Chapter 13
The night of Matty Mueller’s party, I was all nerves.
My first high school event. The Hopelys thought we were all going out to dinner and a late movie.
My parents were usually lax, but I didn’t want to take any risks, so told them the same.
We’d be sleeping over at Cassandra’s after.
Will and Tommy were about to leave for Fort Lauderdale, so I didn’t have to worry about them blowing my cover.
“Hey, Rosie!” Will walked into our kitchen just as I was about to leave, wearing a big, almost giddy expression on his face. Tommy was outside packing up the car. “Can I show you something?”
My Vera Bradley overnight bag was already in my hand. “I was about to walk over to Cassandra’s for the night. Can it wait?”
“Please,” Will begged. “It’ll be quick, I promise.” He nodded toward his bedroom, gesturing for me to follow. Once we were in his room, he rummaged around in his nightstand drawer.
“All right, Will. What is so important that I have to see?” I asked, impatient.
“I thought you might like to approve Alex’s graduation gift. Make sure she’ll like it,” he said. “Isn’t that part of your sisterly duties?”
“That and being a perpetual pain in your ass,” I teased.
“Well, you’ve already got the second part down.” Will smiled as he unearthed a large jewelry box, the color a distinct robin’s-egg blue. My eyes bulged at the sight of it.
“Tiffany’s?” I demanded.
Will worked part-time at Publix as a cashier. This gift meant a lot of saved-up paychecks.
He beamed. “I wanted to get her something really nice.”
I knew how much Alex liked “fancy” things. Like her parents, she was snobby about anything she considered a lesser brand.
“If it’s from Tiffany’s, she’ll like it. Believe me. Doesn’t even matter what it is.”
Will cast me a sideways look, lifting the lid from the box. “The salesgirl said this is their most popular necklace right now. Everyone wants one, apparently.”
He lifted a silver chain with a heart-shaped charm from the box. “It’s called the Heart Tag Necklace or something like that.”
I recognized it immediately. Cassandra and I salivated over this necklace. Several girls at school already had it.
“What do you think?” Will asked, looking at me.
“She’s going to love it, Will. She’s going to start screaming and jumping up and down the second she sees it.”
Will grinned. “It’s custom engraved on the back too.”
“Well,” I said, “what does it say?”
Will shook his head, looking mischievous as he placed it back in the box. “None of your business, Rosie. I can’t reveal my secrets.”
Cassandra’s bedroom was a disaster when I arrived.
Nearly every piece of clothing she owned was spread out on her bed, quickly joined by the contents of my duffle bag.
We spent at least an hour in front of her full-length mirror doing our hair and makeup.
I lined my eyes with more heavy black eyeliner and mascara than my mother would have liked.
I’d stolen one of her lipsticks too, a Revlon reddish-brown color that I applied to my mouth, going outside the lines to try to make my lips look bigger.
Cassandra borrowed it from me after and did the same.
In the last few months, I had noticed that my face was starting to change.
The roundness of my cheeks was thinning out and my jaw was getting sharper.
I looked … older. Especially with the makeup on.
It was weird. Meanwhile, Cassandra’s face still held its baby shape, with her wide doe eyes.
She had started to look a year or two younger than me, though she sure didn’t act like it.
“You bitch,” she said, staring at me in the mirror. “Why does that look so good on you and not on me?”
“It does look good on you,” I said, taking the mascara wand out of her hand and doing it for her the way I learned in Seventeen. “You just need darker eyeshadow.”
“Yeah, and also your boobs.”
She stared at my body enviously. We were essentially wearing the same thing—a jean skirt and tank top—but with my boobs and the new bra I’d bought, it all looked much sluttier on me than it did on her.
“The boobs will come,” I assured her, trying not to laugh. “Trust me.”
Cassandra snorted and waited until I finished the touch-ups on her face. When I was done, she looked in the mirror.
“Okay, it’s settled,” she said, running her fingers through her freshly curled hair. “We’re hot.” We each grabbed a sweatshirt from her closet, throwing them over our tops so Mr. and Mrs. Hopely wouldn’t get suspicious, then headed to Alex’s room to watch her finish getting ready.
“Are you bringing that boyfriend of yours tonight?” Alex asked Cassandra over her blaring music.
We sat on her beige carpet, looking up as she shimmied into her own denim skirt.
Her waist was so tiny that she had to knot the bottom of her polka-dotted camisole with a hair tie to fit it snugly around her.
“Cole?” Cassandra replied, thinking of the most recent boy she was obsessed with. She shook her head quickly. “He’s not my boyfriend, and no. He was being weird last week.”
“Are you talking about Cole Mahoney?” Victoria asked, appearing in the doorway of Alex’s room wearing a tiny tank top and shorts I was pretty sure belonged to Cass. “I know his sister. He’s cute.”
Alexandria rolled her eyes as she stared at herself in the mirror. “Ignore Vicky. She thinks everyone’s boyfriend is cute. Even her sisters’.”
Victoria stiffened against the doorframe, frowning. “You’re one to talk.”
Alexandria went still and stopped straightening her shirt, her eyes wide. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Victoria shifted on her feet, looking nervous. “I just meant—”
“What? What exactly did you mean, Victoria?”
