Chapter 7 #3
There were few things my mother cared about as much as her reputation as a Realtor. She’d spent her entire career making sure that she, and the rest of us by extension, were represented well here.
“Speaking of birthdays,” Will added, “the Hopelys went looking for a VW Beetle for Victoria yesterday.”
Now this was interesting. I turned toward him. “Did they decide on a color?”
Will shook his head. “Not a chance. You’ll tell Victoria and ruin the surprise, and Alex will kill me.”
“How much of a surprise can it be?” Mom asked. “She already knows she’s getting one. They all do for their birthdays.”
I could hear the snark in her voice, her dislike for the Hopelys amplified by the red wine.
“Lyla!” my father teased.
“What? It’s a bad financial decision. Those girls are close enough in age to share cars between them. There is no reason that one family needs five cars. It’s ridiculous,” Mom said.
“Aren’t they rich?” Tommy asked.
“Don’t be crass,” Mom told him, taking a sip of wine.
“But no. I sold them that house. I know what Gary and Deborah make. They do well, but not that well.” She swirled the wine in her glass knowingly.
“It’s got to all be credit cards. Or they’re spoiling the girls instead of saving for retirement. Either way, it isn’t a good strategy.”
People liked my mother. She got along with everyone, but something about the Hopelys had always bothered her.
She never liked them and never did a good job of hiding it.
I like them just fine, that’s what she always said.
She had her reasons: their politics, their parenting, the fact that they didn’t like that she made more money than my father.
My dad was a hard worker, an accountant for a local pest control company, but we all knew my mother was the breadwinner.
We never missed the look Mrs. Hopely would give Mom whenever she talked about work.
“All I’m saying,” Mom said, “is nothing good comes from spoiling your children.”
“More Nutella!” Hazel shouted from the end of the table, breaking the tension. The crusts of her mangled sandwich were clutched in her hand. The small portion of pasta on her plate was completely untouched.
“What was that about spoiling your children?” my father asked her, amused.
My mom sighed. “Oh, hush.”
The closest mall to Loxahatchee was a twenty-minute drive into the town over.
A couple of times a month, Cassandra and I would beg our parents to drop us off there.
We’d usually see people we knew or cute guys from the neighboring schools in Wellington.
We’d wander the shops until we got bored, and then get Chick-Fil-A.
But today, Alex was driving us to the mall.
Her bright yellow Beetle was blaring Rihanna when I got to their driveway.
Cassandra and I were relegated to the back seat, while Victoria, of course, sat up front with Alex.
I wasn’t sure why she had opted to sit closest to Alex when they were clearly in a fight.
Normally, the two of them didn’t stop talking whenever we went anywhere, gossiping conspiratorially or ranting about whatever reality TV show they’d watched the night before, but they barely spoke to each other on the entire drive over.
“What’s going on with them?” I whispered to Cass, as Victoria threw Alex a nasty look.
Cassandra’s eyes were lined with clumpy black mascara. “Who knows,” she replied. “Something about Victoria being embarrassed by something Alex said in front of Sam’s new boyfriend.”
“Isaac, right?” I hadn’t met Samantha’s newest boyfriend yet, but she had spent all of her winter break going on and on about him.
They’d met at the University of Miami, where Sam went to college.
He was an out-of-state student staying with the Hopelys this week before going back up to Massachusetts for the summer. “What’s he like?”
Cassandra shrugged, her face unchanging. “Fine, I guess.”
In the front seat, Alex was grinning. “It’s okay, Cass. You can say it. He’s a total tool.”
“You didn’t like him?” Victoria asked her sister, the first words she’d uttered since she’d stomped into the car.
Alex snorted. “What was there to like?” She kept talking as she spun the steering wheel with one hand. “He’s spent the entire time he’s been here talking about his frat and his boat. Neither of which is that interesting.”
One of her fake pink nails clipped the steering wheel and wiggled, loosening. Alex frowned at it.
“He was probably trying to impress you,” Victoria muttered.
Alex rolled her eyes. “Ugh, are you still in your mood, Vicky?” she teased, and watched as Victoria recoiled at the childhood nickname. Victoria crossed her arms again, tighter now. I noticed she looked thinner than normal. Thinner than Alex even.
“The thing is, he’s exactly the kind of guy Sam would go for,” Alex said, shaking her head. “She’s so needy. She would date a serial killer if he showed her enough attention.”
“That’s kind of bitchy, Alex,” Victoria said. “She seems to really love him.”
“I’m not saying she doesn’t; she just has terrible taste. Isaac is annoying. Even Mom thought so.”
“Mom didn’t say anything bad.”
“Oh, come on, Vic. You didn’t see her clutching at her pearls when he said his family went to Vegas last summer for vacation? She thinks he’s vulgar. And Dad hated him on principle.”
Alex pulled the Volkswagen into a spot near the front of the mall and took her time reapplying lip gloss before getting out. She spread her mouth as wide as she could, making sure the gloss made it over every inch of her pouty lips. Victoria watched her carefully before reapplying her own.
The mall was packed, the way it always was on a Saturday. Hordes of teenagers separated into small groups, whispering to one another and swinging their bags, getting side glances from the store associates before they even walked through.
“I need Starbucks before we do anything else,” Alex insisted. She dragged us toward the coffee shop at the entrance so we could all order.
Hours passed as the four of us walked easily around the mall, sipping our drinks and wandering in and out of the stores. I was careful with my money, knowing I just wanted to get something new for the party, but the Hopelys bought something in nearly every store they went into.
When we got to Victoria’s Secret, I was excited.
