Black Sunshine (Dark Eyes 1)

Our faces don’t look much alike, but her skin is even better than mine is. She’s got all the glow while I still get acne from time to time and I hate my pores. Her hair is long and blonde, though she always wears it back in a braid. She’s also super slim, and while I’m athletic (years of playing field hockey, basketball, and volleyball helped with that), I have boobs and hips and a butt that can’t be contained. I spent a lot of time trying to get the flat stomach that never came, but I’ve decided there’s better things to do with my time. Her arms are covered in tattoos, hiding scars that she got when she fell into a fire when I was very young.

All I know is that I hope I look like that when I’m her age. My dad looks awesome too, though he’s in the middle of competing with his co-workers at the historical society at trying to grow the longest beard, and my mother and I are so tired of it. He looks more and more like Hagrid every day. My mom says she tries to convince him to give it up, but the man has a lot of pride. He’s in it to win it.

“You look a little tired,” my mom says after a long moment. “How was last night?”

I shrug lightly. “It was fine. The usual.”

“Have a lot to drink?”

Another shrug. “Not really. I kept a good head. Went home early. Do I look hungover?”

“You’re a bit squinty.”

“Oh. Yeah. Light’s bothering me today.” I eye the sun coming in through the east window.

“Is that all that’s bothering you?”

I’m pretty close with my parents. There are no secrets between us, even though I wish there were sometimes. Both my mom and dad are incredibly intuitive, so there’s no point trying to hide everything about last night. I decide to parcel it out.

“I saw Matt last night,” I tell her.

“Oh? And how is he? He still with that girl who doesn’t like you?”

I manage a smile. “I think so. She wasn’t there, though.”

“Well, good. You don’t need to waste your time with people who don’t like you, sweetie.”

“Uh huh,” I say, sliding the skull pendant back and forth on the chain. “Unfortunately, I think I have to add Matt to that pile of people.”

“What happened?” she asks, pushing the plunger down into the French press, the coffee swirling in the glass like a mahogany nebula.

“I don’t really know,” I admit. “He got drunk and kissed me.”

“Uh oh,” she says, pouring the coffee into a mug and placing it in front of me before pouring herself a cup. She sits down across from me. “I take it that didn’t go over well.”

“He still has a girlfriend, first of all,” I say, giving her a steady look. “So, no. And even if he didn’t, I’m just not … interested. We’re much better off as friends.”

“So I guess he didn’t take the rejection very well,” she says as she lifts the mug to her mouth.

I shake my head. “No. He got angry.”

“Angry? Matt?”

Matt’s been over to my place a bunch of times, and she’s met him and liked him. He’s always been his usual chill self.

“I was surprised too.”

“I’m sorry,” she says, giving me a sympathetic smile. “You don’t deserve that. But try not to take it personally. He might be having a stressful week. You know those start-ups aren’t known for being an easy job. I’m sure there’s a lot of money at stake.”

“Yeah, maybe,” I say, and it makes me feel a bit better.

“Hey,” my mom says, putting down her mug and looking at me with hopeful eyes. “Since you’re having problems with Matt at the moment, maybe you’ll rethink your birthday plans.”

I sigh. My parents have been very weird and emotional about my birthday. When I turned sixteen and eighteen it was all good, but now that I’m turning twenty-one, suddenly they think it’s the end of the world, like I’ve officially grown up and won’t be their daughter anymore.

Anyway, a couple weeks ago they asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday and I said I wanted to have a party with friends, and then they suggested maybe I could spend my birthday with them.

Like, alone.