Chapter 9
034
Saturday morning came too quickly. I could hear Ava moving around in her room, opening and closing drawers. The sound of hangers scraping against the closet rod told me she was trying on different outfits.
Most probably getting ready for Madison’s pool party.
I stayed in bed, staring at the ceiling. I had no intention of going anywhere.
“Avery!” Mom called from downstairs. “Breakfast!”
I dragged myself out of bed and walked downstairs. Ava was already at the table, wearing a cute pink sundress with tiny white flowers. Her hair was braided perfectly, and she had on the pink shiny lip gloss Mom sometimes let her wear for special occasions.
She looked like a child magazine model.
“Good morning, Avery,” Dad said, not looking up from his
newspaper.
“Morning,” I mumbled, sliding into my chair.
“Doesn’t your sister look beautiful?” Mom asked, beaming at Ava.
“Yeah, like an angel.” I said, pouring cereal into my bowl.
Ava smiled at me. That sweet, innocent smile that fooled everyone.
“I’m so excited about the party,” she said. “Madison has the biggest pool in our grade.”
“That sounds wonderful, honey,” Mom said, handing out the bottle of milk.
Dad folded his newspaper and checked his watch. “What time does it start?”
“Twelve o’clock,” Ava replied. “But Madison said we can come early to help set up decorations.”
“How thoughtful of you to help,” Dad said proudly.
I ate my cereal in silence, watching this perfect family moment play out.
“We should probably leave around evelen–thirty,” Mom said. “That gives us time to stop and pick up a gift for Madison.”
“Wait,” Ava said, her face suddenly falling. “Where’s Avery going to be?”
All eyes turned to me. I could feel them staring, waiting.
“What do you mean?” Mom asked.
Ava’s bottom lip pushed out slightly. “Avie has plans of her own. She doesn’t want to be tied down with me anymore.” She sighed dramatically. “But it’s fine. I understand.”
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Chapter 9
434)
The way she said it made it sound like I had abandoned her, like I was being cruel and selfish sister.
“Avery?” Mom’s voice had that sharp edge to it. “Is that true?”
I looked up from my cereal. “I’m busy today.”
“Busy with what?”
“Just stuff.”
Mom’s frown deepened. “What kind of stuff is more important than your sister’s party?”
“It’s not her party,” I said. “It’s Madison’s party.”
“You know what I mean,” Mom snapped.
Dad set down his coffee cup with a loud clink. “Avery, don’t be selfish.”
There was that word they used all the time again–Selfish.
“I’m not being selfish.”
“Yes, you are,” Dad continued. “Who’s going to protect your sister at the party?”
I stared at him in disbelief. “Protect her from what?”
“From people who might be mean to her. From situations she can’t handle alone.”
I almost laughed. Ava needed protection about as much as a shark needed swimming lessons.
“Her friends will be there,” I said.
“That’s different,” Dad said. “You’re her twin sister. You’re supposed to look out for each other.”
“I don’t know anyone at the party anyway,” I said. “My friends aren’t invited.”
Mom looked confused. “What friends? You sit with the same people Ava sits with.”
“Not anymore.”
“What do you mean, not anymore?”
I took a deep breath. “I mean I have different friends now.”
Ava tilted her head, looking concerned. “But all our friends will be there, Avie. Sarah, Madison, Jessica, Tommy…”
“Those aren’t my friends,” I said quietly.
The words hung in the air like a bomb waiting to explode.
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Chapter 9
“What?” Mom asked.
“I said those aren’t my friends.”
“Of course they are,” Mom said, looking bewildered. “You’ve known them since kindergarten.”
“Knowing someone doesn’t make them your friend.”
Ava’s eyes widened. “Avie, what are you talking about? They love you.”
“No,” I said, meeting her gaze directly. “They love you. I’m just there because we’re twins.”
“That’s not true,” Ava protested, but her voice wavered slightly.
“It is true,” I said. “When’s the last time any of them called me? When’s the last time they asked me to hang out without you?”
Silence filled the dining room.
“When’s the last time Madison invited me somewhere and didn’t invite you?”
More silence prevailed.
“That’s what I thought.”
Dad cleared his throat. “Avery, you’re being ridiculous. Of course they’re your friends.”
“Then why did Madison hesitate when Ava asked if I could come to the party?”
Ava’s cheeks turned pink. “She didn’t hesitate.”
“Yes, she did. We all heard it.”
Mom looked back and forth between us, confusion written all over her face.
“I don’t understand what’s happening here,” she said slowly.
“Nothing’s happening,” I said. “I just realized something.”
“What did
you
realize?”
34
I looked at my parents. At Ava. At this whole perfect family picture that had never included me the way it should have.
“I realized that Ava’s friends were never really my friends.”
“But honey,” Mom said gently, “you’re twins. You do everything together.”
“No,” I said. “Ava does everything, and I follow along.”
The bewildered expression on Mom’s face deepened. She looked like someone had just told her the sky was
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Chapter 9
green.
“That’s… that’s not how it is,” she said sharply.
“Isn’t it?”
I stood up from the table, my cercal only half finished.
“Where are you going?” Dad asked.
“To call my real friends,” I said. “The ones who actually want to spend time with me.”
I walked toward the stairs, leaving behind the stunned silence in the dining.
“Avery, wait,” Mom called after me.
But I didn’t stop.
Behind me, I could hear Ava’s voice, small and confused.
“I don’t understand,” she was saying. “We’ve always been a team.”
And Mom’s voice, still bewildered, still trying to process what had just happened.
“I don’t understand either, sweetheart. I just don’t understand.”
I went into my room and closed the door. A banging soon followed.
“Open this door Avie!”
“I’m changing dad!” I shouted back even though I just sat on my bed.
“If you don’t go with your sister to the party, I won’t get you that new iPhone I promised!” He said sternly, making me almost chuckle.
It’s so brave of him to think a phone will change my mind.
“Then so be it dad!” I said plugging in my earphones. I don’t wanna hear his annoying voice anymore.
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
