When Worlds Collide

Chapter 1

 Chapter 1

       Stephanie sipped her steamy vanilla latte carefully, not wanting to spill it down the front of her brand new yellow satin shirt. She’d just gotten it yesterday, and after the hour-long shouting match with her father about its appropriateness and taste, she was not ruining it the very first time she wore it. She should have ordered water, but caffeine seemed to be the only thing that got her through the day now.

      “You’re stupid for drinking coffee. It’s August. In Texas.” Twila said, cutting her caramel colored eyes at her older sister. She sipped noisily on her icy, bubbly soda.

       “You’re stupid for wearing your letterman’s. You look desperate.” Stephanie shot back. God, she hated her sister sometimes. Other people’s little sisters listened to them and had their own friends. But nooo, not Twila.

       Twila was seven months younger, but that didn’t seem to matter at all. About anything. She had the same friends as Stephanie, wore the same size clothes, took the same classes, and had the same streak of stubbornness. But Twila was much worse. Much, much worse.

       “You’re just jealous you don’t have one.” Twila said back, flicking her glossy ponytail over her shoulder. She rubbed the small spot of sweat running down her temple, before Stephanie could comment on it.

       “Are you guys fighting again?” Lacey asked, crossing her arms. As usual, she was late. Making Stephanie freak and stress out. And she brought Brock, Blaine and Texie. Man, it sucked not having a car, and having to ask for rides. It sucked sharing the ancient blue two-door with Twila, but it sucked even more not having one.

       “That’s what happens when you take thirty minutes to find your earring.” Brock said, tossing his black hair out of his brown eyes, pushing past Lacey to sit next to Stephanie. “You know the sisters can’t stay unsupervised for too long.”

       “Hey!” Stephanie and Twila said in unison, their expressions as identical as their features.  

       “ I wouldn’t have lost the earring if you hadn’t-”

       “Where are Yieve and Treyvawn?” Texie interrupted, her bright blue eyes on their empty seat. “They left practice when I did?”

       “Two guesses.” Brock said. He frowned, then took a sip of Twila’s soda.

       Blaine’s phone buzzed, and he looked down at the screen with a grimace. Sighing heavily, he glanced at Brock, then turned to walk away. The unspoken moment left a strange pause at the table.

       “When is your truck going to be fixed?” Stephanie asked to fill the void. She couldn’t keep the squeak out of her voice. Damn. She liked Brock. A lot. Something that was both a secret, and not. She certainly wasn’t telling people. But Twila knew, of course. As did Lacey,  maybe.

       Stephanie had known Brock since fifth grade. They were friends, he was part of the group she spent most of her time with. There was nothing special, nothing romantic. School was out, she was home, and fighting with Twila about hogging their car all of the time. Brock called, and invited Stephanie out to the lake, just Stephanie. The next three weeks were magical, romantic, and wonderful.  

       Then the world fell apart.

       Brock totaled his truck hitting a fence at four in the morning. He’d been drinking and refused to talk about it. He’d lost his license, gotten fined within an inch of his life, had thousands of community service hours he still wasn’t finished with, and now walked with a tiny limp no one wanted to bring up.