by Lucia Franco
"I've missed you!" I said.
"I can't believe you’re home!"
I pulled back when Xavier walked over. "Hey, sis." He smiled and pulled me into a hug. He reeked of weed and I could smell the faint scent of day-old booze on his breath. "It's good to see you."
"I wish I could say the same for you. You smell like shit," I said.
He chuckled, unashamed.
"I wasn't expecting you until closer to Christmas."
"I finished my final exams a couple of days ago, so I came home early." Xavier's eyes lifted toward Avery for a split second before returning to mine.
I glanced at Avery. She had her bottom lip rolled between her teeth.
"I called you while I was on the road a million times to tell you I was coming home early, but you never answered. What are you doing here? Where've you been?"
Avery let out a loud and annoying huff. She reached into her back pocket and pulled out her cell phone. She held it up to my face. My brows shot up.
"This is why I didn't get your calls. My phone won't turn on. My dumb, fucking brothers thought it would be hilarious to paint my iPhone ‘Bama colors while I was sleeping last night. My brand new iPhone, Aid. Not only that, with the help of your brother"—she shot him a murderous glare—"they doused my car in cake flour and eggs. I swear to God, I'm gonna murder them."
She handed me her phone and I looked down. I tried to scratch and flick at the streaks of white and gray paint, but it wouldn't scrape off. There was an ‘A’ painted in crimson on one side, and ‘Roll Tide’ written on the other in what looked like black permanent marker. At seventeen, Avery was a massive Gators fan. She wasn't a huge Bulldogs fan, but she detested Alabama. Georgia and Alabama were rivals of Florida. At least it wasn't Miami colors. No one liked Miami.
I glanced up at my brother, puzzled why he and her brothers would do this. "Really, Xavier? What are you? Ten?" A vein throbbed in the center of his forehead. He tried to stifle his laughter, but he was bursting at the seams like a one-year-old smashing blueberries in his hand as if it was the funniest thing in the world.
"It rained early this morning, Aid," she stated, her feet shifting from one to the other. "Flour was stuck to my car."
When she said stuck, it hit. My jaw dropped, and my eyes popped wide. I tried not to laugh but I couldn't help it. I swung back and slapped my brother in his midsection with the back of my hand. This was a typical senior prank at our high school. Only she wasn't a senior yet and they were just assholes.
"I spent all morning having my baby detailed, inside and out. I got enough off the windows so I could see where I was going, but when I got inside my car and turned the air on, I was shot with a massive puff of flour. There was flour everywhere, Aid, everywhere. I tried hosing off the flour on the outside, and it only made it worse. There's still flour and eggshells all over my driveway."
I couldn't contain myself and busted out laughing as I pictured Avery sprayed with flour.
"Oh, my God. But why would they do that?" I turned toward my brother and asked him the same question.
"Why not?" Xavier said, shrugging.
"Because they're fucking assholes, that's why. Need any more explanation?"
I chuckled at her annoyed tone, and so did my brother. It was impossible not to.
"So, you came over here to yell at them?" I paused, thinking about what my dad said and the scene I just saw. "My dad said you come here from time to time while I've been gone."
She shot Xavier a fleeting glance before setting her eyes back on me. "I think your dad is drinking too much bourbon. Why would I come here without you? To see who?"
"That's what I said. But then I…I thought maybe… " My heart pounded. I had to get it out. "I thought…I thought maybe you guys might be seeing each other or something."
"What! Are you fucking kidding me?" Xavier exclaimed. His face turned a deep shade of red. He wasn't laughing anymore. "I'm not a fetus humper. Young bitchy Barbies aren't my type."
Avery stared straight into my eyes as if she was calculating his demise in her mind.
"A fetus humper," she stated, putting heavy emphasis into the words. "A fetus humper. Where do you come up with this shit?"
"I don't screw girls, especially ones much younger than me. Not worth the jail time, and I'm not a fucking sex ed teacher. I like them experienced and untamed."
