First

Chapter 3

I got up Monday morning and got dressed just like any other school day. But it felt different this time; I was going to see Jason with him finally knowing who I was, with the potential for him to recognize me. The thought both scared and excited me. I put a little more effort into my appearance, dressing in my favourite skinnies and long sleeve top. I even put on a little make-up.

I was standing in front of my mirror, playing with my hair, trying to get it to lay in just that way when Levi knocked on my door before barging in. Hey, at least he knocked this time, I thought.

"Are you ready yet? God, you're taking forever. Hurry up." He paused after a moment and looked up at me. "What the hell? What are you wearing? And why do you have make-up on? You never wear make-up." Levi dropped his knapsack on the floor and stepped fully into the room.

I turned away from him and crossed my arms over my chest in embarrassment. "I can wear what I want."

"Not when you're my sister, wearing make-up and looking like that. Dad's going to flip when he sees you." I scowled at him; he'd pulled the Dad card. Low blow. I was the only one allowed to play the Dad card. Levi just laughed at my expression. "I won't tell Dad, okay? Just hurry up and get that crap off your face. We need to leave."

I nodded and headed into the bathroom, tears stinging my eyes. I quickly wiped off the make-up and washed my eyes, removing any evidence of tears. Screw Levi, I thought. I had wanted to look nice today. For Jace. And for myself—to give myself the confidence. I had woken up this morning knowing the day held the potential for so much. But Levi had ruined all that.

I stomped back into my room, fully expecting Levi to be downstairs by now but instead he was busy primping himself in front of my mirror. When I grabbed my backpack off the bed, Levi turned to face me, nodding approvingly. "There, that's much better."

I pushed past him, intent on ignoring him and escaping this whole situation. "Whatever, let's go; we're going to be late."

Ileft Levi staring after me, calling "What's your problem?" I headed out to histruck. I studiously ignored him as he climbed in the cab and drove us toschool. This day had gone from good to bad in the blink of an eye. Little did Iknow that it was going to go from bad to worse