The Strength of Us

Chapter Sixteen - I Will Kick You Out If I Have To

Chapter Sixteen - "I Will Kick You Out If I Have To"

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Tomorrow is the day; I finally get to meet Nicolette. That is, if I have the right address and everything. Besides that, I've been excited since the moment I thought of this birthday present. It doesn't seem real, but I guess it's actually going to happen and I'm actually going to meet my twin.

Shit.

So, being as that it's Friday and exactly one week since I told Alex about the plan – that makes tomorrow, Saturday, the special day. My birthday isn't until Monday, but my friends want to take me out to dinner tonight, then have a party at Tony's house tomorrow. I figure that Alex and I won't be staying at Nicolette's all day and night, so when we get back we can celebrate.

I also don't know what Oliver wants to do for my birthday, but I guess he's keeping it a surprise. Or maybe he's waiting until next weekend when things with my unknown sister cool down.

School is over and I've been upstairs, trying to pick out an outfit for this dinner my friends have planned. They haven't told me where we're going which is so cliché, so I'm just going to pick something out that I like, regardless if it's fancy or casual.

I don't own that many dresses, maybe 3 at the max, because I'll wear jeans any day. But since it is a special occasion, I decide to pick out one of the few dresses I own to wear tonight for dinner. It's a black shift dress with a gold zipper going down the back – pretty simple, but I like it. I pulled on a pair of sheer, black polka dotted tights over my legs, just to add another layer since it's February and freezing outside.

I slipped in a pair of pearl earrings after I messily curled my hair, then touched up my mascara. Then I already have on my gold heart locket, which is special because it's from my grandparents before they passed away, and I nod to myself in the mirror when I assume I'm done.

Seeing as that my shoe collection consists of Converse, combat boots, flip flops and other various sneakers, I really only have a tiny selection of fancy shoes. Two pairs of heels, a pair of summer wedges, and a pair of black boot wedges that I decide to wear for tonight. Hopefully I don't fall and make a fool out of myself.

It's nearly 5:30 by the time I'm done, and we aren't leaving for another hour, so I figure I'll go over to Alex's to see what he's up too. Once I grabbed my jacket and spritzed on a little perfume, I was out of my room and down the stairs.

"Hey honey," my dad's voice carried from the living room. "Wow, you look nice."

"Thanks," I grinned, pausing by the front door. He's watching TV in his recliner, but stops to look at me with a smile.

"Where you going?" He wondered.

"No idea," I shrugged. "My friends said they're taking me somewhere to dinner in an hour or so. Then we're going to have a party tomorrow night."

"Sounds fun," he nodded with a smile. "Anything else planned for your special day?"

I rolled my lips into my mouth, instantly thinking of my whole road trip idea that's happening tomorrow. My dad obviously has no clue about it, but right now isn't the time to bring it up. I originally wanted to do it when we had a lot of time and could talk about things, but I guess I didn't realize how late it got and that the day is practically here.

So I sucked in a deep breath and nodded my head, staring down at the floor. "Yeah, uh... yeah. Alex and I are going on a little road trip tomorrow," I tried to keep my voice strong and steady.