I scoffed, pretending to dry-heave. "You're so gross." The last thing I wanted to picture was my brother having sex.
Avery chimed in. "Tell me, do you happen to have another brother I don't know about that I'd come visit instead of this fuckwad standing next to me?"
I feigned a smile. "You know I don't."
"I will admit that I've been here more lately since they came home for winter break two weeks ago, but that's it. Girl, I missed you, but I don't miss you that much where I need to sleep in your bed and shit and be close to your brother to feel close to you. What the fuck?" I relaxed, laughing at the expression on her face. "That's some psycho shit right there."
"As much as I'm loving this cozy little reunion, I gotta dip."
Before Xavier could leave, I called out his name. "What's with the bruise and cut?"
He tilted his head and gave me a side glance. At this angle, I could see he had dark circles under his eyes. He put up his fists and crouched down, pretending to box the air, throwing jabs and undercuts.
"Just fuckin' around with some friends."
Xavier walked away. I watched as he opened the door and a huge cloud of smoke slipped out.
We couldn't be more different if we tried.
I pulled Avery into a side hug. "So, how do you plan to get them back?" She chuckled. Avery was already scheming.
We walked back into my house, making plans for the day to look for a gala dress. I was beyond excited to hang out with my best friend. My stomach flittered with butterflies and happiness radiated from her just as it did me. This time at home was going to be exactly what I needed. It had been many months since we got to hang out, being so far from Avery was way harder than I had expected.
I changed my clothes while Avery caught me up on all the drama at her school and how she worked her way up to cheer captain. I knew she'd make the team. When Avery set her mind to something, it was extremely rare she didn't achieve it. As she rambled on, I put on a little makeup and curled the ends of my hair. Despite praising myself on not being like one of the Gucci squad kids, I still had to keep up my appearance. I was fortunate, my parents gave me a lot, and doing something as simple as playing the part for them was something I could suck up and do.
Stepping back, I assessed myself in the mirror. I had gotten used to rolling out of bed and not having to get dolled up for anything that I'd forgotten how much I missed it. It was amazing how far a little mascara and nice clothes could go.
Just as we were about to leave, Mom walked out of Dad’s home office and took in my appearance.
"Ana, much better," she said proudly, her eyes glittering. "Please make an appointment with Sasha to have your hair and makeup done for both the gala and New Year's Eve party. You two can go together," she said, waving her fingers between me and Avery. "I don't know if you’ve made any friends back in Cape Coral, but if you'd like to invite them, you're more than welcome to. They can stay in our guest house if it's okay with their parents."
"I have a few friends I could invite and I'm sure their parents wouldn't mind if they come here, seeing as they live alone." She gave me a perplexed look and I answered her question. "It's Holly and Hayden, they’re twins. I think I'll invite them since we’ve all became pretty good friends. Thanks, Mom." I smiled cheerfully, thinking back to the time Hayden said he wanted to come visit.
"Why don't you invite your coach too," Avery suggested brightly.
This bitch. I glared at her, counting all the ways I could rip out each strand of hair on her head. I cleared my throat and said, "I don't think—"
Dad appeared in the threshold, leaning casually against t
he door frame. "I've actually spoken to Konstantin already and invited them. He said he had to speak to Katja and check their schedules. I'll follow up with him today." He took a sip of his amber liquid.
"I'm sure he and Katja already have plans," Mom said.
"Mom's probably right," I quickly added. Anxiety crowded my stomach. Please, dear God, let them have plans. The last thing I wanted was Kova and Katja here.
Dad shook his head. "I'll give him a call now. They can stay in our other guest house, and if anything, Ana's friends can stay in a guest room."
Mom sucked in a breath the same time I did. This was a terrible idea and I needed to have this plan overthrown.
"I'll need a final head count for the caterers by the end of the week, Frank," Mom said tightly. "You know, so we can prepare for any extra friends you might want to invite."
Dad dipped his chin in agreement. For whatever reason, Mom wasn't happy about this. She was downright seething and I had no idea why.
