“Gabriella on the other hand was devastated. She had always wanted a little brother or sister and now that she was getting one, my parents were going to take it away from her. She had always said that I was the best older sister anyone could have because I was always there for her, helping her with her homework or just taking the blame or covering for little things that she did. It may not seem like it now, but she was always trailing around behind me and my friends. She used to look at me like I was the coolest person to ever step foot on Earth. I think she wanted the chance to be someone’s older sister too, you know?” She paused to look up and give me a sad smile.
I nodded in understanding. That had to be such a hard situation for her and Ella, not to mention for their parent’s too.
While Lena had been talking, she had capped the nail polish bottle and repositioned her body into a more comfortable spot. It had been the first time that she had looked at me since she started her story. At first she had been wringing her hands nervously and staring at my bed spread as she spoke. I returned her sad smile with a sympathetic one before she continued speaking.
“Gabby hates me now though. She wanted me to say something to mom and dad about keeping the baby. She thought that they would listen to me and that I would protect our baby brother or sister from being given to a new family. I never told her about the night that I spoke to our parents. They practically laughed in my face when I suggested that I get a job to help pay for the expenses that would come with having a new baby in the house. They thought that it was sweet that I would offer to help out like that, but they wanted me to focus all of my time on school and not worry about anything but getting the best grades that I could.
“When my mom went in for her ultrasound, she was told that she was not only pregnant with one child, but two. The fact that my parents weren’t making nearly enough money to raise two children, let alone four, ruined any thoughts that I had about keeping the babies.
“As if everything wasn’t already bad enough, Gabby started hanging out with a few of the older kids at her school. Her grades dropped, and she no longer talked to me anymore. She stayed at her friend’s house for most nights but whenever we crossed paths she would go out of her way to ignore me. I would catch her sneaking out more and more. All I wanted was for my little sister to talk to me again. It hurt to know that she hated me. It was almost as if I was the one who had decided to give away the babies. I wanted them just as much as she did, maybe even more.”
A tear leaked from Lena’s eye, trailing down her freckly cheek in a slow path.
“My parent’s never even told us the sex of the babies. They didn’t find out until they were born. I guess they thought that if they found out the sex it would make it harder to give them to a new family. I always had a feeling that they would be boys. Deep down I know that somewhere in this world, I have two little brothers.
“I tried to keep myself busy with school work, but there were always times when I would come up with different names for them. I always pictured two little red headed babies with rosy cheeks, sucking on their thumbs, and drooling spit down their chubby chins.” She cracked a smile, looking at me with damp eyes. She brought her hand up to rub at the tears and forced a laugh while saying, “I’m so emotional.”
I scooted over next to Lena, draping my arm over her shoulder. “It’s okay. So, how does that tie into what happened today?”
Lena shrugged. “It’s just, everything in our house is so tense now. I told my mom about how I got suspended for fighting and we got into a huge argument. It was pretty bad. I couldn’t stay there.”
I sighed, thinking about everything that she had just told me. “Was the adoption the reason why you moved?”
Lena shrugged, “Part of it. We wanted a fresh start. Ella also got into some trouble with her friends. You’d have to ask her about that situation if you wanted to know. It’s not my business to tell you that. Another reason is that my dad got a job that pays more than enough money to support us now. He’s finally getting use out of his degree. My mom had a work friend that was looking to adopt and they lived near our old house. She didn’t want us to live so close to them. I guess she was afraid that Gabby or I would try to see the babies or something. She’s been depressed a lot lately though. She deserves it after all of the crap she put us through last year.”
“No one deserves to be depressed.”
Lena shrugged out from under my shoulder. “If Gabby and I could get over it then why couldn't she? She was the one who decided to give the twins away in the first place.”
“It doesn't seem like you've gotten over it. Maybe you and Ella just have different ways of dealing with the situation.”
Lena rolled her eyes. “My mom lies in bed all day, my dad buries himself in his work, Gabby likes to get treated like dirt, and I try not to think about it all. We are one messed up family, huh?”
“Everyone has different ways of coping. Maybe you should all get together and talk about what happened. Talking is a good way to get stuff off of your chest. You can't just keep your emotions bottled up inside forever.” I wanted to punch myself in the face. I was sounding too much like my mom. Whenever she fed me those lines I would roll my eyes and completely disregard any advice that she was giving me, but now that I was giving Lena that same advice, I realized that maybe my mom actually knows what she's talking about. Maybe she's not as crazy as I thought she was.
Lena shook her head solemnly; she was completely oblivious to my thoughts, thank God. “I've tried talking to them. Ella just always ignores me. She thinks that just because she hangs out with people my age, dates older guys, and goes to wild parties that she’s more experienced than I am.”
I furrowed my eyebrows. “Ella's in tenth grade, right? So she's about fifteen?”
Lena shook her head, saying, “She got held back in eighth grade. She's sixteen. She doesn't turn seventeen until two months after my eighteenth birthday.”
I nodded, processing this new information before shrugging. “Just remember this: You can pick your nose, and you can pick your family’s noses, but you can’t pick your family.”
