I shake off the disgust and head to my sister’s room, slamming the door shut behind me. I immediately grab the remote and turn down the music.
“Hey!” My sister, Hannah, flings her long dark hair over her shoulder and scowls from the center of her bed. She’s sitting cross-legged with her phone in her lap, surrounded by pillows. “What the heck, Hawke?”
“Shhhhh.” I cross the room and sit next to her on the bed. “Lila Griffin is downstairs.”
Her big, golden-brown eyes widen and she scoots closer. “What?”
Hannah is the ultimate Malibu rich girl. She loves clothes, music, and gossip. Fortunately, she’s managed to keep a smart head and isn’t a raging bitch like most girls I know. Hannah is loving and kind and a genuinely sweet person, which is impressive for a thirteen-year-old.
Hannah is well aware of Lila’s obsession with me and when I tell her about the party, she wrinkles her little nose in disgust. “Ewwww. When is she gonna give up on you?”
“I don’t know. But Mom and Dad are making me go with her.” Hannah loves me and could care less how popular I am. She knows I only go through the motions, supporting me even if it does confound her that I don’t want to associate with the socially acceptable assholes at school.
“Don’t go, then,” she says easily, shrugging.
“I don’t know, Han. Dad loves Lila. He really wants me to go.” My shoulders sag in exhaustion from keeping up pretenses all the time.
Hannah puts a hand on my knee and looks me in the eye. “First of all, you would be pretty cool even if you weren’t the most popular guy in school, dummy. And second, Dad will get over it. If you don’t want to go, you shouldn’t.”
I smile at my sister. “You’re pretty awesome for an annoying little sister.” I have the best family and wouldn’t trade them for the world. If anyone ever pulled any shit with my sister, I’d kill them. The day she starts seriously dating is a day I’m dreading as much as my dad. Possibly more since I’m more inherently protective than he is.
She laughs. “You’re pretty awesome for an older brother.”
Hannah wraps her skinny arms around my shoulders, giving me a tight hug. No way she can’t feel how tense I am. “You’re going to go to the party, aren’t you?”
I sigh. “Yeah. I can’t disappoint Mom and Dad, Han. I just can’t.”
My sister pulls back and bites her lip. I can tell she’s thinking hard since I do the same thing. “Well, take this then.” Hannah leaps off the bed and snatches something off her nightstand. She grabs my hand and presses a cold, smooth object into my palm. “I found this a few weeks ago. I’ve been carrying it around, but you can borrow it.”
Uncurling my fingers, I find a perfect, heart-shaped rock. “Cool.” I pull my brows down in confusion. “What’s it for?”
She shrugs, giving me a brilliant grin. “For luck, silly.”
I have a feeling I’m gonna need it.
Abby
“Nick? You home?”
I toss my backpack onto the old kitchen table and toe off my shoes.
“Nick?”
A quick search of our modest house turns up nothing. I pull out my phone and shoot a text to my mom.
Me – I’m home. Nick not here
I don’t bother waiting for a response. Mom is at work and can’t check her phone often, but she’ll want me to let her know my older brother is MIA. He was supposed to come straight home after finishing his class at the local community college.
Worry pulls at my gut, twisting my stomach into a tight ball. I grab a Coke out of the fridge, hoping the sugar will calm the acid churning inside. How is a fifteen-year-old girl supposed to be responsible for her nineteen-year-old brother?
I worry about him even though Mom keeps reassuring me that Nick isn’t my responsibility. I’m only supposed to give her updates when she’s not here. Yet I can’t help but feel that I should do something to help. Every time Nick doesn’t show up when he’s supposed to, or blows off school, or goes into one of his moods, I feel like I’m letting everyone down.
Mid-mope, my phone alerts me to an incoming text. Relief surges as I snatch the device off the counter, hoping it’s my mom. I’d even take Dad at this point, regardless of the fact that he’s out of town on business.
Em – Mall? Pleeeaasse? It’s been 4ever.
I sag when the text is from my best friend, Emily. Not that I don’t want to hear from her. I’d just feel better if Mom answered me. Like I was actually doing something about Nick. Having my mom know Nick is late would help ease my anxiety.