Victoria looked from Alex to Cass and me. She shook her head. “Never mind.”
Alex turned away from her. “Honestly, you know what? Just go. You’ve been irritating the shit out of me lately.”
Victoria looked like she had just been slapped but didn’t hesitate. She turned on her heel, taking care to slam Alex’s door on the way out. From the living room, I could hear her mother asking her what was wrong.
“She’d better get her period soon because I swear to god I’m going to kill her otherwise,” Alex said, staring down at her youngest sister.
“She has been annoying lately,” Cass agreed, devoted to her older sister. “Right, Rosie?”
I was playing with the carpet, twisting the strands through my fingers, doing my best to stay out of their squabble. But they were both looking at me now, waiting for my answer. “Oh, yeah, a little.”
Alex looked relieved. “Okay, so it’s not just me. I thought I was going to have to throttle her.”
As she put finishing touches on her makeup, Alex’s door cracked open again.
The three of us turned, expecting Victoria to come slinking back in, but instead, Samantha stood in the doorframe.
She’d just finished her sophomore year of college, and she looked taller and leaner than the last time I’d seen her, her baggy jeans now practically falling off her slender hips.
Her hair was lighter too, almost blonde rather than the light honey brown that the rest of the Hopelys had.
She was twenty now and really growing into herself.
If Alexandria was the prettiest of the sisters, Sam was the most unique.
She had a large patchwork bag slung over one shoulder that rattled when she moved.
A man stood beside her, tall and stocky.
He was built like a football player, with wide shoulders and a protruding chest. His muscled arms stretched the confines of his short sleeves.
From where we sat on the floor, I could see the slightest edge of a tattoo concealed around the back of his arm.
His hair was blonde, though it had been bleached lighter on the tips, almost frosted.
I figured this must be her boyfriend, Isaac.
He looked into Alex’s bedroom, cautiously surveying the scene.
“Oh, it’s you,” Alex said, looking relieved as she yanked on her tank top straps. “Did you get the stuff?”
“Yes,” Sam said as she shook the bag, several bottles rattling together. Isaac reached in to pull out a bottle of something clear with a picture of a watermelon on it. “You’ll like this one. It’s sweet. Goes down easy.” His voice was deep.
Alex’s eyes lit up. “Well then, it’s perfect for me.”
Cassandra and I giggled at the joke, but Sam’s face didn’t change as she took the bottle from Isaac, slipping it back into her bag.
“By the way,” Sam said in her melodic voice. “We’re coming with you, since I already told Mom and Dad that we’re the ones taking you guys to the ‘movies and dinner.’”
Alex crossed her arms, pushing up her breasts. Isaac’s eyes flicked to them for a second before he looked away.
“Why do you want to come?” she asked.
Sam raised an eyebrow, looking a little amused at Alex’s reaction. “You expected me to just buy the liquor and not go?”
“Technically Isaac bought it,” Alex pointed out, nodding in his direction. He grinned. “You’re only twenty.”
Sam rolled her eyes, exchanging a look with her boyfriend. “This was my turf before it was yours, Alex. I still know people here and I want Isaac to see where we used to party. Besides, this is the only way you’re going. It’s us or nothing.”
Alex rolled her eyes. “Fine, but I’m not paying you for the bottles then.”
“Whatever floats your boat.” Sam looked smug as she took Isaac’s hand and left the room. Alex headed to the bathroom, while Cassandra and I gathered our stuff.
Cassandra sighed. “Well, this should be great. Victoria is mad at Alex, and Alex is mad at Victoria and Sam.”
“At least this way, they’ll probably ignore us all night and we can do what we want,” I said, shrugging.
Cassandra weighed this for a second. “This might actually be fun then.”
We were giggling as we followed the older sisters into the living room, where Mr. and Mrs. Hopely sat watching TV.
“You’re all going to the movie?” Mrs. Hopely asked, curled up on the couch. She looked like Cassandra, beautiful, only more wrinkled.
“A late one,” Sam said quickly. “We might go to the one in Palm Beach Gardens so we can eat somewhere nicer before.” Mr. Hopely nodded in appreciation. They always preferred the ritzier areas.
“Isaac’s driving?” he asked. Mr. Hopely always seemed to prefer it when Will drove too.
“Yes,” Sam replied.
“I’ll get you my credit card,” Mrs. Hopely said, leaving the room to grab her wallet.
As she did, Alex and Sam whispered something to each other.
I tried not to eavesdrop and instead turned away.
When I did, I found Mr. Hopely staring at me, taking in my outfit.
Just like Cass, I had thrown on a sweatshirt.
But there was no hiding how short my jean skirt was.
His eyes lingered on the hemline and I felt instantly self-conscious.
His eyes met mine for the briefest second and I couldn’t read what was there.
Was it judgment? He shifted slightly on the couch, still holding my gaze.
“Here’s the card!” Mrs. Hopely trailed into the room and interrupted the silence. Mr. Hopely looked away from me immediately. His wife handed the card to Sam. “Have a great time!”
“We will,” Sam assured her. Mr. Hopely said nothing but gave my skirt one more look. The five of us headed out the front door, ready to leave. Victoria scampered out behind us, just before the door closed. Her eyes were puffy and red.