I had only ever been in here with my mom, and I’d been too embarrassed then to try anything on.
Now I stood by Cassandra, who seemed more comfortable.
I mostly lingered by the clothes racks while Cassandra flipped through overpriced lacy patterned bras.
Alex found a lacy padded one she insisted I try on.
“God damn, Dearling,” she said, shaking her head when I came out of the dressing room to show her. “Where did that rack come from?”
She was staring at my cleavage and gawking.
“I wish I had bigger boobs,” she complained, attempting to push hers up.
I gave her a half-hearted smile. I hated it when anyone else brought up my chest. I had tripled my bra size over the last year, going from a B to DD overnight.
All of my baby tees suddenly looked slutty, and tank tops gave me real cleavage.
Other girls in our class had gotten bigger boobs this year too, but most of them had curves to fill them out.
Mine had just grown onto the lean frame I’d always had, completely unsupported.
It made me look older than my years. Too sexual.
I had the same body type as my mom, but everyone assumed hers were implants.
I ended up buying the bra, mostly so we didn’t talk about it anymore.
We went to a few more stores before Cassandra and I insisted on getting pizza.
It was the only lunch option I could afford after the Victoria’s Secret purchase.
Alex and Victoria agreed and stood in line in the food court, but they complained about the smell and grease.
Standing in front of us were two tall boys.
They kept turning back to look at us, then whispering to each other.
Finally, the more attractive of the two, with floppy brown hair and dimples, turned to Alex.
“Are you two twins?” he asked boldly. He was addressing both Alex and Victoria, but only looked at Alex.
She surveyed him for a moment, taking her time to look at him up and down. “No,” she said finally, “she’s my little sister.” Victoria scoffed at the word little, but Alex didn’t care. She was staring up at the guy, who was so tall that he would have towered over Will.
“Oh,” the guy said, smiling. “But you guys look different.”
He followed it up quickly with “You’re really pretty, though. By the way.”
Alex’s smile widened and she turned reflexively toward her younger sister, basking in the compliment. Victoria seemed to take this as a slight. She shook her head. “This is so annoying,” she whispered to us.
“He’s cute, isn’t he?” Cassandra responded, ignoring Victoria’s frustration.
I nodded. I could admit he was pretty hot. I watched Alex.
“Thanks,” Alex said, her posture straightening. Her mouth had turned into a small smirk. As I watched her, she pulled down her Hollister tank top a little to show off her cleavage.
“I’m Nick,” the guy said, his eyes darting from Alex’s hair to her chest. The Alex Effect was clearly washing over him. “What’s your name?”
“Alexandria,” she said, twisting her long hair. “But you can call me Alex.”
“Okay, Alex. Do you go to Wellington High?”
Alex shook her head. “Nope.” Her mouth popped on the p. “Seminole Ridge.”
“Ah, a Loxahatchee girl.” Nick looked intrigued.
I listened as Nick and his friend Dylan chatted Alex up as the line to the Sbarro shortened. All of us were pretty used to Alex getting attention and lost interest quickly.
“ … so, Loxahatchee Alex. Can I get your number?”
I had tuned out most of their conversation while staring at the menu board as we waited, but this made me look up. Nick was grinning at Alex, his phone outstretched. He looked eager. Cassandra wasn’t paying attention, but Victoria’s eyes were locked on their sister.
Alex paused, her lips pursed as she considered Nick again, her eyes settling on his phone. I waited for her to smile and say, Sorry, I have a boyfriend.
But she didn’t.
Instead, she shrugged and reached for his phone, typing in her number. My mouth hung open in disbelief, and I felt an upsurge of anger. What was she doing?
“What are you doing?” Victoria whispered to her, echoing my thoughts.
“Stop,” Alex hissed, scowling at her before she handed the phone back to Nick. Nick looked delighted.
“I’ll text you,” he told her, as he grabbed his tray and disappeared.
Victoria waited until they were far enough away to not be overheard before she rounded on her sister. “Did you give him a fake number?” she asked, her face accusatory.
Alex raised her eyebrow. “No. Why would I?”
Victoria blinked at her. “I don’t know, because you have a boyfriend?” she said, gaze drifting to me. “What about Will?”
It was written all over her face, the torch that Victoria carried for my brother.
I supposed it made sense. Alex and Victoria were sisters.
They looked alike. Of course they had similar taste in boys.
Even Cassandra thought Will was cute. I’d always thought Victoria probably did too, but this looked like more than a little crush.
Victoria’s face was filled with outrage and shock, as if watching what Alex had done had physically hurt her.
“What about him?” Alex followed Victoria’s gaze and noticed my stricken expression.
“Oh my god, Vicky. Look at her face. You really need to lighten up.” Alex rolled her eyes.
She turned to me. “It’s not a big deal, Rose,” Alex repeated, looking me dead in the eye, her tone firmer this time. It was clear she wanted me to agree with her. To deescalate the situation that Victoria was trying to create. “Right?”
It had felt gross to watch. To see Alex pushing out her chest and smirking at a guy who wasn’t my brother. It felt disloyal to absolve Alex of any guilt, to make it seem like it wasn’t a big deal. But both she and Cassandra were staring, waiting for me to say something.
“Right,” I repeated, but my mouth tasted horrible. Alex smiled and tossed her hair over her shoulder, more relaxed as she ordered a piece of supreme pizza.
I wasn’t hungry anymore. All I could think about was that guy sitting there with Alex’s number, knowing he was going to text her, and knowing Alex wanted him to. Would she answer? Would they go back and forth, flirting, while my brother was unaware?
My gut soured.