way out of my league. He was experienced, and I was… a clueless loser. What if he kissed me? I didn’t know how to kiss! “I’m freaking out here,” I said as I pulled in a deep breath.
Fingers snagged my chin, and I was forced to look at my big sister. “Okay, I’m going to be the uncool, cheesy parent here for a moment.” She smiled her gentle smile that always put me at ease. “You are the sweetest person I’ve ever known. Any guy would be lucky to take you to senior prom. Julian is lucky to have you on his arm tonight. Just remember, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.”
I nodded.
Lucy smirked. “And if he tries any funny business, we’ll sic Cass on him. She’s such a little monster.”
My giggles filled the car and some of my tension seeped away.
“Just be yourself, relax, and have a good time. Okay?”
“Okay.” I smiled.
She dropped her hand. “Alright, I won’t embarrass you. Get out of here.”
Grinning, I leaned over the console to give her a hug and slid out of the car.
“April…” She peered out the window with concern.
“I’ll call you if I need you. I’ll be fine.”
Seemingly reassured, she exhaled, nodded, and turned the car around.
It only took me two minutes to make my way to West Oak High. Palms sweaty, heart racing, but overwhelmed with excitement, I made my way to the double doors of the gymnasium. Music filtered through the closed doors.
“Here goes nothing.” Finally, I felt like a normal kid. Doing normal things like going to prom.
The doors burst open and I saw Julian hurry out. How did he know I’d arrived? His eyes swung around the parking lot, and he reached into his pocket to pull out his phone. I assumed I was the one he was going to call. He’d written his phone number on another note and slipped it into my locker after his invitation. We’d texted a little for a month even though he mostly avoided me at school. That confused me but again, I passed it off as him being nervous.
I waved. “Hey Julian, I’m here.”
He spotted me and took off in my direction with long strides. He looked upset. My steps faltered and so did his until he came to a stop. His eyes rounded as he gave me a once over.
My heart stuttered, and my mouth went dry. Anxiety almost bowled me over. Julian dated girls like Regina Sanders, the head cheerleader. Did I even compare? There was something in his eyes that boosted my self-esteem, though. He seemed to approve of me.
When he said, “April, wow, you look...pretty.”
I beamed. “Er...th-thanks, you too.” I closed my eyes. Awkward April strikes again. “Handsome. I mean, you look handsome.” My face burned. He was wearing the hell out of his tux. His broad shoulders filled out the jacket perfectly.
He was about to say something else when the gym doors opened again, and a bunch of guys filtered out.
“Dude, I thought you said you’d get her inside.” Ric, one of Julian’s close friends, and a complete douchebag laughed. “You ruined the other part of the plan.”
Julian snarled over his shoulder, “Shut up, man.”
The others laughed, and one of them said, “To hell with it. She actually fell for it. That’s hilarious enough. She’s actually wearing flowers too, what a weirdo.”
My heart dropped. Plan? My head spun and nausea rose in my gut. Had Julian asked me to prom as some sick joke? I looked from him to his friends and back to him, wide-eyed. Sweat ran down my chest from the heat of my embarrassment. Nothing those idiots did usually got to me but this...this was too much. My heart plummeted a little lower. I really thought Julian liked me. At that moment, I silently prayed for the ground to open up and swallow me.
A female voice joined in. “Are you guys done with your stupid prank?” It was Regina, the girl I thought Julian had broken up with from sophomore year. She strutted to him on her heels, her hips swaying in a tight red dress with a dangerous split up one thigh. She looked smoking. I probably looked like a childish loser beside her. She laid a hand on Julian’s chest, and my heart shattered to pieces. She was his real prom date. “Come on, I want to dance already,” she whined, then she turned to me and snorted. “Oh, my god, what is that on her head?”
I touched my flower crown, which I thought was freaking cute, subconsciously. That sent the guys into another fit of laughter. Julian didn’t laugh. He just stood there and stared at me. He probably felt sorry for me...sorry that I was such an idiot. What was I thinking? My childhood nemesis wouldn’t ask me to prom if it wasn’t some stupid prank. How could I fall for this? I wanted to die. If humiliation was lethal, I would have keeled over and died one night shy of my eighteenth birthday.
Pulling a shaky breath, I gave Julian one last look, turned around, and ran.