Til Death Do Us Part (Pretty Little Liars)

Chapter One: Try Hard

Bridget clutched her book bag against her chest in the back of her dad's G-Wagon. It was Luke's turn to sit up front and she hated him for it. Every time Luke sat shotgun, he and their father forgot Bridget existed, yapping about something she knew nothing about. Today, it was the Bruins game that was on last night. 

"Did you see that slap-shot? That was fucking legendary!" Luke was so loud when he got worked up about sports, especially Hockey. Luke was only a sophomore, but he was already a starter on the Maplewood Private varsity hockey team. Dad was so proud of him for making the team, he bought Luke a brand-new Hummer with a vanity plate that reads, "N-U-M-B-A-1". Bridget had gotten her license at the end of sophomore year and had begged her parents for a car, but they told her she could wait until Christmas. Luke didn't even have his driver's license yet, only a permit, so he still needed a ride to school every single morning.

"Fuckin' right, I did!" Their dad took one hand off the wheel to playfully jab Luke's shoulder and they both laughed. Bridget pushed her earbuds further into her already aching ears and turned her music up. For a long time, she had tried to get into a sport, any sport, just so her dad would pay attention to her, but she realized quickly that she was incredibly uncoordinated. 

Bridget stared intently out the window of the car and tried to pay close attention to the chemistry lecture she recorded to study for her midterm exam today. She had been up all night cramming as if she hand't spent the entire semester preparing herself for pop quizzes that never came. Bridget had always been more academic than the rest of her family. Her dad was a retired tennis player, Luke was a meathead jock, and her mom was an interior designer to the stars. She did get her attention to detail from her mom and her competitiveness from her father, but those were the only traits she seemed to inherit from either of them. She didn't even look like her parents at all. The rest of her family had blond hair, blue eyes, and a perfect smile without needing braces. They always got a nice tan in the summer while Bridget burnt to a crisp on a cloudy day. 

Bridget had long, stringy light brown hair that she wrestled into a neat bun every morning and blueish grey eyes that looked dull next to her family's piercing blue ones. Her skin was pale and riddled with freckles and moles that no one in her family seemed to be cursed with but her. She always wished she had her mother's tan, clear skin. Bridget was tall and thin, but had no muscle on her body like her father or brother. 

What she did have going for her was her style. Bridget knew what kind of clothes she liked and she used her mother's credit card to get them. She liked to look preppy and chic, modeling her personal style after Coco Chanel. It did help that she owned quite a bit of Chanel purses, heels, and tweed skirts. She loved the color pink even though her mother said it "washed her out" and wore an excess of silver jewelry. Bridget liked to look older than she was and acted like it, too. 

"Bridget," She heard her dad's voice over the lecture in her ears and looked up, pausing the audio. "did you sign up for a gym class next semester?"

She felt Luke turn to stare at her and heard him snicker. "Dad, c'mon, they won't let her run the mile in red bottoms." 

Their dad smacked Luke's leg, but Bridget saw him suppressing a laugh. "Leave your sister alone, Luke." And that was that. No more talking for the rest of the drive. 

Once they arrived at school, Bridget and Luke immediately walked in separate directions, Bridget going to her locker and Luke heading for the hockey rink for morning practice. Bridget checked her phone to see if her friends, Gianna and Naomi, had texted her, but they hadn't yet. She opened their group chat and sent a text:

u bitches ever show up to school on time? - Bridget

Her phone dinged almost immediately. 

class doesn't even start for another hour tf? -Naomi

Bridget was always early so she could have alone time to prepare for tests and get the good breakfast from the cafe before it was all gone. She often forgot that her friends were not nearly as ambitious. Naomi was almost always late because she stayed up all night on Twitter, arguing with anonymous users about who is better, Ariana or Mariah. Bridget didn't know if it was true, but she was pretty sure it was Naomi who ran the anonymous school gossip blog, "Private Parts".

I'm like 10 minutes away - Gianna

Gianna was smarter than Bridget and great at sports on top of that, but she spent most her time painting and wondering what Shakespeare's instagram would have looked like if he was alive today. She also somehow had time to serial date a new jock every semester while simultaniously curbing "slut" rumors. It was actually quite impressive. 

Bridget slammed her locker shut and headed for the cafe to wait for her friends. She sat the same table they always sat at and shift back and forth in her seat, chewing on her pencil eraser as she studied some more.