Victoria Aspen's life just turned inside out.
She has been forced to move into the house she used to spend every summer in. It's been so long since she was welcomed back into the family and this time... they didn't really have a choice.
But thi...
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I don't want to be here.
"Oh, lovely to see you Ashley," Sally Donovan greets us at the door, smiling politely. Her ebony ringlets bounce around her bright eyes as she jumps aside to let us in. I wish I didn't have to take a single step past the foyer. "And Victoria, you look beautiful."
I blush and disagree under my breath as Robert Donovan shakes hands with Alan, Adam and Alex. To this very moment, I have no idea how we managed to scrape up the entire Aspen family to come over for the Donovan's barbeque, but we did it.
And by we I mean Ashley.
I mean, even Adam and dad are here, and they don't even come downstairs to eat. At least, I think they're usually upstairs.
You see – I don't even know where everyone is half the time!
Sally ushers the five of us through the vintage décor and I can't help but feel extreme envy. I wish I had mahogany instead of fifty shades of chalk. Finally we reach the polished red-cedar back door, swinging it open to reveal the backyard.
Or should I say backholidaygetaway?
Seriously. There is an enormous wooden gazebo surrounded by flower beds where creeper vines are rooted that spiral around the beams. The yard looks as if someone threw a bucket of chlorophyll on it and there's a state-of-the-art grill in front of a tall, timber fence. And it is nothing like the American-Dream white picket fence we have, it is like tonnes of polished, debarked tree branches standing at attention.
How could anyone live in this? It's like a fairytale your parents actually care about you back yard. If I had a yard like this growing up, I wouldn't spend a moment inside.
Look, there's even a maple tree that looks sturdy enough to climb. How is this the same size as our pathetic patch of dry grass?
Crowded in the gazebo are a few of the boys; Stanley, Austen, Dylan and Mason. A few other guys I've seen hanging around. Dylan flashes a charming grin at me and I wave, only to receive a scowl from Mason. But... it's not directed at me. What's his problem? Has he just got an issue with people being nice to me?
Just then I remember the supposed date that Katherine set up with Dylan and I avert my eyes. Crap, I hope she hasn't talked to him about it yet. After all, it's only been a few days.
Robert rushes over to the grill where he begins throwing every meat item onto the coals, savouring no animal on planet Earth.
His apron should say 'Vegans beware'.
Someone nudges me and I swivel to face Adam, who is making a face. "This family is way too healthy for us, huh?"
I immediately burst out laughing, I couldn't have said it better myself. He chuckles along as Alex abandons our band of Aspen misfits for his hormonal high school herd. Well, they say you can't choose your family, right?
Ashley immediately engages in conversation with Sally and a few other women, one of them I recognise as Katherine's mom. I wonder where she is tonight, leaving me alone to fend for myself.
The other two ladies seems a little familiar, one slender and pale, the other dark skinned and grinning. They seem to be very close, as if they've know each other for eons.
They must be the dear mothers of Thing 1 and Thing 2, otherwise known as Stanley Walden and Austen Montgomery. Currently the pair are bent over in laughter, with Mason, Dylan and Alex staring daggers at them. Clearly they've made a joke at all three's expense. And I don't think they found it funny.
Quickly, Mason's glistening blue eyes flicker to my own, but before I can react (by flipping him off or something mature like that) he ducks his head as if avoiding me. How rude. So what, he can be an ass to me, paint (or should I say not paint) my room like a horror show, embarrass me in front of Janet, but he can't be associated with me around his friends?
I clench my teeth and deliberately search for somewhere to be alone
Forever
An eternity of peace
"Oh, Tori dear!"
That ends right now.
I spin to find five mother hens gathering around me as if I am a fascinating prototype. I nod in greeting to Katherine's mother, having met her briefly before. Before I can even ask, she says "Katherine's got the flu, sorry love." She gives me a sympathetic smile, "Poor thing's in bed as we speak."
Lucky girl.
Kat's mom is like a photograph mother, imitating her children's platinum blonde hair and green eyes. Her face is slightly pointed, much like Katherine's and her eyes crinkle slightly with age. I notice that all of the other mothers (not even a Coraline reference: that just happened) are wearing flowy summer dresses or loose fitting button ups, and then there's Ashley.
She's wearing a skirt suit. A skirt suit. To a friendly neighbourhood barbeque.
I worry about her...
"Oh, look at those cheekbones!" MommyAusten squeals, pinching my cheeks. They all laugh, bombarding me with questions about everything.
And I do mean everything.
"Oh, have you got a boyfriend?"
"Oh, of course she doesn't," Ashley waves her hand dismissively. I don't know whether I should be grateful or offended. "Do you?"
"Uuuh," I snap my head around, desperate for escape. Adam is seated alone at a table, engrossed in his laptop doing something more important than rescuing me. Alan is making small, slightly uncomfortable conversation with Robert and another man. Alex and Dylan have parted from their larger group, leaning against the fence chatting up a storm.
"Hey mom, didn't you say that you had that recipe that you were 'dying' to show Ms Montgomery?" Mason wedges himself into the sewing circle, air quoting with an easy smile.
Sally erupts in gasps, "The potato and pecan salad!" She cries, motioning for the other middle aged women to follow her into the house, rambling. Yikes, I don't know if I should be concerned as a woman at this vintage display. I'm not one to judge though, I guess. Once, Ashley glances back, between her troublesome neighbour and the little girl who isn't hers, and she winks.
She winks at me.
I don't like what she's insinuating.
"So," Mason claps his hands together, bringing me back to attention and wiping the horrified expression off my face. "Want to go swimming?"
I pause for a moment, giving his enthusiastic stare a run for its money. In the opposite direction.
