Paper Cuts

Chapter 1

"Help!"

"What?" My Aunt V immediately texted back, as I knew she would.

"First girl's night. I know nothing. Panic." I frantically typed.

"Simmer. I'll call you in ten minutes."

Aunt V wasn't my real aunt. She was my dad's best friend, but she knew everything about everything. First pimple, she had it zapped overnight. Bad haircut, she knew a girl. Pre-chorus solo, she reminded me to breathe.

Candy Store Rock blared from my phone, signifying my savior was calling.

"Hey," I tried to play it cool, even though I knew that ship had sailed.

"First girl's night, Ollie?" There was a tease in her voice, but it wasn't annoying like when my dad tried to tease me.

"Seriously, what does this mean?" I blurted.

"Nothing, it's just a different way of saying sleepover. You're fine," she soothed.

"But this girl's night is at Kelly's house; Kelly's house, Aunt V!" The world had to stop and soak that in so I could regain my sanity.

"Oh, well, why didn't you start with that? Who's Kelly?"

"Kelly is the girl. Everyone loves her. She's the smartest girl in class, the first chair in violin, and our star volleyball player. And she invited me to her girl's night."

"Right, but you're Olivia fucking Kenny."

"That means nothing!" I screamed.

"Oh, stop it! You're smart, funny, star of the soccer team. Plus, how many fourteen-year-old drummers are there at your school?"

"What do I wear? What do I bring? What do I say?"

"Okay, we're clearly in full spiral mode. I'll be over shortly."

"Thank you! You're the absolute best human ever!" I squealed.

"Is the girlfriend over?" Aunt V asked.

Carrie, my dad's girlfriend, and Aunt V didn't exactly get along well. V got along with her fine, but we all could tell that Carrie would give my dad an earful about V when no one was around. Still, it was Aunt V. Let Carrie fight that battle; V would win every time.

"Yes, she is. Would you like to talk to Dad?" It was the automatic answer I gave whenever V asked if Carrie was around.

"Yes, I would." I could hear the smile in Aunt V's voice. It was ridiculous that she had to give a warning shot when she was coming over, but... life.

"Daddy," I hollered as I bounded down the stairs. "Can I have a friend over?"

He muted the History channel and looked up at me in a daze. "Wait, aren't you going to a friend's house?"

"Yeah, but it's my first girl's night, so I need to get ready, and I need Aunt V to help me," I explained. "She's on the phone." I stuck it out to him.

"Hey V, girl's night prep?" My dad began as I gave Carrie an overly cheery smile.

"Mmhmm," my dad's Midwest accent seemed to come out more when he talked to V. I noticed how it wrapped around his murmurs. "Of course, we're just hanging out. Hey, can you pick up some milk? We're out."

"Joe, I was going to run out," Carrie argued.

My dad gazed at Carrie for a moment. "She can pick it up on the way. It will save you a trip." He put a hand on her knee and squeezed it, causing my stomach to churn. "Yeah, we'll see you soon."