Lena furrowed her eyebrows at my statement. “That’s not how it goes. It’s, “You can pick your nose, and you can pick your friends, but you can’t pick your friend’s noses.”
“Whatever. I was close.”
Lena flicked my knee and laughed. “Finally the regular Forrester returns. The serious, advice giving Violet was kind of scaring me.”
“I know what you mean. I kind of scared myself a little bit too.”
Lena smiled, flashing me a good view of her braces clad teeth. “You’re definitely not a therapist, but you had some good advice. Thanks, Violet.”
My jaw dropped, and I made a big scene of covering my mouth and feigning shock. “You called me Violet. I think that may be the first time you’ve ever directly referred to me as Violet, and not Forrester.”
Lena raised an eyebrow at me. “Don’t get used to it. I like Forrester better than Violet. No offense though,” she added quickly.
I waved her off, my orange nails sparkling in the light as I did so. “None taken.”
Catching my hand, Lena frowned and made a tsking noise. “How did you manage to ruin one of your nails already?”
Glancing down at my nails, I noticed that one of them was indeed smudged. “How am I supposed to know?”
“They’re your nails. How would you not know?”
I shrugged causing Lena to sigh. “This is the last time that I’m fixing it. The next time you ruin them, you’re on your own.”
I rolled my eyes and cracked a knowing smile. “That’s what you said last time.”
Chapter 16
The overwhelming smell of bacon and eggs wafted up the stairs and into my room, giving me a good reason to roll out of bed earlier than usual. One glance around my room told me that Lena was nowhere to be found. Yawning groggily, I made my way to the surprisingly unoccupied bathroom. After using the bathroom, takin
g a hot shower, and brushing my teeth, I dragged a brush through my wet hair and braided it back into a thick French braid. With a towel wrapped around my damp body, I padded back into my room and quickly pulled on my uniform. I had ordered a longer pair of pants and a looser fitting jacket so I no longer looked like it had shrunken in the dryer.
I bounded down the stairs, heading toward the kitchen for some breakfast. It had been weeks since my mom had cooked anything for breakfast. I usually never had time to eat before school anyway, but on the rare occasions that I did, I would just eat a bowl of oatmeal.
Turning into the kitchen, I caught sight of my redheaded friend, and my blonde arch enemy sitting down together at the table. Frowning, I walked past them, grabbing a plate from the cabinet and a fork from the drawer before going back to plop down in the free chair next to Lena. Lena flashed me a genuine smile while saying, “Morning, Forrester. It’s about time you woke up. I got up before you did, and I don’t even have to go to school today.”
“I’m not a morning person,” I responded in a monotone voice before letting out another yawn.
Lena nodded in agreement. “I can see that,” she said before shoveling a spoonful of eggs into her mouth.
I glanced around the table, expecting to see a bowl of eggs and a plate of turkey bacon, but there was nothing except for a carton of orange juice. “Where are the eggs and bacon?”
Brianna took that as her queue to speak. “Oops. Silly old me. I figured you weren’t going to be up in time so I helped myself to seconds.” She pointed to her plate full of eggs and two strips of bacon with a smirk on her face. “Would you like some?”
I frowned. It was way too early to be playing games with Brianna. All I wanted was some eggs and bacon for breakfast and I was not in the mood to be toyed with. “I know it may be hard for you, but you don’t always have to be such a bitch. I just want some breakfast. Is that too much to ask for?”
Brianna pouted her lips and placed her index finger under her chin. To an outsider she might have looked as if she was pondering something, but Lena and I both knew that she was just mocking me. “Yes, that is too much to ask for considering that I’m hungry too. If you wanted something to eat you should have woken up earlier. And you really should stop cursing so much. Ladies don’t swear.”
“Go to hell.”
“I’ll see you there,” she retorted.
The clicking of my mom’s heels stopped me from thinking of a good comeback; not that I could think of anything anyway. My mind was still foggy from just waking up, and all I could really focus on was my stomach’s gentle rumbling.
“Here,” said Lena, sliding her half-finished plate over to me. “I’m full anyway,” she added.
“Are you sure? I can just grab some cereal.” I felt bad taking Lena’s breakfast. She was my guest. I guess Brianna was technically my guest too, but I just consider her a freeloader.
“I’m sure.”
“Thanks Lenny,” I said, not hesitating to fork up some eggs and place them into my open mouth. I took a bite of the crunchy piece of bacon that sat on the side of the plate and sighed as the wonderful taste filled my mouth.
I turned my head, waving at my mom as she strutted into the kitchen.
“Good morning, Mrs. Forrester,” chorused Lena and Brianna.
My mom smiled and replied with a simple, “Good morning girls. I hope everyone had a good sleep.”
Lena and Brianna nodded, smiles adorning both of their faces although Lena’s was real and Brianna’s was strained.
“That’s good.” As if noticing that Brianna and I were the only one’s eating breakfast, she added, “Lena, what happened to your breakfast?”
Lena shrugged, and answered with, “Brianna must have forgotten that I spent the night because she didn’t leave me anything to eat. I’ll be fine though.”
My mom looked horrified. “I can make some more to eat if you’d like. I don’t have to take Lilly to preschool for another hour or so.” She glanced at the watch that was strapped onto her wrist.