"Well, we'll see you later. We're going shopping," I nearly choked out to my parents, then turned to leave. They lowered their voices to just above a whisper as we walked away, a sharpness to each word Mom spit out stung, and I knew they were about to argue. I ignored it, I'd grown used to it by now.
Grabbing Avery's arm as we walked out the front door, I leaned into her ear and said, "I'm going to fucking murder you, Avery."
She laughed…and so did I.
Nine
It may have been the spirit of the holidays, but I found myself grinning from ear to ear when I picked out the perfect evening dress for the gala.
Thankfully I found a gown so Mom wouldn't have to make a call to have an assortment delivered. That would require her to critically assess my body, which was never fun. I typically hated shopping for these kinds of events for that reason alone, but I knew I couldn't go wrong with an Elie Saab floor length chiffon dress with a high slit up one thigh. The strapless gown's pleated black top showed off my sharp collarbone—which would please my mom immensely—and the vivacious array of purple, gold, and pink ombre colors on the skirt bled into each other. I paired it with nude, strappy heels.
"Ya know, I'm patiently waiting for new deets here," Avery said with a little singsong tone to her drawl. She looked through a rack of dresses, eyeing each one as if she was talking to the clothes and not me.
"Deets?"
"Yeah, Ria, deets."
I tensed, flattening my lips. I knew it was coming. "I was kind of hoping you'd forgotten about all that."
She held a black dress against her body and looked down. "About Fish Lips? Never." She shoved it back on the rack.
"What makes you think I'd want to tell you anything after suggesting my coach and his girlfriend come to my house? I almost strangled you!"
Avery burst out laughing. As much as I wanted to tell her every blissful—and despicable—detail that had occurred since the last time, I was nervous about it after the way Hayden reacted. I didn't want her to look at me the way he did, especially since she practically insisted I not have sex with Kova. The situation was sticky, and even though I could trust her explicitly, I was still uneasy about the whole thing. She didn't know about the sex, about the morning after pill, or that we hadn't used condoms. She knew nothing.
Instead, I deflected by ignoring her and continued shopping to buy time, piling a variety of items in my hands I didn't truly need.
I picked up an adorable onyx Chanel flap bag purse and flipped it over to look at the price. Avery eyed the high-end accessories as she strolled closer and I got a little nervous, so I pretended to need jewelry to go with my dress. I quickly made my way over to the glass counter and asked to see a bangle styled bracelet.
"What are you hiding? Whatever it is, it must be juicy," Avery said as I studied the rose gold band designed of ivy leaves.
My heart was racing, and if I kept evading Avery's question, I was going to rack up a hefty bill.
I eyed a pair of black stiletto heels I'd probably break my neck in and asked the jewelry clerk to have someone get me a size six. They would go fantastic with any gown.
"Okay. You have about twenty thousand dollars' worth of shit in your hands. What aren't you telling me? You're hiding something."
My eyes fell to my hands. She was right. I did have about twenty grand worth of merchandise, and coupled with the cost of the dress that was on route to my home, along with the bags of clothes I’d already purchased, I was close to forty at this point.
"Good thing I have the Black Card," I said with a blasé smile and made my way to the second floor used for private shows.
"You can't run from me."
A light giggle rolled off my lips. I didn't make it very far, maybe a few strides, when she figured out my secret. She whistled behind me. I peeked over my shoulder, biting the inside of my cheek. Shit. Her eyes were enormous with vivid certainty and a shocked smile spread across her face.
"You fucked him!" she hissed, walking toward me.
My stomach sank to the floor in a wave of nausea. Rattled with anxiety, I glanced around for listening ears and placed a finger in front of my lips, begging for her silence. Amelia Island was small. Everyone knew everything about everyone. A whisper of indecency was all it took to get the ball rolling. I felt like she was on a loud speaker announcing the loss of my virginity to the entire island.
"Avery. Please keep your voice down."
She ignored me and continued. "I knew it! I freaking knew it would happen! You little hoe bag."
