Her Relevé

Chapter One (Unedited)

Everyone keeps telling me I'm sooo lucky, Becca's off to college, which makes me like an only child. But what no one seems to realize is, without Becca here, my parents only have me to focus on. When she was still in high school, so much of their attention was on Becca's activities, and grades, and relationships. Now? Now my mother is constantly looking over my shoulder, trying to figure out how to turn me into my sister.

Don't get me wrong. It's not Becca's fault she is who she is. Her life hasn't been all rainbows and butterflies. And I'm really proud of her. Well, as much as a little sister can be proud of their big sister anyway. She's accomplished a lot, despite everything that's happened to her.

But I'm not Becca, no matter how much my parents wish I was.

"Olivia? Are you ready to go? Your sister is going to be here any minute."

I grin. "I'll be right down, Ma!"

I'm actually really excited that Becca is coming home. She hasn't been here since Easter, and she'll only be here this last week of July for my birthday. She and Asher are working on a huge Habitat for Humanity project in New York, near their school over the summer. After this week, I won't see her again until Thanksgiving.

As much as I've missed her, I'm also really excited that all my parents' attention will be on Becca for this week. Maybe, just this once, I'll be able to do whatever I want without having to worry about my parents watching my every move.

I grab my purse off my desk, and slip on my sandals. Before I can even make it to the hallway, I hear the front door open. I run to the top of the stairs, and there she is.

"Becca!"

"Livvie!" I race to the door and wrap my sister in a hug.

"Well, it's good to see you too," Becca says, running her hand through my hair.

I let her go. "Are you ready to go? Do you need help bringing your bags in? I'm starvin' Marvin!"

"I think I've got the bags taken care of," Asher says, climbing the front steps behind Becca. When he sets them inside the door, I hug him too.

"You still taking good care of my sister?" I ask, raising an eyebrow to show I'm asking seriously.

"Of course, Liv. If I wasn't, I'm sure you'd be the first person to know."

"Good," I say, fake punching him in the arm. "Because if you weren't, I would beat your sorry ass to kingdom come."

"Olivia! Language!"

I peek over my shoulder, as meekly as possible. "Sorry, Mom. It won't happen again."

She just shakes her head at me. Behind her, Dad puts his wallet into his back pocket and grabs the van keys off the key rack. "Is everyone ready to leave? I hear this one is starving," he says, ruffling my hair. "We'd better get her some sustenance before she kicks the bucket," he jokes.

"Yes, I don't want to die before I've even gotten my driver's license."

As we head out the door, Dad says, "Watch out world. In three days, Olivia Haines will be able to drive on her own. I did my best to teach her the rules of the road, but you may want to avoid being on the same street as she is, just as a safety precaution."

Everyone laughs, but they won't be laughing long. "Dad, can I have the keys? I'm driving us to lunch today."

A chorus of *ugh*s sound from behind me, but I just grin.

I'm a fantastic driver.

---

"So Livvie, how have your dance classes been going this summer?" Becca asks as she passes me the ketchup.

"Absolutely fantastic. Although I didn't get into The Perpich Center this year, Michael thinks I have a really great chance of getting in next year. They gave really great constructive criticism after my audition last February, and I've been working really hard to bring myself to the level they are asking for. And my new pas de duex partner has been really great too. Well, great as a dancer anyway."

Becca smiles as I eat one of my loaded tater tots. She wipes her lips with her napkin. "Is this new partner cute?"

I almost spit out my food. "Aaron?" I ask, swallowing. "Eww. I mean, I guess he's physically attractive and all, but his personality? No thanks. It makes him a great dance partner though, because he's there for the right reasons, and not constantly trying to hit on me or anything like my last partner was."

"Your sister has been working very hard this summer, Becca. Classes three, sometimes four days a week. And she's there for hours. Plus she's been running on her off days, and eating really well. Well, except for right now of course," she says, raising her eyebrow with a smile.

I lean into Becca and whisper behind my hand, "She would know. She watches my every move. Hovers when I'm on the phone. Knows every bite of food I've put into my body. She could probably tell you the exact time of day for each time I've left the house and returned the entire summer."

She laughs at me, then whispers back, "Cut her some slack. She probably had to drive you most of the time, since you can't drive alone yet. And it's not like she has much else to do now that she doesn't really have to 'take care' of us anymore."

"What are you two whispering about over there?" Dad asks.

"Just girl stuff," Becca answers. Then we both dig into our lunch so our mouths look too busy to answer any other questions.