Lena shook her head, holding her hands up almost as if she was surrendering. “No, it’s all right. I’m not hungry anyway.”
My mom shook her finger at Lena, “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. At least grab a banana or an apple before you leave, okay?”
“Sure thing, Mrs. F.”
My mom laughed at the nickname as she pulled a mug out of the cabinet and placed a tea bag into it. Using the kettle on the stove, she poured hot water into the cup before striding over to the table to place a kiss on my forehead. She smoothed my hair back from my forehead saying, “What did I say about the wet hair, Violet? You’re going to get pneumonia one of these days.”
I filled my mouth with the last bite of eggs and slipped out from under my mom’s touch. “I’ll be fine, mom. Don’t be such a worrywart all of the time.” I went to stack the now empty plate in the sink along with my and Lena’s used forks. Shuffling back over to the table, I grabbed my unused plate and placed it back into the cabinet.
I heard my mom’s heels clicking against the hard wood floors as she exited the kitchen, calling, “Your lunch is in the refrigerator. Don’t miss the bus!” over her shoulder.
Lena stood up from the table, pushing her chair in behind her and walking over to the kitchen island to grab a banana. “Might as well eat this. I bet your mom took inventory of them when she walked past.”
“I wouldn’t put it past her,” I replied, grabbing my lunch before swinging the refrigerator door shut. “Bye, Lena. Have fun staying home all day while I go to school and learn.” I strained a smile.
Lena rolled her eyes. “You act like it’s not a Friday.”
The scraping of Brianna’s chair gained our attention and we snapped our eyes to her. She smiled. “And Ella and I are having that party on Saturday.”
Lena took a step toward Brianna, her eyebrows furrowed. “What party?’
“You didn’t hear about it? Ella and I throwing a huge Halloween party this weekend. I’m shocked she didn’t tell you about it. Oh, wait, no I’m not. She’s hates you. Why would she tell you about it?” Brianna laughed despite the snarl on Lena’s face.
“Where are you having the party at?”
Brianna pretended to pull a zipper across her lips. “My lips are sealed. Ask Ella if you want to know so badly. It’s not like you could get in anyway. It’s invite only.”
“Like we would want to go to a stupid party anyway,” I snapped.
Brianna shrugged. “Blake’s going. I had to beg him to come, but it was definitely worth it.”
“Blake doesn’t go to parties. Except for study parties,” I added.
Brianna rolled her eyes. “It’s really sad that I know your boyfriend better than you do. He’s going to the party whether you like it or not.”
“He won’t go.”
“Yes, he will.”
Lena spoke up, “Ella doesn’t even like Blake. Why would she want him to be at your party?’
Brianna smirked. “I told her I wanted him to come. I’ve got her wrapped around my finger like a freaking rubber band. She seems like more of a sister to me than she is to you.”
Lena flipped up her middle finger, “You really get on my nerves,” she muttered before storming from the room.
***
Blake pushed his wire rimmed glasses up higher on the bridge of his nose and cracked a small smile at me. “How do I look?” he questioned.
“Like a sexy nerd,” Lena stated in a bored tone whilst shoving a handful of chips into her mouth. “Can we go now?”
I rolled my eyes, reaching my arm out to grip onto Blake’s tie. “Well, I think that you look very smart.”
Blake leaned forward, placing a swift kiss on my lips. “And you look very cute in your rebel outfit-thing.”
“I’m supposed to be Goth. Can’t you tell?”
Lena shoved another handful of chips into her mouth and I waited as both her and Blake’s eyes roamed over my body f
rom head to toe. “Well, you do look very…black,” Blake stated.
“Yeah and those boots look very…heavy,” Lena added, pointing a glossy nail at my spiky platform boots.
“Yeah, well what are you supposed to be?” I remarked snappily, pointing at Lena’s costume that consisted of Blake’s red and white basketball shorts, an over-sized white t-shirt and a red sweat band.
Lena smiled, “I’m a backup dancer for High School Musical. Go wildcats!” She punched her fist in the air twice and spun around in a circle chanting, “Getcha head in the game!”
Blake laughed while he tightened his tie. When he was finished, he casually slung his arm over my shoulder and smiled. “Ready to go? I can already hear the music.”
Lena pushed in front of us and swung the door open, sprinting out into the front yard and then disappearing from my field of vision. Blake held the screen door open for me as he clicked the lock on the back of the door and then pulled it shut behind us. The brisk October air was crisp yet refreshing as it filled my lungs.
Next door, I could see the party lights flashing from Brianna’s house and was immediately shocked at the line of people standing in the doorway waiting to get inside. Last week Brianna had started planning her infamous Halloween party. My parents had been a bit iffy about the idea of her hosting a full blown house party in her house while her parents were away, but when they received an email from Brianna’s parents consenting to the party, they allowed it to happen. Little did they know, Brianna had access to her mother’s email address and had sent the email herself. I had only found out by sheer luck; she had forgotten to exit the page and I had seen the email for myself. So, like all good blackmail artists, I printed the screen and threatened to tell my parents if she didn’t invite me and Lena to the party too.
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