Avery was hot on my tail and grabbed my elbow, turning me to face her. She eyed me strangely. "Why are you hiding this from me? Why can't you tell me?"
I shook my head and let out a defeated breath. "I'm not hiding anything from you, but remember the talk we had when you came to visit me? You were insistent about me not having sex with him."
"So."
"So?" I copied, my voice raised.
"Yeah, so what? I worried about the ramifications you two morons would face if caught. That doesn't mean I still don't want you to fill my cup up." Avery began playfully backhanding my arm while she pretended to hold up a cup with her other hand. It was an ongoing joke between us. Fill my cup right up with all the juicy and dirty details.
"Stop," I laughed and shooed her away. "Fine! I'll tell you everything. God." I rolled my eyes and heaved a sigh worthy of an Oscar.
"Does he have a big dick?" Her eyes were huge and humorous. I wasn't surprised in the least that was her first question. Avery was strictly dickey.
I lowered my voice to a tight whisper. "Considering he's the only guy I've ever been with, I'd say yes."
She squealed. Avery literally squealed, and I felt embarrassed for her over the sound that she just made.
"If we're going to have this conversation, it's not going to be inside Chanel where anyone can overhear us."
"Done!" she agreed. "I have the perfect place."
With a one-track mind, Avery tugged me down the stairs. I pulled her to a stop right before we reached the glass doors.
"Let me check out first. I highly doubt my dad wants to get a call from the manager saying we walked out with an arm full of high-end shit."
"Oh, right," Avery said, backtracking. "Orange was never your color. Then again, it might go with the six-six-six you have newly tattooed on the back of your neck."
Avery, always cracking redhead jokes and how evil they were. Jokingly, of course.
Two hours later, Avery was nursing what I’m sure was one hell of a mental hangover after I unloaded every little dirty detail on her, from the multiple doses of the morning after pill to the confrontation between Kova and Hayden the night before. We were sitting on a lounge chair facing each other on the small section of the private beach Avery's family owned. Each home on the water came with its own oceanfront walkway. While I lived on a golf course, her family lived on the water.
"You know, you should've told me to strap on a seatbelt for this crazy fucking story you just told me. I w
as not prepared for any of that."
"How do you think I felt when it was all happening and I had no one to talk to? I was a hot mess, Ave. So many times I wanted to call you, but I was scared." I didn't add in that the times I had called, she didn't answer.
She smiled apologetically. "I completely understand, I really do, but if you ever hold out on me like that again, I will fuck you up." A burst of laughter rolled off my lips and I fell back against the beach chair, amused at her harmless humor. "For the record, I hate Kova. Like, really hate him. Why couldn't you have gone for Hayden?"
"I don't know. It wasn't like I made a plan to pounce or anything. It just sort of happened."
"Oh, and you need birth control ASAP or you're never going to be able to have kids. That shit is bad for you, it probably fucks up your body more than the warnings listed on TV say. I can't believe you were so dumb. You made everything so much more—" Avery slammed a hand over her mouth. Her eyes were huge blue globes. "Ohmygod," she muttered behind her palm and dropped it. "I suggested Kova and Katja come for New Year’s. What was I thinking?"
I shot upright. "Why did you think I wanted to murder you when you said that? I couldn't believe it."
"This is all your fault. If you had confided in your bestie, I would've kept my mouth shut."
Oh no she didn't. "Really? You knew something was going on between us. Don't act so clueless and innocent."
"True, and you're right, but this is a totally different ball game, girlfriend. You should just go hang yourself, because you're fucked. You. Are. Fucked." She paused. "Ohmygod! Hayden will be here too." She jumped up from the chair and began pacing. "And after he punched Kova! Jesus H Christ. I have a feeling this is going to be a New Year’s party we'll never forget. That is, if you live to see it." She stifled a laugh. "Oh, this just got so fucking juicy. By the way, Hayden punching Kova upped his hotness factor by a lot. He may be a fuck boy, but you should really consider keeping him as a side piece."